The following content has been written as a series of articles to be posted in “Bandworld” magazine. I want to thank Scott McKee and his staff for allowing the project to be presented in their publication and for their help and suggestions in creating the final product. Article “one” has been posted already. Still, Scott has decided to hold off on any additional postings until after his ABC Band Sessions in Oregon and also until closer to the beginning of this next school year. I am not sure of the timing of the releases for future articles, so if any band directors are interested in continuing to use any of these materials, they can do so at their own pace and do not have to wait until they are posted. There are also several possible options in the sequence with which the content can be presented or bypassed completely if the director so desires.
If you have any questions or would like to actively participate in the collaboration of this “parallel curriculum” concept, please let me know. Although the “field testing” of these materials has been very limited, the preliminary results have been surprising and encouraging. I can provide references if interested, my contact information is below.
Sincerely Yours,
Rich Moon
843-875-5594
"Rhythm Games" 2024
“Rhythm Games” 1
Here is an idea that is a little different. Except for upcoming Spring Concerts, most middle school performances are done and directors are looking toward helping prepare their 6th graders (beginners) for their upcoming 7th-grade year. This is where they become the younger members of many 7th & 8th- grade combined Festival Bands, so there is a lot they need to accomplish by mid-next year. What about the concept of teaching students how to “perform” future and more advanced rhythms before (or at the same time) teaching them how to “read” them? That is the idea behind “Rhythm Games”.
“Rhythm Games” is designed to present rhythms and counting in more of a “game-like” format, with the music teacher taking on the role more like that of a “game show host”. I call the concept “Time Line Dimensional Transferring” which features a series of “pictographs” where each symbol represents a specific length of note as it relates to 8th and 16th note subdivisions in both “duple” and “triple” metered music. One of the main purposes is to “pre-teach” the skill of “subdividing” as students combine these sounds and practice transferring the different note lengths from one “timeline” to another. Another aspect of “the game” is that students learn how to “decode” future potential rhythm patterns (in real-time) as they relate to the different note length “velocities” as represented in each of the four timeline subdivisions available to us.
The director presents the “Time Line Dimensional Transfer” material asking the students to “solve puzzles” or figure out the sound that is represented by the “pictographs” presented in each exercise line. One might also present the content in a “teacher vs. student” way, asking the class or individual students to verbally decode the presented symbol pattern to win each round of the game. The role of “game show host” comes into play when the teacher asks “open-ended” and probing questions to help lead their students to the correct answers. You might ask “What is different in exercise #3 as compared to #2?” Once the change from one line to the next is discovered, you might ask for volunteers to offer their suggestions on how they might interpret the newly discovered symbol combinations. At times I like asking students to “read my mind”, or try “predict” what the new symbol combinations might mean or sound like.
That age group seems to thrive on the challenge of “you figure it out!” and “higher level thinking” type questions. The “T.L.D.T.” sheets are divided into sections, each one containing four exercise lines. Each section cumulatively adds one new concept or slight symbol variation hidden somewhere in the line. The four lines combined take under one minute to perform, and taking two to three minutes to ask probing questions or help lead them, the total time to play each “session” is only about four minutes in length. Trust me, your kids are smart and that is normally all the time they will need. Even playing “the game” every other day, you could easily finish up the two-page “mini-curriculum” by the end of this school year.
In section “A” what you see is what you say. The “dashes” are said at the speed of eighth notes with “dots” being 16th notes. The repeats can be used if you feel they are needed, but I normally tell students not to use them. I find they are usually not needed and it saves time. In exercise #3, I sneak in “dash” and “dots” combined in a single count. Surprisingly, most of the time the 6th graders figure it out without any help. In section “B” the challenge here is adding the down arrow for quarter notes. The students simply say the word “down”, but the trick is to get them to hold out the word until the next downbeat occurs before saying the next symbol in the exercise. It normally takes the student “gamers” several lines to get used to the idea.
What you are also doing with “Time Line Dimensional Transfers” is opening up opportunities to differentiate for different student learning styles when teaching your students to count rhythms. The added processing of the correct number sequence and the complexity of using division as your ONLY performance option is quite limiting. “T.L.D.T.” offers the alternative of a simplified “cumulative” (addition) approach as an option for your students if needed.
Above is the full sheet if you want to print and pass it out to your students. The following version(s) are isolated for the purpose of presenting each section separately, with its corresponding article.
“Rhythm Games” 2
Section “C” introduces students to what “will be” both 6/8 meter and/or triplets. My preference is to count these two the same way because for all intensive purposes they are the same (why teach two different ways?) However, when that time arrives in your curriculum, “you do you”. The symbols I use for the eighth-note subdivision in triple-meter I call “digits” and are represented by the numbers 1 through 3. As I stated before, I am a BIG believer in using “Thumb” counting for your younger band members for both the “visual” aid and the motion reinforcement. I think it helps “lock” things in.
In “duple” meter the thumb has a downward and upward motion and students practice saying the “dash” word precisely when the thumb “freezes” in those positions. They must also coordinate their time with the click or other sound used by the metronome keeping the tempo for your ensemble. If you are replacing “numbers” with “arrows” (visually or for counting verbalization) you can switch out the “dashes” in their performance for the words “down” and “up” any time you wish. I suggest, however, that you at least wait until after you have completed both of the “Time Line Dimensional Transfer” introduction sheets. The pacing of increasing the needed “RAM” to perform these “game” exercises is very gradual and is important if your younger students are going to be able to decode the individual changes and additions between the various section levels. The incremental pacing of the materials presented is crucial, so be careful not to “rush” things.
The “triple” meter visual and motion pattern is different and will require some independent practice after it is introduced (See “Thumb” visual PDF). All three motions still occur within each pulse (or whatever metronome you are using to keep the beat). The three independent motions are represented by, at first, the thumb being down, then pointing to the side (parallel to the ground), and finally in the up position. Students vocalize these positions by simply reciting the numbers “1, 2, and 3”, NOT where the thumb is pointing (that is saved exclusively for “duple” meter). When many band directors see the PDF graphic they are concerned it will confuse their students or that they will find it hard to execute. I find this is NOT the case and spending just a little “prep-time” on the “triple-thumb-motion” will pay dividends in the long run. Do not underestimate how helpful incorporating the additional senses (visual) and “kinesthetic motion” can be in helping students decode AND PERFORM rhythms. Having a “backup” is ALWAYS a great strategy.
As in other sections, after its introduction, it should take about four exercise lines for your students to get used to their “digit” addition to the “4 D’s” symbol family. I am stopping here in this series since section “D” is the one time you may need to do a “double session”. It introduces the last of our time-line “velocities” which is the 16th note subdivision in 6/8 meter. Yeah I know, you think I’m crazy, but, trust me, it does work. Remember, this is just a game and we are pushing them because WE want to win the “teacher vs. student” competition. When you get to section #4 your students will think that you are trying to “stack the deck” against them, which makes them even more determined to get it correct and win the round. Section “D” has the largest jump in “RAM” processing, but it is due to its performance more so than its decoding requirements. I will also present the fourth and final “symbol” in several different ways, allowing students to stay with the one they feel is the easiest to execute. I will save all of that “fun” for later, but I did want to give you a little “heads–up” for next time.
Rhythm Games 3:
It is now time to add the fourth and final member of the “Fantastic Four” (the “4 D’s”) fastest of our timeline velocities, the “dits”. After your young musicians have worked with their thumb motions with the “1, 2, and 3” “digit” counting, the same motions are used, but now we say “1, &, 2, &, 3, &” subdividing each “digit” in half. It is important to be sure that the thumb “freezes” in each of the number positions to clearly differentiate it from timelines in the “duple” meter. In the second exercise in section “D,” the “pulse” (quarter note) or down arrow is added.
Several of your students may anticipate and come in early on the following downbeat. This is common and even though it seems it would be one of the easiest of tasks, it will be one that may constantly need to be commented on and corrected. In lines three and four we introduce intermixing the “duple” and “triple” meters now adding our fourth and final participants, the “dits”.
Now one problem you might find with “dits” is that “1, &, 2, &, 3, &” can be a bit of a “tongue twister” for your 6th graders. They need to know the subdivision relationship between the “digits” and “dits”, but I take them off pretty quickly and teach them a “phonetic” version of the “dit” timeline. Ironically enough, it is exactly the technique many of us (eventually) teach when we need to increase the speed of our students to articulate notes, “double tonguing”. On each “digit,” the child says the syllable “Di” and on each “digit” subdivision they use the “gi” syllable (saying; “Di, gi, di, gi, di, gi”.) Phonetically it sounds more like the old “70’s” expression “Can you DIG IT?” Not that you will be using “double tonguing” anytime soon, but it does not hurt to start early. After doing these drills for a while playing the game, you will find the student tonguing coordination will develop faster, so when needed, many of your students will easily be ready.
Section “E”, (“All In”) presents the final “tricky” challenge, which is interacting the “dots” with the “dits”. “E” might also be a double session as well, but I have had classes get comfortable transferring back and forth between these two timeline velocities by the time they got through exercise #4. So, “Now what?” Great, we finished the “Time Line Dimensional Transfers” page, so what do we do next? One possibility is to apply (using music notation) exactly what we have been working on (see attached; “Time Line Combinations (Preliminary)”). The range stays under concert “Bb” (except for exercise #10) and offers the same timeline transfer challenges that your students did verbally, using symbols on the introduction page. I start things off diatonically, switching directions on occasion, so the students have to READ! And cannot predict what note comes next.
Later I introduce “skips” to continue challenging your students if they are ready. There are two additional “application” sheets using music notation in the series, each one increasing in challenge level. The next level I have completed with “some” middle school students, and the final set is definitely for High School. However, even getting most of the way through this “Preliminary” page at the end of your student’s 6th grade year is still quite an accomplishment. I suggest you still keep these sessions short, one line at a time is fine doing “double sessions” as needed.
The second possible direction you might go after the “introduction” page I am going to save as a surprise for the next time we meet. We will continue using our motions (adding a few) along with “verbalizing” our rhythms. Also, it will contain new and additional strategies in rhythm reading for areas that continue to challenge our students. See you then.
“Rhythm Games” 4 Part 2 “Silence”
First, I try to use the word “silence” rather than “rests” because the “middle school brain” will many times take it literally and “give their brain a rest”. Silence is the “lack of sound” but still must have a placed reserved for its notation in all four of “4 D’s” time line velocities. A strategy that I have found very helpful in doing this I refer to as “filling in the gaps”. Replace the “nothing” rest previously represented and stick in it’s a place a motion, or sound, or… possibly even BOTH. I have always introduced “Rhythm Motions” as a way of first introducing note and rest notation right from the start. It should be part of your “beginning of the year” curriculum with your beginners as you are waiting for those “first time instruments” to be delivered to your 6th graders. As you introduce each note or rest, they all have a different sound and motion that coincide when performing or executing these rhythms. After I finish the “Rhythm Games” series I will check with Scott McKee and see if I can present an article about “Rhythm Motions” and how they can effectively be used with your beginning band students.
In the “silence” page of “Time Line Dimensional Transfers” Section “A” starts out with the symbolic representation of a “quarter rest”, a down arrow with a “slash” through it. I used to use “parentheses” to identify the rests in rhythm lines but picked up the use of “slashes” form a drum instructor I worked with at one time. There is only one pencil mark needed and I had more luck getting students to “mark” their rests with one mark, than with two. Keep it simple, right? Besides, kids are used to seeing that “slash” as internationally indicating “DO NOT”, as in do not play here. When I begin with this page (and in “Rhythm Motions”) I always have the students bring up one hand (with their pointer finger up) to their lips. The sound I ask them to make is “Shhhhhhh” and the sound must precisely coincide with that particular click of the metronome or other devise you are using to keep pulse. Forcing your students to bring their pointer finger up to their mouth takes approximately one count, which is very helpful in keeping them from rushing their quarter rests. Note: You still probably have issues with some students getting ahead of the metronome “pulse-wise”. Drill them on both the “down” motion of the thumb AND using the pointer finger up to the mouth for both the quarter note and rest. For those students you will notice that “filling in the gaps” can be a big help in keeping them from rushing.
