In order for someone to play music, and not just the notes in a random way, they will need a kind of map to tell them which note to play, when to play it, and for how long. It is like a hiker on a trip. The hiker's map tells them where to go, how to get there, where to rest, and how long (or short) to stay if they want to get to the end of their journey on time. Reading a piece of music is a kind of hiker's map. And if more than one person is playing the same music with you, you will both need a map to tell you which note to play, where to rest, and how fast or slow to go so that you both end  your journey at the same time. This is what measures and beats do for you. They are the directions on a map to play music (a musical map).

These map directions are written on the "Staff." The staff is divided into very small parts of a journey. These parts are called "measures,"and the measures are divided into even smaller parts called "beats."

This is where the math of music begins. If you add all the beats together in 1 measure, they need to equal the size shown for that measure. Let's say that we have a measure size of 1. Let us also say that we have 4 beats divided equally within that measure.

What size do 4 equal beats need to be to equal 1 when they are all added together?

1/4 each.

If you add 4 quarters together you get 1.

1/8 each.

If you add 8 eighths together you get 1.

1/16 each.

If you add 16 sixteenths together you get 1.

1/2 each.

If you add 2 halves together you get 1.

1 each.

If you have 1 whole you have 1.