Klarinet Archive - Posting 000436.txt from 2003/07

From: Patricia Crispino <clarinetmasterplc@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Teaching problem
Date: Tue, 15 Jul 2003 00:54:17 -0400

how about instead of them thinking that a dotted
quarter note lasts as long as three eighth notes that
the dot means half the value of the note it is
dotting. i mean, half of a quarter note is half a
beat therefore a dotted quarter note is three counts.
half of a whole note is one full beat therefore a
dotted half note is three full counts. none of my
students knew how to really count and i used somewhat
of a fraction method. 1/2 is half note which means
half a beat, 1/8 is a sixteenth note and so forth.
this way they can also read time signatures and be
able to relate it to whatever is in the piece. having
them count in subdivision also helps because they
can't really rush, it's more noticeable because there
are more things they have to pronounce. quiz them by
writing random rhythms and having them write the
rhythm numerically underneath it. that way if it
doesn't equal the same number of beats as the key
signature they can try and figure out their mistakes
and understand why. majority of the time, the reason
why they can't relate what they 'learned' in that
particular piece or excerisice is probably because
they don't quite understand the beat count for each
written note. a few of mine didn't even really know
the difference between an eighth note and sixteenth
note. don't count the rhythms for them, they begin to
play by ear that way. keep drilling them by giving
them short written rhythms, have them write it out
numerically and then count and clap it. it worked
really well for my kids and they can read music now,
and if they mess up they realize it themselves and fix
it. teaching the key signatures and what gets the
beat works really well, i think rhythm is more of a
visual thing, show them that 2/2 is two beats of half
notes per bar. write a two over a half note, it
helps. good luck to you.

patty

--- Stan Elias <elias1@-----.net> wrote:
> Collective wisdom,
>
> I have a couple of middle-school kids, ages 9 and
> 11, as students. They are
> both having a hard time with rhythm, both counting
> evenly and dealing with
> the complexities of dotted quarter notes. They both
> know that a dotted
> quarter lasts as long as three eighth notes, but
> they are having trouble
> translating that knowledge into performance (I have
> them on the Rubank
> elementary book). We have tried speaking the rhythms
> and clapping the
> rhythms; they have tried to imitate my playing; and
> I have tried to get them
> to play simple patterns without reading any music.
>
> I tried to get one of these students to learn to
> count evenly by watching
> the stepping second hand on a wall clock and
> counting "1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, . .
> ." without getting either ahead of or behind the
> moving hand.
>
> I have tried lavish praise when they do it right. I
> have tried rote
> repetition when they don't. They still don't get it.
>
> What have I missed? What am I doing wrong? Is rhythm
> recognition and
> understanding a developmental thing? What have you
> done that works on
> particularly tough cases? TIA for your help.
>
> Stan
>
>
>
>
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