Examples of tapping to acquire a sense of rhythm. Sense of rhythm

A sense of rhythm is something that is extremely necessary for any musician, dancer, or artist. Often, teachers and all those who have an excellent feeling believe that this feeling is either “given” or “not given.” Sometimes this skill is poorly developed even among accomplished musicians who have graduated from college or even a conservatory. It is believed that more than a quarter of dancers (we are talking about amateurs, of course) do not hear the rhythm of the music, and, accordingly, cannot dance to the beat of it. You may ask: how is this possible? The answer is – by improving my performance technique.

So what is rhythm and can this feeling be developed? In order to feel it, so to speak, “touch it with your hands,” or rather feel it with your whole body, you must first understand what is meant by musical rhythm. What exactly should a musician or dancer feel?

Encyclopedias describe rhythm as a certain ratio of the duration of sounds and their sequence. To someone who is far from music theory, such an explanation will tell almost nothing. What is needed here is a simple and accessible comparison. And perhaps the easiest way to compare the rhythm is with the human pulse.

By listening to yourself, it is not difficult to hear or feel your heartbeat. The pulse is the simplest rhythmic figure of equally loud notes (impulses) and equal intervals between them. This is the steady pulse of a healthy person. We can say that our internal rhythm taps our heart. And in music, this role is played by percussion instruments and the bass guitar. They form the basis musical composition, its rhythmic pattern, reproducing beats in a certain sequence with at different intervals time and making different accents. We have to learn to distinguish and reproduce this rhythmic pattern.

The main mistake of beginning musicians is precisely that they try to concentrate on mastering the technique of movements and strive to master as many of them as possible. It is possible to learn a complex passage even for beginners, but to perform it correctly in a specific piece of music Not everyone succeeds the first time. Similar problems apply to vocalists. From the outside, this is clearly noticeable, and, as a rule, soon such a “miss” becomes obvious to the musician himself, especially if he plays or sings in pairs. This is how the lack of a sense of rhythm manifests itself. But does this mean that we should give up on classes? Not at all. Anyone can learn to hear music and develop a sense of rhythm.

What is a sense of rhythm? It’s not so easy to define it! I'll try to do this a little later, but first a little theory. (I believe that the basic terms, such as tempo, beat, time signature, beats, are for the reader to understand general outline familiar).

And so, here, as in many similar cases, two processes are at work:

• analysis – hear and “decipher”
• synthesis - play, reproduce

One skill process without another doesn't make much sense. Look, if a person is only able to perceive the sound stream and distinguish the rhythmic structure (analysis), but is not able to play rhythmically (synthesis), or, conversely, perfectly reproduces rhythmic figures and keeps the tempo, but is not capable of auditory analysis, then he is not an important musician . In an ensemble you need both skills at once! And, most likely, a person develops these two skills in parallel.

Unit of measurement and standard

When, for example, in construction, we need to measure the dimensions of an object (analysis), we take a tape measure. In a regular tape measure, the minimum unit/standard is 1 mm. It determines the maximum possible measurement accuracy. If we need to create an object of a certain length (synthesis), say, saw off a board, then we take the same tape measure... and again the achievable accuracy is 1 mm.

Those. A STANDARD is always used for measurements! If we need to understand, “remove” the structure of some phenomenon or time process, then we use a GRID with a step corresponding to the minimum unit of measurement. So, for example, to take a plan of a room, you can draw the floor with a grid in 1 cm increments, and to record events within an hour, you can make marks directly on the dial mechanical watch... If you need more accuracy, make the grid finer!

To analyze and generate rhythmic events, a person also needs a GRID of small and equal time intervals (i.e., an “internal clock” - pulsation). And what is the temporary standard for a person? Heart beat, breathing rate...? These are rough units of measurement, and not constant, however, this is not scary - there is a way out!

There are no people who are born without a sense of rhythm. The reason why some people have it and others don't is because some people develop it from a young age and others don't. That's all. Some children play football, while others study their parents' music collection, listening carefully to instruments, vocals and various rhythms, thereby creating an undeniable advantage over football players in terms of music perception.

