Lesson video

Hello, welcome to today's lesson entitled, "More Complex Rhythmic Dictation." I'm Mr. Norris, and today we're gonna be looking at how we can work out some more complex syncopated dotted rhythms and how we can use different tools to work out some more complex rhythms. The outcome for today's lesson is I can accurately identify and notate complex rhythmic patterns.

Here's some keywords.

Syncopated, this is a rhythm that emphasizes or accents notes in between the main beats.

This is often created by using half beat rest on the beat or dotted rhythms as we'll see today.

Dotted quaver, this is a note that lasts for three quarters of a beat.

And finally, compound time.

This is when each beat is divided into three quavers rather than two.

So for example, a 12/8 time signature.

So for the first part of today's lesson, we're focusing on identifying syncopated and dotted rhythms. Rhythmic dictation is more difficult with syncopated rhythms. Many syncopated rhythms use quaver rests, off-beat quavers or dotted quavers.

And identifying these helps to accurately work out or notate syncopated rhythms. So being able to pick out those patterns is really useful for when we're trying to work out the broader rhythms. In this example, the second beat has a quaver rest and an off-beat quaver.

So we see the quaver rest on the beat and then the off-beat quaver following.

And that's quite a common rhythmic pattern.

We can verbalize the rest of the rhythm with these words.

So if the beat one, which is a crotchet, we say ta, for beat three and four, two quavers, then a crotchet, we say ta di ta.

And then for that beat there with a quaver rest and off-beat quaver, we can use the phrase rest-di.

So we've still got the rest, and then we've got the second quaver, which is di.

So this whole rhythm would become, ta rest - di ta - di ta, ta rest - di ta - di ta.

Which beats use quaver rest and off-beat quavers in this example here? Have a quick look.

And here we've got quaver rests and off-beat quaver on beat two and beat three.

So how could we then verbalize this rhythm, including using the phrase rest-di? Pause my video while you work this one out.

So we would verbalize this as ta-di rest-di rest-di ta.

Ta-di rest-di rest-di ta.

So we've got that rest-di emphasizing that off-beat quaver, creating that syncopation.

I like to verbalize this syncopated rhythm.

And in particular, listen for those off-beat quavers with the quaver rest on the beat, so that's the rest-di pattern.

Let's have a listen.

(instructor plays notes) I'll play it two more times, here's the second time.

(instructor plays notes) And then a final time, trying to verbalize this rhythm.

(instructor plays notes) So making sure you've come up with an answer.

So we had verbalize this as, ta ta-di rest-di rest-di.

Ta ta-di rest-di rest-di.

Then if you turn that into notation, we would come up with this, crotchet, two quavers and then two of those quaver rest and off-beat quaver patterns on beat three and four.

So well done if you correctly verbalized that rhythm.

Now I'd like you to verbalize this rhythm, which features both syncopation and some semiquavers.

So it's slightly more complex.

Here we go, let's have a listen.

(instructor plays notes) Gonna play you that a second time.

(instructor plays notes) And a third time for the final time.

(instructor plays notes) So making sure that you've come up with your verbalization for this.

And we should have come up with then, ta-ka-di-mi rest-di ta-di ta.

Ta-ka-di-mi rest-di ta-di ta.

If we'd notated that, it would look like this: semiquavers on beat one and off-beat quaver on beat two with that rest-di pattern two quavers on beat three, and then finishing with a crotchet on beat four.

Let's check your understanding.

What is the correct verbalization of this rhythm? Here we go.

(instructor plays notes) Play it one more time.

(instructor plays notes) So make sure you come up with your verbalization for this.

And the answer here is, ta-di rest-di rest-di ta-ka di, ta-di rest-di rest-di ta-ka di.

Well done if you got that correct, Let's try the same this time.

Which of these options is the correct notation of this rhythm? Here we go.

(instructor plays notes) Let's hear it second time.

(instructor plays notes) And third and final time.

(instructor plays notes) So making sure you've chosen your answer and the correct answer here then is option B.

