Using Numbers to Help Understand the Value of Musical Note Notation

This video clip shows the value of replacing a ticking sound with numbers. Learning how to count note durations properly is a crucial element in learning music.

Music without proper timing is a bit like advanced math with no knowledge of arithmetic. In music, knowing how to count the duration of a note is like knowing the sum of two plus two (an easy answer provided you’re diet is healthy, your sleep is satisfactory, you’ve had a minimum amount of wine, and are not studying theoretical mathmatics at an ivy leage school).

Other types of duration not discussed in this particular video clip include notes that are faster than the duration of a quarter note. For example, assuming a steady background beat, eighth notes are twice as fast as quarter notes and sixteenth notes are four times as fast as a quarter notes.

Enjoy the video!