Last week you created your own pulse of 8 beats, but added in a new note length which lasted for 2 beats! Today we will look at adding one new beat, and then finish by creating one new final pattern with a phrase to speak along with it!

To start with, I’d like you to just clap the pattern below:

1                          2                  3                       4                    5                  6                7              8

Clap                   Clap                 C        L       A     P               Clap          Clap           C       L     A   P

You will see it is the same phrase repeated, two claps followed by one clap which lasts for 2 beats.  Just practice this a couple of times.

Now we are going to add in what is called a REST. The rest means that no sound should be played on that beat. That beat is effectively SILENCE. So if you see the word rest under a beat, it is very important to make sure you do not make a sound on that beat! I will put an example below for you to have a go at:

1                2               3               4                 5               6               7               8

Clap       REST         Clap         Clap             Clap        REST          C      L    A     P

So with the above pattern, there are 2 rests on beats 2&6, so be careful to make sure you do NOT clap on those beats! Then the final clap lasts for TWO beats on beats 7&8. As usual, keep practicing this pattern until you feel confident and comfortable performing it at a steady speed.

OK! I’m sure you have guessed what to do next! Create your own 8 beat pattern! You can use whatever sounds you like (Clapping hands, Clicking fingers, Stamping  feet or Tapping Knees), however, you will need to include at least one rest, and one two beat sound!

Good work! Now to finish, we are going to make a longer 16 beat pattern! To do this you will take your 8 beat pattern you have just created, and repeat it to make 16 beats! It is important there is no gap between the repetition! It has to flow nicely so will need some practice! I will show my example below taking my 8 beat pattern and repeating it! To save room ‘C’ means clap and ‘R’ means rest!

1        2      3      4        5         6        7        8       9     10       11      12        13      14       15        16

C       R      C     C       C         R       C  L  A  P     C     R        C        C         C        R         C  L  A P

Take your time when looking at my example. When the word ‘CLAP’ is written out in full, that means the clap lasts 2 beats. If you would like to practice the example above first, then do, I have only used claps for my sounds as this makes it easier! Have a go at repeating your pattern so it is 16 beats long though and give that a go! If you seem to struggle, then break it down! Start with the first 4 beats, then 8 beats, then repeat the first 4 to make 12 beats, and finally try all 16 beats! It won’t happen first time, but that’s why practice is so important in music!