Rhythm Busters

Supplemental Workbook-Style Method

for Improving Rhythmic Performance and Understanding





Understanding how rhythm’s work, separately and together, is a crucial step in fostering engagement in the learning process....

 The rhythms in Rhythm Busters are presented from simple to complex, always building upon prior knowledge.

UNIT 6 ETUDE/SONG PAGE EXAMPLE

 Rhythm Busters designed approach moves toward rhythmic understanding by utilizing rhythm writing, note patterns, etudes, and song material.

INTRODUCTION OF TRIPLETS EXAMPLE
INTRODUCTION OF CUT TIME EXAMPLE


Repetition builds familiarity while reinforcing how rhythms and math go hand in hand....

 Each lesson focuses on repeating single pitched rhythms, then progresses to a basic scale and applying the specific rhythm to etudes and song material.

INTRODUCTION OF SYNCOPATION EXAMPLE

 Rhythm Busters encourages the teaching of rhythms through note values and rhythm writing as well as counting rhythms out loud.

EARLY EIGHTH NOTE EXAMPLE



Rhythms are learned efficiently when not competing with other musical concepts....

 Rhythm Busters uses unison playing. Students can hear everyone on the same pitch which can reinforce competency.

INTRODUCTION OF 16th NOTES EXAMPLE

 All ranges are within one octave providing less stress in high/low pitches and key signatures are limited to concert Bb, Eb, and F.

INTRODUCTION OF DOTTED QUARTER/EIGHTH EXAMPLE


While the process of learning rhythms can be taxing , included in each lesson is the journey of two typical middle school students who face some of the situations that your students face in the learning of a musical instrument...

 

One complete unit in Rhythm Busters, consisting of an example page and an etude/song page:





In this excerpt, taken from Unit 6 in the trumpet book, notice how eighth notes are utilized with few wide leaps. Additionally, rests are integral - an essential but often overlooked part of understanding rhythm.



Triplets are introduced in this example from the flute book, Unit 24



Introduction of cut time, taken from the clarinet book, Unit 26



Syncopation is introduced in Unit 22, as shown in this example from the Alto/Bari Sax book.



Eighth notes are introduced in Unit 4. In this example from the exercise page in unit 5 for trombone, you can see a line indicating where to write counts. This line is omitted in later units, once students have become accustomed to where counts should be written



Sixteenth notes are introduced in Unit 13, shown in this example from the Mallets book. Repeated pitches help keep technical difficulties to a minimum, allowing the student to focus on the subdivision and execution of 16th note patterns



The dotted quarter/eighth rhythmic combination is introduced in Unit 9, as shown in this example from the French horn book