“Rhythm Games” 5 Eighth Rests – on the “up-beat”:
In Section “B” we introduce eighth rests “on the up-beat”. Once again, we will use a “slash” to indicate that one of our four symbols should be silent (without sound). The sound I use is a “tissel” or “ts”, similar to when we sometimes are sight reading music. I know what you are going to say, I thought at first using the same sound for two completely different events might confuse students. I cannot explain why, but if you don’t bring it up, the typical middle school kid will not even notice. I explain the motion we use like this: Let’s say we have a candle lit on a table and want to extinguish it, but do not want to “blow it out”. I ask have you ever wet your thumb and pointer finger and quickly touched the flame with both? It does not really hurt, but because the flame is hot, when you hear that “ts” sound, you react quickly and pull your thumb and pointer finger apart. Well, that is a pretty accurate length of an eighth rest. The explanation is a little long, but an excellent description of the length we are looking for. After the explanation , I really do not use the motion any more, just the sound, unless a review at some point in time is needed. You can try (if you want) to not use the hand motion for quarter rests, however, if your students start cutting them short, put the motion back in right away. Eventually your students will “internalize” its length and the motion will no longer be needed.
Anther thing to keep your eye on with section “B” is the “down arrow” (quarter note) and a single “dash” can both be on the down beat. With the use of the rest motions and especially their sounds the note and length rest should be accurate from the very beginning. You will notice in exercise number 8 I throw another “curve ball” at them and reintroduce the “dots”. Normally the students get it correct on the first try, but it sets up reintroducing additional symbols and timelines from “Part 1” as we go down the page.
“Rhythm Games” 6 – “Eighth Rests” – on the “down-beat”:
Our next section (“C”) drills performing eighth rest on the down beat of a count. It will run similar to your student’s performance with section “B” with a few more “revisits” from our “dot” friends near the end. As you are playing “Rhythm Games” for the future “pre-teaching” benefits, you should still be pursuing your normal curriculum with “reading” music notation and rhythms. Although most band directors use some form of numeric counting system, I personally prefer a “down – up” approach to counting centering on the “foot” and (if need be) a little help from our “thumb” from time to time. My main reasons are “arrow” verbalizations are primarily a “cumulative” (or addition) approach which is easier for most middle school than a typically “division” base approached. Another reason is I find that the number “sequencing” sometimes gets in the way of a student’s ability to count rhythms. Students who count and clap rhythms out loud will clap the rhythm correctly, but realize they stated the numbers out of order. They tend to then stop and re-count the rhythm changing the number that they originally incorrectly stated. With a “down-up” approach, number sequence is never an issue and the “numbers” really are not needed for counting most “micro-rhythms”. They are mostly needed for “macro-rhythms”, when half-notes or notation of longer values are needed. I might go into this in more depth at some other time in regards to “cumulative and “reactive” counting systems, but as I stated earlier though, “YOU DO YOU!”
I bring the subject up at this point for those that do use a “down-up” approach when teaching rhythms. When doing the “Rhythm Games” sheets, students might get off because they are following one or both body parts. THAT’S A GOOD THING! They are just reacting to the visual location of the thumb on any given down or up-beat. This differs from number counting where one takes each beat and breaks it down into “sub-parts”, which is more of an “analytical” process. The issue is, when doing the “TLDT” sheets the students may say an occasional “up” or “down” arrow in place of the word “dash’. So what? You want them to keep going. The only time I will stop a student(s) performance is if they do say an arrow, but should have said the one going the opposite direction. If this happens, it means that either their thumb is off from the metronome, or that the student just not visually following, or reacting to, what is being indicated by their body part of choice. This issue may start showing up in section “B”, but more often starts happening in the “C” section.
“Rhythm Games” 7 – “Eighth Rests” – on both “up” and “down-beat”:
Section “D” gets trickier since now the dash “slashes” can be on either the up or down beat. It is not a bad idea to take the tempo of these four exercises a little slower than the previous ones. Find a tempo that works and then gradually pick it up a little each exercise. The problem here is all three possible variations of the “slashes” are used which can initially be a bit confusing. This is a good opportunity to introduce your young musicians to the concept of the “optimum” performance tempo. This is where (when students are sight reading new music) they understand that the MOST IMPORTANT factor is to find a slower tempo that will give them the best chance at getting the most number of rhythms correct. Possibly having a mini-contest among several students and each time having the contestant play a little slower, might be a way of modeling the usefulness of this strategy.
Section “E” is titled “All In”, which simply implies a basic review of everything so far. Not only are the four “dot” rhythms used but the two variations of “one dash & two dot” rhythms get mixed in as well. Continue to stress to your students the importance of finding their “optimum tempo” prior to performing each exercise by silently (in their head) going through it first. Ask for student volunteers to recommend a good performance tempo and after performing each line, asking the class to critique how effective that tempo was. As you apply the concept of rest vocalizations to your regular band curriculum and ensemble repertoire, occasionally ask your students to perform the rests silently. “Testing the waters” so to speak and seeing how they are progressing with the internalization process. You obviously want the students to eventually perform rests silently, which happens naturally on its own as your students RAM and processing skills gradually mature. If there are any “slip-ups” on the way, you always can return to “filling in the gaps” to review and reinforce.
“Rhythm Games” 8 – More Advanced Music Notation Applications 2 & 3
“Timeline Dimension Transfers”: This is the second “TLDT” series of exercises written out using music notation. The first was “Time Line Combinations” (Preliminary) included back in “Rhythm Games” 3. In this second level each exercise starts out with a two bar count-off where the teacher would say the symbols according to the tempo being performed by their metronome or other method of pulse amplification. The students would join in beginning in bar number three. Each exercise gradually gets more difficult as you go down the page. When working with middle school students in preparation for honor band sight reading auditions number four is when they would usually start having trouble. In many cases the starting slow went OK, but the second half (going fast to slow) would give many difficulty. Even if this is as far as I got with 7th and 8th-graders, I still felt it was quite an accomplishment at their young age and experience level. A few would make it through all six exercises and I would try to push those through it if I thought they could. “Time line Dimensional Transfers” might be a good starting point for your high school groups, just to see how they might do having never been exposed to the “4 D’s” prior.
I would like to quickly address counting the “quarter note triplets” introduced at this level. As always, “you do you”, but to tie it into the symbols I have vocalized it two different ways. If you take a 6/8 measure and break it down into six beats (I usually like keeping it as two counts of “1, 2, and 3”) then have the students say the six beats and clap on all of the odd beats. Since I try to avoid going beyond the number 3 (for younger students) I have them use the eighth note subdivision and just say “1, 2, 1, 2, 1, and 2” clapping only on the count one’s.
“Time Line “Combinations”: Now this is defiantly written at a high school level and I suggest you maybe run through the previous series of six exercises first, so they know what to expect. If other books and composers have tackled the performance of accelerating and decelerating rhythm time lines I apologize, but I do not recall ever seeing or experienced them. I can say that the use of symbols and learning to decode and perform these combinations of different rhythm velocities will be of tremendous help if you feel this skill set will be beneficial for your ensemble. I can guarantee positive results by just informally observing the progress made by the middle school students I have worked with these past several years.
I have worked with high school bands since retiring, but I have not done any work with them specifically on “Time Line Dimensional Transfers”. I did not know how high school kids might respond to the symbols, concerned that they possibly be insulted by them. Also by high school (especially from sophomore year on) the average band students RAM and processing abilities has progressed to the point where this is not anywhere as big of an issue as it is at the middle school level. Hopefully, if you run across the need, or you feel it is simply a skill you would like to expose your students to as part of your curriculum, these are some materials (at a variety of levels) that hopefully, you might find useful.
“Rhythm Games” 9 – “Rhythm Ratios” Part 1
“Dash and Dot Syncopation”:
Syncopation (simply stated) is rhythm where the emphasis is on the “upbeat”. For young musicians, it initially trips many up, but the good news is there are ONLY three possible rhythm combinations. I refer to each possibility as a family since all three exist in all three of our velocity timelines, pulse, eighth, and sixteenth notes. Let us isolate them and focus on their differences and at the same time, work on accurately slowing down and speeding them up as indicated by their written musical notation.
At the top of the page I introduce the three variations of “pulse”. I am constantly referring to the rhythm ratios of “3 – 1”, “1 – 3”, and “1 – 2 – 1” at all velocity levels. Using the numbering at the top, I am not suggesting that we do not use all four numbers in common time but I do this to show the number “break-downs” of the three different ratios. However, I have run into situations (regarding RAM applications) where using only the first two numbers for all half notes and first three for dotted half notes has helped individual students in certain situations. The “X’s” below (here and further down) simply help indicate to your students where they should clap or specifically identifying each “note-heads” location. Below that, I try to model “mapping” rhythms using “symbols”, “anchors”, and “arrows”. With “symbols” I simply underline (or circle) the numbers, dashes, or dots presented that are connected in notation length. “Anchors” are another way this can be indicated by underlining above or below the dashes depending on whether the note head is starting on the up or the downbeat. This might help with number counting to be sure that, initially, the student is aware of whether they are to play each note of a syncopated rhythm on a down or upbeat. Underlining is only used for dashes since it is the only rhythm where the down and up beats need to be differentiated. Mapping with “arrows” takes care of the down and upbeat identification automatically, so the use of the lines above and below here is redundant, but I wanted to visually tie the two together for modeling purposes for students.
The “Drill Exercises” are broken down by rhythm notation “families” but span the velocity rates of all three rhythm ratios. We start with the “dashes” and then move on to the “dots” (of which its measure is repeated). In the middle a whole rest is inserted (and later a half rest) so the students also must count pulse in conjunction with the two faster timelines. There are several ways students can say and or clap these rhythms, so continue to do what works best for your students. Might I suggest though, holding out their vowels when syncopations are sustained for more than one of its symbols. At the same time, take your fingers of one hand and quietly tap into the palm of the other hand, as indicated by the speed of the symbols you are counting. The brain is recording the verbalization of the sound as you are saying the sustained rhythm, while the subdivision is being felt by the clapping. For example, as I am holding out the “da _____” at the beginning of “Family #1” I am “quiet” clapping three times. If your students can (at the same time) tap their foot to the downbeat along with your metronome, you got yourself a nice little 3-way multi-task thing going on.
“Rhythm Ratio Family Drills” gives your students some repetitions with each velocity change and “Rhythm Symbol ‘micro’ Drills” are two pages of symbols mixing up ratio transfers with rests. I will continue next time with additional materials incorporating musical notation called “Family Trees in Different Keys”. It incorporates similar exercises, using the three different “rhythm ratios” and is also presented using four different key signatures. Until then, keep safe and stay healthy.
Rich Moon
“Rhythm Games” 10 – “Family Trees in Different Keys” Rhythm Ratios Part 2
Whether you have introduced your students to any “Time Line Dimensional Transfer” content or not, you might want to consider trying out these two sheets written for full ensembles. If you have covered the material in your instrumental classes already, it is an excellent assessment tool to use to measure their degree of comprehension regarding the three “rhythm ratio” rhythms and their different performance velocities. The first, “Rhythm Ratios / Pre-Family Trees”, is written at a very basic level, for your advanced middle school or early high school, once you have covered the material with your ensemble(s). Numbers 1 – 3 review each “rhythm ratio” separately and 4 through 6 are “mixed” exercises combining the three different rhythms along with their three varying velocities. To minimize the “RAM” needed and to allow students to focus ONLY on the performance execution of the different rhythms and their varying tempos, every exercise line is written in the key of concert “Bb”.
