Nov / Dec

Studio News

Nov / Dec, 2006 --

The Recital The Importance of Rhythm Practice Suggestions Lully

Welcome to the final issue of Studio News for 2006.

I trust everyone had a good time at the recent recital. Thank you everyone who came and showed your support. I am so very proud of everyone who played. Well done.

This issue includes a discussion about the importance of rhythm, and some practice suggestions. The composer of the month, Jean-Baptiste Lully, was an Italian born, French composer, comedian and dancer - one of the founders of the Baroque period.

The Recital

There were so many highlights. Alistair performed his original composition, Roses, and played beautifully – although he had been very anxious beforehand. Just turned 5, Grace seemed so tiny, but carried her performance with all the dignity of an experienced pianist. Mikaela performed a piece she wanted to play even before her first lesson. Riannah played a new piece, Edelweiss – one she was very excited to learn, as it is a family favourite. Thomas and Sid played fluently some popular contemporary pieces. Stephanie’s performance of the theme from Fur Elise was most enjoyable.

Keeping Time - The Importance of Rhythm

There are three essential elements of music: pitch (melody and harmony), tonal quality (timbre, volume) and rhythm. Rhythm is the way notes are arranged in time, with every note and rest lasting a set amount of time. Some notes are short and some are long, but each is built on the same scale of time relative to the surrounding notes – a bit like a ruler, but measured in time instead of distance. The consistency in note timing creates a sense of rhythm.

Rhythm helps give character to pieces of music. For example, if you listen to a familiar piece of music, given the same note pitches but with all notes performed for the same length of time, the music would sound strange. In some cases it would be unrecognisable because the variety of long and short notes are vital to the affect of the music.

Accent is an important aspect of rhythm. An accent is a more stressed beat that occurs at regular intervals. A very common rhythm is the waltz – three beats, with a strong and two weaker counts: one, two, three. Another common rhythm is the march – one, two, one, two - strong, weak. In most styles of music, the strong beat is the first of the bar. (The bars are like the lines on rulers, regularly marking equal intervals – in the music score, they are written as vertical lines that cross the staves, making what looks like boxes throughout the score.)

Since rhythm is so vital to the sound and affect of music, it is important that students learn to keep a consistent rhythm. Although everyone has an inbuilt sense of rhythm (actually as a result of our heart beats), keeping time (keeping a constant rhythm) is one of the most difficult skills to learn – from beginner to advanced levels. Often, when a student is having difficulty understanding or learning a piece of music, the problem comes from not correctly feeling the underlying rhythm. Rhythm also is the basis for playing faster pieces. Practicing different rhythms makes a big difference to the learning progress and performances of pianists.

Practice Suggestions

	Using a metronome (or a loud, ticking clock), clap or stamp in time with the ticks. To make this more complex, vary the speed of the metronome – try different speeds, such as 44 or 208. (You’ll probably find it is more difficult to keep consistent taps with the slower beat.)
	Again, using a metronome, make up different long and short patterns (e.g. long, short, short) creating accents with the longer taps that start at the same time as the metronome tick. Keep the patterns repetitive, but increase in complexity as you become a master.
	Stamp, march, walk and run around the room, counting the steps (one, two, one, two) – keep the steps of each motion regular in time.
	Clap and count the note values of every new piece – before and during playing.
	Listen for noises in the environment – mechanical and natural. Are there rhythm patterns in these noises? Try clapping the patterns. The car indicator is an obvious one, but also listen for bird calls, washing machines – just about everything! Can you describe the rhythm? Is the tempo fast or slow? Is there an accented pattern?
	Use the exercise above for words. Use names and everyday words, as well as interesting or nonsense words – like Timbuktu or Super-cali-fragilistic-expiala-docious! What is the difference in patterns between ‘rasp-ber-ries’ and ‘pea-nut but-ter’? Say the words repeatedly, clapping while you say them.
	Listen to recordings of music and clap in time. For a more challenging exercise, see if you can follow the patterns of a single instrument in an ensemble, or discover a pattern that is repeated by different instruments (listening for the melody is a useful tool).
	While keeping a simple rhythm by marching with your feet, try a different rhythm with clapping. For example, while marching – one, two, one, two – clap only on one, or clap twice on each count. More difficult exercises include clapping three to every one stamp, clapping long/short/short to every stamp or two stamps, or even clapping three times evenly with every two stamps. See what patterns you can invent.

Jean-Baptiste Lully

Jean-Baptiste Lully was born in Florence, Italy, on November 28, 1632. He moved to Paris, France, at the age of 11 to teach Italian to an aristocratic lady. He spent the remainder of his life in France, where he laid the foundation for French musical styles – especially musical theatre and courtly dances.

Lully began dancing, violin and guitar lessons in mid childhood. When he moved to Paris, he began learning harpsichord and composition. In Paris, he attended performances by the King’s band and witnessed court balls. He made himself known at these occasions and soon was recognised as a composer, even by the King Louis XIV.

Lully danced with King Louis in a ballet in 1653. Soon afterwards, Lully was appointed as composer in the King’s court. Lully and King Louis remained life-long friends.

From his position in the King’s court, where he had total control over all musicians, Lully began experimenting with musical styles. He made significant changes in orchestral style and the types of instruments that were included in the orchestra.

Lully’s creation of musical theatre began in 1664. Lully loved musical theatre and ballet, which combined his two favourite expressions of art – dance and music. He wrote new musical forms for the ballet. This dance music shaped what would later become familiar as French music (e.g. Minuet, Gavotte, and Bouree).

Lully united literary unity, music and dance - a form that became very popular and developed into the later ballets, such as those by Tchaikovsky. Lully also composed an opera every year for 14 years. His operas combined dances, arias and recitations into literary units – in the same manner as the ballets.

Unfortunately, Lully was a severe, power-hungry, dictatorial man who had acquired the patents for many forms of music in France. He prevented the composition and performance of works that did not have his explicit consent. This stunted the development of music for some time, almost a hundred years. He was still very popular with the French.

Lully’s music influenced his contemporaries – such as the English composers who were sent to France by Charles I to learn from Lully. After him, Lully’s influence was enduring. J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel emulated Lully’s style. This further demonstrates how Lully was very foundational in western music – structurally, stylistically and emotionally. (Lully’s melodies are known for being very emotional.)

Lully died in 1687, at 55 years of age, after injuries from an accident.

Annah-Valerie Hyrst (teacher)

Individual dynamics

Rouse Hill, NSW

Studio News

Last modified: January 16, 2008