Technique for fast rhythm reading. Prayer and brain rhythms

Many guitarists who are accustomed to using tabs and playing by ear experience great difficulty reading music, mainly due to reading rhythm. It turns out that mastering the pitch component of musical notation is much easier than the rhythmic one. However, mastering the rhythmic component is also not so difficult, which will be discussed below.

The first thing you need to know is, of course, the very basics of musical notation, in terms of recording the durations of notes and pauses, musical meters and polyphony (what recording of several voices on one staff looks like). This information is contained in any textbook on elementary music theory. There is a lot of such information on the Internet, for example:
http://www.midi.ru/scores/h1_1_4.html
http://www.drumspeech.com/lessons.php?id=179
http://www.drumspeech.com/lessons.php?id=180
http://www.music-theory.ru/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=93&Itemid=205
This information is simple, you just need to read and understand it.

First you need to learn to quickly imagine “mixing” the sound of several voices into one. This requires only the basic knowledge discussed above. The previous example can be simplistically written (or simply imagined) like this:

After this, we decipher the rhythm by signing the score for each note and pause. To do this we find the smallest The duration (note or pause) in a bar is considered to be precisely these durations. For example, if the time signature is 4/4, but there are sixteenth notes in the bar, we will consider it to be sixteenth notes, i.e. as if we were size 16/16. Here is the rhythmic decoding of our example (eighths will be enough for us, as if we had an 8/8 time signature):

Next, we play this, counting in eighth notes ("under the foot" or under the metronome). Obviously, playing this at a super-slow tempo is not a big problem, since we have already planned everything out exactly and know which beats to play and which ones to just wait. Then we gradually increase the tempo of the game, ensuring that the rhythm is memorized so that it can be reproduced intuitively, by ear, without counting or a metronome, or under a “normal”, more “rare” count, corresponding to the denominator of the size (in our case - in half notes) .

If there are notes with dots in a measure, the “smallest” duration for decoding will be a duration that is at least half as long as such a note. For example, if there is an eighth note with a dot in a measure, you need to decipher it in sixteenth notes, knowing that an eighth note with a dot is three sixteenth notes in duration.

Thus, now we know how to decipher any rhythmic pattern, but for now we are doing it very slowly.

The next thing that needs to be well understood is that the same rhythmic pattern can be recorded with different durations, which can only affect the speed of execution, but not the essence of the rhythm itself. Say, a quarter, then two eighths pattern is exactly the same as an eighth, then two sixteenths pattern, only twice as slow. If you specify twice the tempo in the score, it will be absolutely the same. Those. Only the ratio of durations to each other plays a role, but not their absolute value. Thus, if we proportionally increase or decrease all the durations (and the indicated time signature) in a particular notation, we will get the same music, but at a different tempo (unless we change the tempo indication itself).

The composer’s choice of the absolute value of the durations depends on the convenience of recording (larger durations are chosen so as not to draw too many connections), as well as on intuitive-emotional considerations of “lightness”. A quarter is a step, eighths and sixteenths are running, half and whole are almost a stop (however, you can run slowly and walk quickly). Very small durations, even at slow tempos, mean the “insignificance” of each such note for musical thought as a whole. A 3/8 waltz should be perceived as more "frivolous" than a regular 3/4 waltz, even if it is played proportionately slower, etc.

From the above it follows that all the possible rhythmic figures and patterns in the world are much smaller than it might seem, because most of them repeat each other, but are only written with different durations in absolute terms. In fact, there are at most a few dozen “rhythmic clichés” (groupings of several notes of different durations), which make up almost all at least somewhat popular music. If you remember such clichés, they will become easily recognizable visually when reading notes, which will increase the speed of reading scores significantly (in terms of rhythm). Actually, all academic musicians who are fluent sight-readers read rhythm in exactly this way: they catch familiar rhythmic clichés with their eyes.

I’ll take the risk of trying to find the main rhythmic clichés.

If you have a good idea of ​​their sound (in terms of rhythm) and learn to quickly recognize them when they are recorded in other (proportional) durations, showing the ability to generalize- this is the key to quickly reading rhythm from notes.

© Natalya Grace. Speed ​​reading. 2012
A fragment of the book is published with the permission of the author.
A link to the original source when quoting is required.

