 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Ken
Date: 2002-07-25 19:58
Rhythm, rhythm, rhythm!! Hi Folks, what is a good excersice to strengthen rhythm acuratecy? Please help. Thanks!
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Author: Ralph G
Date: 2002-07-25 20:05
Here's a trick for improving 16th note runs:
Play the run at half tempo as dotted eighth and sixteenth runs over and over again. After you're sick of that, play the same run over and over again, but flip-flopped as sixteenth and dotted eighth patterns. When you're thoroughly sick of that one, go back to playing it as written. Betcha dollars to donuts you'll have the run nailed.
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Author: Jerry McD
Date: 2002-07-25 21:34
Hi Ken,
I struggle with this pretty regularly and what helps me is to play EVERYTHING with a metronome, even the most simple passages. Just leave it on your stand (if you have one of the smaller styles) and let it keep going. You can vary your rhythms on runs as Ron suggests, as well as the speed-it-up-one-click-at-a-time technique. I find constantly using a metronome helps me focus better......or maybe the ticking is just making me crazy!
Good luck,
Jerry McD.
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Author: Suzanne
Date: 2002-07-25 21:56
A good book for mastering all types of rhythm is Rhythmical Articulation by Pasquale Bona. It is not written specifically for clarinet (or any other instrument), but instead written for musicians in general for the purpose of presenting rhythmic complexities and engaging their solutions. Must be practiced with a metronome!
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Author: Pam
Date: 2002-07-25 23:00
Rhythm is probably my weakest area. My teacher keeps having me play things that have some syncopation.
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Author: Tony Wakefield
Date: 2002-07-25 23:09
To get your fingers moving evenly, let your fingers <walk> as tho` they were little hammers. Hit the instrument positively with each finger. When taking fingers off, hit an invisible ruler which you imagine to be about an 1/2 inch above the keywork, stretching the whole length of the instr - almost like flicking a rolled up bit of paper across the room. In each group of 4, aim to stress the 3rd note to keep everything moving evenly - evenly - evenly.
To get the passage of <music> working, start at the <last> group of 16`s, then repeat, then add the next to last, (making 8 x 16`s) then the 4 before that, (12 x 16`s) working backwards all the time, until you reach the start.
You`ll get there using the above. Do it! every day - do it!
Best,
Tony W.
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Author: Irwin
Date: 2002-07-25 23:53
I have a great DOS program that my teacher gave me. It's actually a game called rythmaticity. It's fun to play and really banged home in my brain syncopation and other interesting rhythms. I'd be happy to send a copy to you. Perhaps Mark will let me send it to him, and if he approves he can make it available for download to anyone who wants it.
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Author: Ken Shaw
Date: 2002-07-26 15:27
Ken -
Accurate rhythm has several elements, and there are several things to work on.
First, you need to create a strong sense of pulse in your head -- a mental metronome. You get this, fairly obviously, by practicing with a metronome. Don't worry about your playing becoming "mechanical." You have to have the pulse first, and only then can you intentionally depart from it for musical reasons.
Second, you need to work out your finger motions so that the complex ones (going across the break) are as quick as the easy ones (moving one finger). Go to http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=82251&t=82087, where I gave a systematic way of approaching this.
The third thing is not to "fake" a passage faster than you can play perfectly. You work up difficult passages slowly, using a metronome, and find the really difficult speed, just slightly faster than where you can play perfectly. Go to http://www.woodwind.org/clarinet/BBoard/read.html?f=1&i=24907&t=24731 for more.
Best regards.
Ken Shaw
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Author: David Pegel
Date: 2002-07-27 03:45
My rhythm improved when I took up composition. Maybe WRITING music helps one understand it better.
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Author: lw
Date: 2002-07-27 05:25
There are many books out now that deal with rhythm improvement. My teacher got me started on a book by Robert Starer called Rhythmic Training. The way I practice with this book is quite simple. I start at chapter one and I turn my metronome on to a moderate to slow tempo. I then take a pencil and tap the beat against something. While I'm doing that I say the rhythm outloud in a "Ta" syllable. Howard Klug encourages people to tap their feet. He says that when we are young we are taught to not tap our feet because it is "unprofessional". But when we are young our perception of rhythm, tempo, time etc. hasn't fully developed. Once you are secure with the rhythm you can tap your foot softer or not at all. Many times when musicians learn to stop using their foot as a pace keeper they tend to use their body instead. They might lean forward are bounce the clarinet etc. This interupts the flow of air, causing the notes to swell or become uneven. This can be fixed be using your foot (and a metronome) and standing up perfectly straight. Being perfectly straight will help your air flow because there is nothing obstructing your diaphram from pushing the air out of the lungs in a solid, smooth stream. Best of luck on your rhythm studies!
lw
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Author: lw
Date: 2002-07-27 05:28
I also forgot to mention subdividing in your head. Never stop subdividing. I am one of the many people guilty of not giving a half note full value. But when I subdivide I never have that problem.
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