by Rob Roeder- copyright 1998
Music trivia question: What's the hardest thing about reading music? Most people who've spent time trying to read will have the same answer - getting the rhythm right. The notes are pretty straightforward, (at least if you’re not playing fretless...), middle line is D, top space is G, etc, but rhythmic notation sometimes seems very mystical and elusive. Actually, rhythmic notation does follow a relatively common sensical system, but you have to know how, it works, and practice interpreting it, in order to be able to use it.
Most of today's music is in 4/4 time. This means that beats are both felt and notated in groups of 4. (Music doesn't have to be in 4, and some isn't, but we'll limit our discussion to 4 for now). A 4 beat group is one measure or bar, (both words mean the same thing in this context), each of which is separated by a vertical barline. A four beat note lasts the whole measure, so it's called a whole note. A two beat note sustains for half the measure, (and also is half of the whole note's duration), so it's called a half note. If you've gotten this far, you'll probably understand why a single beat note is called a quarter note; it's one quarter of the measure, and also of the whole note's duration.
Although there's a little more to it than this, you can get started on just this information. (If you've never read before, you're probably better off practicing this much stuff before going, any further). What you should do is get some rhvthmicly simple music, and clap the rhythms. Use a metronome to keep track of the beat. The Evolving Bassist, by Rufus Reid, has a rhythm study section, as do several other books. An Englishman by the name of Dave Stewart has written an excellent reading book that I've seen under at least 2 titles. If you're creative, (or broke), write your own rhythms. Be sure that the total of all beats and rests in each measure is 4, (no more, and no less ... ), and then clap what you've written. You'll find that, in addition to making it easier to understand transcriptions in books and magazines, and as well as allowing you to understand charts that people may, write for you, understanding rhythmic notation gives you a sense of perspective that helps your bass playing, even if you're not reading at time.