Dear Music Educators:
Over the years I have taught high school and middle school bands in Indiana, Ohio, and South Carolina. Most recently I was teaching elementary music in South Carolina, and just last year, retired after 45 years of teaching music. I am also fortunate to have had the opportunity to co-author the “Habits of a Successful Musician” series with Scott Rush. I am hoping to find a few band directors and some of their students that might be interested in helping me field test a new concept in rhythm instruction and review. It is a “spin-off” of the very efficient and highly effective “Rhythm Masters” web site (www.rhythmmasters.org), which is a comprehensive curriculum set up to cover sight reading rhythms, from beginners all the way through college. The idea is to combine the “Rhythm Masters” “Play Drills” and “Power Grids” part of the rhythm curriculum with their coinciding MP3 audio files. This will allow instrumental music teachers to review and reinforce targeted rhythm areas during both instructional and non–instructional class time. Each unit features its own “rhythm vocabulary” which allows music teachers and/or students to target very specific groups of rhythms that are similar to each other. Students themselves can directly access the site as well, to help them prepare for class assessments, honor band auditions, and even for advanced students, (possibly future music educators) to create and execute their own rhythm reading course of study.
I will initially include “Rhythm Masters” Units 1 – 20, which covers most rhythms used in elementary, middle and high school instrumental curriculums. I will later add Units 21 – 30 (the more advanced rhythms) as time permits. When I used to give my “No Fear” clinics, my goal was then (and still is now) to help students minimize the fear and anxiety of sight reading, especially when being evaluated. There are many ways the audio files can be used in conjunction with their PDF counterparts, and even a way you can turn “non-instructional” class time into “prime” rhythm instruction and review opportunities. All materials are free, but your input and suggestions in how to make the site more user friendly (to both music teachers and their students) would greatly be appreciated. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me. Other than that, help yourself.
Sincerely,
Rich Moon
Your Rhythm Doctor
The "General Layout”
“Rhythm Masters 2020” Content Resources
Rhythm Vocabulary List – Use this as a reference to quickly find where specific rhythms you are interested in are located.
“A” Pages: Theory Pages – Rhythm Vocabulary for each chapter is introduced and exercises are created for instructors to teach or review written analysis, phonetic verbalization, and/or clapping rhythms. Teachers can choose to use the “cumulative” counting system as modeled in the ”Rhythm Masters” books (also see the original web site), or write in their own preferred counting system on the provided “blank” example exercises.
“B” Pages: “Play Drills” – Rhythm Vocabulary is reintroduced in a performance format (normally two targeted vocabulary rhythms per line), allowing students to compare and contrast very similar (or very different) rhythms within each unit’s vocabulary list. (All written materials AND audio files are provided).
“C” Pages “Power Grids” – Rhythm Vocabulary is now presented to the students in an “x” and “y” graph format. Power Grids are exceptional tools for reviewing or assessing rhythm comprehension. It is recommended that you practice/perform the line exercises one day and then columns the next. Power Grids are equally effective in improving either an individual’s, or an ensembles ability to count rhythms and sight read. Check them out and give them a “test drive”. You will find they are one of the most efficient rhythm teaching tools available today. All written materials AND audio files are provided.
Page 5: “Power Grids” Rhythm Masters Books 1 & 2, Units 1 – 30 (PDF Files)
Page 6: “Power Grids” Audio Files Units 1 – 5, Lines & Columns (with Click Track option)
Page 7: “Power Grids” Audio Files Units 6 – 10, Lines & Columns (with Click Tracks)
Page 8: “Power Grids” Audio Files Units 11 – 15, Lines & Columns (with Click Tracks)
Page 9: “Power Grids” Audio Files Units 16 – 20, Lines & Columns (with Click Tracks)
S.A.S or “Student Assessment Sheets” – The S.A.S. sheets are basically the “Power Grids” written out in a “non-staff” format. It is a tool that can also be used to teach counting theory, or to write the counting underneath, and then directly compare it to the rhythms on its’ coinciding “Power Grid”. Teachers can also to the S.A.S sheets as an evaluation tool students can use to evaluate their peers. These can be copied and passed out for students to use by circling any errors they hear their classmates make. In this way everyone is involved in the learning process both by playing and assessing rhythm performances.
