How to Read Rhythm on Guitar: Beats, Note Lengths and Counting

Bars, beats and time signature

Music is divided into bars and a bar into beats. The time signature 4/4 means there are four beats in a bar and each equals a quarter note. It is handy to count them aloud: one, two, three, four. More about time signatures in 4/4, 3/4 and 6/8 in practice.

Note lengths

The length shows how long a note should sound. In 4/4 it looks like this:

• Whole note: 4 beats.
• Half note: 2 beats.
• Quarter note: 1 beat, one hit per count.
• Eighth note: half a beat, two hits per count: one-and.
• Sixteenth note: a quarter of a beat, four hits per count: one-e-and-a.

Hear the beat subdivision

Turn on the metronome and switch the subdivision: quarters, eighths, triplets and sixteenths. Count aloud with the click and tap the strings with a muted hand. That way note lengths stop being abstract.

Rhythm in tabs and strum arrows

In an ordinary tab note lengths are often not visible: numbers sit on the lines, and the spaces between them show time only roughly. Rhythm is taken from the recording of the song or from a tab with note stems. For strumming, arrows are used: down and up show the direction of the hand. Strumming patterns are covered in guitar strumming patterns.

How to learn to read rhythm

It is best to learn to read rhythm step by step:

• Count aloud and play one open string on every count.
• Add eighths: one-and two-and three-and four-and, and play down-up.
• Clap the rhythm of a song before playing it with your fingers.
• Check yourself with a metronome: how to practise with a metronome.