Musicians are magicians! Episode #4 has practice rhythmic dictations and sight reading tips.
Musicians are magicians!
Episode #4 has practice rhythmic dictations and sight reading tips. For the rhythmic dictation, listen for the patterns you hear, and the meter- if it is simple or compound (1:20). The sight reading skill will show up on the exam as Sight Singing FRQ (2:39). I am going to show you how I might sight sing “Alouette” as if I have never heard or seen it before (4:02). With practice you too can be a magical musician and wow all your friends and family.
Question of the day: What is the Guidonian hand? (6:54)
Thank you for listening to The APsolute RecAP: Music Theory Edition!
(AP is a registered trademark of the College Board and is not affiliated with The APsolute RecAP. Copyright 2020 - The APsolute RecAP, LLC. All rights reserved.)
Website:
EMAIL:
Follow Us:
Hi and welcome to the APsolute Recap: Music Theory Edition. Today’s episode will recap Rhythmic Dictation & Sight Reading
Lets Zoom out:
We’re in Unit #1 Music Fundamentals
Topic 1.1 through 1.8
Our Big idea is how to develop the skills necessary to audiate, write, read and perform music.
Dictation can sound intimidating at first, but it is well worth the practice. In time you will be able to pick out rhythms, melodic segments, chord progressions and forms while casually listening to your favorite music. Being able to do this basically turns musicians into magicians. Our other main focus will be sight reading. Simply put, you do this every time you try out a new song through singing or playing an instrument. With each of these challenges, the main tip I have to you is to get comfortable singing everywhere and anywhere so that you can practice, practice, practice!
Lets Zoom in:
Today’s practice dictation will only be rhythmic. I want you to listen for the patterns you hear, and the meter- if it is simple or compound. Write down what you hear and worry about bar lines and time signature afterwards. First I am going to sheep the rhythm for you- (quarter two eight quarter, 2 eighth 2 eighth quarter, quarter rest 2 eighth, quarter half) Here it is again (quarter two eight quarter, 2 eighth 2 eighth quarter, quarter rest 2 eighth, quarter half) Here it is with rhythmic syllables- (quarter two eight quarter, 2 eighth 2 eighth quarter, quarter rest 2 eighth, quarter half) If you need more time then pause and back it up 15 seconds for no spoilers! Here is the answer: quarter note two eighth notes quarter note, 4 eighth notes quarter note, quarter note quarter rest 2 eighth, quarter note half note. The time signature is ¾, which is simple triple meter, and there were four measures.
The sight reading skill will show up on the exam as a Sight Singing FRQ. This doesn’t mean that you can’t practice it with other instruments! Audiation works best when you can link it to a skill you are confident in, so if piano or violin is your jam, then sight read with that as well as separately sight singing. If you find yourself hearing the music correctly in your head without having heard it before, you are on the right track for being an amazing audiating machine.
The trick is to use as many pieces of information given in the notation and learn to read ahead as much as possible. What is the time signature and the key signature? Does the music begin on an anacrusis? Scan the music for patterns and repetitions, you can even circle or box similar sections with a pencil in your own practice. Think the rhythm in your head, or even lightly tap it on your lap. Try audiating the pitches in your head with solfege. You will have limited time, so you may want to practice the first and last measures in your head to anchor yourself.
Having trouble with the concept of singing in your head? Sometimes my students find it easier if I tell them to belt it out in their head, maybe even make your facial expression match that volume. Feeling nostalgic about listening to the Apsolute Recap during your exam? Maybe you should sheep it in your head. These are all discrete ways you could think through the music on the exam. Don’t forget, a great resource for practicing sight singing is folk songs.
I am going to show you how I might sight sing “Alouette” as if I have never heard or seen it before. First, I am going to notice the treble clef, B flat in the key signature, the 4/4 time signature with no pick up note. The treble clef will tell me how to read the letter names, the B flat tells me most likely I am in D minor or F major. Since the song starts and ends on F, I will assume F is do. I’m looking at the notation and I see in the first measure has a dotted quarter note, eighth note and two quarter notes. I may decide in my head to think “1 and 2, and 3, 4” just so I can feel how long the dotted quarter note has to be. If there were any other rhythmic patterns that might look tricky I would look over them now. Next I am going to look at the solfege. I notice there are only Ti and Sol being sung below Do, and the highest note for me to sing would be La. If there were any specific measures that looked like they had difficult leaps or patterns, I may sing just those measures in my head. Given enough time, I could sing the whole song in my head. Here is how I would sing it with solfege. (music) Here is how I would sing it with the lyrics.
To recap……
Dictation is when you write down music that you hear. We started with rhythms only, but in time you will also be able to pick out melodic segments, chord progressions and forms. Sight singing ties together reading and performing knowledge from clefs, key signatures, time signatures, rhythms and pitches. With practice you too can be a magical musician and wow all your friends and family.
Coming up next on the Apsolute RecAP Music Theory Edition: Major Scales
Today’s Question of the day is about Solfege
Question: What is the Guidonian hand?