28 Ear Training – Increasingly Complex Rhythms

Compound Time Review

As you know, compound time is defined by a beat that is divisible by three, as opposed to simple time, in which the beat is divisible by two.

There are several methodical procedures for writing rhythmic dictations. The following suggestions may help you navigate.

1. The “Back to Basics” Method

Begin by jotting down the following information on your quiz paper:

• How many beats are in the measure?
• What is the beat note?
• What are the possible divisions and subdivisions of the beat?

Next, write the beats above the measure to keep your place as you begin to write down the dictation.

Your paper may look something like this:

2. The “Dummy Rhythm” Method

Don’t worry, no one is calling anyone a dummy! Rather, a “dummy rhythm” is a predictable beat pattern that we commonly find in music. Many compound time rhythmic dictations will feature a “long-short” division of the beat. In 12/4, this division is “half note – quarter note.”

If you write the “dummy rhythm” above the staff, you can then do some error detection when you actually hear the dictation. Some people find it easier to detect errors than to constantly be writing “from scratch.” This method keeps you in the right part of the measure to avoid mis-barring.

Your paper may look like this:

(Try inventing your own “dummy rhythm,” using whichever note values you think will help you the most.)

3. The “Forwards and Backwards” Method

Sometimes we begin writing down a rhythmic dictation confidently, only to get lost after the first few note values. But who says we have to keep starting at the beginning? Oftentimes, you may find yourself able to perfectly recollect the last few note values long after you’ve forgotten what happened in the first few measures.

Using this method, get what you can at the beginning, while continuing to conduct with your non-writing hand. At first, your writing will be much slower than the speed of the dictation – but that doesn’t matter, because you can catch up at the end. This way, you can fill in the gaps on subsequent hearings.

Your paper may look like this.

Further Practice

• Try writing down the rhythms of passages from a piece in compound time that you’ve studied on your instrument.
• Try writing down the rhythm of a poem you know. Poetry has meters too – for example, Shakespeare’s famous iambic pentameter.
• For relatively simple examples of strongly rhythmical verse, look up the limericks of Edward Lear. Read one aloud a few times to get an idea of the beat and divisions of the beat. You’ll find that you probably instinctively want to write limericks in 6/8 or 12/8.
  • Take any limerick, and figure out where the “strong beats” are. This will guide you in figuring out where the downbeat is, and whether you need to add pickups, beat divisions, ties, etc. For example:
    • There was a young la-dy whose eyes,
      Were un-ique as to co-lor and size;
      When she o-pened them wide,
      People all turned a-side,
      And star-ted a-way in sur-prise.