If you have a rhythm problem, here's what you can do:

1. Listen to more music!

Quite often, people who attend dance parties do so to relax. They can come dance once a week and listen to music in the car for another twenty to forty minutes maximum. All. This is not enough! Listen to music constantly. At home and in the car. At work. Listen to music constantly and your sense of rhythm will begin to develop.

2. Listen to the rhythm section of the music

You will probably agree that most people, when they listen to music, listen to one thing - the one who sings. If you don't believe me, try naming a few famous bass players and drummers. That does not work? Attention is focused on the vocals because vocals are perceived better by the human ear than bass guitar or drums. People usually want to understand what the song is about, and this attracts attention. If you really want to develop a sense of rhythm, try to focus on the rhythm section: bass guitar, drums and other percussion instruments. Your attention to the rhythm section will immediately affect your sense of rhythm, and soon you will automatically begin to perceive what you hear in the bass and drums and match it in your movements.

3. Clap, drum on the table and knees to the rhythm of the music

Does it sound idiotic? It is possible, but it is very important that the internal perception of a rhythmic pattern, supported by movements to the beat, allows you to control yourself in the best possible way. To develop a sense of meter (equal beat), you can use anything uniform motion: walking to a song, to instrumental music, imitative movements that you or your child makes while playing. On the contrary, teaching rhythmic values ​​only through abstract explanations is detrimental musical development children. One of the most important tasks musical education is the development of internal hearing in children. This work begins not only when students already know the rhythmic quantities, their names, and musical notations, but much earlier.

The teacher shows the beginning of the movement and helps maintain the correct step, i.e. uniform rhythm. In the process of performing instrumental works, the teacher leads children to understand the tempo and feel the stress. Students usually feel accents well and mark them with a stronger movement. Children with great joy perform rhythmic tasks associated with simple instrumental works. For example, one group performs the rhythmic pattern of the upper, the other - the lower. Many children's songs can be used as such a musical repertoire.

Naturally, a rhythmic game can take no more than 5 - 10 minutes, but in the following lessons, songs and plays related to rhythmic tasks are repeated. Using these simple game techniques, we gradually lead children to more complex rhythm phenomena.

Well, if you want to find people in a club who have a good sense of rhythm, it's easy to do. They usually cannot sit still when music is playing. They tap their feet, snap their fingers, and drum on the edge of the table. If you don’t find such people, it means that they are in this moment rocking out on the dance floor with some sexy guy or some stunning beauty!

Components of the sense of rhythm

In analysis-perception this is:

• perceive tempo and its changes
• recognize size
• distinguish 1st beat (beats)
• distinguish between the 2nd and other beats (beats)
• distinguish small beats (i.e. 2,3,4,6 times more often than the main beats)

In fact, ALL THIS IS CONNECTED with skill, the ability to “throw” onto the perceived sound musical stream a measuring GRID of large and small beats, with “marks” where the first beat, i.e. the beginning of the beat.

In synthesis-execution it is:

• keep the tempo, be able to speed up and slow down the performance according to the requirements of musical expressiveness
• mentally imagine, “generate” to oneself a GRID of large and small parts
• fill the GRID with the actual musical texture - i.e. “put” (perform) notes-sounds exactly in the right place

And here, as you can see, you CANNOT do without a grid!

Absolute and relative time intervals.

Example

In dance clubs, a situation often arises when, having learned movements at a slow tempo, a student cannot PROPORTIONALLY speed up the performance (increase the tempo) and, conversely, while performing quickly, cannot reproduce it slowly.

In choreographic circles, there is another problem: the teacher often gives the count (1,2,3,4 ...) not in equal parts of the measure, as musicians do, but according to the movement numbers -1,2, then a noticeable pause, then 3,4 and so on. It turns out that the uniform counting is interrupted and the teacher himself prevents the clear formation of a mental uniform GRID, a pulsation on which the movements are “strung”.

In both of these examples, the student “filmed, copied” the ABSOLUTE VALUES of time intervals between events. And, just like a teacher, he can reproduce them. Those. he performs movements without an internal “pulse, metronome” (GRID!), but on muscle and auditory memory. But without a net, he can't change the tempo at will!