“Family Trees in Different Keys” is an expansion of the above sheet for high school-level students. It not only adds the challenge of four different keys, but articulations and slurs are scattered sparingly throughout the series of exercises. Exercises “A”, “B”, and “C” isolate each of the three similar “rhythm ratios” while “D” is a combined version of all three (written in a harder key). In the original “Rhythm Masters” series (in Book #1) this page was presented on the left side (as an odd page) and on the right side was a plastic transparency sheet (remember those?) that only contained all of the numbers, dashes and dots corresponding to the rhythms on the left page. When you turned the transparency on the right on top of the left page, all of the “ratio” symbols and numbers appeared directly above the music notation below it. You could first play the “Family Trees” page as written, then flip the transparency sheet over, and play it again aided by the symbols now visual above their corresponding notation. Then, work on another line, or go right back to the same exercise turn the transparency sheet back over, and play the “notation only” version again to see if there is any improvement. I used to sometimes use this page as part of my “No Fear” Rhythm Camps which I used to do across South Carolina many years ago. It is difficult to use the transparencies without them being in the book, so I have modified two PDF versions of the “Family Tree” series. The original is the “notation only” version that I have already initially shared with you. For those directors who would like to check their ensemble out and see how they perform timeline velocity changes regarding syncopated rhythms, this would be a good place to start. The second is what the original page would look like with the transparency page (I talked about earlier) being on top of it. Finally, in the last version, I simply write in the “symbols” above each “rhythm ratio” velocity only the first time it appears (as a brief reminder) in exercises “A”, “B”, and “C”. Then, from that point on, the students are on their own. The reason I write the symbols above the staff is to give directors the option to also write the counting analysis (the numbers and their subdivision) below if they wish.
To expand on today’s topic I am going to refer to a short section from earlier articles I submitted to “Teaching Music” magazine, which I called “I See Dead People”. It is “weird” how it came about, but with many young band musicians, it works. The strategy and field testing were developed in the “No Fear” camps mentioned earlier and is a good example of the “simplify” then “reconstruct” approach that lowers student RAM applications. Students should first read the materials down by “vocalizing” the written symbols and then performing them on their instrument after initially mastering the velocity changes. The following is a section from the “Rhythm Masters” series (Book #1) that briefly explains the procedure. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact me. My information is at the bottom.
Reading “Ghosts” or “I see dead people”: Now, this one is tricky to explain. I came up with the idea around the release of the movie “The Sixth Sense” (an M. Night Shyamalan film) starring Bruce Willis. By the way, it is an excellent movie if you haven’t seen it yet, but this is where the quote “I see dead people” comes from. If students struggle with number counting in a music section, you might ask them to write in one of the four “symbols” we use above each note and rest. This way, the two possible counting timeline interpretations (numbers and symbols) are represented, yet always appear in the same place. The “number” counting is always written below the staff, while the “symbols” (or “ghosts”) are above. After drilling independently on “timeline transfers” (along with their application of syncopation and rests), your students will have already performed almost every rhythm they will ever run across. Usually, numbers tend to work better for “macro” rhythms, and the symbols seem to better take care of the “micro” side of counting. You may end up using a mixture of the two different subdivisions, so the initial work done with the students on “timeline transfers” can be extremely helpful. You will also notice that students will easily transfer between the top and bottom analysis, one tends to help the other. After a while, the teacher will predict which counting approach will best suit their students and go directly to that method. After shifting back and forth between what the students have written above or below their targeted notes, students will gravitate toward the approach that best suits their particular “learning style”. With many students, it will not be long until your students do not need to write any symbols on their music pages. Instead, they will be able to internally visualize these symbols above the music on their own. Hence, “I see dead people.” This “visualization” concept does not work well with numerical counting. Still, with the use of only four symbols (and not having to deal with the additional process of “what count you are on”), this creates a “cumulative” counting approach quite doable and very efficient, especially for younger musicians.
Sincerely,
Rich Moon
843-875-5594
“Rhythm Games” 11 / “Touch Button” and “Slide-Finger” Technique:
Rhythm Ratios Part 3
I have used this at the elementary level and occasionally done it with middle school students having difficulty keeping track of the “dot” timeline. This is especially helpful with “rhythm ratio” rhythms. The more of our “senses” we can incorporate when decoding rhythms the better our chances are of finding what best suits each student’s learning style. One possible option is “tactile” reinforcement which can help us keep track of where we are in our timelines as we perform them when counting symbols.
At the top, you have the basic breakdown of the “touch button” and “slide-finger” concept. What you “say” using the “dot” and “dash” symbols (including what you “verbalize through” or “hold out”), what you see on paper (the “touch buttons”), and the “X’s” indicating when you articulate your notes and physically touch the paper. The second section introduces the “slide your finger” arrow, where you literally slide your finger across the page as you keep track of where you are on the “dot” timeline. When you are applying this method take the tempo very slow. You want your student to be able to internalize the process (the subdivision) and eventually perform these rhythms using sound only. The middle section introduces “sliding the finger” using the two basic 8th and 16th-note combination rhythms. They are initially presented the way students are already used to seeing them (the vertical dash) and then the “horizontal” dash where students can first practice writing and performing the “slide-finger” technique. When performing, try to separate the word “dash” into two syllables. The first (“da”) is stated on the “touch button” and the second (”sh”) when your finger arrives right on the unannunciated “dot”.
The third section graphically shows the process applied to the three basic “rhythm ratio” rhythm options. Again, initially performing at a very slow tempo helps reinforce this subdivision technique. At the elementary level, I would sometimes have the students add a “dump word” to help them keep track of which “dot” they are on. For example: “Do – ho – hot dot”, or “Dot do – ho – hot” (all short “o’s”). I normally do not use a “worksheet” per se but would take a pencil and the music we are working on and have the student initially write in the appropriate timeline above or below the notes. They would then “circle” all the “touch buttons” (where the students would be tonguing notes) and then finally add the “slide-finger” arrows. The “X’s” are no longer needed, but I used them in earlier sheets, so put them on this sheet, since most students already knew what it meant. After that, the musician would follow the rhythm road map (they had just written out) with their finger, as they sounded out or “verbalized” their written symbols.
“Rhythm Games” 12 – “Looks Different, Sounds Same” (The Original “Rhythm Masters” Game)
The “Looks Different, Sounds Same” Game: Part 1
A long time ago, I used the “Looks Different, Sounds Same” game when I used to present my ‘No Fear” rhythm clinics at band camps and for the alternates at various “Honor Band” clinics. Also, during that time, I was writing audition sight-reading materials for several local “All-County Honor Bands” in South Carolina. One of my favorite “traps” was to use two different rhythms in an etude that sounded almost the same, sometimes even within the same measure. Usually, the human brain finds it difficult to accept that different-looking rhythms can sound the same. In these cases, the brain tends to modify one of them to feel more “comfortable” with their performance. I used this game to demonstrate that point and help students “trust” their initial instincts, which is usually correct.
The “trick” with this demonstration is to accurately set up the opening question, which you ask the students to answer. “Of the three different rhythm choices given, which one do you think would be the most difficult to perform?” (see attached “Band ‘Concentration’ Game Clinic Example”). Notice, that I am not asking which is the most difficult rhythm to “read.” After thinking about it for a while, several students will raise their hands and confidently claim that the second or third choice would be the correct answer. In doing so, most will also be able to give credible reasons to support their decision. As the debate continues, a few heads in the crowd begin to “tilt.” That is normally followed by confused faces, which then transition into these same students who appear deep in thought. Eventually, one student (perhaps more) will quietly murmur, “They are all the same.” Then, after re-examining their decision, they repeat their response (this time louder and with more confidence), “They are the same!” The students that began carrying on the initial conversation will glare at these new “non-conformists” in wonderment, thinking, “what a ridiculous response.” But as those students re-analyze their choices, they eventually realize that performing these three different rhythms would actually be equally difficult.
I always played the “Looks Different, Sounds Same” game at the “No Fear” clinics and loved watching the students’ faces as they changed throughout the game. It emphasizes that most rhythms can be written in different ways and that students should be aware of that when sight-reading. I see so many students that I work with on sight-reading frequently “second-guessing” themselves out of correct answers. Attached are pages 153 and 154 from my “Rhythm Masters” book Volume I, where this “game” originally appeared. Also attached are other examples, including a “Rhythm Matching” game chart and a “Double” and “Triple” match game regarding similar “enharmonic” note spellings. If you might be interested in similar materials or a comprehensive and sequential rhythm counting curriculum, please feel free to check out the following resources: “Rhythm Masters” Book I (transposed for all band instruments) can be found at www.rhythmmastersimprovisation.org. You will find it in the bottom “yellow” section on that home page. The content of all three volumes of the “Rhythm Masters” book series is at www.rhythmmasters.org. All of these materials are free and “downloadable.” If your students are at this level musically, consider giving one or more of these games a try. I think you and your students will enjoy them. As always, your questions, input, or any suggestions are always welcome.
Sincerely,
Rich Moon
“Rhythm Games” 13 – “Looks Different, Sounds Same” Part #2
The following materials were created sometime after the initial “Rhythm Masters” three-part book series were written. The “Concentration Game for Band / Match Key” was a list of similar examples of the “Looks Different, Sound Same” rhythms compared. I realize “technically” they are not the same, but are so close it easily confuses the brain and in most cases creates hesitation from our young performers to reanalyze and “second guess” themselves. The best prevention of this happening is for the students to have a solid and confident foundation with subdivision and to have experienced enough of these rhythm anomalies to resist the temptation to rethink their initial response. Accompanying that sheet is the “Concentration Game for Band / Matching Sheet” where these same rhythms are set up as a “matching” game. Students simply write the capital alphabet letter on the line next to the numbered rhythm which they match. This sheet can be used for presentation and demonstration of this rhythm conundrum to your classes, or as a quiz sheet after you have covered similar materials in class. You might pass it out sometime when you have a substitute coming in and see how your students fare on their own or allow them to work in small groups and consult with one another. The point is that these similar rhythm combinations are common and the first step in performing them correctly is realizing they occur and keeping an eye out for them.
Finally, I am including the “Play Drills” from Unit 10 in Book #1 (transposed for all instruments). Here the first two measures (approximately) start with similar-sounding rhythms, and the final two are random rhythms adding one or more timeline velocity shifts in the last measure. I even throw in a couple of “non-standard notation” rhythms to keep the students on their toes. Since all “Play Drills” are designed to cover all of the rhythms from each unit’s “rhythm vocabulary” list, that was the initial reason these were chosen. They were organized to expose students to the same and similar-sounding rhythms simultaneously. Due to the excessive exposure to combinations of 8th and 16th rests, this page is also an excellent review of the application of down and upbeat “anchors” as an aide in helping to decode complex rhythms.
“Rhythm Games” 14 – “Going Arrow Crazy” and “Syncopation Suicides”
“Syncopation Suicide” Exercises in Sustaining Syncopated Rhythms:
Over the years, I have found that (especially for young musicians) a “cumulative” counting approach almost always works better than a “division” format. In other words, students find addition easier to do than “subdividing”. The specifics about this approach and a proposed possible curriculum for this additional (or alternate) approach to helping students learn to count can be found on the “Time Line Dimensional Transfers” page of this website. It incorporates the differentiation of student learning styles, normally ignored when teaching counting by more traditional methods. The advantage is the visual use of your “thumb” and “arrow notation” to locate specific “attack” or “sound” locations on any given timeline. This also allows students to “vocalize” their rhythms, which is a superior way of internalizing counting and “hearing” the specific sound of different rhythms (superior to “clapping” rhythms). This also adds a visual component to the use of a metronome, where each student’s thumb visually represents note locations on a “down and upbeat” timeline, which can later be internalized or simply transferred to the foot.