This is an exercise in multitasking. Not only does it increase your Miller number, but it also helps improve your alertness and speed of thinking. With one hand you hold the book while reading aloud, and with the other hand - whichever is more convenient for you - you tap out the rhythm. If you have a musical education - at least the basics - you will quickly get the hang of it. But even if not, with some persistence you will achieve results after just a few attempts. One of my students, an entrepreneur, his name is Ivan, was angry with himself because nothing worked out for him the first time. He asked for a week's break between meetings in order to perfectly rehearse the movements of his hand beating the rhythm. A few days later he called me and said that he would study on his own for a whole month and only then begin the next stage of training. Everyone would like to have such perseverance! By the way, Ivan is a very successful businessman. Apparently, character affects.

Rhythm

First, read aloud to a simple rhythm, like a metronome. The optimal rhythm is two beats per second. You will master it without difficulty. The main thing is not to help yourself with your head, like Mother Horse. One part of your brain monitors the movement of your hand and the correct rhythm, and the other part monitors your reading. Can you imagine how easy it will be for you to read when you no longer need to tap out the rhythm? In a sense, this exercise is reminiscent of the training of a skier who overcomes an incline at a skating step with bags of sand - weights on his legs. Without weights, running becomes much easier, as if a weight had been lifted from your shoulders. Dumbbells perform the same role. Don’t be lazy and pump your brain to the fullest. Read to the beat!

You shouldn’t say this rhythm to yourself. You just need to turn it on and that's it. The hand should work as if autonomously. Strive to ensure that the intervals between strikes are the same. At the same time, the dynamics of your reading cannot be constant all the time, because you are not a robot. Pauses will appear, in some places, on the contrary, it will increase; sometimes we “freeze”, lost in thought. All this will happen
happen when reading aloud. But don’t let your hand fizzle. She must work on the rhythm like an automaton. No matter how the speed of pronouncing the words changes, the hand knows that it is doing its job. I sometimes even recommend imagining a red pulsating center in your head that controls your hand via radio communication.

Happened? I'm sure so. It's relatively simple. The second stage is the complication of the rhythm:

One, pause, one-two!

One, pause, one-two!

This rhythm is similar to the sound of train wheels. After mastering this rhythm, we take on a more complex one.

One, pause, one-two-three!

One, pause, one-two-three!

Perhaps this will make it clearer to you:

Knock, pause, knock-knock-knock!

If after watching the video you still don’t understand what reading to a rhythm is, I’ll explain it differently. Remember the joke:

- “Grandma, do you really live at the stadium?

Yes Yes Yes!

Yes Yes Yes Yes!

Read to this football rhythm, every boy knows it. And if you don’t know, come individually. I will help with all I can.

His heart, his pulse. This is the rhythm of the music he hears. These are the rhythmic sounds of a clock running.

Sense of rhythm

Rhythm always has an effect on a person. Monotonous speech, rhythmically consisting of syllables identical in volume, makes up an inexpressive speech canvas. Only the stress in words makes it possible to distinguish them from each other.

After a short time, involuntarily, sounds are structured by the brain and are perceived as repeating quiet and loud syllables, alternating with each other. By writing the louder syllable as “/” and the quieter one as “-”, we get the following scheme:

• /-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/.

Boring and tedious, isn't it? It’s easy to disconnect from your interlocutor and let your thoughts fly far, far away. Or even fall asleep. As you know, the most soothing thing is a lecture. Nevertheless, the smallest elements of the verse - syllables - were determined. They are called first level rhythm units.

To prevent speech from being monotonous, read with expression. Stressed syllables are highlighted and semantic stress is placed in the entire phrase.

Rhythm in prose

The rhythms of verse and the rhythms of prose obey the same laws. Moreover, the musical rhythm also matches them. When a phrase is constructed, the words are emphasized and the key word or phrase is highlighted. Emphasis is placed on highlighting a fragment by increasing or decreasing the sound or by pausing.

The rhythm in prose is inconsistent and this differs from the rhythm of verse. In the poem, the entire text is structured and subject to a certain rhythm. It may change, return to the original, but it is always there. In prose, it is sometimes present to express a certain thought. A writer uses this tool to underline an enumeration, for example:

• The train drew its line from west to east, fields, forests and wretched villages flashed through the windows. They were replaced by summer cottages, which smoothly turned into the suburbs, and then into provincial towns.