Imagine a well-stretched rubber strip, say 1 meter long. Let's stretch it to 1.5 meters, secure it, then line it for 4/4 time in 16th notes. There will be a total of 16 time slots. Now let’s fill “this measure” with some rhythmic pattern. Here, and now

• a) by releasing the strip, allowing it to return to its original length of 1 meter, we will see how ALL intervals have become proportionally smaller. But the musical “meaning” has not changed - this is the SAME pattern, only the tempo is faster!
• b) on the contrary, by stretching the strip even more, we will also not disturb the pattern, but will only slow down the pace.

And what allows us to do this?– “Strict binding of notes (musical events) to the grid.” Yes, in music RELATIONSHIPS, PROPORTIONS are much more important than absolute values. The musician is not required to accurately reproduce an interval of 10, 20 or 50 ms, but it is absolutely NECESSARY to maintain accurate proportions.

And in both examples given earlier, the students remembered and reproduced the absolute values ​​of time intervals quite well. But, not having the skill of representing the internal pulsation - the GRID when listening and performing, they could not change the tempo. They could easily be classified as those who do not have a developed sense of rhythm. Yes, and in an ensemble they would constantly make mistakes

Acquaintance with the elements of musical speech based on prototypes of the surrounding reality is a well-known technique and is becoming increasingly widespread in the methodology. In particular, the main rhythmic groups (quarters and eighths) are studied by children by comparing large and small images. This is natural for a child, since until a certain age, concepts such as good-bad, bittersweet, fun-sad, big-small are realized by him simultaneously in comparison. Later, with experience, children come to understand what is between “good” and “bad,” between “fun” and “sad,” etc.

Category length, and even more so divisions of duration, are conditional concepts for a child; they are formed at a later stage. The “image” of the rhythmic group is both understandable and multivariate, so we “dress up” quarters and eighths in the guise of animal mothers and fathers and their children. Objects can also be “big and small.” It is very valuable and "alive" methodological material, which cleans up initial stage work on developing a sense of rhythm and neutrality of durations recorded in calms. In addition, when working on rhythm in pictures, you can use onomatopoeic syllables, and not just rhythmic ones. With onomatopoeia, the characters in the drawing will certainly come to life with their own mood characteristics. Such a performance will contribute to the development of emotional intonation and the understanding that even “lines attached to notes” can be “eloquent.”

Work on developing a sense of basic durations includes different shapes, including reading words. One thing to note important point: children should perceive the rhythm of a word from natural pronunciation, and not from special stretching of syllables. Quite often, while mastering quarters and eighths, teachers master these durations by pronouncing words measuredly and syllable by syllable - de-re-vo, tele-fon - leveling the rhythm. This contradicts the most important thing in the development of a sense of rhythm - instilling the skill of hearing the stress in a word, highlighting this syllable as a longer one (DE-re-vo, te-le-FON). There is no doubt that only two-syllable words with an accent in the first (cat, hare, etc.) are suitable for working on quarters, including because the main thing in the work will be the size of two quarters. For working on eighths, words of four syllables with an emphasis on the third (monkey, rattle) are convenient.

Words of three syllables with stress on the first (BA-boch-ka, DE-voch-ka) and third (kro-ko-DIL, o-gu-RETS) are simple combinations of quarter notes and eighth notes.
On at this stage Words with a beat are not included in the work (ar-BUZ, pe-TUH, ro-MASH-ka, ma-SHI-na, kuz-NE-chik, etc.)
It is very useful to compile collections of pictures (words) for a particular group being studied. And if at the beginning the children select a wide variety of pictures, then later you can offer a game in which the pictures will be selected and arranged according to certain tasks.
For example, children are asked to select and name pictures with animals only in the rhythm of two quarters, and pictures with plants in the rhythm of a quarter and two eighths, etc. This form is very exciting and we have included it in this workbook.

In addition to words, the notebook offers interesting poetic texts for learning and consolidating durations, which should be read based on the size of the letters - syllables written in capital letters should be read in quarter durations, syllables written in small letters in the rhythm of eighths. The proposed technique for working on poetic texts, when they are written syllable by syllable in large and small letters (or in simple and bold font) has long been known in world practice. This helps children not so much to read, but to memorize the poem by ear and navigate its rhythmic structure. The execution of texts with their visual distribution according to rhythmic formulas is methodically combined with “large and small” images of rhythm in pictures.

