The pulse, quarters and halves

Music moves over a steady pulse, like a clock. Each note value says how many beats a note lasts. A quarter note lasts one beat; a half note, two. The top number of the time signature says how many beats fit in a bar: in 4/4, four.

In the drill you hear one bar of count-in (1, 2, 3, 4), then you tap each note exactly where it starts, with the button or the space bar. A long note gets one tap, at its start. Count out loud if it helps.