Tips for using You've Got Rhythm
3/7/06: Rhythmic Obsession
One of the best things you can do to improve your rhythmic skill is to become obsessed by it. Every waking moment is time you can use to internalize the feeling of a steady beat, the divisions of a beat, or a particularly tricky rhythm that's holding you up.
Rhythmic focus between practice sessions is amazingly beneficial. It helps you get used to doing two or more things at once, such as slap/clap/tapping while reading your email, or counting "1and2and3and4and" in time with your pace as you walk down the street. Best of all, when you do finally get to your practice session, you really will have a feel for the beat which you can put right to work in the music you play.
How to do it: 1. Slap/Clap/Tap in all meters whenever you can. Be obsessed by your rhythmic mission! 2. Any time you take a stroll or go running, you have perfect opportunity to practice a steady beat. Given our two legs, counting in "1 2 1 2" or "1 2 3 4" while you step is easiest, but 6/8 will work too (stepping on beats 1 and 4). 3. Counting subdivisions of a beat while ambulating is even better. To practice eighth notes, say "1 and 2 and" or "willy nilly." Practice sixteenth notes with "1 ee and uh 2 ee and uh" or "rollercoaster rollercoaster." Don't forget triplets, saying "bicycle tricycle" as you go. 4. You can count while you drive, although it's not as effective as counting while walking. Remember to emphasize the metric accents with your voice. 5. If there's a rhythmic phrase in a piece you are playing that gives you trouble, Slap/Clap/Tap and sing it throughout the day, using your music if necessary. Lots of tiny practice sessions keep your mind and body in the groove of rhythm. When you finally get to practice, you will notice how "fit" you have become!
November, 2003: Attention: devotees of Brahms, Chopin, and Salsa: How to feel 2 against 3 with Slap/Clap/Tap
Getting the feel of playing 2 against 3 can be a hair-pulling experience for students (or maybe it's harder on the teacher). Slap/Clap/Tap makes it easy to hear and feel 2 against 3. It not only works beautifully for students—we've also been getting our concert audiences to try it. They have a great time getting into that hemiola groove. It's fun to do this with other people, but you can try it by yourself too.
- Together, Slap/Clap/Tap in 6/8, clearly marking the eighth note Taps and feeling the metric accents on beats 1 and 4.
- Keeping the same 8th-note pulse, Slap/Clap/Tap in 3/4, counting "1-and 2-and 3-and to clarify the eighth note subdivisions. Start by counting out loud, then try counting silently. Keep going until you feel the 8th-not pulse internally.
- (In a group) Assign the meters to two groups or two people, and Slap/Clap/Tap them simultaneously. Stay with it until everyone hears the way 2 against 3 sounds and can feel it too. When you all have the hang of it, switch meters.
- (Solo) Alternate Slap/Clap/Tapping a measure of 3/4 with a measure of 6/8. If you feel the eighth note pulse securely, it won't be a strain at all.
January, 2003: Sightreading
What is sightreading? Here's a personal definition: sightreading is simultaneously playing unfamiliar music while looking ahead and preparing to play future unfamiliar music. That's pure multi-tasking! To sightread successfully, two rules must be followed: look ahead and keep going. Slap/Clap/Tap is a tool that can help. Here's how:
When you Slap/Clap/Tap, you create the beat and feel it in your body—you get into the groove. The trick is to allow your body to learn the Slap/Clap/Tap pattern so well that your mind doesn't have to think about it. Before you begin any Talking Music piece, or any piece of music in which you are focusing on rhythm, Slap/Clap/Tap for a long time, longer than you might expect. Test yourself: can you have a conversation (just chit-chat will do) with someone while Slap/Clap/Tapping? If so, you've got it! You've got it in your body, out of your mind's way, so you can keep going no matter what.
But how does Slap/Clap/Tap help you look ahead? By putting the beat in your body with Slap/Clap/Tap, you always know where you are in the music. That takes care of one really basic element—the meter—so your mind is freed up to take on that extra task of looking ahead. Then, instead of running behind the music, trying to catch up, you can stay one step ahead of it!
Tip #1a: Dance!
We've noticed that some people have a tendency to Slap/Clap/Tap with stiff, military precision, trying so hard to "do it right" that they have trouble feeling the groove. Think of Slap/Clap/Tap as a dance. Feel the flexibility in your torso while your arms move through the metric patterns, as if you're dancing or moving to music. Noticing the weight of the Slaps and the lightness of the Taps will help your arms dance too.
Tip #1b: Slap/Clap/Tap to Your Favorite Music
You can also practice the Slap/Clap/Tap while listening to your favorite music. Listen for the meter and downbeats, then Slap/Clap/Tap along with the music. Keep trying different patterns if the one you're doing doesn't quite fit. This exercise will develop your sense of the distinct groove of each meter.