Let's just listen to it one more time, follow that rhythm through.

(instructor plays notes) Well done if you got that one.

Some rhythms feature both crotchet and quaver rests.

I'd like to consider the difference.

A crotchet rest is a full beat.

So we say the word rest.

A quaver rest followed by quaver is rest-di.

So it's a shorter rest followed by the di of the second quaver.

How could you verbalize this rhythm here? Pause my video while you have a think.

So we verbalize this as ta-di rest rest-di ta-di ta-di rest rest-di ta-di.

So it's making sure we're making a difference between rest, which is a crotchet and rest-di which is a quaver rest followed by a quaver.

Dotted quavers are also slightly more complex to identify by ear.

This is what a dotted quaver and a semiquaver sounds like.

(instructor plays notes) Now to verbalize this, we tend to use the phrase ta mi, ta mi.

So this example here where we've got this longer rhythm, ta mi ta-di ta mi ta, ta mi ta-di ta mi ta.

Let's have a listen to that rhythm.

(instructor plays notes) How would you verbalize this rhythm? And remember here that we use the phrase ta mi for the dotted quaver, followed by a semiquaver.

Pause my video while you work out this one.

So we'd verbalize this rhythm as ta ta mi ta- ka- di- mi ta-di, ta ta mi ta- ka- di- mi ta-di.

Well done if you got that one there.

Now I'd like to listen to this rhythm.

How would you verbalize this? (instructor plays notes) Listen to it two more times.

(instructor plays notes) The final time.

(instructor plays notes) If you need to finish off your answer, just pause my video.

And the answer here is ta mi ta ta-ka di ta - di ta mi ta ta-ka di ta - di.

And you see there, we've turned it into that notation as well.

What is the correct verbalization of this rhythm? Pause my video while you work it out.

And the correct answer here is ta-ka di ta mi ta mi ta, ta-ka di ta mi ta mi ta.

Well done if you've got that.

And if there's an error there, just double check which one you've mixed up, make sure you're using the correct verbalization for the correct no values.

For Task A, listen to and notate each rhythm.

Make sure that you break the rhythm into beats, then combine them.

So break it into smaller chunks if you need to.

Use verbalization to help you check your answer.

And ensure the notes are drawn clearly and correctly.

So here's question one, and you'll hear it a few times.

(instructor plays notes) For the second time.

(instructor plays notes) For the third time.

(instructor plays notes) For the fourth time.

(instructor plays notes) And the fifth and final time, question one.

(instructor plays notes) Finish your answer to question one, pausing my video.

Now let's do question two for the first time.

(instructor plays notes) Second time, question two.

(instructor plays notes) Question two for the third time.

(instructor plays notes) For the fourth time, question two.

(instructor plays notes) For the fifth and final time, question two.

(instructor plays notes) Finish off your answer for question two and you pause my video while you do that.

Now it's time for question three.

This is a longer one, so remember to break it into smaller chunks.

You hear it five times again.

For the first time.

(instructor plays notes) For the second time, question three.

(instructor plays notes) Question three for the third time.

(instructor plays notes) Question three for the fourth time.

(instructor plays notes) And for the final time, question three.

(instructor plays notes) Just pause my video while you finish off your answer for question three.

And now finally, let's finish with question four.

Again, I'm gonna play it five times.

So here's the first time.

(instructor plays notes) For the second time, question four.

(instructor plays notes) For the third time, question four.

(instructor plays notes) For the fourth time, question four.

(instructor plays notes) And for the fifth and final time, question four.

(instructor plays notes) Just pause my video while you're finishing off your answer.

Let's go through these answers.

So this was the first rhythm.

Let's have a quick listen.

(instructor plays notes) This was the answer to the second one.

(instructor plays notes) And those dotted rhythms there, very well done if you got those on beat one and beat two.

Now let's move on the slightly longer ones, that's the answer to question three.

And again we've got some dotted rhythms that make that one a bit more complex, it sounds like this.