The text is learned from the performance of the teacher, the reading is usually accompanied by rhythmic claps or combinations of sounding gestures (claps, slaps, stamps). After learning, it is advisable to draw the children’s attention to writing the text in letters of different sizes, so that they can orient themselves in the rhythmic structure of the model.

The attitude towards rhythmic syllables, despite its considerable age (about two centuries!), is not yet sufficiently understood.

« Aimé Paris- famous French teacher of music and singing mid-19th century, the theorist of the relative system of ear education - introduced rhythmic syllables into the system of teaching music, creating a “language of durations”.

Often rhythmic syllables are replaced by counting - “one-and-two-and”, which in no way reflects any emotional criterion musical rhythm, no rhythmic pattern for the simple reason, for example, that counting is incomprehensible to children (“the temporary difference in durations is not visible”), whereas when reading in syllables, the rhythm becomes “visible.” Compare - “one-and-two-and, one-and-two-and” and “ti-ti-TA, TA-TA.” The difference is obvious!

“The mother did not understand that Asya, due to her early age, was simply unbearably bored at the piano and only missed (the notes!) from falling asleep, like a blind puppy missed the saucer. Or maybe she played two notes at once, thinking that she would sooner play all the notes?.. One way or another, the playing was not only deplorable, but also tearful, with streams of small dirty tears and boring mosquitoes: and, and, and -and, and-and, from which everyone in the house, even the janitor, clutched their heads with a hopeless exclamation: “Well, it started!”

“The student counts: “one-and-two-and-three-and-one-and”, etc., and sees his task as making sounds simultaneously with the name of the corresponding counting unit... In this case, it is assumed that one hundred rhythm it will work out by itself, it will “add up” on its own if the sounds fit correctly into this counted scheme. Such an account can be called an arithmetic account. It is certainly harmful, since it teaches the student to build musical movement not on the basis of a sense of rhythm, but on the basis of arithmetic calculation. For students with a weak sense of rhythm, the use of this technique (especially in the first period music training) can have disastrous consequences for all further rhythmic development."

Rhythmic syllables have stood the test of time, and the basic syllables “ta” and “ti-ti” have variants - “don - di-li”, “tak - ti-ki”, “step - run”. However, despite the variability in assigning quarters and eighths to certain syllables, they have one undeniable common feature - the vowels “a” or “o”, which in their semantics are defined as large, joyful, while “i, e” in their meaning they carry small, less. Even a simple example of your own pronunciation of “a” and “i” will prove this difference to you.

“Shouldn’t we try to somehow evaluate individual sounds? We tried it. Small children are shown two nesting dolls - identical in every way, only one is very small, the other is large. They say: “Here are two sisters. One is called A, the other is I. Guess which one is called I? And imagine - most children point to a small matryoshka doll.
One girl was asked:
- Why do you think that this nesting doll’s name is “I”?
She answers:
- Because she is small.

That’s how tightly her sound is connected with a certain idea.”
We use the main syllables (ta, ti-ti), although all the others are also given in figurative pictures. Here the choice is up to the teacher and his preference.
The value of rhythmic syllables is that:

• any of the rhythmic sequences can be learned quite quickly;
• rhythmic durations and groups are learned more successfully and naturally;
• with the help of rhythmic syllables, words are translated into rhythm faster and easier;
• rhythmic syllables make it easier and more free to improvise and compose;
• rhythm implies movement and causes motor reactions - this is always joy and pleasure for children.

Music is the movement of sounds in time. Understanding time in music is one of the main factors for a beginning guitarist. Indeed, in many ways, the degree of accuracy in the sense of time determines the level and class of skill of both the musician and the listener. It follows that to develop an understanding of time in music, it is necessary to practice.

Step 1 is understanding music theory in terms of time itself. Measure, time signature, tempo, note durations, etc. To put it simply, you need to understand the organization of notes in time. ()

Step 2 - learn to hear and clearly perform everything that is discussed in step No. 1. In other words, you need to move from theory to practice.

Step 3 – bring all practical skills to automaticity, which means confident and free.

