The beat is the steady pulse of the music. It is what a foot taps. The rhythm is the pattern of long and short sounds that sits on top of the beat. The beat stays the same from bar to bar. The rhythm changes all the time.
A two-minute test
- Say a rhyme that your child knows. Pat your knees in a steady pulse while you say it. That is the beat.
- Say the rhyme again. This time, clap once for every syllable. That is the rhythm.
- Do both. Step the beat with your feet, and clap the rhythm with your hands.
The feet are even. The hands are not. Some claps are quick, some are slow, and some beats have no clap at all.
Side by side
| Beat | Rhythm | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | The steady pulse | The pattern of long and short sounds |
| Does it change? | It stays even | It changes with the tune |
| How to show it | Tap a foot, march, or pat the knees | Clap the words or the notes |
| On the page | The number of beats in each bar | The notes themselves |
| Who keeps it | The conductor shows it | The players play it |
Three more words
Tempo is the speed of the beat. A fast piece has beats that come close together. Read tempo words in music.
Meter is the way beats are grouped. In a march, the beats come in twos: strong, weak. In a waltz, they come in threes: strong, weak, weak. Read time signatures explained.
A rest is a beat, or part of a beat, with silence. The beat goes on through a rest. The rhythm waits.
Rhythm is made of note values
A note that lasts one beat is a quarter note. Two quick notes that share a beat are eighth notes. A note that lasts two beats is a half note. A rhythm is a row of these, in some order.
Rhythm words make the row easy to say. “Ta” is one beat. “Ti-ti” is two quick sounds on one beat. Read rhythm names explained for parents and note values explained.
Hear the difference in real music
Radetzky March, by Johann Strauss Sr. The audience claps the beat. The orchestra plays the rhythm.
Boléro, by Ravel. A snare drum plays one rhythm from the first bar to the last. Tap the beat under it, three slow taps in each bar. The drum’s rhythm has many more notes than the beat has taps.
“In the Hall of the Mountain King”, by Grieg. The rhythm of the tune never changes. The beat gets faster and faster. That is a change of tempo.
Why it matters at the instrument
A child who plays the right notes with an uneven beat is hard to follow. A child who holds the beat can make a slip and carry on. Teachers ask students to count out loud for this reason.
A metronome clicks the beat and nothing else. The student fits the rhythm to it. Read how to use a metronome with a child.
Things to do together
Feet and hands. March the beat and clap the rhythm of a song. Then swap: clap the beat and step the rhythm.
Beat or rhythm? Tap one or the other along with a recording. Your child says which one it was.
Switch. Everyone pats the beat. When the leader calls “switch,” everyone claps the rhythm. Call “switch” again to go back.
Find the beat. Play any piece, and walk to it. The feet find the beat before the mind does.
Keep the beat in a rest. Clap a rhythm with a silent beat in it. Nod on the silent beat so that it is not rushed.
Print and play
Print the rhythm cards and the note values chart. Try the metronome for kids and the rhythm match game. For more games, read rhythm games for kids and body percussion for kids.
More from this guide
This article is part of Music theory for parents: what your child is learning and how to help.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.