Additional Materials
C.R.E.S.C. or “CUMULATIVE RHYTHM EVALUATION SYSTEM to assess COMPREHENSION”
High School Tools #’s 1 – 4 and Middle School Tools #’s 1 – 4
Purpose of Assessment Tools:
– To evaluate rhythm comprehension and sight reading skill level to assess individual member’s band level or ensemble chair placement.
– To measure the successful teaching of rhythms to individual members of an ensemble. Since there is more than one tool, they can be used for both pre-evaluation, mid-semester, and post-evaluation(s), or any combination desired by the instructor.
– To assess individual or ensemble area(s) of weakness in counting. Using the “Rhythm Vocabulary” listings from the “Rhythm Masters” series off the web site, specific levels can be pin-pointed as performance areas of below standard. Strategies can then be devised to target and improve these areas, usually in short three to five minute instructional segments.
– To begin experimenting with a working assessment model. In the case where a State Department of Education may require some “hard” form of evaluation assessment of our student musicians’ progress, it would definitely be in our program’s best interest if some form of performance based assessment could be devised. The most time efficient and accurate format to use would be a “running record” tool, assessing a musician’s accurate or inaccurate performance.
– To be used with your full ensemble as rhythm reading instructional material. This is possible since each tool is melodically compatible with all wind instruments.
– As a rhythm reading, or, counting tool to be adapted by directors to help facilitate ensemble auditions and chair placement assignments.
Page 11:
Family Trees in Different Keys – Several years ago when I was doing my “No Fear” rhythm camps, I noticed several students had difficulty in differentiating subdivision levels. They understood the “rhythm ratios”: 3 to 1, 1 to 3, and 1- 2 -1, but I could set up a sight reading etude and get them to “trip up” a rhythms subdivision speed. Please give this sheet a try and see if they have any problem performing pulse, subdivision level I, and subdivision level II, in the same exercise.
Page 12: FamilyTreesInDifferentKeysCombined
“Reading Key Signatures” (or “RKS”) is a “fast track” way of teaching musicians of all ages, the basic rules of using sharps, flats and naturals with any given key signature. There are only two basic rules and the series is done at two different levels. Each level has a written exercise, a playing exercise, and a short written quiz, to “cap” everything off. There is even a single updated set of exercises that has every note in each exercise “numbered”. The thought here was to streamline and simplify communication between teacher and students in its execution. All files for this resource are available as PDF’s, there are no audio files.
“Check Patterns” for Percussion, Winds, and Strings
article/explanation:
“Check Pattern” Variations #’s 1 – 4
Mixed “Check Patterns” #’s 5 & 6
“Check Patterns” of Common Rhythms (with counting systems)
“Rhythm Time Lines”, “Cumulative Counting”, and the “Rhythm Universe”:
Page 15:
The “Rhythm Universe”
Rhythm Masters “D” or “E” Pages- “Challenge Drills”:
Page 17:
“Challenge Drills” PDF Files
“Rhythm Olympic” Elimination Tournament:
“The Quest for the Rhythm Master” game (aka. “Mortal Kombat”)
“Rhythm Masters” Rhythm Vocabulary Counting Review Units 1 – 4:
“Rhythm Masters” Rhythm Vocabulary Counting Review Units 6 – 10:
Rhythm Vocabulary Warm Ups in “Duple Meter”:
Page 20:
Warm Ups in “Duple Meter”
“Our Music Road Map” Quiz:
Time Line Combinations and Dimensional Transfers
Miscellaneous Scale Exercises:
For Band Beginners
Basic Staff Line and Space Recognition Work Sheet:
Beginning Band Warm Up I:
Eighth Notes and Rests (with percussion or “clapping”)
Beginning Band Note Families:
Bb Down for Beginners:
Beginning Band Warm Up II:
Beginning Band Warm Up III:
“Tetra-Torture”
“Scale Torture” (Introduction to Subdivision)
“Scale Torture” Clapping Exercises for Beginners:
The “First Five Notes”