There is a curriculum and additional materials offered in the “T.L.D.T.” section (mentioned before) on this website that ended with the sheet titled “Going Arrow Crazy”. I later followed that up with a music notation series titled “Syncopation Suicide” which has been transposed for all wind and string instruments. Using the rhythms in “Going Arrow Crazy” a melody was written for the performance application of each exercise line. One thought would be to use the “application” format to check on your ensemble’s present “syncopation rhythm reading skills”. Whether you use “Thumb” / “Arrow” counting, or traditional “Numeric” / “Division” is irrelevant. The content within “Syncopation Suicide” will certainly help your students enhance their skills, if you find that improvement is needed. I also thought it would make a nice companion to “Six Rhythm Categories in Six Different Keys” in that one of the “rhythm categories” targeted was syncopation. If you thought additional material would help, you might consider using it. Also, note that each exercise of “Syncopation Suicide” is written in a different key, further reinforcing key signature reading skills.
“Seasonal Syncopation”
In the style of “Manheim Steamroller”, try this one on for size. The tune is “Deck the Halls” with a whole bunch of “upbeats”. Two versions, one basically in common time with “standard” music notation, the other with 7 or 8 beats per bar, a little more challenging to read. Do one, or both, a festive way to get into the “holiday” spirit by playing a string of syncopated rhythms (with or without “ties”).
Rich Moon
“Rhythm Motions” / The Best Way to Begin Teaching Notes and Rests:
Part 1 “Sound”
Another method that I found highly effective in teaching young children to begin counting is “Rhythm Motions.” It incorporates almost every aspect of possible learning methods, including; visuals, pictographs, tactile with motion, and multiple vocalization options. It puts everything right in front of the child’s face, and every note and rest coincides with a specific name/sound and motion lasting the exact duration of time (at a given tempo) designated by that particular note or rest. As my teaching career evolved, I taught at the elementary level after my high and middle school band years. However, if I had come up with this highly efficient system prior, I would have DEFINITELY used it (the first month or so) teaching my beginning band classes. Rhythm Motions would have been especially helpful when I was teaching a band class several weeks before “mouthpiece testing” or if I had to wait for a music store to deliver my beginning band instruments. Even after getting into the method book and starting to address counting more traditionally, I could have still always fallen back to “Rhythm Motions” if and when needed. This “spiraling” technique is especially effective with rests, whose durations determine the specific length of time to complete a particular motion or sound. This concept of “filling in the gaps” helps your students avoid “guessing” lengths of rests, which is very common in middle school band programs.
Let’s start with the images and displays on the “note” picture sheet, most of which I downloaded as “clip art” from the internet. The first note I covered was the “invisible hammer,” which represents the quarter note. The student pretends they are hammering a nail into a wall, saying “hammer” every time they strike the nail. At first, I would have students say the name of the picture we are using and then “morph” it to the name of whatever note or rest we are using. Note (especially young elementary students) I would say the words “hammer” and “quarter” as one syllable. When we would get to eighth notes, I would say both as two-syllable words. Using syllables helps provide a “subdivision” connection between the quarter and the eighth notes when counting.
The following note on my list was teaching the students “box-er,” one syllable for each 8th note. The right hand would punch directly in front of their face on the first syllable and the left hand on the second. As before, this “motion eventually morphs into their name, “8th-notes.” For notes longer than the quarter note in length, we ask students to imagine a large white canvas in front of them. Nowadays, I guess we would use the analogy of stepping up to the classroom’s “smart board.” Either way, you paint or draw the note as you say its name. For half notes (like in the “picture” sheet) start where the dot is and as you say the word “half” draw a circle using your “pointer” finger. Then, on the word “note,” you draw the “beam” by going to the top and drawing an arrow (indicated in black) going down. For a “dotted half note” the first two counts are drawn and said in the same manner. On the third count, pretend that you are putting a period just to the right of the half note you just finished drawing. Right as you do that, say the word “dot” or “dotted” (in one syllable), and you have completed that note name with its motion.
As far as notes go, I always taught the whole note last. The students would start at the 12:00 “dot,” then (asking the students to keep their arm straight) draw a circle clockwise. As they did this (using a steady tempo), they would say the word “Draw” at 12:00, “a” at 3:00, “Cir-” at 6:00, and “-cle” at 9:00, completing the four-count length required. In this case, we would eventually “morph” into saying “Draw-a-whole-note” to remind students of its name as they draw its shape. The preceding information takes care of the “sound” half of the “Rhythm Motions” equation. The next installment will cover the more challenging aspect for almost all younger musicians, keeping accurate track of “silence.”
Part 2 “Silence”
On the other side of “Rhythm Motions” (except for rest’s names), I tried to avoid the “rest” word as much as possible, replacing it with the word “silence .” The words mean different things, and many young students tend to think that a “rest” means for your brain to “take a rest.” Starting with the quarter rest, in elementary school, I liked to refer to them as “Mr. Quiet.” I used the example of “Zzzzzz” in comic books for someone sleeping or being “quiet.” To create a quarter rest, I simply stacked two “Z’s” on top of each other and took away the “trap door” at the bottom. Later, I explained that if I took our quarter rest and cut it in half, we would have two “7’s”. That is how I could take a single quarter rest and (if I wanted to) turn it into two 8th rests, side by side. The “sound” option for the quarter rest is “Shhhhhh,” and for elementary students and (even band beginners), I would have them put their “pointer” finger up to their mouth before making the sound. I would also practice a string of quarter rests (and quarter notes) to be sure the sound initiated for both was ALWAYS precisely on the beat. The elongated “Shhhhh,” along with the motion of moving the finger to the student’s mouth, forces them to extend the “quiet” sound for the length of about one count. I know students cannot make a hand motion when playing their instrument, but I assure you, the reference helps and can be referred back to if students start “cheating” on the quarter rest’s duration. That is the same reason and benefit of the “hammer” motion and sound for quarter notes.
I already explained how we created 8th rests and that (for PowerPoint purposes) I wrote them as italicized “7’s”. The sound vocalization for the 8th rests is “ts.” Many band programs refer to this as “tissling,” which is a reasonably accurate recreation of the 8th rest’s appropriate duration. In many cases, I have used this “tissling” technique with rests for middle school bands. I first feared using the same vocalizations for both sound and silent situations would confuse students. In the “ts” application though, it was different enough that there was no conflict at all. In elementary music situations, I explained 8th rests like this. “Let’s say someone is not the smartest person in the room. This person has just cooked something on your stove but wanted to be sure they turned the oven off. Now, even though the “burner is red, that person does not know that it means that the stove is still on. So, that person decides that the only way to ensure the oven is off is to touch the burner. Now, if you were that person and you put your finger on that burner to be certain it was off, would you need to leave it on the burner for a long time, or would you know right away that the stove was on? Right, you would hear the “ts” sound and immediately take your finger off the burner. Now, let’s say (if you were that person) you were so surprised when you reacted the first time that you forgot if you had already checked to see if your stove was off. So what are we going to have to do now? Right again, we will have to try putting our finger back on the burner again.” I acted this whole thing out, “hamming” it up as I went and having a lot of fun with it. I always had the younger ones giggling at this point, so I knew I had their attention. After my second attempt at checking to see if the burner was on, I would say that is how we figured out that the two 8th rest “sounds” are short and make up the same length as one quarter rest. I admit that the whole story is somewhat “lame,” but the kindergarten and first-grade kids bought into it every time.
In music, you seldom see a “dotted half rest.” So on this “rest” page, I only dealt with “half rests.” Let’s pretend you are wearing a hat and want to take it off. You grab the “bill” of your cap and say the word “hat.” When your invisible hat is off (with your arm extended), you say “off.” So “Hat – off” is the motion and vocalization we use for a half rest. As before, we eventually replace the saying and motion with the actual name of that rest, both being two syllables long.
The whole rest is a tricky one. If anyone can come up with a better idea, please share it with me. The whole rest is the only rest where I taught vocalization and motion in two phases. First, we have to be sure that the whole rest (especially being silent) is held out for four total counts. I feel that initially, using exaggerated motions tends to help out. The phrase I taught was “Dig-a-deep-hole” (four syllables). The motion sequence went like this: “Dig,” put your invisible shovel on the ground like you are about to dig a hole, “a” your right foot is placed on top of your shovel, “deep” your right foot pushes your shovel into the ground, and “hole” you take your invisible shovel and throw the dirt over your right shoulder. After your students get comfortable with the timing (and can do it keeping tempo), change the motion by going back to your big white canvas. You will now draw a “whole rest” in the following fashion. Start on your left side, touching your imaginary canvas, and sliding your finger straight across (to the right) and when you stop, say the word “Draw.” Lift your finger off the canvas and place it about 1/4 of the way from where you started. Draw a short line straight down, and when you stop, say “a.” Next, draw a parallel line to the right, about 1/2 the length of your line above. When you arrive at your stopping point, say “whole.” Finally, keeping your finger on the canvas, draw a short line upward until it intersects the original line you drew above it. When your finger reaches that intersection point, say “rest.” In summary, you start with “Dig-a-deep-hole” and “morph” (when ready) to “Draw-a-whole-rest,” each being four syllables long.
The concept of “filling in the gap” and vocalizing “silence” associated with rest durations can be a GREAT help to your beginner musicians and even those revisiting music and playing an instrument for the first time. I have also experimented with it in the middle school’s “Ultimate Musicians” program, and where students had issues with the correct length of notes or rests, I found it to be efficient and helpful. Both motions and sounds constantly reinforce the “sound and silence” aspect of performing notes and rests, and I guarantee these will pay dividends down the road. Hopefully, some of you will agree that “pedagogically,” it just makes sense. I never got a chance to “test drive” this concept in full with a beginner band of my own. So, if anyone out there decides to “give it a go,” please get back to me and let me know how things went.
Attached are two sets of exercise sheets to help students apply “Rhythm Motions” with reading notation. The first is to have the students do one or two lines only (to keep instructional time short) after you have covered those notation motions. The other is if you want to add notation reading while presenting the full “Rhythm Motions” series. Since the “Sound” and “Silence” “graphics” are each presented on a single page, you can teach these motions in any order you wish.
“Time Line Motion and Drumming Drills” / Flash Cards
“Rhythm Games” 16 – “Time Line Motion and Drumming Drills”
So far we have introduced the four possible time line velocities using four distinct symbols. To further strengthen our accuracy we will combine these symbols with their own vocalization and motion in order to reinforce our accuracy and confidence when performing the changes as we switch from one time line velocity to another. So far we have used written out rhythm exercises but another way of rehearsing these skills is through the use of flash cards. Let me review and possibly add a few things to further tie together the transferring from one time line velocity to another.
Any given pulse, in any meter, can be reinforced by each student tapping ones foot and also using their thumb. When doing these drills, the thumb should be in a position where their eyes are looking at the director and/or music “through the thumb”. Eighth notes are represented by using two dashes, or a “down” and an “up” arrow in duple and the digits one, two, and three in triple meters. The thumb in a “down” and “up” position, or the “down”, “sideways”, then “up” positions are the coinciding motions. When vocalizing those flash cards in “duple” I prefer identifying the down and upbeat locations, however, if the student has trouble following their thumb when transitioning from one time line velocity to another, simply saying the word “dash” for each thumb motion also works. In triple meter students should say the numbers 1, 2, and 3 each time the thumb changes its position. I realize that most triple meter applications young musicians usually run into is 6/8 meter, but I have always just used the numbers 1 through 3 when vocalizing. I have found that this simplification when counting makes things much easier for students and has NEVER hindered a student’s sight reading performance in triple meters.
