Eighth Notes

Lesson 11
Author : Chris Colby van Scyoc
Last Updated : April, 2024

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LEARN

EIGHTH NOTES
Written Materials for This Lesson

We did a lot of work with chords. Great job! Now, let's give our fretting hand a bit of a rest and move back to our strumming hand. We know whole, half, and quarter notes. Now, allow me to introduce Eighth Notes. In four-four time: Whole note gets 4 beats. Half note gets 2 beats because a half note takes up half the bar. Quarter note gets one beat because a quarter note takes up one quarter in the bar. My first guitar teacher explained, "There are four quarters (25 cent pieces) in a dollar." In fractions in math and in cooking it looks like 1/4. Cut a quarter note in half, and we get an eighth note. And guess what..?!?!? There are eight eighth notes in a measure. One eighth. If all of these words are confusing, just watch the videos, play along, and it will likely make more sense than it ever could reading about it.....ha. It's a funny old world.