Ways to Teach Rhythm and Meter

Effective Systems for Teaching Percussion to Music Students

Jun 5, 2009

Kevin Tuck says that there are many ways to teach percussion all of which are effective. His article explores the best aspects of the systems that are commonly used.

In his 1995 master's paper, "Rhythm & Meter Difficult to Teach?", Kevin Tuck claims that teachers should ensure students acquire an excellent grasp on concepts related to rhythm. This is so that they are able to adequately understand musical formation. When students are taught about such concepts as the normal structure of natural accents occurring in a bar, they grasp underlying structures of musical formation. Later, students have a strong understanding of tempo when they wish to understand "off beat" formations such as syncopation. The relationship of strong to weak beats is important for students to grasp, as this knowledge leads them to a fuller understanding of the way music is created.

What is Rhythm?

Rhythm is “The subdivision of a span of time into perceptible sections; the grouping of musical sounds, principally by means of duration and stress” according to The New Grove Dictionary.

Tuck says that a note alone cannot form a rhythm because on it only has these characteristics:

Rhythm is produced when there are a number of musical sounds that may have variances in their duration and intensity. Tuck explains that the beat in Western music, equates to “the time allowed for a piece of music to occur when divided into regular portions." The beat can then be further subdivided, into melodic fragments, which are superimposed over the beat. Rhythm possesses another important aspect, which can often be ignored called meter.

What are Tempo Beats?

“Tempo Beats provide the foundation, the steady beat that makes us able to play melodic patterns over the top,” according to Edwin Gordon in his1971 book, The Psychology of Music Teaching.

Referring to Gordon's work, Tuck describes a steady tempo beat as vitally important for students to be able to perceive rhythm. Because human speech, poetry and music move in patterns of twos and threes, meter beats that divide tempo beat into two or three is fundamental. He further claims that less common mixes (such as 5/8 and 7/8) and uncommon meters are rarely found in school situations. The time signature most commonly used in modern music is division into groups of two or three.

What is Melodic Rhythm?

Melodic rhythm forms the musical pattern, which corresponds to the rhythm of the text or melody. This pattern is superimposed over the top of the tempo beat and the meter beat. They are fundamental to melodic rhythm, which in turn is fundamental to the tonal aspects of music. Rhythm is about how to organise music. Clear organisation makes it easier to perceive, to conceptualise and thus to play music.

This idea of rhythm being an organiser is further conceptualised by Cooper and Meyer (1960). They talk about three aspects of rhythm defined as:

On the other hand Creston (1964) describes rhythm in terms of duration in organised movement, identifying four basic aspects:

Tuck says Creston’s terms of “pace” and “meter”, are similar to Gordon’s concepts of tempo beat and meter beat. When Creston refers to “pattern” he is subdividing a pulse into smaller sections. This he claims creates rhythm, while “accent” is also seen as playing an important role in shaping rhythm.

Teaching About Accent

For Creston, it is important students are taught accent as part of the underlying rhythm of the music, rather than an extra embellishment of the melody.

Why Do Students Need to Know About Metric Accent?

Tuck insists that accents really do affect the perception of meter. The metric accent is perhaps the most important, as it helps musicians relate to time signatures and their effective meanings, and gives students the skills to be able to superimpose complex rhythms over the top. It is thought that without a very clear understanding of the basics of musical formation, students may flounder as they move toward more profound and complex musical education, and when working with others in professional presentations.

Cooper and Meyer. The Rhythmic Structure of Music. University of Chicago Press, 1960.

Edwin Gordon. The Psychology of Music Teaching. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, 1971.

Tuck. K. "Rhythm & Meter Difficult to Teach?" Master's Paper. Adelaide University (Masters of Percussion/Music), 1995.

The copyright of the article Ways to Teach Rhythm and Meter in Music Education is owned by Jo Murphy. Permission to republish Ways to Teach Rhythm and Meter in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.