Rhythm 9A and B

Rhythm Dictation 9A and B:

Below, you will find the answers to the examples in Rhythm 9A and B.

Listen to the examples here: Rhythm 9A / 9B.

Try to notate the rhythm in three or fewer hearings. The answers are below. Don't peek until you're ready to check your answer.

(Need a refresher on what these rhythms look like? Try reading this Rhythm Practice Worksheet!

9A #1 (One measure of 2/4, one of 3/4, one of 2/4 and one of 3/4)
9A #1 Answer


9A #2 (One measure of 3/4, one of 2/4, one of 3/4, one of 2/4)
9A #2 Answer


9A #3 (Two measures of 4/4, one of 2/4, one of 4/4)
9A #3 Answer


9A #4 (Two measures of 2/4, Two of 3/4)
9A #4 Answer


9A #5 (One measure of 4/4, one of 5/4, one of 4/4)
9A #5 Answer


9A #6 (One measure of 3/4, one of 4/4, one of 3/4, one of 2/4)
9A #6 Answer


9A #7 (One measure of 4/4, one of 3/4, one of 2/4)
9A #7 Answer


9A #8 (One measure of 3/4, one of 4/4, one of 5/4)
9A #8 Answer


9B Answers


9B #1 (One measure of 6/8, one of 9/8, one of 6/8, one of 9/8)
9B #1 Answer


9B #2 (One measure of 9/8, one of 6/8, one of 9/8, one of 6/8)
9B #2 Answer


9B #3 (Two measures of 12/8, one of 6/8, one of 12/8)
9B #3 Answer


9B #4 (Two measures of 6/8, two of 3/4)
9B #4 Answer


9B #5 (One measure of 6/8, one of 3/4, one of 6/8, one of 3/4)
9B #5 Answer


9B #6 (One measure of 6/8, one of 3/4, one of 2/4)
9B #6 Answer


9B #7 (One measure of 4/4, one of 3/4, one of 6/8)
9B #7 Answer


9B #8 (One measure of 3/4, two of 9/8)
9B #8 Answer

Drum Machine Rhythm

Beatlab lets you experiment with rhythm using a virtual drum machine.

Yet another tool you can use to augment your understanding of simple meter...

Rhythm Game (Simple meter)

I just found a cute little flash game from St. Ann's School in NY, dealing with rhythms in simple meter: You listen to the rhythm, and then turn over the cards until they match the rhythm you hear. It's extremely simple, but could be useful for anyone still uncertain about these rhythms, and may be useful to any of you who go on to be music educators:

Rhythm Writer

Rhythm Writer Game

Remember that there are many resources available to help you! Use them!

Rhythm Practice Worksheet

Want some practice reading rhythms in mixed meter? Here is a page with which you may practice...

These are very much like the rhythms we will use for dictation. If you can master reading these, it should help in transcribing similar rhythms you will hear.

I have included quite a few instances of the "galloping" or Beethoven 9th rhythmic cliché. I really never ever ever want to see anyone get this wrong on a test ever again.

Assume a steady eighth note pulse for these:

(Click on the image to enlarge, and print if necessary.)

Fun with Modes

Here are some helps to understanding modes and being able to hear and identify them:

David's video explanation of the modes (about 8 minutes)


Terence Hansen demonstrates modes on his double neck guitar (about 8 minutes)


This jazz based intro to modes may also be helpful (about 13 minutes)
(note, though, that he says "church modes" when he means "modern modes." Church modes are different.)


And the Modal Cycle (3 songs about modes):

Ms. Mixolydian and Dorian song

The Phrygian Song

The Locrian Song


For more (written) information about modern modes, Wikipedia has a fairly in-depth review that is (at the moment, anyway) quite accurate, and perhaps a bit redundant. Worth reading if you're still not clear on things:

Wikipedia on Modern Modes

Practice Test

Here is a practice test for you to get ready for our upcoming test!

This is a bit shorter than the actual test.

First, download the pretest and print it out, unless you kept a copy I handed out in class.

Pretest 1

When you're ready and comfortable, listen to the audio of the test. You may want to be sure to have a good pair of headphones, for the best audio quality.

Download Music - Audio Hosting -
Finally, when you're done the test (and only when you are done) you may view the following PDF file and see how well you did.

Pretest 1 Answer Key

Pass it on

Okay, homework assignment for Wednesday! (counted as a quiz)

Listen to this piece by my friend Mark Shilansky.



I want you to write out the theme to this song, as played in the first iteration. (You may omit notes that are ornamental in nature. Figure out for yourself what is central to the theme. It may help to listen to how it is used in the rest of the song.) Write it out in solfege first, without rhythm. Then consider how you might frame it rhythmically. Write it out, transposed to the key of C Major. There is no single right answer, so I'm interested to see how you interpret it.

It should go without saying, but do this all by ear, not with the aid of an instrument, and do your own work.

Then, identify ways in which the theme was altered in subsequent sections. What other techniques were applied?

Come on Wednesday with your written theme (solfege and notation) to hand in, and ready to discuss the other usage you heard. (Write down the time in the video you heard something, so we can listen as a class.)

New School Year!

It's a new school year, and an updated blog post.

This site will now be serving both my Fall MUS 243 course, and the Spring MUS 244 course.

Course info will be available on the relevant pages linked in the header above.

This will also remain the best portal to my Ear Training Songs.

The course info page for MUS 243 will get fleshed out as the year continues, but there will be a few links up there shortly for those who really want to get started.

