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 Clair de Lune

Compound Quadruple –

 Memory (from the Broadway musical Cats)

 Oh, Holy Night

Not every student will know all of these examples, but the pieces are nevertheless good

representatives of the various meters and can give the students an archetypal aural example of

how a particular meter type should sound. Alternatively, instructors can simply improvise

rhythmically on any basic chord progression in the various meters. Sometimes keeping the

harmonic changes constant and manipulating only the rhythmic divisions/groupings allows

students to hone in on that singular component of what they are hearing. Both of these practice

suggestions can be very effective ear-training for discernment of meter.

A final recommendation on helping students to foster a consistent pulse is to have them

practice conducting their pieces while singing the basic contour of the melody (or basic contour

of the rhythm, if it is a more rhythmic composition). I always teach simple conducting patterns

to my students and subsequently ask them to sing and conduct their pieces, or sections of pieces.

This is very effective in helping students develop a sense of underlying pulse and is a commonly

recommended practice technique. I typically start with “The ABC Song” for conducting duple,

“Happy Birthday” for conducting triple, and “Mary Had a Little Lamb” for quadruple. “Happy

Birthday” provides an opportunity to discuss upbeats, a concept that will be practiced in Section

2.9 of the method. Another benefit of becoming confident in conducting is that it helps students

manipulate the stretching or pushing of beats during expressive or rubato sections of pieces. This

is more applicable to intermediate or advanced students, but even young beginners can practice

conducting a ritardando in a very artistic manner. If students can conduct the way they want the

music to sound, they are more likely to have successful performances with nuanced rhythm.