Do you have students who are utterly confused by note values? Maybe when you ask them to count and clap a rhythm in class, your students stare back at you blankly. Perhaps you have students still identifying whole notes as “full notes”. Or maybe they clap every note like a quarter note. I’ve seen a lot of note value teaching techniques that provided varying results. I’ve tested teaching note values in a variety of ways with my own students to find the methods that really stick. 

My goal? To see my students become confident and literate rhythm readers. So, let’s talk about how I like to teach note values and the teaching resources I love to use!

 

Why Teaching Note Values Matters to Me

If you read my post, Solving Rhythm and Timing Issues as a Music Teacher, then you’ll know that rhythm was a personal struggle of mine as one who grew up with a learning disability. If you’ve ever seen a student, even just one, truly struggle to connect note values and rhythm, I want you to know this: I was that kid. That was my experience for a long time, and I’ll be honest, sometimes it still is. So from a personal standpoint, I can say that it is the most isolating feeling in the world—to feel like the only student who doesn’t get it. 

So, if you’re reading this now and picturing a student or several students who struggle with understanding note values, it’s time to connect the dots. It’s time to teach note values with helpful strategies for every student in your classroom. Let’s begin.

 

Start with Steady Beat

All rhythm fundamentals start with a steady beat. Truly. Actively working on it with students will solve many of your rhythm problems. I emphasize steady beat starting in kindergarten, but I think it’s just as important to continue emphasizing this concept with our older students.

If you’re interested in a steady beat lesson for your kindergarten students, I recommend checking out this simple Google Slides lesson I created which is perfect for introducing steady beat on the first day of music class (or right now if you forgot!).

There are plenty of methods for reinforcing steady beat with older students, but I like to do it through active learning, with games such as Pass the Beat Around the Room, or the singing game, Sarasponda. I also do simple activities, like keeping a steady beat on instruments while keeping time with a backing track. 

I conveniently have an amazing set of printable steady beat grids inside the Chamber of Freebies that really help students find their inner pulse. If you’d like to download them for your students, you can click to join the Chamber of Freebies now:

 

Think about it, if uneven rhythms or pacing is happening, you don’t have a rhythm problem, you have a steady beat problem! So don’t neglect this critical building block!

 

Make Quarter Notes the First Note Value

If your students can keep the pulse, it makes sense to transition to quarter notes next. This is very easy to teach through singing, movement, creative visual aids, and so much more. For example, you might start with a relatable tune like Mary Had A Little Lamb. 

Begin by having students sing the tune (which most children know), and then have them find the pulse. Then you can transition into asking, “Did you notice that the words of the song go with the beat?” From there you can introduce the note value and so forth. You could even have them march the quarter notes with their feet, or play them on a classroom instrument! But make sure you show the notation! Stick notation is sometimes okay for younger grades, but I think it’s important all grade levels are connecting visuals with tactile learning.

 

Teaching Eighth Note Values

If you’ve drilled steady beat and quarter notes, eighth notes are the natural next step. I find this note value can be introduced successfully at an early age (as young as Pre-K). Consistent reinforcement through advancing grades can help ensure subdivision feels intuitive and natural, instead of mystifying.

How exactly do you do this?

Like quarter note values, eighth notes need to be connected with tactile learning and visual references. With younger grades, my preference is to teach quarter notes and eighth notes using “ta” and “ti-ti” (Kodály counting method). That’s what I’ve found the most success with. I encourage you to experiment with different counting systems to find what works best for you and your students.

This blog post by Leah Sheldon does a great job breaking down the different counting systems and why you might choose one counting system over another; for more information on the Kodály counting method, check this page.

I also like to incorporate rhythm drills through songs like Apple Tree, BINGO, and Rain, Rain Go Away, or movement using scarves or ribbon wands to create movements for each note value.

Elongated Note Values

Longer note values can be tricky for students to master. When I begin introducing half notes and whole notes to my students, I usually notice a few different, common problems:

• Students don’t count at all
• Students count too fast
• Students count too slowly

When this happens, it’s a great chance to reinforce the concept of steady beat (yes, even in older grades!). I also recommend encouraging students to keep a pulse on their body by either tapping their foot (best for older grades) or keeping the pulse on their heart (best for younger grades).

One of my favorite hacks for teaching elongated note values is doing what I call the “clap and carry.” This has worked really well for me when combined with a steady beat and counting. I especially like to use this method with young beginners because it’s kinesthetic and allows children to feel and really experience holding something to maintain pulse.

Here’s how I do it!

• Half Notes: The students clap on the counting syllable of your choice (usually beat one) and hold their hands together while they swipe them from left to right in a kind of arc motion (when done properly, it sort of looks like they’re praying and painting a rainbow with their fingers). You’ll need to have them practice this a few times to get the hang of it. Sometimes you’ll see students accidentally re-clap on beat 2. This is where you need to remind them they’re holding and only initiating the clap on beat one. Practice and reinforce it until they get the hang of it! 🙂
• Whole Notes: Similar to the method for teaching the half note, students will clap, hold, and pulse three times in a praying karate-chop motion.