The rhythmic recording of this phrase will look like this:

• /- -/- -/- -/- - - - /, -/- - - -/, -/- -/- - - - /- . /- - - /- - - /- , -/- - /- - - - /- - /- , - - /- - - - /- - - - /.

There's something of the rhythm of a train, isn't it? But here is a recording of a phrase of a different mood:

• No, I won't do that. Attacked the wrong one! What's this? Money? To me? Out! Get out of my apartment and out of my life!
• /, - -/- /- -/-. - - -/- /! - -/ ? /- ?/ ?/! /- -/- /- - - - - /-!

If you insert any reasoning into this phrase, the dynamics of the action will change, and along with it expressive expressions will go away, the color of the character’s speech will change, he will have a different character:

• No, I won't do that. Who do you take me for? So that I sign this document with my own hands? Became your guarantor, risking the well-being of your own family? What is this? Money? Now you are ready to pay for my betrayal, but who will pay me when you betray me? Leave. The conversation is over.
• /, - -/- /- -/-. - - - / - -/- -/-? - -/, - - - - - /-, - -/- - - -/? / - - - - /- -, -/- - - - /- -/ - - -/? /- - ?/- ? -/ - - - - /- - - - /- -, - - - - -/, - -/- - - /? - -/. - -/ - /-.

This is what a gentle person can say, the very opposite of the easily boiling neurasthenic from the first example. As you can see, rhythm in prose serves to color the narrative or regulate the dynamics of action.

The unit of rhythm in verse is the foot

Sounds of the same duration, which are expressed in writing as “/” and “-”, constitute an element. There are quite a large number of them, here are just a few:

• /- - -
• /- - - -

They are called second level units - stops. The name comes from antiquity, when the dancer lowered himself onto his full foot. The pattern of his dance consisted of two symbols: shock (foot) and unstressed (dance on toes). Over time, the classical foot changed its appearance, and now this is the name given to the repeating element of a verse, where there is one stressed syllable and one or more unstressed ones.

If there is no picture yet on the first level, then it appears on the second. It is from these “bricks” that poems will be composed. Most often they consist of two, three or four lobes. Therefore they are called two-, three- and four-lobed feet.

Line

For the beauty of the sound, rhythm units of the second level are not enough. They are grouped into lines or rhythmic units of the third level:

• /-/-/-/-
• -/-/-/-/-
• /- -/- -/- -/
• - - /- -/- -/
• -/- -/- -/-

For example, let's try to write down the rhythm in a verse, highlighting the syllables on which the intensification falls:

• Let's laugh and cry
• and don’t hide sincere feelings from each other.
• - - - -/- - - - -/-
• -/- -/- - - - -/-.

The meter and rhythm of the verse may not coincide, although they are written with the same characters.

Verse size

Salieri told Mozart that he “measured harmony with algebra.” This has a deep meaning: poetry can be measured, and the unit of measurement will be the size of the verse.

There are five main meters in Russian versification:

1. - - /

They are called trochee, iambic, dactyl, amphibrachium, and anapest, respectively. Stress plays an important role in determining the size of a verse. And if the rhythm is an unstable quantity, depending on the performer, then he cannot change the size. Here's what the meter record for the previous verse looks like:

• - /- - /- - /- -/-
• - /- - /- - /- -/-.

It's like musical notation. Whether to play with great feeling and expressiveness, or to beat the beat, as they play in dance classes, depends on the accompanist. The notes remain the same in both cases.

It’s the same with a reciter of poetry: he can read them with great enthusiasm, highlighting some words and making pauses. Then his performance will become like a good performance of a musical piece. Now imagine a school crammer who went to the blackboard and read a poem on one note, monotonously. He reflected the meter of the verse, but did not give it rhythm. Poems without rhythm division are lifeless.

Stanza

Stops are formed from stressed and unstressed syllables, from them - lines, and from lines - stanzas. A stanza is a unit of rhythm of the fourth level. It can have the same size for all lines, or it can change it. A. S. Pushkin invented the “Onegin stanza”, where he combined several sizes.

