Part I: Rhythm Play-Along. Invite family and friends to join in.
1. Answer this:
Assuming that you were 80% successful learning the most basic rhythm patterns, how many times did it take you to reach that goal, and was the video helpful?
2. Next, do this: Speak out loud and tap the rhythm by tapping the foot motion down up for each word. to the following months: June, June, June, June or May, May, May, May; It’s the same as saying the syllable “Ta” The rhythm and the beat are now one and the same or quarter note rhythms or “Ta”
Now syllabify the month of April, April, or August, august with these two syllables we produced two 8th notes to one heartbeat. The foot tap would be down-up.
Next, syllabify and clap the word January, to one heartbeat and February to one heartbeat over several beats. Now there are four rhythms to one beat. This would be considered four-16th notes to one heartbeat. If the heartbeat is in a very fast tempo, the 16th notes are super-fast if the heartbeat is much slower the rhythms are slower to fit within the heartbeat or foot-tap.
Now the month of September: Notice that it does not start on the beat, Sep of September is before the downbeat; temb-er, temb is on the downbeat. These months work the same way: October has the same rhythm as do November and December.
3. Answer this: Were you somewhat successful with syllables as rhythm? If not, do it again! Rhythm is muscle memory.
Part II
Be prepared for some fun hands-on sections. You may wish to invite a family member or friend to join in the hands-on projects.
Agbekor Bell Videos: featuring a youtube video demonstration. This graph demonstrates, through color patterns, just how the rhythms work.
The African Agbekor Bell and polyrhythm (several different rhythms being played at the same time) graph is easy to follow and for some, it may appeal to your learning style.
The Bell Graph Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irR4qlFMuyA
Watch, follow and clap along with the rhythmic color graph. This Agbekor graph is accurate and provides a wonderful example of polyrhythms. Your eyes will guide your ears.
When all rhythms play at once, they create a polyrhythm. Our author suggests that western music including classical music doesn’t have polyrhythm that’s utter nonsense, or maybe it doesn’t fit his narrative. Our same author suggests that Western Music and especially “classical music’ does not use improvisation. That too is an absurd statement. Don’t always believe what you read even in textbooks. It may be biased and not accurately presented.
Your turn to be involved: Open the video link from above. clap the initial repeated bell sound while watching the graph. The pattern is “Long-short-long-long-long short long constantly repeated as an ostinato pattern. Ostinato is a repeated rhythmic and note pattern just the same as the bell-rhythm pattern. Next, keep clapping the bell rhythm as other rhythms are introduced, or you may wish to clap the other rhythms as they are introduced.
1. Answer this 2-part question:
How far into the Bell Graph video clapping various rhythmic patterns did it take you to achieve some success clapping correctly? Did you find the initial bell-beat pattern to be the easiest to clap, why why not? as other patterns entered?
2. Answer This: Did following and participating with this graph provide a better understanding of polyrhythms? Explain.
Part III: Your Turn again:
1. Your turn to experiment and create with simple patterns: Time for you to make rhythm and pitches:
Set up at least 4 wine glasses or other types of drinking glasses that make a clear sound when tapping on them. Begin filling them with water at different levels while tapping them with a pencil or pen.
Be sure each glass creates a different pitch in sound. If you do not have 4 drinking glasses, use other objects that can produce pitch or various sounds such as pots, etc.
Randomly choose and play one glass followed by another creating melodic intervals, then two at once to create harmonic intervals.
Answer this: What did you learn from this experiment about creating both melodic and harmonic intervals?
2. Next is an exercise on creating Meters, not rhythm, just meter, and measure.
To play the glasses we will use L to indicate the left hand and R to indicate the right hand.
With a steady medium tempo (speed) tap any glass or hard surface using just one hand. Next, tap a much slower tempo keeping it steady as a heartbeat;
Last but not least, tap a much faster yet steady tempo:
Answer this: Which was easiest and which was most difficult to maintain a steady beat?
3. Next, create a meter: metric heart-beat of 2 beats first. Be sure that beat #1 also known as the strong or “down” beat is always a little stronger in all metric patterns. While playing, count the two-beat patterns out loud as a steady one-two or left-right, over and over. L-R-L-R-L-R-L-R-
Next try 3- metric heartbeats: Count and play 1-2-3 or left-right-right or L-R-R- L-R-R over and over. Be sure that beat one is always a little louder. Always count the beats out loud. If it’s a 2-beat meter, count a stead one, two when tapping.
Next, an asymmetric or 5-beat meter pattern: Alternate between a three and 2 beat pattern. Begin with left-right-right- left-right: Play the following meter pattern
L- R-R-L-R-L-R-R-L-R
Now a 7-beat patter: L- R-R-L-R-L-R L- R-R-L-R-L-R
1. Answer this:
What did you discover when trying to keep a steady beat and playing just the meter pattern?
We did not include any rhythm patterns within these metric patterns, just the beat, and meter.
2. Answer this:
What did you learn so far from all of the exercises above? Be specific!
3. Was the 7-beat meter pattern easy for you to achieve or a little complex? explain.
Part IV: The Ostinato pattern:
Play an ostinato rhythm and note pattern. Ostinato is when one part plays the same exact rhythm on the same exact pitches over and over. A great example is this piece by Chopin, pronounced, (Show-pan). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_iI1J0bALE Watch and listen from timestamp 3:17 to 4L25 as the left hand plays the ostinato while the right-hand part plays the actual music. (As a side note, the Nazis outlawed the playing of Chopin’s music in Poland.) This was another example of cancel culture rampant in history.
