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Essential Rhythmic ConceptsFor the Serious Musician
A guide to necessary, advanced, and often under-studiedrhythmic concepts from a world music perspective.
Written byJake Jamieson
LetterfromtheAuthor
Thisbookwascreatedtohelpallseriousmusiciansachievebetterrhythmicclarityandunderstanding.Asaneducator,IfeelthatthereisagenerallackofrhythmiceducationinK‐12publicschoolsanduniversitycurriculum.Weover‐emphasizemelodiceartraininganddeemphasizerhythmiceartrainingasifrhythmweresecondaryinstatustomelody.Aseriousmusicianwillrecognizethatmelodyandrhythmareinherentlyintertwinedandonlythroughpatientdevelopmentofrhythmicconceptscanyourmelodicunderstandingtrulybegintoblossom.
Asadrummerandpercussionist,theseideasarecomingfrommyownexperiencestudyingworldandpopularmusicstyles,includingGhanaianAgbekor,IndianClassicalmusic,Cubansonandmambo,Afrobeat,Flamenco,Jazz,Funk,andBrazilianpopular,samba,andfolkloricstyles.Myaimforthisbookisnottoteachtheserhythms,buttodrawideasfromthesedeeptraditionsthatwillapplytotheapproachofanymusician.Therefore,Iamnotwritingabookjustfordrummers,butamtryingtoharnesstheknowledgethatIhavegainedasapercussionistandmaketheseconceptsapplicableforallmusicians.Ihaveconstructedsimpleexercisesthatbuildincomplexitytohelpanyinstrumentalisttoachievebettertime,rhythmiccreativity,phraseawareness,developmentofrhythmicideas,andthefreedomtoplayaroundthebeat,movingfluidlythroughthemeasure.
Ihopethattheseexercisesareusefulandthattheychallengeyoutothinkinnewandinsightfulways.Ifyougetstuckwithanyoneexerciseputthebookdownfortenminutesanddoanotheractivityandthencomebacktotheexercisewithacleanslateandcalmmind.Asyoufaceeachexercise,choosetoseethechallengeasawallandinsteadofrunningfullspeedintothewallagainandagain,takeaminutetostepbackandbreathe.Fromasafedistance,youcanthenexaminethewallandfindawayaroundit,ratherthanstraightthroughit.Iwishyouthebestofluckinyoureffortstobreakdownallofyourrhythmicwallsandtobecomethebestmusicianthatyouaimtobe.
JakeJamieson
TableofContents
Chapter1:StopLookingatYourWatch!StartInternalizingTime!
‐Learntomakefriendswithyourmetronomesothatgoodtimebecomessecondnature.Thischaptershowsyouuniquewaystoapproachlifeandmusicwithgoodtimeinmind.
Chapter2:FeelingExtendedPhrases
‐Usethischaptertohelpyoufeellongerphrasesofbeats,whilestillfeelingfreetoplayyourmusicalphraseswithlengthsofyourchoosingwithinthoselargerphrases.
Chapter3:ShiftingGears
‐InthischapterIexplaintheSouthIndianclassical“Jati”system,whichsimplifiesthecountingofcomplexsubdivisions.TheJatisystemisthenutilizedinexerciseswhichforcethemusiciantoswitchfluidlybetweeneighthnotes,triplets,sixteenthnotes,quintuplets,andsoon.
Chapter4:AccentedPulsesOverSubdivisions
‐Here,IbuildoffofthefoundationestablishedinChapter3andexplorevariousaccentgroupingsinmultiplesubdivisions.
Chapter5:ApplyingGroupingstoMusicalSituations
‐InthischapterIhaveprovidedaseriesofetudesthatutilizetheskillslearnedinChapter4.Thissectionallowsthemusiciantounderstandhowtomusicallyandcreativelyapplytheseconceptsinusefulways.
Chapter6:UtilizingVariousNoteGroupingswhileSwitchingSubdivisions
‐ThischaptercombinestheideasdevelopedinChapters3and4andtakesthemonestepfurthersothattheexercisesnowswitchbetweensubdivisions.Notonlywillyouhavetoplayvariousaccentgroupings,butalsoyouwilllearntodosowhileeffortlesslyswitchingbetweensubdivisions.
Chapter7:DeconstructingOurAccentGroupings
‐Inthischapter,theexercisesbuildoffofthoseinChapter6andbegintotakenotesoutofthesubdivisions,forcingyoutotrulyinternalizethesubdivisionsandallowingyoutomovebeyondplayingallthenotestobeingabletoplaythespaces.
Chapter8:ShootingArrows
‐Thischapterremovesthecrutchofconstantsubdivisionandwillforceyoutounderstandwherespecificpartialsofthesubdivisionsfallwithoutthehelpofaconstantdownbeatpulse.