I've also changed the home page so that it only shows one post at a time, so that media heavy posts like the rhythm trainers don't make the page take forever to load.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2014-15 school year!

David

Rhythm 8B

Rhythm Dictation 8B:
Below, you will find sound files with short melodies. Each of these melodies will have 32nd notes. Try to notate the rhythm in three or fewer hearings. The answer is linked below each sound clip. Don't peek until you're ready to check your answer.

8B #1 (Four measures of 6/8)

Soundfile for 8b1
Answer to 8b1


8B #2 (Four measures of 6/8)

Soundfile for 8b2
Answer to 8b2


8B #3 (Four measures of 6/8)

Soundfile for 8b3
Answer to 8b3


8B #4 (Four measures of 6/8)

Soundfile for 8b4
Answer to 8b4


8B #5 (Three measures of 9/8)

Soundfile for 8b5
Answer to 8b5


8B #6 (Four measures of 6/8)

Soundfile for 8b6
Answer to 8b6


8B #7 (Three measures of 9/8)

Soundfile for 8b7
Answer to 8b7


8B #8 (Three measures of 9/8)

Soundfile for 8b8
Answer to 8b8

Rhythm 8A

Rhythm Dictation 8A:
Below, you will find sound files with short melodies. Each of these melodies will have 32nd notes. Try to notate the rhythm in three or fewer hearings. The answer is linked below each sound clip. Don't peek until you're ready to check your answer.

8A #1

Soundfile for 8a1
Answer to 8a1


8A #2

Soundfile for 8a2
Answer to 8a2


8A #3

Soundfile for 8a3
Answer to 8a3


8A #4

Soundfile for 8a4
Answer to 8a4


8A #5

Soundfile for 8a5
Answer to 8a5


8A #6

Soundfile for 8a6
Answer to 8a6

8A #7

Soundfile for 8a7
Answer to 8a7


8A #8

Soundfile for 8a8
Answer to 8a8

Rhythm 7A Supplement

Rhythm Dictation 7A SUPPLEMENT:
Below, you will find sound files with short melodies. Each of these melodies will have tied notes, with notes sustaining from one beat group to another, or over a bar line. Try to notate the rhythm in three or fewer hearings. The answer is linked below each sound clip. Don't peek until you're ready to check your answer. 7A Supplement #1: (4 measures of 4/4)

 
Answer to 7A #1


7A Supplement #2: (4 measures of 6/8)

 
Answer to 7A #2

Rhythm 6B Supplement

Rhythm Dictation 6B SUPPLEMENT:
Below, you will find sound files with short melodies. Each of these melodies are in 6/16, which we will interpret to mean that each measure has two beats, each of which has the value of three sixteenth notes, or dotted eighth notes. Try to notate the rhythm in three or fewer hearings. The answer is linked below each sound clip. Don't peek until you're ready to check your answer. 6B Supplement #1: (4 measures of 6/16)

 

ANSWER 6B SUPP #1

6B Supplement #2: (4 measures of 6/16)

 

ANSWER 6B SUPP #2

6B Supplement #3: (4 measures of 6/16)

 

ANSWER 6B SUPP #3

What Should I be working on right now? (last section)

Practice exercises in Benward Melody 15A (Nondiatonic tones)

Practice exercises in Benward Melody 15C (Mode Identification)

Review Common Secondary Dominants in inversion.

Review Secondary Dominants in a Major Key.

Review Secondary Dominants in a Minor Key.

Review Secondary Dominants BLITZ with V6-5 and viiº7 of everything in a Major Key.

Practice exercises in Benward Harmony 15A (All Secondary Dominants)

Rhythm Units 10D, 11A, 11B, 12A, 12B;

Practice exercises in Benward Melody 16A

Review French and German Augmented 6 Chords.

Review Neapolitan 6 Chords.

Listen to and memorize the International Chords Song.

Practice exercises in Benward Harmony 16A (Fr6, Gr6 and N6)

Practice Modal Sightsinging Exercises in Ottman (or elsewhere.)

What should I be working on right now?

Here's the content you should be tackling at this point in the course. (From the course information page.)

Practice exercises in Benward Melody 14A (Modulating Melodic Dictation)

Practice exercises in Benward Melody 14B (Error Detection)

Watch Intro to Modes. (aka "fun with modes!) Watch with annotations on if you can. Remember that spelling is important!

Need a mnemonic? There are many based on the order modes appear if you hear how they would start on successive degrees of our familiar major scale. (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, Locrian.)

Here is Mattia's mnemonic method for this.

Also, remember that we won't deal with Locrian in class. Ionian is like our major scale, and Aeolian is like our natural minor scale. "Home triads" for Dorian and Phrygian are minor, and those of Mixolydian and Lydian are major. Lydian has a "fi" and Phrygian has a "ra," which gives them each a very distinctive sound. Dorian and Mixolydian each have a "la" and a "te" and differ only in the quality of the third scale degree.

Practice exercises in Benward Melody 14C (Mode Identification)

Watch Secondary dominants of iv (in a minor key, obviously:)

Practice exercises in Benward Harmony 14A (Secondary dominants of iv and VI)

Class Blog!

I don't know why I didn't do this sooner, but here is a blog for our class, to complement my Ear Training YouTube channel and various other resources to help you along your journey to ear training exellence!

I will still be communicating with the class via email, but will try to post here regularly with additional material and helpful hints. Most immediately, I will be posting rhythm exercises from our rhythm book. Many thanks to Jason Haney for permission to post these!

Best wishes,

David