billkeis.com

The metronome is a valuable tool for learning and playing music and should be part of every musician’s equipment.

Metronomes are useful for helping to develop good time,  If one has “good time” it means they have the ability to create a steady, even tempo, to play “in the pocket” to “groove”.  This is arguably the most important skill a musician can possess.

It is a good idea to separate the various parts of music (melody, harmony, rhythm) and practice them to a good level before you combine them. So, working on your rhythmic skills without playing your instrument is highly recommended.

The most important thing to know is you should play with the metronome, not follow it.  One way to develop that skill is to clap beats precisely in time with the metronome.  If you are accurate (clapping at the same speed as the metronome) the sound of the metronome disappears!  This will “tell” you if you’re right on it or not.

This phenomenon doesn’t occur when you are playing a note your instrument unless you play with a percussive sound e.g. drums, or keyboard set to a drum sound, also muted electric guitar and bass will work.

So, part of your daily practice routine should include this simple yet challenging drill; clap beats along with your metronome until you achieve a stable ability to keep time. That is the most fundamental rhythmic skill.

This procedure works best if you practice medium speeds before tackling faster and slower tempos.  Make sure your metronome has a clicking sound rather than a beep. If you clap to a beeping or chirping sound, it will be difficult to make the sound disappear. And the absence of the metronome sound is an important indicator of your accuracy.

Tempo

In addition to being a learning tool, metronomes are useful for determining the correct tempo for a song. The numbers on metronomes, such as 126, represent how many beats per minute. If you set it at 60, the tempo is equal to one beat per second. What do you think 120 would be? You’re right; it is two beats per second.

In the past, before the invention of the metronome, numerous terms were used to describe different tempos: Largo, Andante, Allegro, and Presto are four such examples. You will find these words written on your metronome. They indicate various ranges of speed. For example, Largo is from 40 to 60 BPM (beats per minute). Andante is from 76 to 108 BPM, Allegro is from 120 to 168, Presto is from 168 to 200 BPM.

As you can see, there is quite a large span or wide difference of speed for each term. The old system is workable; it’s just not as precise as the modern system which uses BPM. If the stated tempo of a particular song is 120 BPM, you can set your metronome to 120 and know exactly how fast it should be played.

Additionally, BPM numbers are helpful if you want to figure out how long a song is without having to play the whole song. You can simply add up the total number of beats in the song and then divide that number by the metronome marking (the number of BPM) and you will have the length of time for the song.

Quartz Metronome

Many modern day metronomes are quartz metronomes. Some people don’t understand what quartz means so I will briefly define it. Quartz is a crystalline mineral found in rocks of all types, usually colorless and transparent.

Similar to a fine watch or clock, a quartz metronome’s time keeping mechanism is controlled by a quartz crystal that vibrates at a fixed rate. This tiny crystal has been cut into the shape of a tuning fork (a small, metal object with a thin handle and two prongs that vibrate at a specific rate when struck thus giving a certain pitch which is used as a reference pitch when tuning a piano or other instrument).

The quartz crystal in a metronome is set into motion by the electric current from a battery. This technology provides an extremely accurate pulse.  Wind up type metronomes do not keep a steady time.

More than a Click

Some metronomes just give you a click, which is fine. Other more elaborate models will also indicate the first beat of the measure by the use of a different sound. The subdivisions of the beat can also be indicated.

So, you can have three things going simultaneously. You could have the first beat of the measure, which is called a downbeat, all of the main beats of the bar, and the sub-beats.

The Seiko metronome is a really good brand. The Doctor Beat, which is made by Boss, a subsidiary of Roland, also has all the stuff on it.  The Frozen Ape Tempo app on the iPhone is an excellent metronome.

Used correctly, metronomes are invaluable.  Try it, you’ll be glad you did.

Rhythm – the temporal (having to do with time) element of music relating to how sounds are made into patterns from Latin rhythmos from Greek rhythmos related to rhein meaning to flow (move in a steady unbroken manner)

Rhythm is quite a fascinating subject. At first glance, it can seem a bit elusive, similar to the subject of time. It is, however, quite manageable with a lot of practice.

First of all, I don’t think that some people have rhythm and some people don’t. I think good rhythmic skills can be learned by just about anyone, given enough practice of the right things.

A good place to start is to define some of the fundamental terms.  How to practice them is covered in my books.