Chapter9:DemystifyingPolyrhythms
‐Basedonthefoundationlaidoutinthepreviouschapters,thischapterrevealstheeasewithwhichanymusiciancanlearncomplexpolyrhythms.Theexercisesmathematicallybreakdownsimpleandcomplexpolyrhythmsandthenencouragethereadertointernalizethemtobreakawayfromtherigidityofthemathematics.
Chapter10:PlayinginOddTimeSignatures‐UsingtherhythmicgroupingsestablishedinChapter4,thischapterbreaksdownoddtimesignatureswithasimpleapproachsothateventhemostcomplextimesignaturecanbefeltinanaccessiblefashion.
Chapter11:InvertingYourConceptionofTime‐Thischapterwillpushthereaders’mentalcapabilitiesastheyareforcedtomanipulatehowtheythinkaboutmetronomictime.
Chapter12:IndianRhythmicMathematics‐HereIdiscusssimpleandcomplexmathematicformulasinternalizedbyIndianmusicianstohelpthereaderexpandtheirrhythmicconceptstoalevelofgreatercontrolandcomplexity.
Chapter1:Stoplookingatyourwatch!StartInternalizingTime!
Thesteadybeatoftempoisthemostbasicrhythmofanycomposition.Therefore,Iwishtospendsometimeonthesubjectofinternalizingtime.Withoutafunctioningamountofthisskill,thechaptersthat
followwillbeoflittleuse.
Hopefullyyouhavebeentaughttopracticewithametronomeforthemajorityofyourmusicalcareer.Ifnotnowistheperfecttimetostart.
Forthosewisemusicianswhohavebeencontinuallypracticingwithametronome,thepurposeofthischapteristohelpyouinternalize
metronomictimesothatyoucanfreeyourselffromthinkingaboutthetimeandincreaseyourabilitytofeelthetime.
Wewanttogettothepointwheresteadytimebecomeseffortless.Theseexercisesaredesignedtogetyouthinkingandactingoutsideofthebox,sopleaseputyouregoasideandbe
opentoanewapproach.
1.Togetstarted,gofindyourmetronome,setitinfrontofyou,andletitrunat100beatsperminutewhileyoufinishreadythisparagraph.Don’tfocusonthemetronome,butletthepulsingsinkintoyourears.Everytimeyouplayyourinstrument,thetimeshouldfeeljustascomfortableaswhenyouarereadingthissentence.Thecomfortresidesinyourabilitytofeelthetime,yetplaywhateveryouchoose.Wedividethebeatsintoevenpulses,becauseitismathematicallyeasytocomprehend,itfacilitatestheprocessofplayingwithothers,anditiseasytonotate.WhatIhopethatyouachieveisthefreedomtobreakawayfromthesemathematicalsubdivisions.Thisbookisstructuredtohelpyoufeelgroundedinyourmetronomictimeandyourcomprehensionofmathematicalrhythms,butinitsconstruction,thethoroughnessofthisbookisgearedtofreeyoufrommetronomictimetofeelasthoughyoucanplaywhateveryouchooseandstillbeacutelyawareofthepulseandtheyourplaceintheformofthemusic.
2.Leavingthemetronomeon,begintocountaloudin4/4time(i.e.“one,two,three,four”).Gogetaglassofwaterandcontinuetocountalong.Ifyouneedtogettheglassandwaterinadifferentroom,takethemetronomealongwithyouandcontinuetocount.
Drinkthewaterandcountinyourheadasyoudoso.After,comeandproceedtonumberthree.
3.Thistime,continuecountingaloud,butleavethemetronomeinthisroomandgointoadifferentroomwhereyoucannothearthemetronome.Inthatotherroom,countoutafour‐barphrase(i.e.“one,two,three,four”repeatedfourtimes)
Comebackintotheroomwiththemetronomeandseeifyouarestillintimewithit.Throughthisprocess,youareslowlytrainingyourselftointernalizethetimebypullingawayfromit.
4.Now,wearegoingtokeepthemetronomeat100beatsperminute,butnowcontrolthevolume(complexmetronomescanprograminthispattern)sothatyouonlyheareveryotherbeat.Donotwatchthemetronomeifithasamovingarmonitsscreen,continuetocountaloud,andseehowwellyoucanstayintime.
5.Buildingoffoftheideastartedinnumberfour,wecannowcontrolthemetronomeinavarietyofwaysthatwillstrengthenourtime.Startwiththemetronomeonlyproducingsoundonthefirstbeatofthemeasure,thenonlythefirstbeatofthefour‐barphrase.Anothergreatexerciseistohaveitproducesoundforfourbeatsandthenbesilentforfourbeats.
6.Whileyoucookyournextmeal,turnthemetronomeoninthekitchento80beatsperminute.Letyourbodymovenaturallyfirstandjustletthepulsesfillthekitchen.Mostlikely,yourmovementswillfallintotimewiththemetronome.Challengeyourselfandtrycookinganentiremealwhereallofyourmovementsareintimewiththemetronome.
