Estimated reading time 2 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Do you have a hard time accurately performing rests? (Or are you a music instructor whose students struggle with feeling the rhythm?) You’re not alone! Many musicians struggle with reading rhythm. Read more to learn about color coded quarter rest clapping.
This post represents our third installment in our online rhythm clapping exercises. The sing-along soundtrack will help you to learn how to clap the rhythms.
For other rhythm posts see:
- Color Coded Quarter Note Clapping
- Color Coded Eighth Note Clapping
- How to Color Code Rhythm to Empower LD & Special Needs Students
- Lego Rhythm Manipulatives
This post uses music terms. See the definitions in the Glossary below.
Video: How Effective is the Color Coded Rhythm?
How Does Color Coded Quarter Rest Clapping Work?
Today we’ll be working at the quarter note level of rhythm, using color coded quarter rests while clapping.
- How long a note gets held for depends on the note’s shape.
- Usually, music teachers will have students clap the rhythm while counting the numbers that have been written into the score.
- However, many people find this confusing.
I’ve color coded the counting numbers to make it easier for you to know when to clap:
- Red = clap
- Brown = rest = opposite clap
The Rhythmic Exercises for Color Coded Quarter Rest Clapping
For best results, mobile users should tip their phones 90o to the right to read the sheet music examples.
Rhythms for Color Coded Quarter Rest Clapping:
Count the numbers above the staff in sequence, going from left to right.
- Clap at the red numbers, and opposite clap at the brown numbers.
- The opposite clap is just what it sounds like.
- You make a clapping motion, but in the opposite direction so that the hands move apart instead of together.
- That way you can feel the beat, but you don’t make any sound, which makes sense, because a rest tells you to be silent.
After you’ve tried clapping the color coded quarter rests, you can listen to the soundtrack to see if you did it right.
When you clap, notice how many counts each note or rest gets:
- Quarter note: a black notehead and a stem = 1 count
- Quarter rest: a lightning bolt shape = 1 count (1 silent opposite clap)
- Half rest: shaped like a right side up hat = 2 counts (2 silent opposite claps)
- Whole rest: shaped like an upside-down hat = 4 counts (4 silent opposite claps)
Once you can confidently clap the example, try the quiz.
Color Coded Quarter Note Clapping: Quiz
Concluding Thoughts on Color Coded Quarter Rest Clapping
This approach works for just about any musician, but especially so for ASD, LD, ADD, and other special needs students. That is because the color coded quarter rest clapping strategy creates a multisensory teaching aid that greatly speeds up learning the rhythm.
© 2022 Geoffrey Keith
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Glossary
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