1. A Musical Rhythm story for YOU!
"Harvey the Whole Note and His Family!"
A Musical Rhythm
story for YOU!

2. Harvey the Whole Note was a very nice boy
Harvey the Whole Note was a very nice boy. The only thing that was weird about him was that he didn’t learn to walk and talk until he was in third grade (he was kind of slow when he walked). When he walked and talked he said “Ta-a-a-a.” Here is a picture of Harvey the Whole Note:

3. Harvey had a little sister. Her name was Henrietta the Half Note
Harvey had a little sister. Her name was Henrietta the Half Note. She looked a lot like Harvey, except that she LOVED to listen to the radio. That explained her “antenna” always sticking up. She didn’t walk or talk quite as slow as Harvey. When she talked and walked she said “Ta-a, Ta-a.” Here is a picture of Henrietta the Half Note.
Can you see her radio antenna?

4. Now, everyone knows somebody who has a little brother like this
Now, everyone knows somebody who has a little brother like this. Quincy the Quarter Note was their little brother and oh, man, was he into EVERYTHING! He always had a dirty face, he never cleaned his room, he was kind of disgusting, but he was the nicest little boy that you could ever meet. He loved to listen to the radio, too, and guess what radio station he always tuned to? The March Station! When he walked and talked he marched, and said “Ta! Ta! Ta! Ta!” Here is a picture of Quincy the Quarter Note.
(See his dirty face? That’s how their mom could tell it was Quincy!)

5. Now the music family had some little twin brothers – Ed and Ned the Eighth Notes! Of course they were into everything, had dirty faces like Quincy, they ran around so fast, and they were always holding hands, too! When they talked and jogged around, they said “Ti-Ti, Ti-Ti, Ti-Ti, Ti-Ti!” Here are the twins, Ed and Ned the Eighth Notes:
See how they are always holding hands? That’s called the “beam.”

6. One day Ed and Ned the twins started Kindergarten
One day Ed and Ned the twins started Kindergarten. Well, they were not in the same class and they cried and cried because they couldn’t hold each other’s hand! Their mom was very wise. She gave them each a flag to hold, and told them to remember that their brother was right down the hall when they held on to the flag. They both had a great day in Kindergarten! Here is an eighth note by himself (holding his flag!):
Can you see the flag?

7. Well, did you know that all of these notes had some BRAND NEW SISTERS
Well, did you know that all of these notes had some BRAND NEW SISTERS? They were just babies, they didn’t even have names yet, except they were called “sixteenth notes.” They ran around SO FAST, and they sounded like this: “Ti-bi, ti-bi, ti-bi, ti-bi!” Here are the sixteenth notes (they have to hold hands twice, they are running so fast!):
See the “double beam” that holds them together? That means it’s 16th notes!

8. Did you notice something about the names of the notes in Harvey’s family? All of the notes have FRACTION names! It’s because the length of the notes are like fractions. The “whole” note is the longest sound, the “half” note is half as long as the whole note, the quarter note is ¼ as long, the eighth note is 1/8 as long, and the sixteenth note is very tiny! See if this illustration will help you see it:
©Notationmachine.com

9. Two half notes make a whole note
Two half notes make a whole note. Four quarter notes equals one whole note. Eight eighth notes equals one whole note, and 16 sixteenth notes equals one whole note. In math it’s called “equivalent fractions.” In music we use those notes to make lots of rhythms!
©Notationmachine.com

10. Now we will play some games to help us understand note values and how they are like fractions!
Are you ready?
Let's Go!