A. Dance / C. Music · Music and DanceMusic: Three Beats in a Bar, Dotted Half Notes and Ti-ka-ti-ka
C1.2 C1.4 C1.5About 40 minutes
Learning goals- I can feel and conduct music with three beats in a bar (3/4 metre).
- I can read, clap and say the dotted half note (ta-ah-ah, 3 beats).
- I can read, clap and say sixteenth notes (ti-ka-ti-ka, four sounds on one beat).
- I can recognize music that is very fast (presto) and very slow (largo).
- I can keep a steady beat when I perform.
Words to know
bar (measure)
A small box of beats in music, marked off by bar lines.
metre
How beats are grouped into bars, like groups of 2, 3 or 4.
time signature
The two numbers at the start of music. 3/4 means 3 beats in every bar, and a quarter note (ta) gets one beat.
dotted half note
A note that lasts 3 beats: ta-ah-ah. The dot adds half of the note's value (2 + 1 = 3).
sixteenth notes
Very short notes. Four sixteenth notes fit in one beat: ti-ka-ti-ka.
waltz
A dance and a kind of music with three beats in a bar: ONE-two-three.
presto / largo
Italian words: presto means very fast; largo means very slow.
Remember from Grade 2
In Grade 2 you read ta (1 beat), ti-ti (two sounds on 1 beat), ta-ah (half note, 2 beats) and ta-ah-ah-ah (whole note, 4 beats). You felt beats in groups of 2 and 3, with the strong beat first.
This year you will learn time signatures, a note that lasts 3 beats, and notes so short that four fit in one beat!
ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three
Say this while you sway side to side:
ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three.
That is three beats in a bar. Music in 3 often feels like swinging or twirling. A dance in 3 is called a waltz. In 1882, the composer Émile Waldteufel wrote The Skaters' Waltz, music that sounds like people gliding on a frozen pond. Happy Birthday is in 3 too!
We show this with the time signature 3/4:
- The top 3 means 3 beats in every bar.
- The bottom 4 means a quarter note (ta) gets one beat.
Bar lines split the music into bars, like boxes. In 3/4 time, every box holds 3 beats.
Skaters glide across a frozen lake. Can you feel ONE-two-three as they push and glide, like in a waltz? AI-generated imageIn 3/4 time each bar holds 3 beats: three ta's, or one dotted half note (ta-ah-ah).The dotted half note: ta-ah-ah
A half note (ta-ah) lasts 2 beats. A dot after a note adds half of its value. Half of 2 is 1, so a dotted half note lasts 2 + 1 = 3 beats. Say ta-ah-ah.
In 3/4 time, one dotted half note fills a whole bar.
Ti-ka-ti-ka: four sounds on one beat
Remember ti-ti? That is two sounds on one beat. Now split each ti in half again: ti-ka-ti-ka. That is four quick, even sounds on one beat. These are sixteenth notes, and they have two beams on top.
Words with four quick, even syllables fit ti-ka-ti-ka: wa-ter-mel-on, cat-er-pil-lar, hel-i-cop-ter.
| Symbol name | Say | Beats |
|---|
| quarter note | ta | 1 |
| two eighth notes | ti-ti | 1 (2 sounds) |
| four sixteenth notes | ti-ka-ti-ka | 1 (4 sounds) |
| half note | ta-ah | 2 |
| dotted half note | ta-ah-ah | 3 |
| whole note | ta-ah-ah-ah | 4 |
Very fast and very slow
You know fast and slow. Musicians also use Italian words for very fast and very slow:
- Presto (PRESS-toe) = very fast. Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is famous for zooming notes.
- Largo (LAR-go) = very slow. The Largo from Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony is very slow and peaceful.
The speed of music is called its tempo.
Worked exampleExample: Reading a rhythm in 3/4
Read this rhythm in 3/4 time: ta ta ta | ti-ka-ti-ka ta ta | ta-ah ta | ta-ah-ah ||
- Bar 1: ta (1) ta (1) ta (1) = 3 beats ✔
- Bar 2: ti-ka-ti-ka (1) ta (1) ta (1) = 3 beats ✔
- Bar 3: ta-ah (2) ta (1) = 3 beats ✔
- Bar 4: ta-ah-ah (3) = 3 beats ✔
- Perform: pat a steady beat on your lap and say the rhythm. Put a little more weight on beat 1 of each bar. Hold ta-ah-ah for all 3 beats!
Every bar has 3 beats, so the rhythm fits 3/4 time. Checking that each bar adds up is a great habit.
Just for funJoke: Why does a waltz never fall over?
Because it always has three beats to stand on!
Worked exampleExample: Making words into ti-ka-ti-ka rhythms
Let's write a rhythm for "Caterpillar, caterpillar, crawling slow" in 3/4 time.
- Say it with a steady beat: cat-er-pil-lar (four quick sounds = 1 beat) cat-er-pil-lar (1 beat) crawl-ing (ti-ti, 1 beat).
- So bar 1 is: ti-ka-ti-ka ti-ka-ti-ka ti-ti. That is 3 beats.
