A struggling adult musician recently confessed to the author that he/she really doesn't understand rests and note values.  This can be frustrating for developing ensembles since the success of the group depends on EVERY player being dead-on rhythmically accurate.  Organizations that use printed music, such as a symphony orchestra, depend on each player knowing the language of the symbols that notate not only pitches and loudness levels, but also the various rhythms.  If these symbols seem the least bit vague or confusing to you, you may wish to do two things:  1. review the music theory segments from "THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS" which talk about DURATION.  This is the foundation.  2. Adopt as one of your personal music mottoes:  "TIMING IS EVERYTHING".  Playing out of time can quickly foul things up.  You also cannot "follow along" with someone else because you inevitably will always be a fraction of a second behind.

     

                                                               

Topic: Timing is Everything 1