Roadmap: Get Rhythm

This is a preview of a Musical U Roadmap.
Roadmaps are a “big picture” guide to developing a particular musical skill. Learn more about Roadmaps here.

Phase 1: Learn Rhythm Basics

Before starting to develop your sense of rhythm it’s important to understand the fundamental concepts involved. We all have a natural instinct for rhythm to some extent, but that doesn’t mean you should expect it all to come naturally.

Get off to a strong start in rhythm by giving yourself a solid foundation in rhythm fundamentals. In this module you’ll learn what musicians mean by “rhythm”, “tempo” and “the pulse”, as well as the benefits of rhythm training. You’ll also learn the basics of counting time, which is what all other rhythm skills build on top of.

Continue learning about the fundamental beat of music with the “Tempo and the Beat” module. You’ll learn what musicians mean by “on the beat”, “off the beat” and “backbeat”, and the difference between “straight” and “syncopated” rhythms.

Phase 2: Hone Your Sense of Rhythm

With the fundamentals clear, it’s time to start really honing your instinct for musical timing. Your main focus in this phase will be the exercises from the “Rhythm Practice” module:

Begin by working your way through each lesson of the module in order. But don’t leave it there! Identify the areas which need work. Is it identifying the downbeat? Maintaining a steady tempo when the music stops? Understanding how straight and swung beats are different and moving from one to the other?

Find your areas for improvement and then make the practice exercises a regular part of your music practice. Because rhythm is so fundamental to music you should be able to easily integrate this kind of practice with the pieces you are playing and listening to. Make yourself intensely conscious of the rhythms you hear and play, and challenge yourself to mimic and then adapt them.

Phase 3: Master Rhythm Notation

In the first two phases of this Roadmap you were focused on understanding rhythm concepts and honing your in-built sense of rhythm. Now it’s time to tackle one of the common problem spots among musicians: connecting the sound with the score.

Rhythm notation can be confusing. It’s easy enough to get familiar with the symbols for different note durations, but once you start looking at a whole sequence of notes and rests things quickly become more challenging!

Begin with the “Speak Rhythms” module which will introduce you to two methods for speaking rhythmic patterns out loud from the notation. These can be used both to tell you how a written rhythm should sound, and to let you write down the rhythms you hear. The two methods (“count chant” and “Kodály”) can be used individually or together.

Keep in mind that the examples at the end of this module are quite sophisticated. You may want to work through the rest of this phase before tackling these, or take a look and then come back when your notation skills are more advanced to really dissect how they work.

Learning the different note duration symbols is quick, but truly internalising them takes practice. The material in this module is the same: the speaking methods will be quick to learn – but take practice to really sink in. Use the exercise below for this. It’s simple but effective.

In parallel with this exercise you can also start using the “Read Rhythms” module to practice connecting the sound with the score. This module provides a large number of examples, ranging from slow, short and simple quarter-note patterns, to longer, faster patterns using 16th notes.

By the time you have passed all the quizzes for the two modules in this phase and spent some time speaking out rhythms in your daily musical life, you should be starting to feel very confident and comfortable with rhythm notation.

Phase 4: Bring Your Skills to the World

At this stage you should be very comfortable with rhythm concepts and have a strong inner metronome. You have learned to connect the sound of rhythmic patterns with the corresponding score notation. And you have been applying these skills in your daily music-making.

Now it’s time to have some fun!

Bring all the rhythm skills you’ve been learning to the “Universal Rhythms” module. This module begins with classic straight rock beats, then recaps swung beats and introduces you to a variety of rhythm styles from around the world including Latin and African rhythms.

Learning about these different approaches to rhythm will expand your own rhythm vocabulary and give you plenty of opportunity to put the skills learned earlier in this Roadmap to good use!