Eighths, sixteenths and counting methods – free music theory course

When the beat is divided, you need a reliable way to count. Here are the three most common systems — pick the one that suits you.

Rhythm within one beat	Number counting	Syllables (Kodály method)
quarter	1	ta
2 eighths	1 &	ti-ti
4 sixteenths	1 e & a	ti-ka-ti-ka
eighth + 2 sixteenths	1 & a	ti ti-ka
2 sixteenths + eighth	1 e &	ti-ka ti
dotted eighth + sixteenth	1 (e &) a	tim-ka

Number counting ("1 and 2 and…", "1 e and a") always tells you where you are in the bar: the most useful for sight-reading. Syllables like "ta, ti-ti" describe the rhythm itself: ideal for memorising and singing a pattern.

M:4/4
L:1/8
Q:1/4=70
K:C
B2 BB B2 BB | BBBB B4 | B/B/B/B/ B/B/B/B/ B2 B2 | B3/2B/ B3/2B/ B4 |]
w: 1 2 and 3 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 1 e and a 2 e and a 3 4 1 a 2 a 3

Beaming

Consecutive eighth notes don't each carry a flag: they are joined by a beam (a thick line). One beam = eighths, two beams = sixteenths. The golden rule: beams show the beats. Notes are grouped beat by beat (in 4/4 you may also group by half bar, 1-2 and 3-4, but never across the middle of the bar).

Compare: the same six eighths, grouped in twos in 3/4 (three beats) and in threes in 6/8 (two beats) — the eye immediately reads a different pulse.

M:3/4
L:1/8
K:C
BB BB BB | BB BB BB |]

M:6/8
L:1/8
K:C
BBB BBB | BBB BBB |]

Sight-reading method: before playing, mark (mentally or in pencil) a small tick above the start of each beat. Then count aloud using the smallest subdivision present ("1 e & a" if there are sixteenths), slowly, without ever stopping.

Common mistake: squashing the sixteenths and lengthening the dotted eighth at random. Dotted eighth + sixteenth is a precise 3:1 ratio — not 2:1 (that would be a triplet feel, see the swing lesson).