- "slow" is a long word, so hold it: ta-ah-ah (3 beats) fills bar 2.
- Clap and say it twice, keeping the beat steady.
ti-ka-ti-ka ti-ka-ti-ka ti-ti | ta-ah-ah || (Bar 1: 1 + 1 + 1 = 3 beats; bar 2: 3 beats.)
Hands-on activityConduct and clap
You need: a pencil or chopstick to use as a conductor's baton, paper and markers, and a recording of a waltz (like The Skaters' Waltz) or Happy Birthday.
- Conduct in 3: move your hand down (beat 1), out to the side away from your body (beat 2), then up (beat 3), making a triangle. Conduct along with the waltz.
- Rhythm cards: write ta, ti-ti, ti-ka-ti-ka, ta-ah and ta-ah-ah on cards (draw the notes too).
- Build bars of 3 beats with your cards. Clap them while a grown-up pats the beat.
- Kitchen band: play your rhythm on a pot with a wooden spoon (gently!). Play it presto, then largo. Which was harder?
Your turn
1How many beats does a dotted half note get?
2What does the top number in 3/4 tell us?
There are 3 beats in every bar.
3How many sixteenth notes fit in one beat?
4Does this bar fit 3/4? ta-ah ta
5Clap and say: ti-ka-ti-ka ta ta | ta-ah-ah
Look for: four quick, even claps on beat 1, then two steady claps, then one clap held for 3 beats (keep the beat going in your head).
6What does presto mean? What does largo mean?
Presto = very fast. Largo = very slow.
7Which word fits ti-ka-ti-ka: pump-kin, wa-ter-mel-on or snow?
Wa-ter-mel-on (four even syllables). Pump-kin is ti-ti; snow is ta.
More practice: warm-up
1How many beats does a half note get?
2Say the strong beats: ONE-two-three, ONE-two-three. Which beat is strong?
3What is a dance in 3 called?
4How many beats in a bar of 3/4?
5How many beams do sixteenth notes have?
More practice: on your own
1Does this bar fit 3/4? ti-ti ti-ka-ti-ka ta-ah
No. ti-ti (1) + ti-ka-ti-ka (1) + ta-ah (2) = 4 beats, which is one too many for 3/4.
2Fill in the missing beat so the bar has 3 beats: ta-ah ___
One beat is needed: ta, ti-ti or ti-ka-ti-ka. (2 + 1 = 3)
3Explain why a dot after a half note makes it last 3 beats.
A dot adds half of the note's value. A half note is 2 beats, half of 2 is 1, so 2 + 1 = 3 beats.
4Write a rhythm for "Maple syrup" (MA-ple SYR-up) using ti-ti.
ti-ti ti-ti (ma-ple, syr-up): two beats with two sounds each.
5Would a lullaby more likely be presto or largo? Why?
Largo (very slow), because lullabies are meant to calm a baby to sleep.
Challenge
1Write a 4-bar rhythm in 3/4 that uses ta-ah-ah, ti-ka-ti-ka, ti-ti and ta at least once each. Check each bar.
Example: ta ta ta | ti-ka-ti-ka ti-ti ta | ta-ah ta | ta-ah-ah ||. Each bar must add up to 3 beats: (1+1+1), (1+1+1), (2+1), (3).
2A bar in 3/4 has one beat of ti-ka-ti-ka. How many sixteenth notes would fill the whole bar?
12. Each beat holds 4 sixteenths, and 3 beats × 4 = 12.
3Happy Birthday is in 3. Pat the beat and sing it. On which word does the first strong beat (ONE) fall?
On "birth": Hap-py BIRTH-day to YOU. "Hap-py" comes just before the first strong beat (a pickup). Look for the child stressing "birth" and "you".
Quiz
1. How many beats does a dotted half note get?
2. In the time signature 3/4, the top number tells us ___.
3. Which rhythm is four quick sounds on one beat?
6. A waltz has how many beats in each bar?
7. Which word fits ti-ka-ti-ka?
Big idea: Grade 3 duration concepts are three beats per bar (3/4 metre), the dotted half note, sixteenth-note patterns, and the tempo words presto (very fast) and largo (very slow). Students apply these when singing, playing and moving (C1.2), keep a steady beat as a musicianship skill (C1.4), and read and write standard notation (C1.5).
How to help at home:
- Pat a steady beat while your child says rhythms; always check that each bar "adds up".
- Waltz together around the kitchen to music in 3 (ONE-two-three).
- Clap names and foods with four quick syllables (wa-ter-mel-on, av-o-ca-do) as ti-ka-ti-ka.
Common difficulties:
- Cutting the dotted half note short. Keep patting the beat; hold the sound through all 3 pats.
- Rushing ti-ka-ti-ka. The four sounds must fit inside one beat, evenly, without slowing the beat down.
- Mixing up the numbers in 3/4. Only the top number is needed for Grade 3: beats in each bar.
Your child's teacher may use different rhythm syllables (such as "ta-a-a" or "tika-tika"); any consistent system is fine.