(instructor plays notes) So really well done if you got that correct, it's quite a tricky one.

And finally, question four where we've got quite a few quaver rests mixed in with some off-beat quavers and semiquaver patterns as well.

This is what that sounds like.

(instructor plays notes) Now let's move on to the second part of today's lesson, which is focused on rhythmic dictation in other time signatures.

When we're identifying rhythms in other time signatures, we use the same process as we do when it's in 4/4.

The number of beats in a bar should match the number of beats in the time signature.

So in 4/4 for example, we need to make sure that each bar has four complete beats in it.

And here we can see in this bar 4/4, we've got four complete beats.

So that fits within the time signature.

Have a look at these three examples here.

Count the beats and work out which is a correct bar of 3/4.

So you can put three complete crotchet beats.

Pause my video while you work this one out.

And the correct answer here is that first one where we have three complete beats.

So even though it looks like a more complicated rhythm than maybe the second one, it does have three beats.

What about about a 5/4? So that's where we've got five whole crotchet beats in a bar.

Pause my video, have a look at these examples.

And here, the correct answer is that third one there.

If we count those up, we've got five complete beats.

So that's the correct bar of 5/4.

So whatever time signature you're working in, make sure you always double check that whatever notes you've written down fits the correct length of bar and the correct number of beats.

In compound time, there's some other considerations.

Remember, compound time signatures have three quavers in each beat.

So in 12/8 for example, we've got four beats each with three quavers within it.

There's our bar of 12/8, and we can see there are 12 quavers in four groups of three.

In six eight, there are two beats and they each have three quavers.

So there again, we've got six quavers in two groups of three.

So we can verbalize groups of three quavers as ta- ki- da, ta- ki- da.

So this bar of 12/8 with constant quavers would sound like this, ta- ki- da, ta- ki- da, ta- ki- da.

It's in groups of three.

We can also use accounting methods.

So one I quite like to use is 1 and a, 2 and a, 3 and a, 4 and a.

It does exactly the same thing as ta- ki- da, but it shows us where the different beats are.

And remember, with all these different rhythmic dictation strategies, there's no necessary right or wrong way to do it.

But these ones that we're using in this lesson are effective ones that I think are quite simple and good to use.

This crotchet-quaver pattern you can see highlighted there is quite common in compound time as well where you've got a crotchet followed by a quaver and they take up one beat together.

The rhythm skips out that and in the 1 and a, 2 and a, 3 and a, 4 and a.

So instead we have a one at two, at three, at four at, it's quite a lumpy uneven rhythm, that one.

So in this example, we've got that pattern on beat one and beat three, one at, three at.

And then if we combine those two different patterns, we get one at 2 and a 3, a 4 and a 1, at 2 and a 3, a 4 and a.

So we're using the and when we've got three quavers and we're skipping out the and when we've got the crotchet followed by the quaver.

A whole beat which is three quavers and is written as a dotted crotchet or a dotted crotchet rest, we could just say the number.

So we could just say four.

So in this example, 1 a 2 and a 3 a 4, 1 a 2 and a 3, a 4.

If you are using the ta- ki- da method, you could just say ta, and that would be your full whole beat there.

How would you count this rhythm? Pause my video and have a quick think.

And here we probably go four, 1 and a 2 a, 1 and a 2 a.

And in that second beat there, we're skipping out that and because we've got that crotchet followed by the quaver.

What about this one? Pause my video, have a think.

And here we'd say 1 and a 2 at rest, 4, 1 and a 2 at rest, 4.

To notate the rhythm, we verbalize it through counting and then convert it into words.

So exactly the same process that we use in all rhythmic dictation.

Have a listen to this one.

How would you count this rhythm? (instructor plays notes) Listen one more time, here we go.

(instructor plays notes) And we count this one as 1 and a 2, 3 and a 4.

How would you notate that? Pause my video and have a think.

And we notate this as three quavers in beat one, a dotted crotchet on beat two, and then the same pattern on beat three and four.

1 and a 2, 3 and a 4.