1. Answer this: Watching the two hands playing completely opposite music parts, can you understand and explain why music performance on an instrument or even voice is a total physical acrobatic sport in addition to art?
Now for your ostinato: Choose the order in which you will play an ostinato pattern on the glassware then repeat the exact rhythms and pitches in exact order over and over.
Suggest a 3 or 4-beat ostinato pattern. You may wish to use a friend or family member to play the ostinato as you improvise rhythms against it on another glass.
2. Answer this: How many times did it take to succeed playing an ostinato and what did you learn about repeating an exact rhythm on the same exact glasses? Be specific!
3. Word syllables: Lastly, find any words, lyrics, etc. from any source such as a poem, comic strip, or favorite source. Read the sentence out loud. You may wish to make up your own words.
Find the syllabic (syllable) rhythms within the words, and speak them over a steady heartbeat tapped on the glasses or on a flat surface.
Answer this: What was difficult and what wasn’t so difficult?
You may be on your way to becoming an amateur “rapper”.
2. Answer this: Write a conclusion: What did you learn about beat vs. rhythm and your ability to perform these hands-on exercises?
Music Texture:
1. Watch this short video on music textures: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=teh22szdnRQ
Next, Look at Mindtap Chapter 1-4c harmony and texture. Answer this: What was most useful from this texture video and how did it help strengthen information from Mindtap Chapter 1-4 “harmony and texture?
2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNjroFNi7mA Debussy’s monophonic texture for Syrinx: Watch at least a minute of this.
Answer this: Why is this piece a good example of monophonic texture?
Most pop music is homophonic with a lead voice singing ONE melody accompanied by backup instruments or vocals or both.
Next is the Polyphonic texture: Bach Little Fugue in G minor with a graph: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddbxFi3-UO4&t=72s The Bach Fugue is a polyphonic work of two or more melodies working together but separately. You witnessed polyrhythms from the Agbekor rhythm graph at the top of the page. Now watch and listen to a JS Bach Fugue.
It is a polyphonic work where all melodies are independently traveling at the same time also creating polyrhythms. Follow the timestamps below:
The first section is labeled as an exposition where the melody enters four times at different intervals of time:
Watch the breakdown of an exposition as related to the color graph of the Bach fugue.
Subject/theme heard for the first time, the color is green: timestamp 0:00 to 0:20
The same subject/theme is heard from 0:20-0:40 in orange, but in a different and lower (not softer) key (scale). As it plays, the first (green theme) now plays a “countersubject” against it. So far, the visual is quite easy.
Next, at 0:40 the subject enters a third time in pink and again in a different key (scale). The countersubject is in orange. At 0:47 Bach brings in the green to join the fun.
Finally, and in purple, the lowest (not softest) part inters with the subject. The countersubject is pink and the counterpoint is green. After this beginning at timestamp 1:09, the first episode (developing the previous ideas) begins. Once in a while, Bach brings back the subject that even most people can pick up, such as at 1:19 in pink. There are places when the theme slows down by Bach using longer note values while the rest of the color (voices) moves at the previous speeds.
The same subject/theme is heard from 0:20-0:40 in orange but in a different and lower-key (scale). As it (orange) plays, the first theme (subject) the green theme is now the “countersubject” against it. So far, the visual is quite easy to follow. We now have two separate melodies.
3. Answer this two-part question: (watching and listening to this short section of Bach’s “Little Fugue” at what point did your “critical listening” become stronger and able to identify the subject, main melody, as it traveled and broke off into several independent parts? Describe your biggest challenge as you listened. If you listened only once then it was a minimal effort not worthy of your answer.
4. For the eyes and ears: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PhRa3REdozw A live organist plays this same Bach fugue that we just watched on the color graph: Focus especially on the subject/theme as played by the two feet at timestamp 0:54. Imagine hands and feet playing a keyboard with all parts being independent. Keep in mind that this is a written work, not improvised. Also, keep in mind that Bach is not the organist in this video as he has been dead for several centuries.
Answer this: What must a composer, (one that writes the music) keep in mind as to the physical limitations of a performer when writing such a work? There are no wrong answers, but the effort is important. PS very few composers write a successful fugue. Most never bother because they can’t. . To compose such a fugue for an organ may take a skilled composer at least 50 to 100 hours to write.
American composer Samuel Barber’s fugue from his piano sonata is quite a challenge for any pianist. Timestamp 0:00 to 0:08 is the subject played by the right hand. At 0:09 to 0:15-0:22, the subject appears in the left hand as the right hand continues with the countersubject.
3. Answer this: Which hand played the subject from 0:23-0:30? What is the other hand doing with the countersubject?
4. At timestamp 0:39 – 0:45 which part is the left hand playing?
5. At timestamp 1:30 the left hand is clearly playing the first part of the subject, but how is it different from the previous subject entrances?
6. At timestamp 4:17 to 4:22 is a perfect example of ostinato in the left hand but what is the right hand playing from4:29 to 4:34 and is it the same rhythm values as 0:09-0:15?
7. If you knew or listened carefully to this fugue from Barber’s sonata you would come to realize that Barber uses only the subject and countersubject from beginning to the end. However, he employs rhythmic and structural variations of the two themes from beginning to end. That is the mark of true genius. These two themes are part of every beat and rhythm, go back and listen at least one more time and concentrate on how the subject sounds then listen to see if you can catch any of it that I did not timestamp. Answer this: If you truly listened to the entire fugue, where might you have found the subject other than where the timestamps were provided? Provide your own timestamps for two such places for the subject.
