Rhythm Detective: Counting Beats in 4/4 and 3/4

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-014 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 2
Rhythm Detective: Counting Beats in 4/4 and
3/4
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir) · Grades 6-8 · 45 minutes
Time needed
45 minutes (one class period)
Prep
Copy the 2-page worksheet (one per student). Write the note-value chart on the board.
Technology
None.
Student
independence
High. Students work alone, then compare with a partner.
Copies to make
One 2-page worksheet per student
Materials
Pencils, Worksheet, Whiteboard or chalkboard
Goal for today: Students will add the beat values of rhythm patterns written in syllables, decide whether each
measure is complete in 4/4 or 3/4, and write the counts under a pattern.
Before the bell
☐ Copy the worksheet, one per student (2 pages).
☐ Write on the board: ta = quarter note = 1 beat. ti-ti = two eighth notes = 1 beat total (½ + ½). ta-a = half
note = 2 beats. ta-a-a = dotted half note = 3 beats. ta-a-a-a = whole note = 4 beats. (rest) = quarter rest = 1
beat of silence.
☐ Write on the board: In 4/4 each measure has 4 beats. In 3/4 each measure has 3 beats.
☐ Keep the answer key on your desk. Clapping is optional and only if your room is suitable; a silent class is fine.
Say this to start
Today is a rhythm math day. Rhythm is just counting how long each sound lasts. Instead of drawing notes, the
worksheet writes rhythms as syllables, like “ta” and “ti-ti”. Your job is to add up the beats and decide if each measure
has the right number. No instruments and no singing today.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-014 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 3
Run of show
Minutes
What you do
What students do
0–5
Take attendance. Hand out the worksheet. Read the
note-value chart on the board aloud.
Listen and compare the chart with the
passage on their worksheet.
5–12
Work one example on the board: ta ti-ti ta-a = 1 + 1 + 2 =
4 beats, so it is complete in 4/4. Then ask: what about ta
ta-a? (3 beats, one short in 4/4.)
Follow along and ask questions.
12–25
Tell students to complete Table 1 (add the beats) and
Table 2 (write the counts).
Add each measure and write the total. Fill
in each count line.
25–35
Tell students to complete questions 1–8. Partners may
compare answers quietly.
Answer the fill-in, multiple-choice and
short-answer questions.
35–41
Read the answers for both tables and for questions 1–6
aloud from the key. Students mark each right or wrong.
Check and fix mistakes.
41–45
Collect all worksheets and stack them for the teacher.
Finish questions 7–8 and hand in the
worksheet.
If things go wrong
• If students ask how long a rest lasts, tell them to treat it like a note. (rest) is silent for 1 beat.
• If students add ti-ti as 2, remind them ti-ti is two short sounds that together fit into 1 beat.
• If the room is suitable and students want to clap, allow it only after the written work is done, softly and for one
minute.
• If a student finishes very early, check both tables, then use the early finisher ideas.
Early finishers
• Write three new measures of 4/4 that each use at least one ti-ti, and add up the beats to prove each is
complete.
• Write a 3/4 measure using a dotted half note and a different 3/4 measure using three quarter notes.
• Write the word “watermelon” as a rhythm in syllables, with one syllable per sound.
Support and challenge
• Support: Allow students to complete only the first four rows of Table 1 and the first two rows of Table 2, and
let them keep the chart in front of them.
• Challenge: Ask students to write a four-measure rhythm in 4/4 where the second measure is entirely ti-ti and
the last measure ends with a rest.

SubstitutePlans.com
Arts · Music (General / Band / Choir)
SP-MUS-014 · Free to print and use in your classroom · substituteplans.com
Page 4
Notes for the teacher (you fill this in)
Jot a few lines before you leave. A full Daily Sub Report is in the free Sub Survival Kit at SubstitutePlans.com.
How far the class got / what to pick up next:
Students who were especially helpful:
Anything the teacher should know: