Find the beat, feel the rhythm Chapter 4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GpumNtHNEA

What if we tried to dance to a hymn or march in step to a slow ballad What if we tried to dance to a hymn or march in step to a slow ballad? It would be difficult because the actions rarely match that style of music. What happens at any given moment in music depends on 4 fundamentals: beat, rhythm, accent, and meter.

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.

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

Metrical Patterns and Melodic Rhythms 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

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 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… 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.”

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 From the country of Cameroon in west Africa, home to many cultural groups with distinctive musical traditions.

Bamileke music 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 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 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 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.

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Creative Rhythms 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