Every pattern is built on a steady pulse — the beat. At 100 BPM, that's 100 beats a minute, nice and even. Before worrying about note values, just tap your foot or nod your head to the pulse dot in the HUD until it feels automatic.

One note per beat. Count the beat numbers straight through — each number IS a note.

Two notes per beat. Say "and" (written "&") for the gap exactly halfway between beats.

Four notes per beat, using the classic "1 e & a" syllables. Each beat splits into four evenly spaced hits.

A dot adds half the note's value again, so a dotted quarter lasts a beat and a half. It lands ON a number, then skips the very next "&" — you'll feel it as a little lean, often followed by a single eighth note to fill out the rest of the beat.

Long, sustained notes. A half note holds through two beat-numbers before the next hit; a whole note holds through all four. The hard part isn't hitting them — it's not jumping early. Keep counting silently underneath so you don't lose the pulse.

A time signature is two stacked numbers. The top number is how many beats are in each measure. The bottom number is which note value counts as "one beat" (4 = quarter note, 8 = eighth note).