So far we have been learning about chords and notes, but that leaves a whole part of music out of the discusion. Time! The feel or pulse of music, the thing you tap your foot to. Hope you like fractions for this part!

So music is broken into measures. Often times one measure will be the length of time you play a certain chord, before moving to the next. This doesn’t give us much granularity so we divide this up into what are called beats. Depending on what/how you play we can use a large variety of fractions for this. We will stick to the 1/4 note. Which is, as you guessed it, the length of 1/4th of a measure. The 1/4 note is the standard (beat) and is used to measure timing in music. Ever heard somebody count 1-2-3-4 before starting a piece of music? Thats where this comes from.

The speed of a song is measured in beats per minute or BPM, or how many quarter notes are in one minute. This generally ranges from 60 to well over 200 if you like that speed metal business, and a lot of pop settling in around 120 BPM.

The Metronome

The tool we use to measure or play to this time is the metronome. The 1 is generally differentiated by a slightly different or higher pitched tone. As we practice our chord transitions, we will attempt to strum a chord on the one, hold for 2 – 3 – 4 and hit the next chord on the following 1. As we build strength and speed, slowly step up by around 5 BPM and repeat. Its best to run drills like this in at least 3 minute sessions before jumping up to a new speed. Eventually you will plateau slightly and may need to adjust by 2-3 BPM instead of 5.