But still, a stanza is a rhythm. Repeating from two to many times, it gives a pattern to the poem.

The most common stanzas are four lines. And the stanzas contain rhyme.

Rhyme

Some words end the same way. In this case, one word for another is a rhyme. A person becomes familiar with them from birth: lullabies and nursery rhymes, sayings, jokes and sayings contain rhyming words. A feature of rhyme in modern versification is that it can be taken from another language.

Zemfira calmly rhymes with the word “disco”:

• The last thing I need is your comeback" and...

Moreover, you can rhyme words that do not exist in any language. This is exactly what Lewis Carroll did when he inserted a poem about the Jabberwocky into his fairy tale:

• “It was barking... Squishy blinkers...”.

With his light hand, experimentation began with poets of the early twentieth century. Kharms, for example, wrote:

• People sleep:
• urls-murls.
• Over people
• Eagles soar.

Here the rhyme is "eagles - murls". Because there is no such word, poetry does not cease to be poetry. The verse size, rhythm and rhyme are maintained. Although it may not exist. There are several forms where poems are composed without rhyme.

Hexameters and blank verse

The hexameter size is known from Homer's Odyssey. After its translation into Russian, poets began to imitate the ancient meter more often. It has the following scheme:

• /- -/- -/- -/- -/- -/-

The antique size of hexameters is not often used in Russian poetry. However, some hexameters have become widely known. For example, in the film “Say a Word for the Poor Hussar,” during a rehearsal of an ancient play written in hexameters, Bubentsov comes on stage in a sheepskin coat and addresses the Greek gods: “My dear brothers, plebeians and fauns!” Keeping the size of the hexameter, he asks them to move it across the stage. The actors instantly adjust their positions and respond in the same spirit.

Another example of this verse is found in “The Golden Calf” - the second book about O. Bender by writers Ilf and Petrov. Having barely escaped the fire, V. Lokhankin spoke in ancient verse:

• “I came to you to settle forever, I hope to find shelter with you.”

The main thing in such a verse is not rhyme, but meter. It extends to all lines, and the narrative becomes like a ballad:

• The sun had long since disappeared and retired before dawn.
• And the night light is in no hurry to emerge into the sky.
• Sirens sing in the waves, inviting sailors.
• Only the lighthouse fire shines cheerfully.

Poems without rhyme are called “blank verse.” There are very beautiful poems by A. Blok and S. Cherny, written in this style. They are structured, have a verse rhythm, a meter, and this is real poetry.

Burime

You don't need inspiration to write simple poems. You just need to know the basic laws of versification. The game "burime" is built on these laws. Two pairs of rhymes are given, and the players compose a quatrain. Afterwards, the creations are read out and the most successful one is chosen. This parlor game allows you to quickly understand the concepts of verse rhythm, meter, and stanza construction with rhyming lines. Let's say two pairs of such rhymes are given: “guipure - manicure” and “jam - haute couture”. Here's what might happen:

• The finest guipure gloves
• The French manicure did not hide it.
• Today I'm cooking confiture in the kitchen,
• Dressed in haute couture.

In this quatrain, paired rhymes appear in adjacent lines. It would be possible to swap them. Although they do not agree on the size, the given words already contain an anapest:

• - - /

These are words with two unstressed syllables and one last stressed syllable. It is known that they should be at the end of the line. Therefore, there are few options for choosing the size of the verse.

You can write down the rhythm of the verse, assuming it will be performed by a glamorous person:

• - - - - - - - /
• - - - - - - - /
• - - / - - / - - / - - /
• - - / - - / - - /.

Rhythm Definition

In educational institutions where acting is taught, there is an exercise: read a quatrain or tongue twister with different expressions. For example, how B. Akhmadullina, V. Mayakovsky, R. Litvinova would read it. The rhythm in the verse will vary depending on the nature of the reader.

V. Mayakovsky's chopped phrases suggest the emphasis of almost every word and significant pauses. B. Akhmadullina would most likely read it in a dreamy tone, placing emphasis only at the end of the line. And R. Litvinova, perhaps, would highlight the beginning and end of the line, pronouncing the rest of the text quietly, as if to herself.

