Moving Notation

Jill Beck, Joseph Reiser

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2016
• ISBN:
  9781134408054
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Media & Performing Arts
• Subtopic: Dance

Designed specifically for university-level study, Moving Notation will benefit students and teachers of both dance and music, offering a complete introduction to the theory and practice of musical rhythm and elementary Labanotation. Performing Arts Studies aims to provide stimulating resource books of both a practical and philosophical nature for teachers and students of the performing arts: music, dance, theatre, film, radio, video, oral poetry, performance art, and multi-media forms.

1

GETTING STARTED

RHYTHMIC CONCEPTS

1.1 Time

“Time is nature’s way of keeping every thing from happening at once.”

Woody Allen

As we all know, time is continuous. In traditional music, time’s continuity is divided into units called beats. Beats (sometimes referred to as pulses) are nothing more than divisions of time.

Beats are not always regular – beats can also change speed. The fascinating thing about beats and speed is that as you listen to them being measured on a metronome, the sound (click) you hear marks only the beginning of the beat. It is the length of time between the clicks that determines the beat’s speed. So, when you use the term “beat”, think of the entire “duration” of the beat and not just the click.

Set a metronome to 120 clicks per minute. Listen for a short time. Now re-set it to 60 beats per minute. It sounds twice as slow because you have added exactly twice the amount of time between the clicks. The effect of adding time slows the beat.

Maxim #1: Speed equals Time. Add more time between beats and you go slower. Reduce the time between beats and you go faster. This is called TEMPO.

1.2 Beat Divisions (Sub-beats)

There are only two subdivisions of beat: a duple division and a triple division. Duple beats are those which are divided into equal halves and are counted 1 &, and triple beats are divided into equal thirds and are counted 1 a da:

When you count 1 &, the “and” indicates the duple division of the beat. When you count 1 a da, the “a da” indicates the triple division of the beat. Notice also that the duple beat looks and feels square, while the triple beat feels round, the difference between pumping a pump and turning a wheel:

Set a metronome to 60 clicks per minute and say “Down up/Down up” while miming the motions of pumping. Then, switch to miming the motions of grinding a wheel while saying “Cir-cu-lar/Cir-cu-lar”. Then try switching between the two divisions, saying: “Down up/Cir-cu-lar. Down up/Cir-cu-lar.”

Maxim #2: There are two common subdivisions of a beat: duple and triple.

1.3 Rhythm versus Beat

The difference between rhythm and beat is generally understood as that which changes and that which does not: rhythm adds a flexible variety of changing sounds against a landscape of regular beats. This definition, while not a “law”, does cover a wide range of “rhythmic reality”.

Traditionally, beat and rhythm go hand in hand. A beat is selected at a particular tempo and then rhythm is added “to” the beat, “over” the beat, “on top of” the beat. In this manner, beats become the architectural pillars upon which rhythm is supported:

There are only three ways in which rhythmic durations can relate to a beat:

(1) Thru-beat. The rhythm’s duration is longer than the beat, thereby sustaining through the end of one beat into the next. Call this a “thru-beat rhythm”.

(2) Full-beat. The rhythm’s duration is the same size as the beat. Call this a “full-beat rhythm”.

(3) Sub-beat. Each rhythmic duration is shorter than the beat. Call this a “sub-beat” rhythm:

The United States National Anthem reveals all three rhythmic activities in the opening musical line:

Set the metronome to 60 and chant one tone, holding the tone longer than one click. Each time you hold through the end of the click into the next, your voice sustains “through the beat”. This is thru-beat rhythm. Now chant one note per click to experience full-beat rhythm; more than one note per click for sub-beat rhythm.

In any given musical composition all three categories of rhythmic duration will be present, although composers will from time to time employ one type exclusively for effect. For example, exclusive thru-beats can sound suspenseful, sad, or languid. Exclusive full-beats can sound march-like. Exclusive sub-beats can sound agitated or exciting.

Cues #1–6 Listen to several examples of each type of rhythmic duration.

Maxim #3: Beats are steady. Rhythm is flexible and comes in three categories: thru, full, and su...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Introduction to the Series
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1 GETTING STARTED
• 2 GETTING ORGANIZED
• 3 FIRST EXPANSIONS
• 4 APPROACHING PERFECTION
• 5 2’S AND 3’S
• 6 UPSETTING THE BALANCE
• 7 CHANGING TIMES
• 8 CONCLUSIONS
• Appendix A
• Appendix B
• Index