Rhythm Counting Worksheet – Level 3
Write the counts under each note, using "1 trip let" or "1 & a" for triplets and "1 & a 2 & a" for 6/8. Several lines feature syncopation: accents on off-beats with ties across the beat. Clap or play each line with a metronome and check against the answer key.
Answer key
Show the answers
- Bar 1 (4/4): 1 & & 4 e a
- Bar 2 (6/8): 1 · & · · ·
- Bar 3 (4/4): 1 e a 2 & 4 & a
- Bar 4 (6/8): 1 & · a ·
- Bar 5 (4/4): 1 & a 2 & a 3 e a 4 trip let
- Bar 6 (6/8): 1 · · · ·
- Bar 7 (4/4): 1 & & 4 a
- Bar 8 (6/8): 1 & · a ·
Goal
Read and perform the rhythms that make music groove: syncopation, triplets and compound meters.
How to practise
- Syncopation places notes on the "&" and holds them over the beat. Count the full subdivision aloud and clap only the written notes.
- Triplets fit three equal notes into the space of two. Count "1-trip-let, 2-trip-let".
- 6/8 has two main beats per bar, each divided into three eighth notes. Count "1 & a 2 & a" and feel two pulses, not six.
- Use the metronome at 50–60 BPM with the matching subdivision (triplets for triplet lines, eighths for syncopation).
- Practise each line until it is clean four times in a row, then raise the tempo by 5 BPM.
Self-check
Compare with the answer key. Record yourself and listen back: syncopated notes should feel deliberately early, not accidentally rushed.
Next steps
Read time signatures and practice method. Apply these rhythms to your instrument with bass walking ii–V–I or pentatonic sequences in triplets.