Rhythm

1. RHYTHM

2. Before we get started,
A few things to keep in mind:
Keep an open mind; think
outside the box
Bring a sense of humor!

3. What is your definition of rhythm?

4. What is it??
• A beat is the basic time unit within much Western music;
for example, each tick sounded by a metronome would
correspond to a beat. More technically, "the beat is the
pulse of the mensural level"[1], also known as the beat
level[2], the metric level at which pulses are heard as the
basic unit–"the denominator of the meter signature,"
admitting compound meters. Depending on the context,
beat may denote: the onset of the corresponding time unit,
a point in time, the very moment when the metronome
ticks; the complete time interval between two consecutive
taps, so to say; in popular music, the whole sequence of
individual beats (in the sense of meter, rhythm, groove, or
riddim); in hip hop music, the entire instrumental, non-
vocal portion of the song.

5. I’m feeling a
little sea sick !
Me Too! And I still don’t
know what rhythm is!

6. What Is It?
• RHYTHM: “The movement of music in time;
the pulse formed by the recurrence of strong
and weak beats. Rhythm is the
mostimportantelement in the immediate
recognition of musical types, styles, and forms
and the dominant element in jazz.”
Glossary. 2009. www.smithsonian.org

7. Rhythm is not
temp
o

8. Well, what is tempo?
It is simply the speed of music, it can be:
very, very
fast or
V ery, veryslow
But that’s a story for
another time

9. The Rhythm in music is often called the
“FEEL of music

10. what would you call that FEEL?
The blues!
Here is another dance rhythm:

11. Let’s tango!

12. Here’s a really cool site for a
definition of rhythm:
http://www.sfskids.org - rhythm/
Click on to the
rhythm tab

13. So…what’s the next question?
• How do I get the FEEL?
OR
• How do I count?

14. Easy! Just follow the notes!
Easy for
you to
say!

15. Some history of notes
http://www.wikipedia.org
Search for neumes

16. Rhythm - review
• The Beat HOW??
•Counting HOW??
•Note Values :– duration of a
sound

17. Hmm...how do I
count?

18. basic note values

19. Don’t cry – let‘s try again!

20. Let’s look at all the note values and how
they compare to each other:
note value pyramid

21. Let us try clapping and counting!

22. Game
• game

24. Bravo! Give yourself a hand!
Time to try some rhythmic dictation

25. WHEEOH!! I think I’m getting it!

26. Time to schedule your exam
You will need:
• A day
• A time
• The assignment
GOOD LUCK!

27. What happens next?
• Meter (time signatures)
• New Math: changing note values through
ratios