Rhythms: v. 3

No matter what your instrument, a thorough understanding of rhythmic notation is essential. In order to be prepared to read through any piece of music, the serious musician must be able to recognize, read and play rhythms fluidly. Rhythms Volume Three is a further investigation of rhythms, this time using the thirty-second note as the unit of measure. There are 102 pages of rhythm patterns structured in this way. All examples use one pitch, allowing the student to focus completely on time and rhythm on the instrument of their choice. All exercises can be downloaded from the internet to facilitate correct practice, enhance clarity and aid internalization. This book is a required text at New York Universities and Princeton University Music department."Rhythms Volume Three" is a breakthrough in music instruction, using the internet as a teaching tool! This book is for any instrumentalist seeking to develop their understanding of rhythms. This volume concentrates on sixteenth note rhythms and is a thesaurus of rhythmic patterns. All examples use one pitch, allowing the student to focus completely on time and rhythm. This book can be used to learn sight reading and to learn rhythms. There are some definite right and wrong ways to approach this goal. If you are a total beginner, obviously you will have to first learn the subdivisions of a measure and what each eighth note or sixteenth note rhythm sounds like. This may require you to subdivide a measure or a beat in your head.For instance, the eighth note rhythm in Example 1 could be subdivided by counting eighth notes in your head as you play the rhythm. Example 2 shows how you might subdivide a sixteenth note measure. Though this type of subdividing may help initially to figure out a rhythm, in the long run is a very bad idea to develop a habit like this. It is much better not to count at all, but to "feel" the rhythm. This "feeling" requires that you know what the rhythm sounds like before you play it. This instant recognition of a written rhythm can be developed by trusting your internal rhythmic clock, relaxing, and memorizing the sounds of all rhythms.This may seem like a daunting task considering how many rhythmic combinations there are but look at this as a long range project. You will be reading music for the rest of your life, so start now. To tap or not to tap (your foot) that is the question. It is much better to get out of the habit of tapping your foot. Too many students start off relying on their foot to keep them in time rather than their internal musical sense. Trust yourself and over time your feel, time and accuracy will improve. It is one thing to tap your foot as a response to playing music, it is another to be tapping your foot to keep time. "Feeling" rhythms will give you better time and make your reading more musical. On any instrument economy of motion is important especially as the tempo increases. With all exercises found in this book make sure to move your hands and fingers as little as possible while at the same time keeping them relaxed.If you are a guitar player I would recommend my "Right Hand Technique Book" as a companion book to help you develop the proper right hand technique. You should also read the examples found in this book with both a straight eighth or a "swing" feel. The audio examples found on my website have the straight eighth feel. To work on using a swing feel I recommend getting together with a drummer or playing along with your favourite swing drummer on CD. Most swing tunes are written out using the rhythmic level found in book one of this series i.e. eighth notes. Contemporary fusion compositions that incorporate Rap and Hip Hop grooves use the sixteenth note metric level found in this book. Therefore, it is a good idea to read these rhythms with a swing feel.

Table of Contents:
AcknowledgmentsAbout the AuthorForewordHow To Use This BookExercise 1Exercise 2Exercise 3Exercise 4Exercise 5Exercise 6Exercise 7Exercise 8Exercise 9Exercise 10

About the Author :
Bruce Arnold (born 1955 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA) is an author, composer, educator and guitarist residing in New York City. His explorations into the applications of 20th century classical theory in contemporary forms such as Rock and Jazz has created a unique compositional and improvisational sound. As a guest artist Arnold has toured Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe, Japan, Mexico, Russia and the United States.His performance and recording activities include work with a wide array of styles. He has played with such diverse musicians as Stuart Hamm, Peter Erskine, Joe Pass, Joe Lovano, Lennie Pickett, Randy Brecker, Stanley Clarke, the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Absolute Ensemble under the baton of Kristjan Jarvi.Bruce Arnold's recording credits include over twenty five CDs and DVDs (on Muse-eek Records, MelBay Recordings, Truefire and other labels), ranging from the standard jazz repertoire to free improvisation to the reinterpretations of classical music with the ensemble Spooky Actions. His compositions are published by Muse Eek Publishing, and MelBay Productions.Mr. Arnold's theoretical works have explored the use of Pitch Class Set Theory within a improvisational setting. He is also written more than 60 music instruction books covering Guitar Pedagogy, Ear Training and Time Studies. He is the director of guitar studies at New York University and Princeton University as well as the creator of the New York University Summer Guitar Intensive He has taught at New England Conservatory of Music, Dartmouth College, Berklee College of Music, New School University, and City College of New York.