Part 2: Give the notes time · Lesson 013 / 117
Quarter notes: one sound per beat
Connect a written note value to your established pulse.
In our 4/4 exercises, a quarter note lasts one beat. Four quarter notes fill one bar. The word quarter describes a fraction of a whole note, not an instruction to play quickly.
Play one note on each count: 1, 2, 3, 4. Let each sound last until the next one begins. A new pick attack starts a new note; the time between attacks belongs to the current note.
Keep counting even when the same pitch repeats. Rhythm does not need pitch changes to be musical. You can practise all four notes at the same fret and still learn something important.
In the study tables later, a duration of 1 means one quarter-note beat. That is a precise duration, independent of which fret or note you play. At a slower tempo it takes more seconds, but it is still one beat.
Hear it
Quarters
Audio fileFour-beat count-in · 60 BPM · Warm sampled electric guitar. Listen once before playing along.
A concrete example
One bar: E for 1 beat, E for 1 beat, E for 1 beat, E for 1 beat. Total: 4 beats.
Try it, slowly
- Clap four quarter notes while counting.
- Play the same rhythm on one open string.
- Repeat with a muted strum and keep exactly the same timing.
Check one idea
Does a quarter note always last one second?
Show the explanation
No. In these exercises it lasts one beat. At 60 BPM that beat takes one second; at 120 BPM it takes half a second.
A good place to stop
You can play four equal quarter-note attacks and explain their duration in beats.
Return to the example after a short break. A clear explanation matters more than speed.