I don't know how to play 16th notes. I tried

everything but I still have problems with it.

I really need help!

Try clapping out the rhythm and counting out loud before you even try it on the keyboard.

Go very slow. Glacially slow. Go as slow as you need to until you get the rhythm down, and then gradually speed up.

You can do it.

such couting has occured to me:

one a and two a three a and...

What do you thonk?

I think you're missing an "a" from each of your beats.

one a and a[/b] two a and a[/b] ...

This might help with four sixteenth notes. Tap your foot and say Alabama.

When the foot goes down, play Al-a
When the foot comes up, play bam-a

For a eighth and sixteenth, say Bugs Bunny
When the foot goes down, play Bugs
When the foot comes up, play Bun-ny

For a sixteenth and a eighth, say Carey Grant
When the foot goes down, play Car-ey
When the foot comes up, play Grant
Gomer Pyle would work on this one too.

Speaking of Gomer Pyle, I used his GOLLY to help me learn the bass clef. Kind of crazy, but it went like this.
Starting with the first space on the bottom, and going up, spell the word ACE. When you get to the last space, use Gomers Golly for the G note.

Now let the lines explain what you did with the spaces, but go down instead of up. Starting with the top line.
Ace
From
Down at the
Bottom
Golly ( The G is the Bottom Line and Top Space )

I know, a little weird, but it helped me.

blues flat 7

yes, thanks.

Really, all that it comes down to is simple math. Two eights to a quarter note, Two sixteenths to an eighth note. This equals four sixteenths to a quarter.

Tkanks. I will pracrise on it as long as I must.

I learned it in high school band as one-e-and-a, two-e-and-a, etc.

Should I change my couting, for example, when I see a quarter from "1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and" to "1 2 3 4"?


Or should I count all the time: "one-e-and-a, two-e-and-a" when there are sixteenth notes on a sheet?

erz,

Starting out, I would probably recommend counting one-e-and-a ... all the time.

It is easy to change your tempo when you switch from 1 2 3 4 to 1 and 2 and to 1 e and a.

Later on, when you know how the various 16th note patterns sound and feel, you may be able to count 1 2 3 4 and play each beat correctly. This will take quite some time and even then you will probably need to go back to counting each 16th. There are books available to help you count in impulses like this - two that I know of are "Play at First Sight" and "Sight Read Any Rhythm".

Rich

Thanks.

Why playing music must be so difficult...

I think that's part of what makes it so rewarding.

and there wouldn't be so much fun!