Lesson 6a – How to subdivide the beat-

Lesson 6 – How to subdivide the beat

What are you going to learn?

1. To identify the beat of a song, the bar and how to subdivide the beat, to create more intensity.
2. A new song with the Dm and F chords.

What will you do differently after completing the assignments for this lesson?

1. You will have proved to yourself that you are capable of learning on your own a song, by listening and understanding what you hear.
2. You will be able to listen to music, feel the beat and hear what you need to play, to create the rhythm.
3. You will further consolidate your learning, to help you progress quickly towards the song learning goal.

The Beat

What is the beat ?

The beat of this song is the pulse that all members of the band sync to, to play the melody and accompaniment. You identify the beat by simply tapping your foot to the music.

DO IT WITH ME!

Tap your feet to this song and when you are ready say one! Fill in the gaps between the ones!

The beats are grouped in units of generally two, three or four beats. We name the unit a bar.

Have fun with the beat

You will now learn to talk musically about the beat and start having fun with it. When we play rhythm, we define the beat and we talk about the beat with its subdivision.

Subdivision of the beat

Play with muted strings the following routine to learn how to subdivide the beat. Read once, then play twice, non stop:

• 1 2 3 4
• 1 & 2 &3&4
• 1 potato 2 potato 3 potato 4 potato
• 1 potato 2 potato 3 potato 4 potato

Play with your hands the following routine learn how to subdivide the beat. Read once, then play twice, non stop:

• 1 2 3 4
• 1 & 2 &3&4
• 1 potatoe 2 potato 3 potato 4  potato
• 1 potatoe 2 potato 3 potato 4  potato

The beat is constant in this exercise, and when you play more notes per beat, the music feels more intense. When you count 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, you divide the beat in two, the potatoes divide the beat in four.

Feel the intensity

Play with me the C and Am chord with these variations, and feel how the intensity changes.  Learn  how to subdivide the beat.

Complete the assignments and submit.

Assignments 

The Beat Assignment 1

• Listen to the songs I have shared with you, clap your hands on one, fill in the rest of the beats and write the answer to the question, how many beats in a bar in each song? and submit to the forum.
• Listen to the songs I have shared with you, clap your hands on one, fill in the rest of the beats and sing the most comfortable subdivision the song uses. Write down your replies to what is the subdivision of each song and submit to the forum.
• Record yourself playing your three combinations of 4 bars of muted rhythms.

For example: 1st bar one note per beat, next bar 4 notes per beat, next bar two notes per beat, next bar 4 notes per beat.

Before you play your combinations, count in sync with a metronome:

• 1 2 3 4
• 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &
• 1 potato 2  potato 3 potato 4 potato
• 1 potato 2  potato 3 potato 4 potato

Then play your 4 combinations.

Please choose the slowest tempo you are comfortable with, and apply the corresponding check questions for your own self assessment. Once you are satisfied with your results, please submit your recording to the teacher.

Practice your combinations until they sound correct, then record, so you can assess how well you are progressing.