Quavers / Quarter Notes - Introduction and Exercises
With
James RaeJames Rae introduces quavers (eighth notes) - what they look like, how they're beamed in twos and fours, and exercises to play them on saxophone.
Copyright © 2023 Universal Edition (London) Ltd., All compositions by James Rae except where otherwise indicated.
What's in the course
26 lessons (0h 38m) · 1 free
Lesson transcript
Introduction to Quavers
Now we come to quavers. Quavers are half crotchet beats, and they are written with a little tail which is attached to the stem, or what we call a beam.
When grouped together in twos or fours, there's a solid black line that goes across at the top of the stems, joining them together.
Characteristics of Quavers
- Faster than Crotchets: Quavers, because they are shorter than crotchets, are actually faster.
- Notation: If crotchets are represented as T, quavers are T, T, T, T, T, T, T, T (or eighth notes, as they're called in the States).
- Value: They're worth half a crotchet, exactly half a crotchet.
Essential Practices
When you play quavers, it's essential to have a solid pulse so you know exactly how to divide up your time. This pulse is the ruler with which you measure your note lengths.
Exercises
Exercise 1: Crotchets and Quavers
This exercise is fairly straightforward.
Quaver Rests
As well as quaver notes, we have quaver rests, which are rests for half a beat.
- Example:
- Play rest, play rest, play rest, play rest.
- Dun dun, dun dun, da da.
- These are very short quaver rests, but they are still rests.
- Da da da da.
Quaver rests are written like a little seven with a blob on the end.
Exercise 2: Practicing Rests
This exercise incorporates the rest notation.
Exercise 3: Relative Lengths
Exercise three focuses on crotchets and quavers, showing their relative lengths.
Exercise 4: Quavers First
Exercise four does the same but with the quavers coming first.
Exercise 5: Three Four Time Signature
Exercise five is in 3/4, which is slightly harder because 3/4 is a more tricky time signature to negotiate.
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
James Rae was born on Tyneside in 1957. He studied clarinet, bass clarinet, piano and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1975 to 1979, under professors Yona Ettlinger, Stephen Trier, Meriel Jefferson and Patric Standford respectively. Since leaving the Guildhall, he has pursued a highly successful and varied career across three areas: performing, writing and teaching.
James Rae has worked in many West End and Royal National Theatre productions, including Sir Peter Hall's award-winning Oresteia with music by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, and has received many freelance engagements with some of the country's leading orchestras and ensembles. He is the leader of the Phoenix Saxophone Quartet, who over the years have given many recitals and BBC broadcasts, and have recorded the complete works of Carey Blyton on two albums, 'The Return of Bulgy Gogo' and 'Sherlock Holmes meets Dr Who'.
As a composer, James Rae is one of Europe's most published writers of educational wind music, with over 250 publications to his credit, mainly published by Universal Edition. His music includes instrumental study books, sonatas, tutors, baroque, classical and jazz transcriptions, plus many volumes of duets, many of which feature on all the major wind examination syllabuses worldwide. He has also written four musicals for schools with Mike Cornick, and his larger commissions include The Turn of a Wheel, a major work for concert band that premiered in November 1999 for the North Tyneside Concert Band, of which he was a founder member as a boy, and the overture Moving On in 2012.
James Rae has worked extensively as a syllabus consultant and composer for both the Associated Board and Trinity College London, and has been highly involved in developing the woodwind sight-reading requirements for both exam boards. As a teacher, he has held many posts in both the state and independent sectors, and currently works at King's College School Wimbledon, where he directs the Wind Orchestra and Concert Band, and Shrewsbury House School in Surbiton, where he coaches three large bands and a chamber group. That teaching experience runs right through his saxophone series for MusicGurus, which takes you step by step from your very first notes to a confident, stylish player: First Notes, New Keys & Low Notes, Expanding Your Range, Scales & High Notes, Extended Range & Rhythm, and Polish & Style.
