FIND THE BEAT, FEEL THE RHYTHM
CHAPTER 4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GpumNtHNEA
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What if we tried to “fast-dance” to a hymn or
march in step to a slow ballad? The timing would be
off.
What happens at any given moment in music
depends on 4 fundamentals: beat, rhythm, accent,
and meter.
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Beat
Rhythm
Accent – the emphasis placed on a musical sound,
can happen anywhere in music, sometimes happens
on steady beats
Meter – the aural aspect of music in which a certain
number of beats are grouped together; groups are
either two (duple) or three (triple) beats.
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When we listen to music, we determine the meter by
locating an accent, calling it “one,” then counting the
beats until the next accent. These groupings are
measures or bars. In written music, a MEASURE is
the division of beats into defined groups separated
by a bar line.
The beat of the music is important because it serves
as the background for everything else.
Coordination in Music
Coordination is important because musicians have to
keep more than one thing going at a time.
 Drum beats, coordination:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlXwvHzr4xo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Pb6PF8LXA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DNElq-qUsY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YS53IJAqquw
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Metrical Patterns and Melodic Rhythms
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Throughout time, mathematicians have sought out
patterns of numbers. Humans are naturally drawn
to patterns and find regularity comforting.
Composers occasionally mix meters to create an
interesting rhythmic organization in their music.
Book example: Procession of the Nobles by Nicolai
Rimsky-Korsakov
Pop example: Rapunzel by Dave Matthews Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qk7vnUBS5E
Pop example: Take Five by Dave Brubeck 1961
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2In5a9LDNg
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Can you “hear” the song when I clap the rhythm?
The rhythm pattern of a composition’s melody is
known as the melodic rhythm.
Notice how melodic rhythm creates musical unity
throughout a piece.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uOxOgm5jQ4
Ludwig van Beethoven
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Born in Bonn, Germany in 1770
Began taking piano and violin lessons at the age of
4
After studying with Franz Joseph Haydn, he became
the world’s first self-employed composer.
He began losing his hearing around the age of 22
and was totally deaf by 45. He died at 57.
Rhythms in everyday life…
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You can use almost anything to make music.
Ordinary objects used to make music are called
found instruments.
One group known for their use of found instruments
is called STOMP. The founder and dancer Luke
Creswell states the group’s goal is to: “invite people
to listen to the world in a different way and hear
music where maybe they didn’t think there was
music before.”
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Improvisation is spontaneous musical invention,
making the improviser is simultaneously a composer
and a performer.
Do musicians who improvise do anything they want?
In groups like STOMP, initial rhythmic patterns are
improvised, then refined for performances. They
use the rhythms they like for an ostinato.
Ostinato is a repeated musical figure.
http://www.stomponline.com/index.html
Bamileke music
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From the country of Cameroon in west Africa, home
to many cultural groups with distinctive musical
traditions.
Bamileke music
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The people perform highly rhythmic music to
accompany their Lali or warrior dance. These
dances are performed only by the males of the
tribes and serve as preparatory and celebratory
dances. They celebrate ability and skill in battle,
self-confidence, and manliness.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDgNMRt6d5k
Syncopation
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Many musical styles get their character and energy
by shifting the accents off the beat.
Syncopation involves deliberate shifts of accent so
that it conflicts with the steady beat.
It creates a feeling of imbalance and is something
unexpected.
Ragtime
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Ragtime was an American style of music, full of
syncopation, that appeared in the early 1900s.
It was the earliest written form of jazz. This
accounted for its popularity. Amateur musicians
would buy sheet music and learn to play.
Scott Joplin
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Joplin was one of the most popular Ragtime
composers. His works include “Maple Leaf Rag”
and “The Entertainer.”
His works were popular because they had a catchy,
syncopated melody set against a moving bass line
that emphasized a steady beat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMAtL7n_-rc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fPmruHc4S9Q
Creative Rhythms
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Modern percussion acts feature urban rhythms with
a creative twist. They also tend to have an eye for
imaginative showmanship.
Blue Man Group can take very simple musical ideas
and make them sound richly complex. They do this
with subdivisions of the beat.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvtMsW4jlqk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhkKIxw_1fw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYXiVEwE2q4