Conducting

Using Conducting to Develop Rhythmic Accuracy and Awareness



Make the metronome "click" sound happen at the moment shown below shown in bold.


1 & 2 & 3 &   Metronome on quarter notes

1 & 2 & 3 &   Metronome on dotted half notes sounding beat 1 of each measure

1 & 2 & 3 &  Metronome on dotted half notes sounding beat 2 of each measure

1 & 2 & 3 &  Metronome on dotted half notes sounding beat 3 of each measure

1 & 2 & 3 & Metronome on dotted half notes sounding the and of beat 3 of each measure

1 & 2 & 3 & Metronome on dotted half notes sounding the and of beat 1 of each measure

1 & 2 & 31 & 2 & 3 & 1 Metronome on half notes giving beat 1, then 3, then 2, repeating


What does being rhythmically “accurate and aware” mean?

Why is steady time and a highly refined sense of pulse difficult to attain? 

Is there a window of time in a musician’s development after which trying to develop rhythmic accuracy and awareness is not possible?

Let's subdivide

Counting Systems: There are many equally valid counting systems in existence.  One possible counting system is outlined below. 

In this system the first written number refers to the number of evenly spaced notes in the beat, so 2=eighth notes when the quarter is the pulse, or sixteenths when the eighth note has the pulse, etc. The "#" refers to the pulse in the measure (i.e. in 4/4 time, if you are speaking the first beat of the bar, the # would be a 1, the 2nd beat of the bar, it would be a 2, etc..).  


1= # 

2= #-& 

3= #-o-let (or #--trip-let) 

4=#-e-&-a 

5= #-ta-te-ta-ta (or #-2-3-4-5) 

6=#-o-let-&-o-let 

7=#-ta-te-ta-te-ta-ta (or #-2-3-4-5-6-7) 

8=#-e-&-a-&-e-&-a 

9=#-o-let-&-o-let-&-o-let