To complete the first two steps, you will need metronome. ()

Practicing with a metronome should be clear and precise for the musician. If you simply stupidly play with a metronome, it will not bring the desired results. Therefore, it is imperative to go through step 1, namely, to fully understand the entire theory. This will save your time in the future, because it will build the correct theoretical structure in your head.

How to play (practice) with a metronome correctly?

From a rhythmic point of view playing under fast pace metronome has the same difficulty as the game under slow pace. Therefore, to begin with, it would be best to set a certain tempo, namely 40 BPM (beats per minute). To better assimilate the rhythm, first play only with your right hand.

EXERCISES:

Having turned on the metronome, we first play on the open first string along with each blow, trying to hit it perfectly accurately:

And now 4 sounds:

This is a rather difficult moment - to combine 3 beats with 2, but it gives a certain rhythmic freedom, so you involuntarily begin to feel yourself dancing.

Now let’s play it all together – different rhythmic options:

This third beat is difficult to grasp, but important. This is very often used at faster tempos in rock (example):

Common mistakes during exercise:

Internal constraint when playing due to excessive concentration on the process. As a result, the rhythm gets lost. You need to learn to be as relaxed as possible.

Musical exercises to develop a sense of rhythm.

If you want to connect your life with music, then you have a lot of work to do on yourself. The voice needs to be developed, the vocal cords need to be protected and restored in case of damage. It’s not difficult if you don’t miss the moment. Another very important concept for you it is a sense of rhythm. Rhythm is one of the most important aspects of music, and it is from here that learning the art of dancing or playing the instrument begins. musical instruments. Many people perfectly distinguish the correct rhythmic pattern, however, they themselves do not always fall in time. If this is not corrected from the very beginning, problems may arise in the future both with the performance and with the perception of music.

In such cases, it is usually advised to listen to music more often and attentively, but exercises to develop a sense of rhythm, which can be constantly practiced, will help achieve more effective results.

• Start with songs you usually listen to. Rock or hip-hop tunes work well in this exercise. When listening to songs from these two genres, concentrate on the sound percussion instruments, that is, feel the rhythm.
• Choose a composition that is familiar and pleasant to your ears with a pronounced rhythm. At the initial stage of exercises to develop a sense of rhythm, competent selection of music with a clear rhythm is very important, since it is not always easy for even a professional to adapt to arrhythmic melodies. If you're having trouble finding one-two-three-four, try finding a song with a more obvious rhythm. Most rock and hip-hop songs are played in four-beat time.
• Try to predict in advance when the next blow will sound. At this stage of training, a metronome will be very useful for you; you will have the opportunity not only to hear, but also to “see” the next measure.
• Identify the first measure, which is usually the most distinct, as a starting point for your counting. In most cases you can count one-and, two-and, three-and, four-and, although there may be exceptions, such as a three-beat rhythm.
• Imagine yourself as a member of an orchestra, for example, beating each measure, imitating the drums, so that you can perform rhythmic exercises as confidently as possible.
• Now try to “play” four punches and kicks alternately. Try beating the rhythm twice as often, that is, use half and eighth notes. Complicate the task, change the sequence: for example, two steps - clap or three clap - step, watch the clarity. When performing exercises to develop a sense of rhythm, systematic training is important.
• The following exercise for a sense of rhythm also helps develop coordination. To perform it, you just need to rub your stomach with one palm and stroke your head with the other. Just try rubbing your belly and stroking your head at the same time. This is a great opportunity to learn to feel the rhythm with both hands.
• Play the rhythm of tunes you know well from memory, using the same step-and-clap pattern you're already familiar with. Then listen carefully to the piece again, then try to beat the beats to the music - you will see how easy it is. Over time, your movements will turn from clumsy to confident, coordinated and accurate, each arm and leg will be able to beat out its own part, and with different frequencies.

It is highly advisable not to stop there; whenever possible, dance to the music. Hard work will help you achieve results in almost any direction, so with the help of certain exercises you can even

Meter (the alternation of strong and weak beats) and rhythm (the alternation of long and short sounds) are the basis of music. Pre-music. Primitive knowledge of any living being.

