One of the most difficult things to teach an absolute beginner student (of any age) is the difference between the beat and the rhythm of music. I find that initially they mostly think that the two are the same thing. This is probably because many people mistakenly use the word 'beat' instead of rhythm.
While a metronome is ultimately the best way to keep a steady beat, it can be very daunting (and annoying) for a beginner to use. I usually explain that a beat is the constant pulse in music, such as a ticking clock or your heartbeat. It is usually constant throughout the piece (as a ticking clock) but can be changed by a tempo indication (as your heart can speed up when exercising or slow down when at rest). As a clock cannot function without a second of movement, and you can't sustain life without your heartbeat, so too music must have a constant beat that the rhythms can relate.
Rhythms are the alternation of different lengths of sound. These have to relate to some sort of constant beat in order to be classified as a rhythm and in order for our brains to interpret it as such (I am aware that John Cage has his philosophy on the heartbeat of life etc. but this is not very applicable for this teaching concept).
I find that clapping can be a very useful tool when teaching someone who is struggling with this concept. I will get the student to clap the beat with me. Then I will ask the student to keep the constant beat, while I will clap a rhythm. We will then swap and I will keep the beat as the student creates their own rhythm. With the little ones we also use various percussion instruments
I find it fascinating how some people pick up on this concept so quickly, (usually younger students). They are able to play rhythms on the instrument in perfect time and with relative ease, while others really struggle with the concept (usually beginner adults). We sing, we clap to the metronome, we walk around the room to a beat and yet when it comes to counting a steady beat and playing a different rhythm the co-ordination goes out the window and the student feels they don't completely understand what a 'beat' is and how long a beat should be.
So it has been quite a fun exercise for me to come up with new creative ideas about teaching the beat vs rhythm.
I would live to know if other people struggle with this. Please let me know if you do or if you have managed to overcome this?
Robyn
Try get them to stomp the pulse while clapping out + saying basic subdivsions over it, i.e. ta,ta-te,tiki-ta, ta-tiki,takitiki etc. Most basic rhythms are just various permutations of these. I see you were doing something similar but letting them do both at the same time provides that practical understanding of the relationship between the beat and the rhythm.
ReplyDeleteThe beat can be expressed in terms of its subdivisions and it allows you to show how 1 ta-te can equal the beat value of 1 takitiki etc (this helps with the beat length problem).
The other advantage of stomping + clapping/saying is that it is a whole body activity, and because internalizing a beat is quite often an abstract feeling that not everyone learns and understands the same way, engaging the whole body can prove useful.
Cool blog and good luck with your future musical endevours!