Evolution of A Rhythm

How do we make sense of those black dots and lines of music? How do we translate those scratchings into music? Particularly rhythm?

Using a one-measure rhythm pattern from a student’s duet, I’ll show you what we musicians mean when we say, “You’ve got to feel the subdivision.”

Here is the rhythm example:

To understand it, we need to go back to its beginnings.

That rhythm began life here, as eighth notes. We can clap this pattern easily. All notes have the same value or length. Clap 1-and-2-and-3-and. OR evenly, piz-za piz-za piz-za.

Now tie together the 2nd and 3rd notes, and also the 4th and 5th notes. We can still feel the eighth notes pulsing evenly inside the new notes that are tied together.

Another way to notate that same rhythm is to replace the tied eighths with quarter notes.

 Now take the final step and replace the first eighth note with an eighth rest. The eighth rest has the same value or length as the eighth note.

Voilá! Here is the final rhythm pattern from Izzy’s duet.

 

Spring Recital News

Performers at April 6 Spring RecitalThe Spring Recital performance videos are now uploaded to my YouTube channel as well as posted on my website.

This may very well be a record for me – performance on a Saturday; website updated the following Wednesday!

Well, I was highly motivated to get these videos uploaded and shared. My students’ performances were great! Adrian played with beautiful clarinet tone on the Mozart and demonstrated fluid technique with sixteenth-note runs through the piece.

Georgia played an unaccompanied dance on tenor sax. A Turkish Belly Dance to be exact. This piece requires the performer to navigate from 4/4 and 3/4 to 5/8 and 9/8  and back again effortlessly and Georgia does this with ease. Watch the video and you’ll see her calm confidence in playing.

Susan Peck and I played 4 movements from Tableaux de Provence by Paule Maurice. We both feel it is important that we teachers demonstrate performance skills by joining our students at these recitals.

Music Recital Update

Georgia playing Chopin at December's RecitalLast Saturday’s recital was a lot of fun for everyone involved. Held for the first time at The Courtyard @ Mt Tabor, about 25 residents joined about 25 family and friends of the performers for a standing-room only performance.

My plan is to share the performances on my website and YouTube channel so that past, present, and future students can enjoy them and learn from them as well. And to do so in a timely manner.

So I am a little chagrined to finally be updating my website now with the video from the December 22 house recital. You can check out those December performances here.

I’ve also had a chance to process some of the video from our April 6 performance and I will soon be posting a link for that. Really, I will.

 

Spring Brings Performance Recitals

It is officially Spring and even the weather is cooperating here in the Pacific Northwest. For my sax and clarinet students, that means it is time to prepare a solo for the Spring Recital.

Recital Time

At Grace Notes Music Studio, we have all been preparing solos. On Saturday, April 6, we’ll be hearing the music of Mozart, Vizzutti, Maurice, Clementi, and Faber.

Some is serious music – Mozart, Clementi. Other pieces are popular – Chim Chim Cheree from Mary Poppins. All will be entertaining.

Students from my studio are joining students from the studio of Susan Peck to bring entertainment to a retirement community in the neighborhood. They get entertainment and we get an audience!

 

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