You might have the most fun with You've Got Rhythm by getting together with other people to practice. Try it out at your next piano class, choir rehearsal, or coffee klatch and see!
Tip #2: Feeling and Hearing the Subdivisions of a Beat
The first step in becoming fluent in counting the beats and subdivisions of a piece is to speak and hear the subdivisions while Slap/Clap/Tapping the meter. Use numbers or the words used in You've Got Rhythm: 1-and 2-and or "willy nilly" for eighth notes; 1-ee-and-a 2-ee-and-a or "rollercoaster" for sixteenth notes; 1-and-a 2-and-a or "bicycles tricycles" for triplets. Or make up your own words for the subdivisions. Here are some time-honored pies to practice quarter notes, eighth notes, triplets, and sixteenths:
You've Got Rhythm uses two simple but powerful tools: Slap/Clap/Tap and Talking Music. Here's how it works:
What people are saying about You've Got Rhythm
“I took band and I didn't understand any note but your book makes it fun and easy.”
— Brittany Decleene, 4th grade student, Grace Lutheran School, Sandy, Utah
“One seldom encounters a book of interest to all musicians—this may be one of those unusual books.”
— American Music Teacher
“This step-by-step guide will help students understand rhythm kinetically and intellectually... Fresh and unique, this guide is recommended for school media centers and public libraries with music education collections.”
— Library Journal
“In You've Got Rhythm: Read Music Better by Feeling the Beat, Anna Dembska and Joan Harkness effectively collaborate to present a practical yet imaginative guide to improving one's ability to read music … Highly recommended for music students, You've Got Rhythm is an excellent text for classroom instruction or personal tutorials.”
— The Bookwatch (Midwest Book Review)
“I can just see a classroom of people, any age, slapping their thighs, clapping their hands, and tapping their fingers while reciting together, ‘We wish that Americans appreciated good radishes and used them as largely as do the French …’ Finally: relief for the rhythmically challenged—and without that nasty medicinal taste!”
— Ed Roseman, author, Edly's Music Theory for Practical People
“In their new book You've Got Rhythm, Anna Dembska and Joan Harkness have come up with a way of teaching rhythm which not only avoids boredom, but actually makes rhythmic training fun. I am impressed with this book's outstanding choice of texts, and the musical way in which words are combined with the rhythmic patterns … You've Got Rhythm is practical and fun to use, especially in group or class settings. My students were amused by the interaction of words with rhythms, and enjoyed doing the slap-clap-taps while performing the pieces … The power of words to combine individual notes and rests into larger wholes is one of the reasons this book works so well.”
— Dr. Jon Ensminger, piano faculty, Northland Baptist Bible College
read this in-depth review at the Piano Pedagogy Plus website
“Authors Anna Dembska and Joan Harkness both have decades of music teaching, writing, performing, and arranging behind them, and their love of music is infectious. As you learn to read rhythms, you can feel the fun in the music as you read... Teachers can easily adapt this superb and delightful resource for classroom purposes.”
— M. Polonsky, Fearless Books
““You've Got Rhythm is a great series. With this creative text, you can integrate mind, body and magic into your musical skills. Anna Dembska and Joan Harkness have opened a new gateway to inspire, enlighten, educate, and improve your musical skills. A must for every serious, light-hearted music student in the new millenium.”
— Don Campbell, Author, The Mozart Effect
“ … One of the most valuable books a teacher could own and definitely one that every music student should have … It is truly a major contribution to the world of music and, especially, the teaching of music. My sincere suggestion is that you run, don't walk, to your computer, post office or phone and order this unique and totally comprehensive book today!”
— Dr. Martha Baker-Jordan (Professor of Piano, Class Piano, and Piano Pedagogy at California State University, Fullerton), California Music Teacher
“Well done and … useful to anyone concerned about developing rhythmically literate musicians.”
— American String Teacher
“It's hard to be too rich, or to have too much rhythm. What this book can do is free your mind from having to count meter, by teaching your body to do it. Your mind will thank you … [The authors] provide as exercises their beautiful rhythmic text settings of classic English and American prose, which I consider reason enough to buy the book even if you do have perfect rhythm.”
— Music For the Love of It
“Your book is marvelous … your approach is wonderfully intuitive and intelligent.”
— Steve Schneider, Certified Music Therapist (CMT), Congers, NY
“I ordered your book a few months ago, then got a new 8th grade flute student who had a very poor concept of rhythm. I'd been eager to try your approach and thought her perfect as my ‘experiment.’ I loaned her my book for the first few weeks, wanting to see how it went before asking her to make the purchase. Her progress in one week was truly amazing. We've been at it for just a few weeks.”
— Andrea Wilson, flute teacher, Findlay, Ohio
“Your You've Got Rhythm books are just what I've been looking for. At last—a method that makes rhythm concrete! My students love them. Thank you! Thank you!”