Day gives way to night, high tides turn to low tides, after spring comes summer, and after autumn comes winter.
What is musical rhythm? Alternating sounds of different durations? Here is what experts say about this: “In the broad sense of the word, rhythm is an organized sequence of constructions (motive, phrase, sentence) of different sizes. Meter is the order of alternating beats of music of equal duration, divided into supporting (strong) and non-supporting (weak) beats. Meter is a system for organizing musical rhythm. Music requires unity of meter and rhythm and forms a single meter rhythm.
An organized sequence of sound durations (whole note, half note, quarter note, eighth note, etc.) represents musical rhythm. Rhythm is one of the main expressive and formative means of music.” (Website “I am a musician” http://yamuzykant.ru/)

What is a sense of rhythm? How to develop it? There is an opinion that this is impossible, since the sense of rhythm is an innate thing. However, in practice, I was able to see how easily and through play you can develop a sense of rhythm in yourself and your children!

Here are some tips on the method of R.M. Sheinin (Samara) and D.E. Ogorodnova:
1. The sooner, the better. Age: preschool, starting from infancy. After 5 it’s much more difficult. The ideal option is in utero - the pregnant mother does meter and rhythm exercises. But with adults it’s also not without results.
2. Foot timing: marching to the count: 1,2, 3,4. We march, highlighting (stomping strongly) 1 and 3 – strong beats. We march, highlighting only 2 or, for example, 4. Working in a group is much more effective (everyone stands in a circle and behind each other’s head).
3. Timing with feet: marching to the music (2 quarters) - highlighting the strong beats.
4. Hand timing: clap your hands. On the downbeat, take a big swing, spread your arms to the sides, clap your hands. We don’t swing on the weak beat, we only touch it with our fingertips. Let's test the musical square on the words “loud - quiet”, the first bar is the beginning, the second is the development, the third is the climax, the fourth is the completion.
5. Timing with hands to music (2 quarters). On the strong beat there is a loud clap - “palms”, on the weak beat - a quiet clap, “fingers”.
6. Timing with hands (clap) or feet (stomp on the spot, hands on the waist) nursery rhyme, on a strong beat - loudly, on a weak beat - quietly. For example,
Bom-bom, tili-bom,
The cat's house caught fire
The cat jumped out
Her eyes bulged.
7. We march in quarters with the words “Step, step, step, step.”
8. We run on tiptoes (eighths) with the words “Run, run, run, run.”
9. If working in a group, divide into 2 groups - at the same time, one half walks “step-step”, and the other half walks “run-go, run-go”.
10. Stomp the rhythm of the cat’s house - for every syllable. The above quatrain will look like this:
Step, step, run-gom step,
Run, run, run, step.
Running step, running step,
Running step, running step.
11. The group is divided into 2 parts - we recite “Cat House” and walk: one half is meter (only for strong and weak beats), the other is rhythm (for each syllable)
12. Now let’s clap the same thing
13. You can tap on a drum (on a chair, on a table top, on the floor, etc.), rattle a rattle, and the like.

First of all, you need to understand that developing a sense of musical rhythm cannot be achieved without practice. In other words, you need to develop it in the process music lessons with help special exercises and techniques that we will look at below.

Another thing is that there are also types of activities that contribute, that is, can help develop a sense of rhythm, despite the fact that they are not directly related to musical practice. We will also consider them separately.

Developing a sense of rhythm when practicing music

The most effective ways to develop a sense of rhythm can be different types musical activity: studying the theoretical basis, playing an instrument and singing, rewriting notes, conducting, etc. Let's consider the main methods that deal with this problem.

CASE No. 1 “BRAIN EDUCATION”. The sense of rhythm is not just a feeling, it is also a certain way of thinking. Therefore, it is extremely important to gradually bring the child (and the adult to come himself) to an awareness of the phenomena of rhythm from the point of view music theory. What's the most important thing here? The concepts of pulse, meter, musical size, knowledge of note durations and pauses. The following materials will help you in completing this task (click on the names - new pages will open):

CASE No. 2 “COUNTING OUT LOUD”. This method is widely used by music school teachers, both at the initial stage and with older children. What is the essence of the method?