With 16th note subdivisions I have the students vocalize them using the words “dot”, “dit”, or “1, &, 2, &, 3, &” depending upon the meter (see “Time Line Dimensional Transfers”). For the 16th note “motion” I have the students drum the rhythm on the upper part of their chest. I prefer their (then let’s say their laps”) because it is already close to where the thumb is located when doing the eighth note motions. Otherwise transitioning from one time line motion to next could be difficult and this way it is fairly easy to coordinate. When using rhythm sheets I prefer the “dit” vocalization to help improve tonguing technique, however, for “drumming” purposes I prefer the vocalization of “1, &, 2, &, 3, &” instead.
Initially, I only used these flash cards for pulse and subdivision time line transfers only. I did the series using both “symbols” and “rhythm notation” and only later added what I referred to as “hybrids”. I would work on them in two phases, first just the “pulse” and “subdivision” cards and only add the “hybrids” after your students have mastered the first set. Set your metronome at 60 bpm (or slower) and hold up for your students one card at a time. The class repeats that cards rhythm (staying exactly with the metronome) until a new card is held up. Most students will eventually be able to switch velocities on the next count, but even if they need a beat or two to get their bearings, that is “OK” too. Start off from slow to fast, then fast to slow and when they are ready, mix the cards up so they are presented to the class in random order. The other nice thing about “flash cards” is that you can make this portion of your lesson as long or as short as you want. Finally, I went back and revisited the “Rhythm Ratios” section (article #9) and added the single count symbol and notation flash cards for the “3 to 1”, “1 to 3”, and the “1, 2, 1” rhythm ratios. These last six cards are labeled “advanced” level.
“Counting” / Written Analysis, or Not?
“Rhythm Games” 17 – “Counting” / Written Analysis, or Not?
In the “Rhythm Masters” series, each unit begins with a “Theory Page”. It refers to only counting rhythms and featured (at that time) what I considered the most effective and efficient counting system available. That was a long time ago and things have changed, I have changed. So I am offering the same curriculum sequence and infra-structure in the original “Rhythm Masters” series with “Blank” theory pages. Each unit starts out with a series of examples of the rhythms featured in that unit, along with how the student should write its written counting analysis underneath. That is followed by 8 to 16 rhythm lines where the student can refer to those examples and write their counting analysis under as many lines as the bad director wishes to assign. With the “blank” pages each director can use the same analysis exercises but write their own preferred counting system below the “example” section. These sheets can be located at the “Rhythm Masters Improvisation” website at the URL listed below:
https://rhythmmastersimprovisation.org/rhythm-masters-blank-theory-pages/
A question a band director must first ask themselves is “written analysis, or not?” That I will leave up to you and if you feel that the “instructional time” is just not available to spend having your students to practice writing counting underneath rhythms, then read no further. Time is a factor, I agree completely in that regard, so allow me to make a few suggestions toward maximizing your rhythm curriculum and a save a little time while at it.
After writing the “R.M.” book series, I eventually decided on doing the full theory analysis sheet (unless absolutely necessary). My middle school students resented it and just looked at it as a bunch of “busy work”. When I teaching middle school I devised a three step process I referred to as “D.I.S.”ing your rhythms. 1.) “Define” the time line used 2.) “Identify” all the specific locations (subdivisions) in each time line used and 3.) “Showcase” the rests (using parenthesis or “slash” notation). I had my students do only three lines, but do so cumulatively. In the first line they would only write in the time line below each note or rest. The second exercise line they would again write in the time line, but then identify each position of that time line as a number, (or arrow) and each subdivision. Finally, the third exercise line would add showcasing each rest in their appropriate fashion. If students would do all three steps, their success rate was at about 90% or higher. The problem was, middle school kids (in general) are lazy, and getting them to conscientiously to do all three steps was rough. I tried to “deal” with them claiming, “Hey, it is a lot less time than having to do the whole page” and that worked a little. So, to pass out of their “theory” portion of each unit, they had to get all three lines correct.
Before passing the theory sheets out to my students I would circle one of the exercise lines in each sheet. I would start with #1, the next sheet #2, then #3, etc… I would also keep these sheets in the same order when I passed them out. Each student would do “D.I.S.” Step #1 on the first line circled then steps 2 and 3 on the next consecutive numbers, staggering the actual exercises each student was assigned. After grading each of the papers, if a student made any mistakes, they would start on the 4th exercise line (from the one initially circled) and redo whatever steps they had analyzed incorrectly. Students would resubmit their paper until they eventually had the three correct lines required.
I would normally do our “theory” work while I was giving each band member a performance test using the “Power Grid” of whichever “Rhythm Masters” unit we were on. Students were not allowed to talk while I was testing, BUT I did not mind them looking on a student’s paper directly to the right or left of where they were sitting as they were doing their theory work. That was the beauty of the “staggered” system. Many students may not have been “fully focused” when I was giving the explanation, however, who wants to do exercises over again, right? Observing another’s paper might be all they need to figure it out. The bottom line was, they still had to put all three steps together on their own. So, “mission accomplished”, comprehension supposedly verified. It may not be a perfect system, but it was time effective. I guess, since I was performance based testing (the “Power Grids”) simultaneously, It would have occupied the class having them do the analysis for all the exercises on their “theory” sheet, but I found the above mentioned format to be more effective in the long run.
For those of you that have smaller sized band classes, (around 30 or so) I found the “three to five minute” rhythm curriculum and “overall chair position” assessment to be very effective and the best way to achieve counting results. Now I know what you’re thinking, students competing against each other? I am talking about thirty years or so ago, but you know what, it worked then and it STILL WORKS NOW! Have you ever watched a middle school kid play a video game? Don’t tell me kids nowadays are not competitive! As far as seating positions, hear me out on that one. I had two ways of seating my band, “concert seating” and “chair position seating”. My band was normally small and my instrumentation was pretty messed up. Heck, every year I had 50% of my students joining band wanting to play drums (Tile 1 inner city school). I fixed that by auditioning everyone on the “big five” instruments as well as percussion and of course asked for their first three choices. EVERY student was assigned a wind instrument to learn in band class and the top ten percussion scores were placed into one of two “percussion ensembles”. They were staggered on an “A” and “B” day basis alternating playing assigned drum parts and their instrument. I LOVED the system and I found that my drummers turned out to be much better overall musicians having to perform also all the aspects of playing a wind instrument. For concerts, each percussionist performed about 50% on drums and 50% on their regular instrument.
Sorry about getting “off-track” with percussion, but I really did love that system. When concerts were getting close, or if I knew I would be focusing on concert music, or if we were going read through music in our “sight reading band folders” the students would sit in their concert seats(by section). If it was a more “technically” oriented lesson plan, the students would sit in their “chair position” seats. After the results of a recent “Power Grid Test” were posted, I placed the higher chair players in the BACK of the room and the lower scores were always in the front row. The students that need the most help, or I needed to keep an eye on were now more readily available. I also found it helpful for students to (at times) play outside their section and work on ensemble balance using different and unconventional seating set ups.
Regarding testing band students on the “Power Grids” after the system was set it also was a highly effective and efficient use of instructional time. The director runs through the “Theory” to “Play Drills” then to the “Power Grid” curriculum at their own pace, hopefully setting up three to five minutes of class time daily. On test day, I start off with a brief “theory” introduction of the new rhythm vocabulary we will be working on in our next unit. After that every student is passed out an “S.A.S.” sheet (“Student Assessment Sheet”) and asked to write their name on it. Next I randomly test the top eight chairs from our previous chair placement tests. There is a way to do this with a little preparation prior, it really goes fast, but now I just want to present an overview to you. As each of the first chairs plays their test (one exercise line) and as I score them, the rest of the class scores those same eight students using the “S.A.S.” sheet passed out to them. An “X” for each measure where a wrong rhythm was played, or a “circle” around a section of music where there was a hesitation or the student performer rushed. After the first eight have been tested, all the students pass in their scored “S.A.S.” sheets as I pass out the “Theory Page” for our next “R.M.” unit. Note for those initial eight testing, they also score the “S.A.S” sheet as best they can, but when I announce the first performer, I also announce the second to perform as being “on deck”. The “on deck” student does not score their predecessor but simply gets ready to take their turn. They will resume their scoring after their test has been completed.
Once both sheets mentioned above have been passed out and turned in, I continuing testing the remainder of the class while all class members work on their three designated three theory exercises. To play through a full “Play Drill” or “Power Grid” (at 60 bpm) takes about 2:20 minutes. Continuing the “on deck” process the next to test is always getting ready to play as the previous performer is testing. Once your kids get used to the system, you can crank out about three tests per minute (about twenty seconds each). Although not perfect, you will find your students assessment score to be fairly accurate. You can set up a point system setting up your own tolerance using the same “X” and “0” used in the “S.A.S.” evaluations. What seemed to work best for me was, out of a grade of 100 points, I would subtract 6 points for each “X” and minus three for sections that were circled. You will notice that there will be a lot of ties, so what I did is use the student evaluation sheets as “tie-breakers”. I would compare the students score sheets to mine and every time they marked the same measure incorrect as I did, I would give that student one bonus point on their performance teat grade per match. The students would see how this could benefit their possible seating score and would (for the most part) really try hard to do their best. I liked the idea that you were getting them not to just play their music, but listen and evaluate their peers as well. I would not advise using the “S.A.S” student sheets throughout this testing procedure, it would take up too much time. However, cross-referencing one “S.A.S.” page of eight students testing, with 30 or so in the class, I did not feel took that long to grade.
Although some of the above are re-mentioned, I am including the written content posted along with the “Theory” and “Blank Theory” materials page from one of my web pages. That URL was initially posted at the onset of this article and offers additional insights into the “Rhythm Masters” written analysis curriculum and other ideas and suggestions on how to help improve your student’s counting skills. Note: It was written about thirty years ago.
Rich Moon
Additional Rhythm Games: "Band Bingo" and "Band Battleship"
“Rhythm Games” 18 – “Band Bingo” and “Band Battleship” Games (using “Power Grids”)
Both games start with dividing your class into two teams. It could be one half of the room vs. the other, woodwinds vs. brass, girls vs. boys, or whatever. If you plan on eventually playing both games, it would be best to start with “Band Bingo” being the simplest and most direct. The director will need two copies of the “S.A.S.” sheet (of whichever “Power Grid” you decide to use for the game) to keep track of both team’s performance. Either the line (or column) selected (or the order in which each team’s members perform) should be random, so each of the team’s solo performers has very little preparation time before their turn to perform. It is probably best to run a metronome during the competition with the tempo at the speed the director feels is appropriate for the particular “Power Grid” chosen for game play (60 bmp normally works well). Each time a soloist performs the director will put an “X” on the square on that team’s scorecards where the performer plays a rhythm incorrectly. If you have the time and more than eight players per team, the director can also have each team perform the columns “A” through “H” as well. If there are more than 16 players per team, the order in which both team’s soloists perform should be random. You can select the performance lines randomly, or (if you want to perform the card in sequence) alternate the team that plays first in each round. To get the most out of the Bingo game, you can ask the class (or at least that team) to “tissel” along during each performer’s turn. On occasion, you may ask one or more of the non-performing students which of the number(s) or letter(s) in that line or column they think was played incorrectly.