We can conclude: rhythm is a creative approach to the text. By highlighting certain phrases, making pauses, and placing other accents, the reader makes the text lively and dynamic. Rhythm in verse is an unstable quantity. It changes depending on the mood of the reciter. Questioning intonation or exclamation will not change either the text of the verse or its size, but will create the opposite impression of the author’s creation. That is why it is very important to be able to convey rhythm when reading poetry.

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 of a musical composition, its rhythmic pattern, playing beats in a certain sequence at different intervals and placing 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 not everyone succeeds in performing it correctly in a specific piece of music 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 assume that the basic terms, such as tempo, beat, time signature, beats, are generally familiar to the reader.)

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 a grid on the floor with a step of 1 cm, and to record events within an hour, you can make marks directly on the dial of a 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 for themselves 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 any uniform movement: walking to a song, instrumental music, imitative movements that you or your child make while playing. Conversely, teaching rhythmic values ​​only through abstract explanations is detrimental to children's musical development. One of the most important tasks of musical education is the development of inner 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 currently rocking 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.” This is a very valuable and “living” methodological material, which removes the neutrality of the durations recorded in calms at the initial stage of work on developing a sense of rhythm. 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 various forms, including reading words. One important point should be noted: 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.
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- a famous French teacher of music and singing in the mid-19th century, a 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 either the emotional criterion of musical rhythm or 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 with 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 of musical 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 variation in assigning quarters and eighths to certain syllables, they have one undeniable commonality - 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.

Rules for Tapping a Rhythm to Suppress Articulation

Russian Patent No. 2109347

A. The rhythm is tapped with a pencil held in the fingers of the right hand on the hard surface of the table with strikes at one point. Firmly, confidently, clearly.

Note. A left-handed person must tap out the rhythm with both hands at the same time, since he has a greater dependence of speech on the functions of both hemispheres.

B. The rhythm is tapped with an active movement of the whole arm, and not just the hand. The elbow and hand should not lie on the table.

B. When reading while tapping the rhythm, the main thing is to ensure the continuity and correctness of the rhythm pattern.

So you've learned the rhythm. Try tapping it continuously for 2-3 minutes. You don't get lost. Great. Now let's do a simple experiment. Start tapping the rhythm, and then at the same time you tap, read out loud the beginning of this page at the top. What did you get? You are confused, reading aloud and tapping out the rhythm at the same time is impossible, this contradicts the laws of human physiology, which We sorted it out. Now start tapping again and at the same time read the beginning of this page, but to yourself. In this case, you will be able to read, but very slowly, and it will be difficult to understand what you read. This is natural. This is the peculiarity of this exercise.

What problems will you encounter in the process of performing this exercise, how to overcome them, what phases, stages will you go through in the process of mastering the “knock-rhythm” exercise - this will be discussed in detail in the next lesson. In the meantime, we draw your attention to the fact that mastering the exercise with tapping a rhythm is deeply individual. But in all cases it gives a positive result only if it is performed correctly.

We remind you of the required components of the correct execution of the exercise.

A. Read the text to yourself while tapping the rhythm. In order to increase the effectiveness of the exercise, we recommend that all students tap the rhythm while reading silently with both hands at the same time after you have read while tapping the rhythm with one hand for 10 hours.

B. Constant auditory control over the correctness and continuity of the rhythm is required. Imagine you are riding a bicycle, motorcycle, car. You confidently handle and control your vehicle. But still, sometimes you always check the road behind you, in the rearview mirror, to see if everything is in order there.

Something similar needs to be done here. In between paragraphs of the text, listen to the rhythm, whether everything is correct, and then, as if forgetting about it, continue reading again, concentrating your attention on the content of the text being read.

There are two ways to control the rhythm. At the first stage, when we read until 10 o’clock, we set the task: listen to the rhythmic beat. And then, at the final stage, we set the task: to hear the rhythmic knock. What does it mean to listen? This means listening attentively to every rhythmic beat, controlling every rhythm. This is justified at the initial stage. Already after 10 hours, when you develop automatism, you, as it were, with the edge of your consciousness, with the edge of your ear, control whether you are tapping out the rhythm correctly, focusing your attention on identifying the meaning of the text being read. This is the control mode, when you hear the rhythm.