Well done if you've got that one correct.

Which of these is the correct notation for this clip? Let's have a listen and choose one of the three options.

Here we go.

(instructor plays notes) Have a listen again (instructor plays notes) And our third and final time.

(instructor plays notes) And the correct answer here is option C.

Let's just listen to that one more time and follow that notation through.

(instructor plays notes) Well done if you've got that one correct.

Now for task B, you're gonna listen to and notate each rhythm.

Make sure you break the rhythm into beats and then combine them together.

Use verbalization to help you check your answer.

Ensure that the notes are drawn clearly and correctly.

And then check that your notes add up to the correct number of beats for the time signature.

SO these four questions we're gonna do, let's start off with question one which is in 3/4.

(instructor plays notes) Let's see hear it a second time.

(instructor plays notes) Third time.

(instructor plays notes) For the fourth time, question one.

(instructor plays notes) And the fifth and final time, so verbalize it and then notate it.

(instructor plays notes) Just pause my video while you're finishing your answer.

And now question two.

Here we go for the first time.

(instructor plays notes) For the second time, question two.

(instructor plays notes) For the third time, question two.

(instructor plays notes) Now for the fourth time.

(instructor plays notes) Now the fifth and final time, question two.

(instructor plays notes) Finish your answer, pausing my video.

Now it's time for question three.

Notice that this one is in 5/4, so make sure you're really carefully checking the number of beats in your answer.

Here it is for the first time.

(instructor plays notes) Let's hear it a second time.

(instructor plays notes) Question three for the third time.

(instructor plays notes) For the fourth time.

(instructor plays notes) And now question three for the fifth and final time.

(instructor plays notes) Pause my video while you're finishing your answer for question three.

Finally then question four, this one is in 12/8, so make sure you're thinking in a compound time signature with three quavers within each beat.

Let's hear it for the first time.

(instructor plays notes) For the second time.

(instructor plays notes) For the third time.

(instructor plays notes) The fourth time.

(instructor plays notes) And then finally, question four for the fifth and final time.

(instructor plays notes) So pause my video and finish off your answer.

Let's go through these answers then.

So question one, the answer looks something like this, that was this rhythm.

(instructor plays notes) The key to that one was identifying that dotted rhythm, so well done if you got that correct.

This was our second rhythm in 6/8.

(instructor plays notes) 1 a 2 and a, so well done if you identified that in the compound time.

The third answer in 5/4 was this one.

The tricky beat in this one was beat four, where we've got that quaver rest and the off-beat quaver sounded like this.

(instructor plays notes) Well done if you got that one, it's quite tricky working in unusual time signatures like that.

So really a great effort if you managed to get some or most of them correct.

And then finally our 12/8 one at the end sounds like this and there's our notation.

(instructor plays notes) So with all of these, these are quite complex rhythms to dictate.

So even if you're not getting the whole answer correct, give yourself some credit where you've got a beat or two beats of it correct or where you've identified some of the trickier rhythms there.

As always with dictation, it just takes practice to get really proficient at these and these ones are particularly difficult.

So real well done for getting stuck in and giving these your best.

And don't be disheartened if you've not got them all a hundred percent correct at this stage.

Let's summarize today's lesson.

Rhythmic dictation is slightly more complex with syncopated and dotted rhythms. Identifying quaver rests with the phrase rest-di is useful for accurately notating syncopated rhythms. That's often a key tripping up point for people.

In all time signatures, you need to always ensure that note values match the beats in each bar.

So whatever time signature you are working in, make sure the beats add up to the full length of the bar.

And then in compound time counting groups of three quavers, so you might say things like 1 and a, 2 and a, and this will help you be really accurate.

So that's the end of today's lesson.

Thank you very much for taking part, for giving it your best.

These have been quite tricky concepts and quite tricky questions we were looking at today.

So really well done for trying and as I've said, keep at it, keep practicing and your rhythmic dictation will get really good really quickly.

Thanks for taking part, and I'll see you in another lesson.