Final Scoring and Winners: Any student that performs all eight squares of their line or column correctly gets one “Bingo” point and also a piece of candy. Keep an eye on your time and stay with just the lines at first. When done with all eight lines (if time permits) continue with the columns, or if not, then calculate which team is the winner. In addition to eight in a row, any six consecutive spaces (vertically or diagonally) also receive one “Bingo” point for their team. The highest number of points wins and each team member gets a piece of candy. If there is still a little time left you can offer students individual “challenge” rounds. You can come up with your own, but I have a few suggestions:
1.) Ask for volunteers to play one of the possible columns and give them candy if all rhythms are correct. You could do so before your final tally of points if you want, just keep an eye on the clock and your class dismissal time.
2.) If you have trouble getting volunteers, then do “Sudden Death” matches. Two volunteers decide to go against each other in a head-to-head competition and the one that has the fewest mistakes wins a candy (and possibly a point for their team). They could play two of the same, or different columns (or lines), that is up to the director.
3.) “Round Robin” – Start with a randomly selected person on each team and then them, and the next seven consecutive team members, each play (in order) one measure of that line or column. The team with the fewest mistakes is awarded the “Bingo” point. This forces students to count rests or follow along while waiting to play their assigned measure and promotes and reinforces the skill of “recovering”. If a team member makes a mistake or does not play (which messes up the next in line), if further along another team member comes in playing the correct rhythm, AT THE CORRECT TIME, I like giving that team a bonus correct measure for that round. I refer to it as a “recovery point”.
Combined “Power Grid” transpositions (Units 1 – 10) can be found attached below. To access all “Power Grid” transpositions separately visit the following URL: https://rhythmmastersplus.org/power-grids-units-1-20-pdfs/
“Band Battleship”: In this game, the director will also need two team “Band Battleship” cards and will need to pre-set up these two cards before gameplay (see the attached examples). There is a short and long version of the game depending on the class time available, but both can usually be played in a regular period. In addition, copies of the correct “S.A.S” sheet are copied and passed out to all participating game players. As you will see, “Battleship” is also a game of strategy and each student will need to keep track of the correctly and incorrectly played “grid” squares performed by their teammates. I suggest leaving the square blank if correct, an “X” if incorrect, a “?” if not sure, and circling any “grid” squares where a “hit” has been confirmed by your director. A big difference between the two games is that in “Battleship”, each performer can CHOOSE which line or column they wish to play. The goal in “Band Battleship” is to find the location of each ship in their opponent’s fleet, with the winner being determined by the team that sinks the other’s battleship first. One team could get lucky, so it’s a good idea to be ready to play multiple games.
The director is the only one who knows FOR SURE which “grid” squares were played correctly or not, the students also judge as their teammates take their turn and the better counters are normally more accurate with their assessments, but the students don’t know for sure. The director (or game show host) must acknowledge any “hit” grid squares where a full (submarine) or part of a ship was hit but DOES NOT REVEAL the ship type. That is what each team must figure out on their own using their detective skills and game strategy. The director also uses two “S.A.S.” sheets (one for each team) to mark the correct and incorrect measures played by each performer. After each performance, the director needs to check that team’s “Band Battleship” game card and mark an “X” over any square played correctly and identified as a part of a ship in their enemy’s fleet. When a team member is called on to take their turn, they can choose any line or column to perform. They can even REPEAT one that was already performed if they (or their team members) feel that a key “grid” location(s) may have been incorrectly played earlier by another teammate. The director can only identify a grid square as a “hit” if it has been played correctly, other than that ship part still exists and remains on the game board. On their “S.A.S.” sheets, the director (and students) mark a slash on each correctly played measure. After each turn the director transfers this data onto that team’s game card (see game card “example” sheet). With the lines through the circles (which indicates the ship type) this creates an “X” indicating a “Hit”. Once ALL square locations of a ship have been hit, the director will be required to identify it as “sunk” and then he and the students on that team will draw a line through the corresponding grid coordinates to verify the kill and to confirm that ship’s exact location.
Final Scoring and Winners: As mentioned earlier, the winning team is normally the one that sinks their opponent’s battleship first. Since luck has a lot to do with it, the nice thing is that both teams are always “in the game”. If you have decided to do a very challenging “Power Grid” students may have to cover several lines and columns more than once to try to reveal all of the grid locations needed for the win. Keep an eye on the time (or use a timer) to call the game early if no team has sunk the other’s battleship. In that case, the winning team will then be determined by the team with the most number of “fleet grids” identified (the most number of verified “hits”). If that number is the same, the final “tie-breaker” is the team that sunk the largest ship. Each member of the winning team should then get a candy. To make the game more fun, you could add the optional bonus of the student responsible for hitting the final grid location of each ship of their enemy’s fleet, also getting candy. I called this the “kill shot” bonus and found that it helped get the students more involved with the “strategy” aspect of the “Band Battleship” game. I think it is cool when you can take a rhythm performance game and tie it in with strategy and team collaboration. You might even consider doing these games with a substitute, if you have a student(s) you can trust as a “game show host”. Thank you for checking this out, I know your students will love either game. HAPPY HUNTING!
"Rhythm Masters" Power Grid "S.A.S." Sheets - Units 1 - 30:
All Combined Power Grids Units 1 through 10:
"Band Battleship" Game Cards (Blank / Example)
Rhythm Playing Test and Possible Section Seating Tools:
I believe it is important to plan in your curriculum a comprehensive study of rhythms and their counting. Rhythms should be organized in categories of similar groupings and meters and should include ALL rhythms in each given category. I suggest you use the “Rhythm Masters” vocabulary list as a resource guide and create a similar one implementing your own sequence. Rhythm studies should be daily but do not need to be long in length. I have found 3 to 5 minutes to be a good target, using a rhythm vocabulary of about 8 to 10 per unit. Spend as long as you need to for each vocabulary list, there is no rush. It is better to teach and review rhythms in small “chunks” of time since most sight reading scenarios (honor band auditions and festival sight reading “prep”) are presented to music students in short time sequences.
I liked using multiple seating arrangements in band classes. I would alternate between two seating setups, “chair positions” and “concert seating”. Students (like it or not) are competitive and even if you wanted to stay in “concert seating” I found just the posting of chair positions was enough of an incentive to get some students to do extra practicing on their “Power Grids” for upcoming rhythm tests. A big advantage I found with “chair position” seating, is that I placed the top chairs in the back rows and the lower scores in front, where I had easy access to monitor and help them at ALL times. I also liked the idea of cohesive and mixed-section seating for training students to listen in various situations and seating setups. “Power Grids” were in their folders and also posted on our school website, along with the MP3 recordings (60 bpm) of all of the “Power Grid” lines and columns. Even today (with the students I work with) I encourage them to record themselves playing a selected “Power Grid” on their phone, going to my website and listening to that MP3 (one exercise at a time), then listening to the recording on their cell and marking any misplayed measures on their S.A.S. sheet. This gives the students (and you) data on what rhythms they are having difficulty with and need to focus on in each rhythm vocabulary unit targeted. This is a great way to give your students “bonus points” or extra credit toward their class grade.
Some other thoughts: I posted the new overall seating positions before school the morning after we did each playing test (w/wo actual scores, that’s up to you). I noticed many more kids came into our “morning practices” on those days. I also observed a lot of “flipping” in the overall seating, and “section leaders” became less apathetic. They may always be the first chair in their section, but now they had all the other first chair members to compete with. In addition, I liked to post on each new seating list the three students who improved by the most number of points over their previous playing test. Many times these were not students in the upper chairs and I made a point to make a big deal about the “most improved” kids that day in band class, along with any “honorable mentions” of students who just missed the honor by a few points. For each playing test session I did “rhythm dictation” AS I was rhythm testing students (no lost instructional time) and used them for bonus points for each student’s overall seating assignment. I felt this was an efficient and effective approach and can explain it to you in more detail if interested. I eventually was able to get the system down to where I could rhythm test three students per minute using any of the “Power Grids”. With most band classes you can easily get through everyone in a single period with time to spare. Playing tests are given whenever you feel your students are ready. The idea is not to strive for perfection but for comprehension. When you feel the majority have mastered the content, move on to the next leveled rhythm vocabulary unit.
If you are using the “Power Grids”, I would like to mention there are several games you can play with your students using them. “Band Bingo” and “Band Battleship” are two of them, if you are looking for something fun to do, as a way of reviewing whatever rhythm vocabulary unit you might be working on. Check out the two links below if interested. On those sites, you will also have access to the series of “Power Grid” tools and their “S.A.S.” sheet counterparts. Any questions, comments, or contributions, please feel free to contact me.
“Power Grids”, “S.A.S.” sheets and MP3 audio files can be found at www.rhythmmastersplus.org
https://rhythmmastersimprovisation.org/band-bingo/
https://rhythmmastersimprovisation.org/band-battleship-game/
Sincerely,
Rich Moon
moonerk@bellsouth.net
843-875-5594
"Quest for the Rhythm Master" and "Mortal Kombat" Games:
“Mortal Kombat” / Section vs. Section
An adaptation of the “Quest for the Rhythm Master” game is a version of “Mortal Kombat” where the competition is section vs. section. It can be incorporated into your rhythm curriculum, where each time you finish a rhythm unit, another “Mortal Kombat” tournament is held. Teams should not be any larger than eight students, but (let’s say) if your clarinet section has ten students, a dice can be used to select randomly where to start, but only eight can compete in any round. It also might be a thought to divide your percussion amongst the other teams. Percussionists need to compete on mallets and you may not have enough instruments in your room for all of them. Keep track of each sections score every round and have different sections compete against one another each tournament. A “handicapping” system can be used so that when your stronger reading sections win, they start with a lower point total for the remaining rounds. If a section keeps winning (or “placing”) their starting total continues to be lowered. This keeps most every section “in the hunt” and even your best readers will have to improve to keep winning. If a team performs a perfect round, yet is out “pointed” by an opponent, both receive the win or placement points.
The competition itself uses a “Round Robin” format where each team member plays one measure with the next player starting precisely on the down beat of the next measure. A metronome is used to keep a steady beat with the director choosing the tempo. The director can also lower tempos for certain teams if they wish, as another way of keeping all teams competitive. Each “Power Grid” line takes about twenty seconds to perform so, depending on the number of teams, it should not take long to complete each round. If a section is smaller than eight members, the remaining measures are played by going back to the person that started bar number one until the entire line is finished. It is advised to randomly select different starting positions within each section before each team competes. In this way, students cannot look ahead and “prep” the measure he or she will be assigned. This format is great for encouraging “teamwork” and forces students to think and play independently.
Recovery: Another aspect of the “Mortal Kombat” game is emphasizing the concept of “recovering”. This is where if the performance of a “Power Grid” breaks down, a member of a team can not only get their team back on track, but can give their team additional (“bonus”) points for doing so. This encourages student confidence, leadership skills, and staying focused on playing the music as written, not just after the person before them finishes their measure. After students get used to the game, your true leaders will be looking for opportunities to “be the hero” and salvage their team’s score.
After your class has prepared a selected “Rhythm Master’s” Power Grid, you might want to let the teams get together and practice a little bit, tissleing through various exercise lines as you play a metronome (at competition tempo) in the back ground. The line each team plays should be selected randomly (using dice) so they have no idea what line they will be playing until right before their performance. Each team should play a different line so other teams cannot learn and benefit from their peers mistakes. The director should use the “S.A.S.” sheet for that particular “Power Grid” to keep score. The next day I liked posting the score sheets (showing where the errors occurred) with the final scores and team points listed. I wanted this article to be more of an explanation and overview of the game and not go into a lot of specific details. Of course you can adapt and change any rules or point assessments to better fit your band and class situation. Attached are more specific information and access to the score sheets in addition to more specific information and access to the score sheets. The URL below gives you access to the “Power Grids” and “S.A.S.” sheets which the director can use to score the teams with as they perform.