Rhythm – when, and for how long, sounds are played based on various agreed upon units of measurement (beats, bars, subbeats)

Beat – the basic pulse of music that used as a stable point of reference and should be co-created by all the musicians

Time – a flow of beats

Tempo – the speed of the beats, often stated in B.P.M. (beats per minute)

Free time – Rubato, not in a steady tempo, speeding up and slowing down on purpose, often used for introductions and ending, however, a whole song could be played this way

Bar, Measure – a group of beats, the most common is 4 beats in a bar

Meter – the number of beats in a bar. When you say a song is in a triple meter for example, that means all the bars in that song will have 3 beats

Time Signature – the number of beats in a bar (meter) and which kind of note will represent 1 beat in the song

Downbeat – the first beat in a bar (also, the third beat is sometimes called a downbeat in quadruple meter – four beats per bar )

Upbeats, Offbeats – beats 2 & 4 (in a bar of 4 beats), beats 2 & 3 (in a bar of 3 beats)

Backbeat – beats 2 & 4 are often called backbeats, especially when they are accented (played loud, with extra stress)

Subbeat – a portion of a beat; beats are often divided into smaller beats, the most common divisions are 2, 3, 4 per beat – commonly referred to by their notational names: eighth notes, triplets, sixteenth notes

Rhythmic feel – the ‘feel’ of a song is caused by how the beats are divided; this is not the style of music, but how the song feels

Summary

Developing a high degree of rhythmic ability is essential to any musician and well worth the effort!

The Secrets of Improvisation – Part Two

Rhythmic Improvisation

Certainly if you want to play Jazz or Rock, or pretty much any style of music developed since 1900, you should be able to improvise rhythms.

However, even if you just want to play Classical music, practicing improvisation will still be helpful because it develops basic skills to a higher level than just reading notes does.

If we draw a comparison to talking, certainly you wouldn’t think of only speaking from a prepared script. So as a musician, why only play what is written on the page?

You will reach a higher level of command over rhythm, if you practice improvising rhythms.

Do the following drills by clapping, counting out loud and tapping your foot. Then play on your instrument, at first just one note or a chord.  After you are proficient, improvise with scales, etc.

1. 4/4 (no sub-beats) only quarter,half,dotted half, whole notes & rests
2. 3/4 (no sub-beats) only quarter,half,dotted half,whole notes & rests
3. 4/4 in eighth note feel
4. 3/4 in eighth note feel
5. 4/4 in triplet feel
6. 3/4 in triplet feel
7. 4/4 in sixteenth note feel
8. 3/4 in sixteenth note feel

Practice with a metronome.  The speed depends on your level: beginner, intermediate or advanced.  Here are some guidelines.

#1 & #2 from 120 – 240 BPM

#3 & #4 from 90 – 208 BPM

#5 & #6 from 60 – 140 BPM

#7 & #8 from 46 – 104 BPM

Work up to a point where you can freely improvise in each format including all the basic rhythmic figures and variations in dynamics.

To become a great improviser requires lots of knowledge about scales and chords and many other things.  An understanding of various styles of music and what those styles are composed of rhythmically, is very important.

See below for a list of styles and their rhythmic feels. This is a partial list. Some styles cross feels.

Eighth Note Feel

Pop ballads, Bossa Nova, Cha-cha, Rock, Pop Rock, Waltz, Tango

Triplet (Swing) Feel

Shuffle, Blues, 50’s, Dixieland, Swing, Bebop, Straight Ahead (Jazz), Jazz waltz, Country waltz, Show tunes, Reggae, Standards, Gospel

Sixteenth note feel

(Sometimes written as eighth notes in cut time)

Funk, R&B, Disco, Jazz Rock, Samba, Salsa, Calypso, Caribbean, Pop ballads, Fusion, Funk/Rock, Cumbia

Sixteenth note triplets ~ “swing sixteenths” feel

Hip – Hop, Funky Shuffle, Smooth Jazz, Modern Rock, R&B styles

If you play in the rhythm section: keyboards, guitar, bass, drums, percussion, it is also a good idea to practice improvising grooves.

A groove is a repeating rhythmic pattern, usually one or two bars long, that is played by one of the rhythm section instruments. Each player could be playing a different groove and they all work together or several players could be playing the same groove.

A groove ‘lays down the bed’ for the melody instruments to play on. Grooves will most commonly repeat for a section of a tune and then change to a new pattern for a new section. Fills would be played at the end of melodic phrases (commonly every 4 or 8 bars).

Rhythmic Improvisation is a very important secret of improvisation.