rhythm
High Five and Swing Rhythm Notation
I have a question from Jazz Clues. For clue 4 with High Five the rhythms are written in 4 counts, but the song is 12/8 time. The best way to reconcile this is obviously divide groups of 3 eighth notes into 4 sets and it…
Shortening Rhythmic Phrases
I find that my students who don’t like to sing often shorten the ends of phrases in Dreams, Dog, Sleeping, Fur Elise, etc. so they have to work at unlearning, then learning the correct rhythm by singing with me, reviewing the audio, playing with the…
Reading Rhythm and Previous Knowledge
If a student already knows the names of the rhythm ingredients (whole through sixteenths) can we use those or should we actively use the informal terminology anyway before the note naming process? This comes up from time to time with students with prior experience! Personally,…
Family Tree Variation Rhythm
I am finding the variation on Family Tree a challenge, even after leaving it for a time and coming back to it. Can someone give me some tips please? (Or should I just leave that one out?) It is challenging, indeed, in a very similar…
Writing Spoken Rhythm
Hi I’ve got a question about students who find it difficult to clap words taking note of where the syllables fall. It came up from assigning a footy chant to a sport lover (e.g. ‘ see the bombers fly up” – from Aussie Rules footy).…
Complex Rhythms
Help me with teaching more complex rhythm. I’ve listened to the Reading Rhythm program multiple times but I feel like I’m missing something. With The Mirron, for example, there’s a lot of rhythm going on. The way I am used to figuring it out is…
Hand Drums for Reading Rhythm
Here’s another getting ready for Reading Rhythm question: Has anyone used hand drums, rhythm sticks, etc. in shared lessons when working on RR? Do you find them helpful and fun, or distracting? Where do you find a good value on quality rhythm instruments? What else…
Halloween Piano Fun
I just wanted to share how much fun my students are having with the classic “In the Hall of the Mountain King” song. I had forgotten how much repetition it involves until I found it in my Halloween music folder and could instantly see the…
Compound Time
Advanced Teachers: Talk to me about how to approach teaching compound time is this in relation to any particular piece? For example Greensleeves is in 6/8 and High Five is in 12/8. I would keep the explanation simple to students, but it’s basically dividing the…
Triplets
Just wondering when do triplets get introduced in the curriculum? For some reason I did not see them in RR. Are they mentioned later in context of a specific song? I believe the first time they appear is in Blues & Improv “hickory” rhythm. But…