The student counts the beats out loud according to the time signature. If the size is 2/4, then the count goes like this: “one-and, two-and.” If the size is 3/4, then, accordingly, you need to count to three: “one-and, two-and, three-and.” If the time signature is set to 4/4, then we count to four: “one-and, two-and, three-and, four-and.”

At the same time, various musical durations and pauses are calculated in the same way. A whole note or rest takes up two beats, a quarter note takes one beat, an eighth note takes up half a beat (that is, two of them can be played on a beat: one is played, for example, on “one”, and the second on “and”) .

And thus, uniform dimensional counting and duration counting are combined. If used regularly and efficiently this method When learning pieces, the student will gradually get used to rhythmic playing. Here is an example of such a combination:

CASE No. 3 “RHYTHMOSLOGS”. This method of developing a rhythmic sense is very effective; it is usually used in 1-2 grades in solfeggio lessons, but you can do this at home at any age. Children are explained that the melody has long and short sounds, for which rhythmic syllables of similar duration are selected.

For example, whenever there is a quarter note in the notes, it is suggested to say the syllable “ta”, when the eighth note is the syllable “ti”, two eighth notes in a row - “ti-ti”. Half note - we say the extended syllable “ta-am” (as if to show that the note is long and consists of two quarters). It is very comfortable!

How to work with this? Let’s take some melody, for example, the melody of M. Karasev’s famous song “The Little Christmas Tree Is Cold in Winter.” You can take the example as simpler or more complex as you like. And then the work proceeds in this order:

1. First, we simply look at the musical text and determine what note durations it contains. We rehearse - we call all the durations our “syllables”: quarter notes – “ta”, eighth notes – “ti”, halves – “ta-am”.

What are we doing? First measure: ta, ti-ti. Second measure: ta, ti-ti. Third: ti-ti, ti-ti. Fourth: ta-am. Let's analyze the melody to the end in this way.

1. The next stage is to connect your palms! Our palms will clap a rhythmic pattern while simultaneously pronouncing rhythmic syllables. You can, of course, start right away from this stage, especially if this is not the first time you have resorted to the method.
2. If the child remembers the rhythmic pattern, then you can do this: replace the rhythmic syllables with the names of notes, and let your palms continue to tap the rhythm. That is, we clap and call the notes in the right rhythm. At the same time, we improve both the skill of reading notes and the sense of rhythm.
3. We do the same thing, only now we don’t just name the notes, we sing them. Let the teacher or adult play along with the melody. If you study on your own, then listen to it in audio recording (player below), you can sing along with listening.

1. After such good work, it is usually not difficult for a child to approach the instrument and play the same melody with a good rhythm.

By the way, if you wish, you can use any other suitable rhythmic syllables. For example, these could be the sounds of a clock: “tick-tock” (two eighth notes), “tiki-taki” (four sixteenth notes), “bom” (quarter or half notes), etc.

CASE No. 4 “CONDUCTING”. Conducting is convenient to use when singing melodies; in this case, it replaces counting out loud. But the conductor's gesture has one more advantage compared to other methods of developing rhythm: it is associated with plasticity, with movement. And that is why conducting is extremely useful not only for those who sing, but also for those who play any instrument, since it develops precision of movement and will.

After all, it often happens that a child understands the rhythm with his ears, mind, and eyes, but cannot play correctly due to the fact that the coordination between hearing and action (hand movements when playing an instrument) has not been developed. This shortcoming can be easily corrected with the help of conducting.

MORE ABOUT CONDUCTING –

CASE No. 5 “METRONOME”. A metronome is a special device that beats the musical pulse at a selected tempo. There are different types of metronomes: the best and most expensive are the old mechanical winding ones with a scale and weight. There are analogues - electric metronomes or digital ones (in the form of an application for a smartphone or a program for a computer).

The metronome is used at different stages of learning, but mainly when working with older children and students. What is the goal? The metronome is turned on so that the student can better hear the pulse, which allows him to play at the same tempo all the time: neither speed it up nor slow it down.

It is especially bad when the student speeds up the tempo (without a metronome, he may not feel this). Why is that bad? Because in this case, he does not finish playing certain beats, does not pause, does not win some rhythmic figures, eats them, crumples them (especially the sixteenth notes on the last beats of the bar).

