If you don’t play an instrument or haven’t had music lessons before, it can be a bit confusing to understand the difference between the rhythm and the beat in music. The beat is the steady pulse that you feel in the tune, like a clock’s tick. It’s what you would clap along to, or what you feel you want to tap your foot to. The rhythm is the actual sound of the notes, which in a song would be the same as the words.
How to Teach the Difference Between the Rhythm & Beat
Teaching the difference between the rhythm and the beat to kids through familiar songs and nursery rhymes is a good way to start. You can print off these free printables which make a fun clapping or rhythm game for Incy Wincy Spider, Hickory Dickory Dock and Pitter Patter Pitter Patter.
[ Since publishing this post we’ve had a few queries; just to clarify theses printables are intended as a teaching aid to help teach the difference between the rhythm and the beat and the relationship between the two. They are aimed at preschool children and while they are very useful to use together in a class for clapping , tapping, movement and rhythm games, they are not intended as worksheets to teach notation but rather preparation for this . Over the many years that I have taught this lesson, I have found it by far the most successful way to let the kids actually feel it physically rather than just teach it to them on paper.]
Using Nursery Rhymes to Teach the Difference Between the Rhythm & Beat
Hickory Dickory Dock is a good one to begin with because the beat is the steady tick tock of the clock which you feel throughout. The rhythm is the same as the words with a sound for each syllable. If you want to practice finding both the rhythm and the beat of a song or rhyme one person should sing or say the words while clapping along to match the sound, and another should beat or tap a tambourine to make the sound of the steady beat at the same time. Once you’ve got the hang of it you can swap and make sure take turns to practice both.
You can follow this same pattern for both Incy Wincy Spider and Pitter Patter Pitter Patter. In Incy Wincy, the “Tip-Toe” of the spider represents the beat, while the stars represent the rhythm. In a similar way, in Pitter Patter, the rain drops represent the beat and the stars the rhythm. You can apply this technique to pretty much any nursery rhyme or children’s song, encouraging the kids to either clap the beat/rhythm or tap it with an instrument.
We would love you to come and share your ideas for teaching preschoolers the difference between the rhythm and the beat with our readers over on our Facebook page!
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HUANGYAN says
August 25, 2017 at 4:44 amhi，it is good to meet you and your lesson,i bought the frist
one lesson summer ,but i cant get the video,because I am in china.what a pity!I need the video,so could you please to send me the video in my email:[email protected]
and I will appreciate it so much.and will buy more in the future。thanks a lot.
Sara Mullett says
August 25, 2017 at 10:11 amHi Yan, Thanks for buying my lesson plans all the way from China! I’ve sent you an email to answer your questions in full. Sara
Tong wan xin says
November 17, 2015 at 9:12 pmHi, I like the sample you given and I going to try another song by using “you are my sunshine” to teach my students which I’m the teacher don’t have any music background .
How and what about the rhythm and beat the song of ” you are my sunshine” ?
Sara Mullett says
November 17, 2015 at 11:00 pmHi there 🙂 That sounds like a great idea! I’m sure the kids will love the lesson – if you’d like some more tips, check out my lesson plans for lots more ideas – http://www.letsplaykidsmusic.com/weekly-lesson-plans/
Terry says
October 15, 2016 at 10:40 pmI’m a 63 old Tring play recorder my education limited I was working at 12 so don’t ask me ino the notes and beats but I lost after that happy days I do try
Jonas Māori says
July 21, 2015 at 10:50 pmI am a teacher who delivers in the Māori language here in New Zealand. I would like to thank you for your resource as this has helped alot to provide our kids a full understanding of the differences from Beat and Rhythm.
Cheers
Jonas
Sara Mullett says
July 21, 2015 at 11:52 pmThanks, that’s great to hear Jonas – I’m so happy you’re finding our site helpful!
Kim Yarborough says
May 1, 2015 at 2:01 pmI’m a dance teacher, but I’ve found your resources to be excellent tools for teaching the very confusing concepts of rhythm & beat to dancers of all ages! Thanks so much for sharing!
Sara Mullett says
May 1, 2015 at 3:01 pmThanks Kim you’re welcome – Small children will always learn most effectively through movement – so you’re doing a good job too!
P S says
March 28, 2015 at 7:34 pmKids? I’m 60 something, trying to learn the hamonica and I am confused.
Beat Pad Music says
January 31, 2015 at 12:03 pmGreat post!
Thanks for sharing this. I like with the images that a simple lesson how to know rhythm and beat.
Sara Mullett says
February 1, 2015 at 12:22 amThanks, I’m so glad you found this post useful.
P S says
March 28, 2015 at 7:35 pmharmonica
P S says
March 28, 2015 at 7:37 pmOops. Clicked incorrect Reply option. See what a challenge this will be.
Sara Mullett says
March 28, 2015 at 8:03 pmIt’s never too late to learn! (and very good for you too! 🙂
Anastasia @Montessori Nature says
May 16, 2014 at 1:37 amThank you so much for sharing these at Kids Learning Printables! What a wonderful resource!
Christina Hairston says
April 24, 2014 at 1:57 pmYour worksheets are so cute and this is something even my 1st graders struggle with. I teach K-5 music and the only comment or concern I have with these printables is that the beats are not evenly spaced. I have found it is very important to have each beat be equally spaced to help them understand the concept that each beat gets the same amount of time.
Sara Mullett says
May 5, 2014 at 10:10 amHi Christina,
Thank you 🙂 This particular printable is intended more for the teacher really. Generally I would do this lesson with 3-4 year olds (i’m not sure what age K-5 are?) and find that they respond much better to a more movement based/interactive lesson than sitting down with worksheets. The printables here are more to illustrate to the teacher/reader rather than to the child. Having said that, I would definitely agree that if you were doing this activity with children of reading age that would be important – tricky when the words are of different lengths, but I will look in to it, thank you very much for your comment, and good luck with your class!
Rebecca says
October 2, 2014 at 3:32 pmK-5, is short for Kindergarten through 5th grades, which are grades in elementary school in the US (or primary school). So around ages 5 to 11.
Sara Mullett says
October 4, 2014 at 9:09 amThanks for that Rebecca – that is handy to know.
Amy @ No Greater Honors says
April 7, 2014 at 2:20 pmThese are really neat! I have a few of my children that take piano lessons, and they work on some music theory along with it, and this would be a great addition to work on during the day – I have never even thought about the difference!
Sara_LetsPlayMusic says
April 8, 2014 at 10:05 amThat’s great Amy, I hope the kids have lots of fun with them!
Rebecca English says
June 1, 2013 at 9:53 amGreat activity!
Just letting you know I’ve featured these on The Sunday Showcase this week: http://www.herecomethegirlsblog.com/2013/06/01/the-sunday-showcase-summer-school.html
Sara_LetsPlayMusic says
June 1, 2013 at 3:47 pmThanks Rebecca, much appreciated! it was a great line-up on the Sunday showcase this week, thanks for including us!