RHYTHM LESSON 8 - Reading Notation

By the time children are in second grade, they are ready to read rhythms in actual notation.  To make the transfer I always let them know that they are ready for the real stuff now and that it is going to
be fun and easy for them because they are so good at everything we have learned up to this point.  My kids all knew that 2nd grade meant reading real music and 3rd grade meant we would play recorders.  They looked forward to these experiences.

So let's begin by making the transfer.  We are going to begin with the easiest of music as we did with the icons: quarter notes and 2 eighth notes - Ta and Ti-Ti.  Let's start by comparing our first chart with the same chart using notation:

Cut out each line of music and have the children help you find the matching pairs.  You do not need the words for this exercise.  Then read and clap the notation until they are used to Ta and Ti-Ti.  Now cut out the individual notes and see how many different sets of notes you can make using groupings of Ta and Ti-Ti.  Stick with groups of 4s as we have been doing.  You can also have the children write their own sets of notes using just these two choices.  They should be able to read and clap each sets.

There are 12 possibilities.  If you choose to print and cut out the notes to create the different sets you will need 26 quarter notes (Ta) and 22 eighth note groupings (Ti-Ti).