12 Ear Training – How Rhythmic Dictation Works

“Hearing Music From the Page”

Different Types of Dictations

Part of cultivating professional-level musicianship is the ability to hear rhythms, melodies, and/or harmonies and write them down accurately. This may seem daunting at first, but remember, many rhythms, melodies, and/or harmonies are pattern-based and repetitive: we need to be able to identify those patterns. Additionally, we need familiarity with what music looks like on the printed page and how it sounds when we read from it. Most developing musicians find it much easier to sightread from a score than to write down a dictated rhythm, melody, and/or harmony. Dictation turns the sightreading skill set upside down. A professional musician must be able to do both.

It is easier for some learners to begin the study of dictation with exercises in rhythm only. For success in rhythmic dictation, learners should constantly review the fundamentals of how beats, beat patterns, and note values are notated in any given meter.

Meter and Pulse

The most important preliminary for success in rhythmic dictation is internalizing the meter and pulse. We must acknowledge the key signature, taking into account the number of beats in the measure and the note value of the beat. Not all beat notes are quarter notes! For example, if the time signature is 4/8, the numerator indicates that there are four beats to the measure, and that the beat note is an eighth note. By the same token, if the time signature is 2/2 (cut time), the numerator indicates that there are two beats to the measure, and that the beat note is a half note. First-time learners sometimes confuse cut time with 2/4 time, and should avoid making this mistake in dictation exercises.

Simple vs. Compound Meters

In simple time signatures, the beat is divisible by two. The numerator of the time signature indicates the number of beats in the measure and the denominator indicates the beat note. By contrast, in compound time signatures, the beat is divisible by three, and the numerator and denominator do not indicate the number of beats in the measure or the beat note. In 6/8 time, there are technically six eighth notes in a measure, but we divide the numerator by 3 to get the number of beats in the measure. There are therefore two beats and the beat note is the dotted quarter note.

Division and Subdivision of the Beat

In simple time, the beat is divisible by two. Divisions can be further divided into subdivisions. Know what these look like on the printed page so that you can write them down in dictation exercises.

In compound meters, the beat itself is divisible by three. Those divisions can be further subdivided into two, four, eight, sixteen, and so on.

Seeing and Hearing Rhythm

Part of learning rhythm successfully is knowing what a rhythm sounds like and what a rhythm looks like on paper. For practice, think about the rhythm of a well-known piece of music such as “America the Beautiful,” “The Star-Spangled Banner,” etc. Try writing down the rhythm from memory, then find a score to check whether you were correct.