“Variation on a Variation”: I will also include a “bracket” sheet if you might like to do a “one class period” tournament, like the day after a concert or something. This can be used as a review of previous rhythm vocabulary units covered, or as sight read practice, playing through “Power Grids” that your students have not yet worked on.
https://rhythmmastersplus.org/power-grids-units-1-20-pdfs/
https://rhythmmastersplus.org/elementor-1261/ (“S.A.S.” sheets)
Rich Moon
moonerk@bellsouth.net
843-875-5594
"Power Grid" S.A.S. sheets Units 1 - 30:
“Quest for the Rhythm Master(s)” 2024
Back in the late “90s” and early “2000’s” the counting game “Mortal Kombat” was fairly well-known in South Carolina. It was created and produced as part of the “Rhythm Masters” books and website(s) that I was involved in writing for over 40 years of my teaching career. I worked at and presented it to the Citadel Summer Band Camp (all ten years of its existence) as well as; Converse College, with the alternates at several “Region” and “All-State” band clinics (before the existence of “alternate” bands), and as a guest presenter at many local South Carolina high schools in this area. It went through updates and modifications over the years and I am bringing it back as part of my “Sight Reading Preparation for Honor Band Auditions” program and web page, which has been one of my main focuses this summer and past school year.
I know many of the S.C. band programs use some form of “rhythm for the day” or short daily “rhythm curriculum” as a foundation for teaching their students counting. Many published method books and independent authors have their own books and websites which are also wonderful for teaching this content to your students. If you like the consistency of a short (but daily) rhythm curriculum, why not make it a “game” for your students? Fun, but still educational and challenging for them, but at the same time using competition while promoting “teamwork” amongst the sections in your band. That is what “Quest for the Rhythm Master” is all about. I am attaching the game content (PDFs), which is also an excellent rhythm curriculum guide in its own right. It is designed for students from beginners to about as advanced as you might want and is an excellent “tool” for review and comprehension confirmation purposes. Each lettered section is divided into three exercises. They are sequenced to gradually get harder as the series progresses but still cover almost every possible rhythm students may run into in your classroom. The sequence is based on the evolution of the “Rhythm Masters” rhythm vocabulary units created over years of research and writing.
“Quest for the R.M. 2024” starts with you selecting a targeted rhythm and finding the appropriate section (alphabet letter) it is located in. I like keeping rhythm instruction in short “chunks”, working with a single rhythm vocabulary unit over a series of several days.
Step one would be to introduce that rhythm vocabulary through whatever means you normally use that you find successful. After that has been done, “LET THE GAMES BEGIN!” The second step is to have your students analyze the counting (if you have your students write it out) of exercise line #1 on the smart board. After that has successfully been completed, you could have them “clap and count” or “vocalize” (line one only) using whichever method you use to communicate “counting” to your class. As an option, you could have the students play through line one using a single note, or changing notes (a scale) every measure or even as each note changes. It will be in the third step where the actual competition or “game” begins.
The next step is to have the full class once again review counting and playing, still on the first exercise. I would advise not announcing which “sections” will be competing until right before the competition actually begins. Keep an ongoing “win/loss” record for each team and the other teams they have competed against up to that point. Setting your metronome to “bpm” = 60, give the count off to the first competing section who will perform (count or play, your choice) exercise line number two. I am trying to keep this introduction short, so if there are any questions, please refer to the website or give me a call (of course all materials and instructions are free). When a team competes, use a “round robin” format, where each student plays one bar, then (like in a relay race) hands the next bar over to the student sitting next to them to perform. This “one student per measure” is a key element in the “Quest” game. It forces your students to COUNT ON THEIR OWN and not to rely on entrance “cues” from their peers. It helps all participants with internalizing the pulse and being more accurate with timing and most importantly, reinforces the very important skill of “recovery”. As each team competes, if a member “messes up” a measure, the next performer must ignore the previous player’s response and enter correctly on the downbeat according to the metronome. It gives directors an excellent platform to promote independent performance and leadership skills. I would even introduce and review the process by practicing line one with each team taking on the role of being a single team member. I would NEVER, start a competition round from the beginning of the section. I use a “magic dice” system, where I roll one dice, count off the students and start with the student indicated by the number that was rolled. In the case where there are more than eight students on a section or team, it also randomly selects who performs and who is excluded in each present round of competition. If there are fewer than eight on a team, then the students that must play twice are also randomly selected. After their turn is completed, the second competing team takes their turn to perform, this time on exercise #3. After each round, the director needs to decide to move on, or if more time is needed on the same rhythm section. The next day you could begin another rhythm section, review other similar rhythms from the same “vocabulary” set, or you could redo the competition round using two different teams. I cannot stress to you how much this “multi-directional” approach to learning helps students attain a higher level of counting comprehension.
Another important part of the “Quest” game is coming up with some kind of “handicap” system that works for your classes. Students will lose interest in the game if one or a few sections are constantly winning, so by controlling certain variables, you can keep everyone “in the game”. There are several ways you can do this by adjusting the “processing levels” needed by students to perform various tasks. I think of this “processing number” by considering the “RAM” it takes for each student’s brain to perform the required number of individual tasks to ensure an accurate performance. You know your students and their abilities, so (for example) after a team’s second victory, begin the “handicapping” process. Start with everyone performing each rhythmic line on a unison note. The first step in level differentiation would be to add a selected scale where each team member must move up to the next note of that scale on their turn. After that, you could add the performance of a scale (same or different) coming down. By working with students in “pull-out” situations over the past several years, I can tell you that students’ “scale performance ability” is not always the same going up and down. It adds about a “half” of a processing level, but can still be a credible factor in difficulty differentiation.
If you are presently working on multiple scales in class, you know which ones your students find easy and which are more challenging. The scales that you select for each team to use in the competition should be the next difficulty variable. An additional possible “processing level” consideration could be, that while one team is changing scale notes for each measure, the other could be required to change the pitch for each new note. This is a BIG jump, but you may have an advanced section(s) where this might be necessary. Before you do this you will need to work with your class on this using an easy scale at a very slow tempo. Your students need to get used to going up and coming right back down the scale after the octave is played. What an excellent way to confirm comprehension and advance multi-level tasking when it comes to scale performance though. Now our counting game has also become an excellent way to help students review and master their scales. I have seen so many band programs run their scales using only one or two formats from the beginning to the end of each school year. I implore you to consider (after your “Honor Band Audition” season is over) mixing things up with your students and their scale studies. Consider what was discussed earlier about “processing levels” and as a class, try to gradually increase the performance “processing number” you are requiring from them. It is an excellent way to help your young musicians grow and mature.
Determining Winners and Losers: You can make your own in whatever way you want to do it. You can decide for yourself or get your students involved as well. I think it is VERY helpful to use “multi-directional” learning. Not only have your students perform the rhythm exercises but evaluate the performances of others as well. What I used to do was, each student had the “Quest” rhythm sheets and a pencil. If their section was not competing, they would mark an “X” on each counting error and put a “circle” around any areas of hesitation or speeding up. If you were having them compete using a scale, I would have the students write an “N” above any note that “sounded” incorrect. After both teams performed I briefly asked the non-competing class members which team they thought won and why? We would quickly compare the number of errors, and where they occurred, but spend enough time that they gained something going through the assessment process. After the winning team is determined, it was always nice to select one of the students on that team to put a “gold star” by their team’s name on the “leader board” posted up in the front of the classroom. Below are two URLs you can check out for additional information, first is the main page of my newest website. Scroll down to the very bottom and click on the last green button on the right, this will give you more information and materials regarding the original “Mortal Kombat” and “Quest for the Rhythm Masters” located on the original www.rhythmmasters.org website. If you or your students are serious about rapidly enhancing their individual audition sight reading skills, the second URL takes you directly to the “Sight Reading Preparation for Honor Band Auditions” web page. You will find a more “condensed” version of the “Quest” content near the bottom of that page, under “games”.
In summary, keep things short, 3 to 5 minutes works best. The very nature of counting and sight reading is spontaneous and immediate, with no time to think. Conduct your rhythm instruction (as best you can) in a similar manner. Finally, having students perform independently, so they cannot “hide” behind the ensemble” is key in helping to make your students better sight readers. You also might consider adapting some kind of “section grade” policy based upon their performance numbers, or the numerical improvement in their team scores. Do not forget, with the “handicap” system you are in control. You can reward a team grade for improvement by differentiating the “processing number” which each is competing at. It makes the grade relevant and gives each a pathway for improvement. Incorporating scales within a team competition context will help motivate students to work on, and help each other out with, the specific scales each section is struggling with. As you get into the more difficult rhythm vocabularies in the “Quest for the Rhythm Master”, you can still follow the same introduction and learning procedures, but for competition, use a section “champion” selected by each section (or the band director) for the actual competition. Students could also compete to be the champion by playing line #1 before the actual “face-off”. At this level, you should still have the full class analyzing the two competitive performances to continue the “multi-directional” learning process.
“Rhythm Masters Improvisation” Main Page: https://rhythmmastersimprovisation.org/
Sight Reading Audition Page:
https://rhythmmastersimprovisation.org/sight-reading-preparation-for-honor-band-auditions/
Rich Moon
moonerk@bellsouth.net
843-875-5594
“Foot and Clapping Rhythm Reading Exercises”
Dear Directors,
If you feel that tapping one’s foot is initially essential for successful counting and are interested in where rhythm comprehension ends or students start to lose the processing ability to perform rhythms correctly, you might want to look over this sheet. I designed it as an assessment sheet to evaluate various rhythm categories, sequenced by difficulty level and RAM processing requirements. The notes chosen are simple covering the first four or five notes of the concert Bb scale. However, you can easily have the students play them in different keys, or play different full scales going all the way up and repeating the octave on the whole note. Using a metronome, establish your tempo by having your students tap their foot for the first four counts and continue to do so throughout each rhythm line. I suggest the first time, clapping each rhythm while saying the counting out loud. The second time, they play the same line using their instrument. If the issue is a comprehension problem, it will normally show itself in this initial process.
The “Foot Police”: This is a technique I used a lot at the elementary level, but I also find it very effective for middle school instrumentalists in particular situations. Set up your class with adjacent teams of two. Designate one as the “player” and the second as the “watcher”. As you play each exercise line, the watcher taps their foot and observes his partner as they perform. The “watcher” is to look and see if the performing student stops tapping their foot, or starts tapping out the rhythm (rather than the pulse) at any time during that exercise line. The performer still might play the line rhythmically correctly, but it is an indication that the student might be having a problem executing the two mutually exclusive events simultaneously. Rotate positions, switching the students performing and watching within each team. In each case, have the students indicate (thumbs up or down) if they observed their partner performing the requested exercise correctly. From this point on, if there are any problems, the students will probably continue to have issues, so this gives you a starting point from which you might begin your comprehensive rhythm curriculum. By adding the tapping of the foot, you are adding only one additional “processing” task to the performance mix. In music, we are constantly adding more and more onto our music students’ plates, so rhythm errors that are occurring may not necessarily be comprehension in nature or a focus issue with individual students.
My belief (more times than not) is the issue causing much of our students miscounting errors is “RAM” memory. I know that “RAM” is a computer term, but it is so accurate description when you consider how our brain and a computer both work. With a computer, you can just open it up and insert an additional 32 gig of RAM memory and, “problem solved”. With our student’s “biological computer”, it is not that easy. Processing memory in one’s brain can only increase at its own pace over time. This is the reason counting issues are so inconsistent. When our brain becomes “over-processed”, it RANDOMLY selects musical aspects of our overall musical performance that we either “deemphasize” or “discard”, to lower what we are processing to be within our present range. I find that around the freshmen or sophomore year in high school, most students’ brains develop to the point where this becomes much less of an issue, but in middle school, the balancing of “RAM” issues needed to perform at a high level is constantly something band directors struggle with.