I’ve seen other music teachers do the karate chop method with the half note too, instead of the rainbow motion I use. I do think you’ll find the most success teaching elongated note values by finding a way to get students to feel the length. It really helps reinforce the pulse and the concept.

 

Introducing Number Counting Systems for Note Values

There comes a time when syllable-counting methods should eventually be replaced with numeric ones. I usually aim to reach this point by my mid-third or fourth grade, although I’ve often reached this point with more advanced second graders, too! This is a perfect time to introduce time signatures to students and explain how real musicians count beats. 

I have a pack of two really wonderful Google Slides lessons in my TPT store that will introduce time signatures and counting methods for simple and compound meters. You can learn more about the time signature lesson pack here.

 

Teaching Subdivision and Syncopation

Subdivisions were one of the most challenging aspects of learning note values, in my case. Why? As someone who struggled a lot with spatial awareness as a kid, it always felt really confusing and unclear when it came to placing that subdivision in time with the tempo. It took me a long time to get the hang of counting eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and dotted note values. It took even longer to feel comfortable with syncopated rhythms.

Here are the methods that helped me the most (methods I use with my own students):

• Early introduction through syllabic counting methods (Kodály counting method or another)
• Using an upbeat and downbeat system with foot tapping (try this with older grades)
• Writing numeric counts and subdivisions into my music
• Using a metronome capable of tapping subdivisions (TonalEnergy or Sondery are my favorite metronomes)
• Finger tapping method for dotted note values, eighth notes and sixteenth notes subdivision:
  • Thumb = Downbeat
  • Pointer Finger = E
  • Middle Finger = &
  • Ring Finger = A
  • Pinky Finger = N/A
• Using slashes to visually represent the downbeat in my music as shown in the image below ⬇️

*Teaching Note: Check the student’s foot! Are they tapping the steady beat or rhythm? If you catch them accidentally tapping their foot to the rhythm, take some time to address this! 🙂

 

Boom™ Learning Resources for Teaching Note Values to Kids

For some reason, I seem to love creating and using Boom™ Cards when teaching students about note values. If you’ve never used Boom Cards in your music classroom before, they’re pretty much self-grading learning games that students can use on a Chromebook, tablet, or other 1-1 device. Sometimes I’ll also project them on the SMART Board and have students take turns answering the prompts. For more information about using Boom Cards in Music Class, check out this post.

1. Long and Short Sounds

This is a great deck to use when you’re first introducing note values in Pre-K, kindergarten, or first-grade music class. This game specifically works on aural skills with students differentiating between long and short through short audio clips of everyday sounds. I like to use this deck as a tool for review before I start teaching quarter notes and eighth notes (ta and ti-ti).

 

2. Basic Note Values

Once I’ve taught my students some basic note values, I like to use this deck to connect note values with the concept of long and short sounds. It’s good to use for review because it reinforces the name and number of beats for these note values:

• Whole Notes
• Half Notes
• Quarter Notes
• Eighth Notes
• Quarter Rests

I typically use this deck with grades 2-4!

 

3. Music Money Game

This is a music-math themed Boom Learning resource I created to help reinforce whole notes, half notes, and quarter notes with grades 2-4. In the game, each card displays the amount of money (i.e. number of beats) that need to go inside the piggy bank. Students add up the correct number of beats and drag the appropriate amounts into the piggy bank!

 

4. Pizza Note Values

This last one is my favorite! This Boom Learning game is played like life. It entails working in a real pizzeria! Students start out the game by training inside the restaurant, learning whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, and single eighth note values. When it’s time to start their shift, they’ll begin with some easy orders. This is before the pizzeria starts to run out of ingredients—oh no! Students will have to use music math skills to fulfill music pizza orders with limited resources. This Boom Cards game is great for developing problem-solving skills.

I typically use this deck with grades 4-6!

 

Final Thoughts on Teaching Note Values

At the end of the day, learning rhythm shouldn’t be a stressful experience for your students. There’s so much confusion that can be avoided just by tweaking your strategies. Remember, there are lots of styles of learners in your music room, and it pays to target different learning modalities when you’re teaching note values. A visual student might understand a note value by seeing the counts written in their music, but a more tactile student needs to experience note values and feel them in their body. By taking the time to consider these different learning styles, you set your students up for early success and a positive learning experience.

Looking for rhythm teaching activities? Head to my post 3 Activities for Teaching Rhythm in Music Class, next! Want to access my growing library of music ed freebies? Join the Chamber of Freebies by clicking the link below ⬇️

 

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