Who Can Benefit from the Beat Bar Method


All music students and musicians need a strong foundation in rhythmic expression whether their interests lie in vocal (solo, choral, madrigal), instrumental (solo, band, orchestra, or ensemble), keyboard (piano, organ, keyboard, synthesizer), or composition. The Beat Bar Method can be a useful tool in all of these venues and can be applied through individual study, private lessons, home schooling, or in a classroom setting.

Beginning Music Students

The Beat Bar Method provides a great starting place for teaching rhythms to all beginning music students. It provides an explanation of time and shows how time relates to musical beats. Beginning students first learn by listening and copying. From there they can progress to “drawing” beats by using beat bars. This is their first lesson in writing their own music. In time they will progress to using notes and rests.

Intermediate Music Students

The Beat Bar Method provides an excellent remedial tool for intermediate music students who may already have an understanding of musical time and a basic understanding of notes, rests, and other musical notation. Often these students are still confused about the relationship of notes and rest to the underlying beat of the music. This is especially true when varying notes are used to represent a beat. The Beat Bar Method will help to clarify this “note-beat” relationship in their minds and provide practical exercises that will allow them to gain confidence in reading and writing rhythms using notes and rests.

Advanced Music Students and Seasoned Musicians

Advanced music students and seasoned musicians are beyond the need for an intermediate learning tool for understanding rhythms. Even so, the Beat Bar Method can be a valuable tool in helping experienced musicians decipher complicated rhythmic patterns.

Users of Music Authoring and Sequencing Software

The Beat Bar Method can provide an introduction and a sound foundation to the linear approach of musical expression that is more fully employed in the sequencing and mixing functions of numerous studio software programs. As studio programs become easier to use, and thus more popular, larger numbers of musicians will realize the benefit of having developed linear musical concepts at the beginning of their instruction through the use of the Beat Bar Method.