This is an area I have done a lot of research and field testing with since I retired. It is not an easy issue by any means, but one thing I have found to help is the concept (which you probably already use) of “simplification” and “reconstruction”. The bottom line is, that you have to find ways to lower your “RAM” expectations on your students until the number of processes each student can perform has increased on its own. This is especially challenging in that the processing range of students within any given band or orchestra program can be HUGE!!! I have written countless papers and exercises dealing with this issue and trying to find different ways of helping students manage their processing memory when performing music. One of them is the “Rhythm Games” process and project which is a series of many articles presently being periodically published in “Bandworld” magazine online. As I work with my fellow band directors on this project, I will continue posting new content as I complete them.
I would like to go back to the subject of “players” and “watchers” for a moment if I can. Another technique I have used to help students with finding or feeling pulse is the “Frankenstein Approach”. I do this a lot when I work individually with newer instrumentalists, but have also had students help each other while they are teamed up with a partner. Sometimes putting a student in the position of being the “teacher” helps them understand specific problems they are having. The “player” places their toe or heel (depending on what they “tap” with) on top of the “watcher’s” toe. Follow the same procedures in playing your chosen exercise line and explaining that you have dissected a single body into two and that the “watcher” is now actually the “player’s” foot. The “player” now focuses just on the performance of the given rhythms as the “watcher” is now solely responsible for executing the pulse, while still allowing the “player” to feel it as they perform. This only needs to be done if one of the students is having difficulty doing the two processes simultaneously, but it does not always work. However, it is another little trick you can stick into your band director’s “Batman Utility Belt” for a future day.
If you decide to give this sheet a try, let me know how it worked out. This is my first “draft” so I may be incorrect in my rhythm/RAM sequencing, or there might be something I just missed. I took the rhythm categories as far as I could to fit everything on one page, so I could gain initial input before going any further. Also, I would be interested in if you agree OR DISAGREE with my assessment about a key reason for counting issues occurring with middle school band students. However, the more I work with your band students, the stronger I feel, “IT’s ALL ABOUT THE RAM”. Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Rich Moon
moonerk@bellsouth.net
www.rhythmmastersimprovisation.org
843-875-5594
"Rhythm Games" Add On's:
"Box and Grab"
“Rhythm Games” – Rhythm Motions Part 3
I covered the “sound” and “silence” aspects of “Rhythm Motions” in an earlier article. The last rhythm symbols I used in this series are combinations of 8th notes and 8th rests. By this time, your band beginners have the Rhythm Motion “stuff” down as they increasingly get more comfortable with number counting. As things progress with your counting curriculum, I wanted to give you the option to tie motion and sound to the 8th note and rest combinations, giving your more experienced students that added dimension and option. “Box and “Grab” is less of a performance vehicle and more of a “decoding” process. Even as one is transitioning into using primarily number counting, it still helps to have a backup or way to “check your answers” in counting, if needed.
We start with two eighth notes using the word with the motion “boxer.” When adding the 8th rest, we can place it on the upbeat or the downbeat. Since “ts” (tissle) is the sound for an 8th rest, the sound for the 8th note with rest would either be “8th-“ts” or “ts”-“note.” For our motion, we will use “Box & Grab” (see attached #01). For an 8th note on the downbeat, we “box” with the right hand and “grab” air with the left. With the eighth note on the upbeat, reverse the order, grabbing air with the right hand and boxing with the left. I explained it as “grabbing” the syllable out of the air, so we cannot hear it.
In the final attachment for this article, I included the last two pages of the “Rhythm Motions” curriculum, which was attached to the first article. Each new note or rest (when introduced) is labeled on the far left side, followed by three or four warm-up exercises (A, B, C, & D) using that note or rest in several different situations. One “review” exercise line usually follows, incorporating the notes and rests learned up to that point. You can shift the curriculum if you wish to mix up the order of notes and rests, simultaneously introducing their “sound” and “silence” length values. Do not underestimate middle school students’ difficulty in counting “silence.” The “vocalization” of rests (with or without motions) might be one of the best alternative strategies you can use to help students accurately recall the specific length of rests by “filling in” these gaps with each of their sounds.
“Rhythm Masters” Units 2 through 7:
“Rhythm Masters” Units 2 through 7 (all “duple” rhythms up to 16th notes and rests)
The following “Rhythm Masters” content is condensed and presented in a sequential fashion. If you are not interested in the symbols, arrows, rest “vocalizations”, or other additional content (except for the introduction page), all of the transpositions for the “Play Drills” and “Power Grids” are in each of the unit’s combined PDFs. It is set up to present what I primarily use from the “R.M.” curriculum. I decided not to incorporate Unit 1 having minimal issues with its content, but you can still easily access their “Play Drills” and “Power Grids” from the two URLs listed below:
https://rhythmmastersplus.org/play-drills-units-1-20-pdfs/
https://rhythmmastersplus.org/power-grids-units-1-20-pdfs/
Also, the reason there is no Unit 5 is that there is no new rhythm vocabulary introduced in that unit. Instead, mixed meter concepts are introduced and applied (“duple” meters in “4” only) covering from 2/4 through 7/4. If you have any questions or are having difficulty finding anything, please feel free to contact me.
Rich Moon
843-875-5594
Unit 2:
Unit 3:
Unit 4:
Unit 6 Theory Sheet
Unit 6:
Unit 7:
"Rhythm Games" The 16th Rest:
“Rhythm Games” – The “Sixteenth Rest”
This final article is probably least relevant, in that it focuses on the issue of students having trouble reading/decoding 16th rests fast enough for performance purposes. The rhythms in “Rhythm Masters” Units 9 and 10 will be seldom seen in most middle school band repertoire. It is far more probable to appear in high school literature and with time and maturing the student’s “processing skills” will be more likely to handle the RAM required. If your high school students are still having difficulty, I have come up with some aids and tricks to help simplify the decoding process that you may find helpful. With the “Ultimate Musicians” program I have been field testing several of the 7th and 8th-grade students who have made it through to Unit 9 and a few up to Unit 10. I normally worked with the students in the U.M. program (which included students from seven different local middle schools) for about 10 to 15 minutes, once a week. Most of those in the program were students who participated in the honor band audition process, both locally and at the region and state level (if they qualified to do so). It is reasonable to assume that these musicians are very competitive and proud of the various “rhythm vocabulary” units they had passed out. For that reason, I decided to push those that made it beyond Unit 8, to see just how far they could go in the “Rhythm Masters” Book #1. As expected, many struggled with the challenge, so I took what they had picked up using the “Time Line Dimensional Transfer” system and tried to adapt or add to it, to come up with strategies to help them navigate through situations where they were perhaps presently short of the processing abilities needed. Only four students (out of the 33 participants) passed out of Unit 10. One accomplished the goal fairly easily because she had a rock-solid conception and was very confident with using “subdivision”. If you want to approach this issue using traditional methods subdivision skills are the ONLY way your students will be able to succeed. The other three (and others working to get out of Unit 9) struggled and the rest of this article contains the content and materials I created, to help each of these students achieve their goals.
The main challenges here were multiple 16th rests within a measure (and even within a beat) and measures with 8th and 16th rests combined (timeline velocity changes). To help with this differentiation, I continued to use “rest vocalization” as a strategy. The “ts” remained as the audio (and visual) length for the 8th rests and the 16th rests I isolated the “t” from the word “dot”. I used no motion or visual aid, just the quick sound you make when you sound out the letter “t” as part of any word. I would write it out (for decoding and mapping purposes) as;
. . t . . t . t (as an example). I also found that “anchors” were a big help for some, especially if they gravitated toward relying on their foot (or thumb) and did not change pulse when being confronted with “syncopation” or a “timeline velocity” change. With “anchors” you do not need to worry about the “length” of any given rest(s), you simply identify the correct resumption of sound based on the position of one’s foot or thumb. The approach is more of a “reactionary” process instead of an “analytical” one, which is why students with certain kinds of learning styles found it more effective when decoding rhythms. Locking in with the next sequential foot motion could then be used to accurately re-enter the sound aspect of rhythms based upon the re-appearance of the next note-head being on a “down” or an “up” beat.
I would go back and forth between “silent “vocalizations” and “anchors” trying to figure out which approach would best accommodate each student’s learning style. Throughout the year, after each participant’s session, I would take notes on what seemed to work (and what did not) to plan the following week’s session. We would normally start with writing or saying the “subdivision” being sure each student understood the numerical analysis and the fundamentals involved. I tried out a “subdivision” technique I call “digit counting”, where subdivision (with motion) is the main focus and emphasis when counting rhythms. It can be an effective technique, but I found that most of the participants I was working with ended up feeling more comfortable with one of the initial two techniques mentioned. Also, I would stress never to stop in the middle of performing a sight reading audition etude! When reading “rhythm maps” or verbally analyzing counting, if a student is rhythmically correct but did not say it accurately, still consider their “performance” to be correct. In their analysis, if the student has heard the vocalization of the rhythm correctly, chances are they will play the etude correctly as well.
I am including the excerpts from the “Rhythm Masters” rhythm vocabulary list to show you the different one-count 16th note rhythms presented in Units 8, 9, and 10. After that, I am presenting the non-staff Play Drill “rhythm maps” for those same three units. Finally, I include the 9B and 10B “Supplemental Drills” which present students with additional help and verbalization drill opportunities. Although not included in this article, I would revisit these same sheets without the “rhythm maps” (symbols) above to try to get the students to visualize these “rhythm ghosts” on their own, when not written for them. I guess it is similar to a “rhythm-phonics” approach where the students would phonetically sound out the rest and note rhythms in ‘real-time”.
In “9B Supplemental” I map out each rhythm three ways. First is the way I presented counting in the original “Rhythm Masters” series many years ago, focusing on “micro-rhythm” counting where no numbers are used. Middle school students frequently mess up their number sequence when decoding more challenging rhythms then stop, and try to correct the error in the middle of performing it. Replacing all numbers and up-beats with simple down and up arrows simplifies the process and lowers the “RAM” required. It allows students to more accurately count when using their foot. Below the arrows, I wrote out the numbers and the “&” symbol, if that is still your preference. The third system of the three is the “rhythm maps” I presented to you in this and other earlier articles. In “10B Supplemental” each first measure establishes the basic subdivision(s) and timeline velocity differences being used, which I wanted to be sure the students could establish on their own. After that, four bars are “mapped” out (above) and the last two bars are left open to see if the students can decode them on their own.
Whether we wish to discuss “rhythm mapping”, the “4D’s”, “rest vocalizations”, “timeline velocity” changes, “rhythm motions”, “anchors”, or other decoding concepts, they are all different ways of trying to accommodate for different learning styles. In many ways, I looked at my role as having been more of a “facilitator”, trying different things to see what seemed to work best for each student. Several bought into the idea of “simplification” and then “redirection” and felt it helped them with their decoding. Throughout this process, I always stressed one of the most important components in being successful at sight reading auditions is for each participant to master the ability to find their individual “optimum” performance tempo for each given etude. For that reason, students were allowed to (at all times) select their own performance tempo. I NEVER ONCE had to tell anyone they were playing too slow, but suggesting that their chosen tempo was too fast happened frequently. This process did help drive home that “slow and steady” always wins this race. The huge challenge ahead of us all is to find ways we can effectively and efficiently accommodate for different individual learning styles in a classroom situation, with our normally limited instructional time.
Sincerely Yours,
Rich Moon