Music Video Lesson: How to Solidify Rhythms

Hi, I'm Robert Estrin and this is LivingPianos.com. Today's subject is how to solidify rhythms.

I did a video a while back about what is the most important aspect of music and I identified rhythm as the most important part. Of course, it's hard to take one aspect of music, melody is certainly important in so much music, but rhythm is intrinsically important. And you might wonder what can you do to solidify rhythms in your music? Well, there are many things I'm going to outline them for you today to help to solidify your music.

One way of solidifying rhythms as well as to figure them out and an essential element to figure out any written scores is to count the rhythms. Count them out loud.

First, simply clap the rhythms before you even play them just so you have the rhythm solidified without being encumbered by fingering, phrasing, expression and notes.

The important thing about counting is to count consistently. In other words, if you're counting a piece that has eighth notes, you want in 4 -4 time, you want to count with the ands, even if you don't have eighth notes on those ands. Here's what happens otherwise. Let's leave a piece in 3 -4 time and you have some eighth notes and you have others that don't have eighth notes like minuet and G of Bach. And you might count it 1 and 1, 2 and 3 and 1, 2, 3, 1, 2 and 3 and 1, 2, 3, 1 and that's what could easily happen. What's going on there? If you don't count all the ands, the rhythm can go haywire. Instead, you count all the beats and all the ands and just fit in the notes 1 and 2 and 3 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 1 and 2 and 3 and. So it's 1 and 2 and 3 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 1 and 2 and 3 and. Instead of 1, 2 and 3 and 1, 2, 3, 1, 2 and 3 and 1, 2, 3. What's wrong with the second way I did it? Because this could easily happen. 1, 2 and 3 and 1, 2, 3, 1, 2 and 3 and 1, 2, 3. It's human nature to equalize all the counts.

So just as a tape measure has all the same divisions throughout, your counting must have all the same divisions throughout.

Now, if you have sixteenth notes, you count with us to delineate the quarter beats. However, if you have a piece that just has occasional sixteenth notes, it can be really cumbersome. Like for example, in Beethoven Echocet, and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2. It's driving you crazy and it's hard to get up to speed. Maybe initially, and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a. You might want to do that, but then soon you might just want to count with ands. But then again, don't throw in the a's just where you have sixteenth notes. Count consistently with the ands, like this. And 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and. That will make it so much easier to get it up to speed. And 1 and 2 and 1 and 2 and. Imagine trying to put the a's in at that speed. And a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 1 and a 2 and a 2 and a. It becomes a tongue twister pretty quickly. So the lesson is, make your counting style consistent throughout a piece, or at least a section of a piece, for it to really have value for you.

What else is there other than counting? Well, of course, the metronome is invaluable for solidifying rhythms, as well as tempo. Because you might have the rhythm solidified, but then your tempo fluctuates from different sections of the piece. For example, a piece that has mostly slow notes in one section and then faster notes in another section. How can you possibly have the same pulse unless you use the metronome? So for example in Bergmiller, Farewell, you have at the beginning eighth notes.

So go some eighth notes to triplets. And you even have a retard thrown in there in the transition. Take out the trusty metronome so you know how to justify the beat when you're going from two divisions of the beat to three divisions of the beat.

So you notice I took the retard even though I got behind on the metronome, but then got right back on when the triplets began. But this is a great way to solidify your tempo and your rhythm. The metronome is an invaluable tool, as I've talked about before. Is there anything else you can do? I mean, you got counting, you got metronome, what else can you possibly do? Believe it or not, something you can do away from the piano. You have a piece of music and you're having trouble really feeling the pulse of the beat and the metronome is just not clicking, pun intended. So what do you do instead? You can go marching, you take a walk and do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do do. As you're walking, you kind of play in your mind or sing the part that you're singing. So that's something you can do to help yourself to feel the beat, literally feel the beat by marching to it. And on a similar vein, you know dance can be a tremendous way to feel the beat, to get in one with the music.

If you're inhibited, you do it with nobody's home.

Just feel the music and make motions to it. You know there's a whole study of this, a whole field called Eurythmics by a person by the name of Dahlkros, sometimes referred to as Dahlkros, Eurythmics, that enables people to get a sense of rhythm with clapping, with motions, with movement, with improvisation, all utilizing the body as part of the process of learning and becoming comfortable with rhythms. So don't feel badly about you know move parts of your body, particularly when you're away from the piano. You don't want to get in the habit of moving around when you're playing the piano because it's distracting to the audience and it becomes a habit.

And you know you're better off if you need to tap your foot by the way, a little trick you can use is tap the heel like this.

Because if you tap the toe, it makes noise and you can even tap the heel when you're using the soft pedal and it won't really get in the way of the music and or the audience. So those are some little tips for you. So once again counting out loud of course is important. Using the metronome, a vital part of anybody, serious classical players, practice as well as other styles of music.

March your music while singing or thinking it in your head. Dance to your music. Do all kinds of different motions like Del Crow's U -Rhythmics offers. These are all ways you can solidify your rhythm at the piano or other instruments. Thanks again for joining me. I'm Robert Estrin. This is LivingPianos .com, your online piano resource. Subscribe, thumbs up, ring the bell, you know the drill. Thanks for joining me. Lots more videos for you. Last count it was like 1,400 videos with a search box here at LivingPianos.com. Did you know that every one of these videos has accompanying articles for you? And when I get done with the videos I always think, oh I should have mentioned this or that and I put those in the articles so they're worth a read. See you next time. Thanks for joining me.

Find the original source of this video at this link: https://livingpianos.com/how-to-solidify-rhythms/

Automatic video-to-text transcription by DaDaScribe.com

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