Rhythm Bootcamp

In over 30 years of examining I’ve consistently observed how often pitch is more secure than rhythm in the performance of pieces, and more significantly in the area of sight reading. Why is this, especially taken that most musicians can identify rhythmic values with reasonable confidence? My theory is that there is a disconnect between knowledge and understanding. In other words, most musicians can identify that a note needs to be sustained for two beats or for one and a half beats but this remains no more than isolated information.

The important thing is to be able to apply that information to a succession of rhythms in the music. The key question is not ‘how long do I need to hold on to this note?’ but ‘when do I need to play the next note?’ In order to be confident about the latter question we need to relate the printed rhythm to the metre, the pulse, and the position in the bar. Instead of hoping that the rhythm will be right because we know we have ‘two beats followed by one and a half beats followed by half a beat’ we need to translate that into ‘the first note begins on beat one, the second note begins on beat three, and the third note begins on the second half of beat four’. Once we relate that to a reliable pulse we are in a much stronger position to deliver the rhythm accurately.

This course builds a method on the concept outlined above, starting with elementary rhythms and increasing the complexity of rhythm step by step as the course unfolds. As we journey through the course we will ensure the accurate grasp of the essential theoretical skills and we will develop associated aural skills but the course is essentially practical, offering you repeated opportunities to read, clap and play rhythms until they are fully embedded.

By the end of this course you will have an assured grasp of rhythm. So come and join me on this exciting and liberating musical journey, and never again be bewildered by rhythm!