As a result, the work is not only distorted rhythmically, the quality of its performance also suffers - sooner or later, acceleration leads to the fact that the work is “stuttered”, clarity is lost in it, and technical errors also appear (stops, passages are not completed, etc.) . This all happens because when accelerating, the musician does not allow himself to breathe normally, he tenses up, and his arms also become unnecessarily tense, which leads to breakdowns.

CASE No. 6 “SUBTEXT.” Learning melodies with text or selecting words and text to music is also in a good way education of rhythmic play. The rhythmic feeling here develops thanks to the expressiveness of the verbal text, which also has rhythm. Moreover, the rhythm of words is more familiar to people than the rhythm of music.

How to apply this method? Usually in songs, stops on long notes occur at the same moments when similar stops occur in the text. There are two ways, either of them is effective:

1. Learn a song with words before playing it on the piano (that is, feel the rhythm earlier).
2. Disassemble the song note by note, and then, for greater accuracy of rhythm, play it and sing it with words (words help correct the rhythm).

In addition, subtext often helps to master some complex rhythmic figures, such as quintuplets. You can read more about the performance of fifths and other unusual rhythms in the article on the types of rhythmic divisions.

TYPES OF RHYTHMIC DIVISION –

Activities that help develop a sense of rhythm

As we noted above, if such activities do not directly relate to music, but help in developing a sense of rhythm for children and adults. These types of activities include mathematics, poetry reading, physical exercise, and choreography. Let's take a closer look at everything we've mentioned.

MATHEMATICS. Mathematics is known to help development logical thinking. Even the simplest arithmetic operations, which children practice in grades 1-2, significantly increase their sense of proportions and symmetry. And we have already said that these feelings help to assimilate the rhythm with the mind.

Let us make one recommendation. If you are checking the sense of rhythm in your young son or daughter, and the results are not very pleasing to you, then there is no need to urgently drag them to music school. It is necessary for them to grow up a little, learn to read, write, add and subtract at school, and only after that, that is, at the age of 8-9, bring the child to music school. The fact is that a weak sense of rhythm is most effectively developed mentally, and therefore success requires at least basic mathematical training.

READING POEMS. Expressive reading poems is useful not only because it is also associated with the reproduction of rhythms, albeit speech ones. Music is also in in a certain sense speech and language. Huge benefit brings analysis of the content of poetic texts.

After all, how do most people read poetry? They catch the rhymes, but have absolutely no idea what they are reading. Once we had the opportunity to attend a literature lesson in the 8th grade. We went through the poem “Mtsyri” by M.Yu. Lermontov, the children recited passages from the poem by heart. It was a sad picture! Students pronounced the text clearly line by line, completely ignoring the punctuation marks (periods and commas) that might occur in the middle of the line, and completely ignoring the fact that there might not be any punctuation marks at the end of the line.

Let's give one of the excerpts. Here is what Lermontov wrote in meaning (not line by line):

Holding the jug above your head,
The Georgian woman walked along a narrow path to the shore.
Sometimes she slipped between the stones,
Laughing at your awkwardness.
And her outfit was poor;
And she walked easily
Throwing back the curves of the long veil.
The summer heat covered her face and chest with a golden shadow;
And the heat breathed from her lips and cheeks.

Now compare this content with that which was pronounced by the reading students line by line (a few examples):

“I went to the shore. Sometimes” (And sometimes I didn’t go?)
“And she walked easily, backwards” (The girl put the car in reverse, like in a car)
“Throwing it back. Summer heat" (The heat has been thrown away, long live the cold!)

Does the text of the master storytellers differ from the text of Lermontov? The question is rhetorical. This is why it is important to analyze the content. This helps to then analyze the music from the point of view of its rhythmic structure, phrasing and not play something backwards.

PHYSICAL EDUCATION AND DANCE CLASSES. These methods allow you to learn rhythm through plasticity and movements. If we are talking about physical education, then, first of all, we should keep in mind exercises and warm-ups, which are usually carried out in schools with a good rhythmic count. Tennis training (rhythmic responses) and rhythmic gymnastics(to music).

There is nothing to say about dancing. Firstly, the dance is almost always accompanied by music, which the dancer also memorizes rhythmically. And, secondly, many dance movements are learned to a musical score.