7.Thenexttimeyoupickupyourmp3playertolistentomusicontherun,pickupyourmetronomeinstead.
IfindthatifIleaveametronomeonwhileIamdoinganactivityunrelatedtomusic,likecooking,walking,orexercising,musicalideaswillinevitablypourintomyheadinlargepartbecauseofthe
steadypulseofthemetronome.
FreeingYourselffromTime
1.Turnthemetronomeonto100beatsperminute.Sayaloud,“Iwillnotplayintimetoday.”
Howmanybeatsdidittakeyoutosaythat?Ifyouhavenoclue,gobackandsayitaloudagainwhilecountingthebeats.
2.Saythesentenceagain,butnowmakeitfitintofourbeats.
You’llnoticethatthereareeighthsyllables,soifyouevenlyspacethemoutyouwillbeplayingeighthnotes.
3.Repeatthesentencesothatitfallsevenlyintothreebeatsandsayitfourtimesinarow.Worrylessabouthowitexactlyfallsandinsteadjustfocusonrepeatingthesentencesoitflowsevenlyfromyourmouth.
Belowisamathematicalrepresentationofhowtoevenlyspreadthephraseoverthreebeats,ifyouareinterested.Iputthishereonlyforthecuriousmusicians.Ifyouarehavingtroublewiththeconceptofspreadingthephraseoverthreebeats,donotfocusonthisgraphicrepresentation.Instead,focusonevenlydistributingyourwords,butnotstressingaboutsayingitpreciselyintime.
4.Repeatthesentencealoudsothatitfallsintotwobeats.
5.Nowrepeatthesentencein7beats,9beats,11beats,and33beats.
Focusonevenspacingofthewordssothattheyfallevenlyandspreadoutovertheentiredurationofthenotesbeingcounted.
Thekeyisthatyouaresocomfortablesayingthesentencethatyoucankeeptrackofanynumberofbeatswhilesayingthephraseandstillcomebacktothedownbeatofyourchoice.
6.Pickupyourinstrument,pickaneight‐notemelody,andrepeatstepsonethroughfiveusingthemelodyinplaceofthesentence.
7.Nowallowyourselftostrayfromthemelodyyouhavecreated,butstillhaveyourfocusbeprimarilyonthemetronomicpulse.Makesureyouarecountinginyourhead,butflowoverthebeatandexperimentwithelongatingandshorteningyourphrasessoastomanipulatearoundthetime.
Thepurposeofthissequenceofexercisesistofreeyourself
fromneedingtofeellockedintothetime,butstillmaintainingaconfidentawarenessofwherethetimeis.
Chapter6:UtilizingVariousNoteGroupingswhileSwitchingSubdivisions
Section1:ConstantAccentPulseswithShiftingSubdivisions
Ifweapplythemini‐melodiescreatedinChapter4totheseexercises,wecanreallystarttohavesomefun.Hopefullythosemini‐melodiesarefamiliar
enoughnowtobeabletoplaythemwithoutmythought,makingtheshiftingoftimetheprimaryconcern.Ifnot,takesometimetoreviewthemorsimplifythem(youcanalwaysjuststayononepitchuntiltheexercisesbecomemore
comfortable).
A1.Two‐noteGroupings:Easier‐
MoreDifficult‐
Goal:Toexperimentwithphraseswhichmovefluidlyover
thebeatandchangeinrhythm.
InthischapteryouwillneedtoconnectyourabilitytoshiftgearsfromChapter3andyourabilitytoplayvariousaccentgroupingsfrom
Chapter4.Takeeachetudeslowlyandbreakdownindividualphrasesthatgiveyoutrouble.
Utilizeourstrategyoffirstplaytherhythmonallonepitch,thenon
thenotesofthescale,thenonanypitchesthatyouchoose.
A2.Three‐noteGroupings:Easier‐
MoreDifficult‐
A3.Four‐noteGroupings:Easier‐
MoreDifficult‐
A4.Five‐noteGroupings:Easier‐
MoreDifficult‐
A5.Six‐noteGroupings:Easier‐
MoreDifficult‐
A6.Seven‐noteGroupings:Easier‐
MoreDifficult‐
Section2:MixedAccentedPulsesandSubdivisions
A.Two‐note,Three‐note,andFour‐noteAccentGroupings:
B.Five‐note,Six‐note,andSeven‐noteAccentGroupings:
C.AllNoteGroupings:
AbouttheAuthor
JakeJamiesonisaneducatorandperformerondrumset,percussion,andtabla.HereceivedhisB.A.andM.A.fromUCLAinEthnomusicology,WorldMusic,
inJuneof2010.HeisbasedinLosAngeleswhereheteachesandperformsregularlyinavarietyofmusicstylesandvenues.
www.jakejamieson.com www.myspace.com/jamiesonjake
Contact:[email protected]