— Melissa Sweet, flute teacher, Saugerties, NY
“I love using You've Got Rhythm during my cello lessons... Bravo for coming up with this original, creative approach to teaching rhythm to students of all ages …”
Martha Siegel, cello instructor at the United Nations International School, The Henry Street Settlement and the Mary Lewis Academy
read how this cello teacher uses You've Got Rhythm in her lessons.
“I just got my shipment from you today and I'm delighted! I admit to some skepticism about slap/clap/tap, but the first student I tried it with delivered immediate improvement in her Bach Gigue after trying a triple meter talking music. It was certainly the steady pulse of slap/clap/tap that helped her understand and apply the metric accents so quickly. My second student is from a musician family and her mother wants to order her own copy after we tried one of the pieces. So it's a big hit here in central Mass! I'm looking forward to exploring the new ‘repertoire’ available to me. And I will show the book around to my colleagues as I'm sure they'll love it too.”
— Joan Ellersick, music teacher, Southboro, MA
“Can't believe I'm out of books; things have been busy, extra work, preparing students for evaluations, particularly those who don't practice. But all are enjoying the You've Got Rhythm books; and the fun thing for me is that those older students who thought they knew it all are finding them challenging and fun, too!I find them really helpful for beginners because it helps alleviate their frustration at not being able to play for the first few weeks and to learn the note values.”
— Lilias Green, viola and violin teacher, Camarillo, CA
“You've Got Rhythm is the most innovative and logical approach to teaching rhythm I've encountered. My students enjoy the subtle humor in the texts and references to famous (and not-so-famous) composers. The accessible layout makes the material fun and easy to use. The use of words instead of nonsense syllables prepares students well for ‘real’ sight singing, and encourages accurate note length. This series will become a regular part of my curriculum.”
— Margaret Martin Kvamme, Conductor, Concert Choir and Instructor, Music Fundamentals, University of California at Santa Cruz
“Talking Music perfectly translates the natural rhythm of speech into the complexities of musical notation. This method fairly sparkles with material which is superbly organized, beautifully inspiring, and hilariously fun for all.”
— Sally Northcutt, Piano Teacher and Feldenkrais® Practitioner, San Francisco
“I'm loving You've Got Rhythm. I 'm learning so much and it's opening doors to music skills I felt ‘shut out of’ growing up. Slap/Clap/Tap really works for me.”
—Sarah Pirtle, recording artist, educator, and Director, The Discovery Center, Greenfield, Massachusetts
“I was amazed how precisely and musically You've Got Rhythm introduces the English language to non-native speakers. My 5th and 6th graders were delighted to learn both rhythm and English at the same time. Talking Music is truly a universal language!”
— Atsuko T. Ezaki, DMA, Composer and Music Teacher, The Greenwich Japanese School
“You've Got Rhythm offers a new approach to an age-old problem. It is a fun and organized method that leads to mastery of the single most important component of music-making—one that creates obstacles for so many. With erudition and wit, the authors help us to transform the abstract dots on any page of music into living physical sensations that lead to a vibrant and visceral understanding of rhythm. It makes music come alive.”
—Raj Bhimani, independent piano teacher and Faculty, 92nd Street Y School of Music
“You've Got Rhythm takes rhythm off the page and puts it where it belongs—in the body and in the soul.”
— Matthew Brady, Piano Teacher and Choral Director, Brooklyn Youth Choir
Part One: Get Rhythm!
- Meter
- Tempo
- Whole, half, dotted half, quarter, dotted quarter, and eighth notes and rests
- 2/4, 3/4, 4/4 (Common) time signatures
- Ties
- Syncopation across metric accents
- Verse/Refrain form; repeat signs
- Meter changes
- 2/2 (Cut) time
Part Two: Compound Meter
- Sixteenth and dotted sixteenth notes and rests
- 3/8, 6/8, and 12/8 time signatures
- Hemiola
- First and second endings
Part Three: Syncopation Betweeen the Beats
- Four divisions in a beat
- Syncopation between beats
- Syncopation with sixteenth notes
Part Four: Tuplets, Double Dots, Suspending the Meter, and No Meter
- Eighth and quarter note triplets
- Triples, duples, and odd tuplets
- Absence of time signature
- Chant
Part Five: Irregular and Shifting Meters
- Irregular meters (5/4, 5/8, 7/8, and 10/8)
- Shifting beat values (6/8 and 3/4; 5/8 and 2/4; etc.)
Would you like to tailor You've Got Rhythm to your students' and choir members' needs? If you are interested in using selected pages from You've Got Rhythm in your studio, classroom, or choir, we are now offering a license to copy. When you purchase a copying license, you choose the Talking Music pieces that fit your needs and create custom take-home or rehearsal practice booklets. You may copy any of the material in the book for a price that makes using it affordable and practical.
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