Grade 5 Music Theory, Unit 1, Lesson 5 of 7

Completing a bar

About 2 min to read, then 5 practice questions

Worked example: a bar of 3/4

3 needed, 2 there: a crotchet
  1. A bar of holds 3 crotchets.
  2. A dotted crotchet and a quaver make 2.
  3. 1 is missing: a crotchet is the note that completes a bar.

Count in crotchets even in compound time: holds 3, 4 and a half,  6.

Quick check

How many crotchets does a bar of hold?

Upbeats, recapped

A one-beat upbeat, a three-beat last bar

A melody may start with an upbeat, a short first bar. The last bar is short by the same amount: together they make one full bar.

Quick check

A tune in starts with a two-beat upbeat. How long, usually, is its last bar?

Remember

  • What the bar holds, minus what is there.
  • Upbeat plus last bar: one full bar.

Practise this: 5 questions, about 4 min

Answering from memory soon after reading is what makes it stick, so now is a good time.

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