We've been working a lot on rhythm in the studio this spring.

I've always made an effort to incorporate a rhythm activity into each lesson, but I've found myself being more intentional about this in recent months and becoming more aware of how I teach rhythm and how students develop these skills.

From the Music Learning Theory, we know that students develop audiation skills, or the ability to hear music in their head without any sound being present, through singing, rhythmic movement, and building a vocabulary of tonal and rhythm patterns.

I tell my students that the rhythm of a piece is like the architecture of a house or building: It's the framework that supports everything else.

There are three elements of rhythm: The macrobeat or big beat, the microbeat or little beat, and melodic rhythm, which is a sequenced series of rhythm patterns in a song or piece.

If you, like me, are stepping back to evaluate how you teach rhythm and what your students know and understand, here are a few questions to consider:

Do your students have a sense of the macrobeat in a given piece?

Do they feel the underlying subdivision, the microbeat?

Do they have an awareness of both of these things in the context of melodic rhythm?

In this episode, I'll share seven ways I'm practicing rhythm in the studio with students from 1st through 12th grade, including several teaching strategies, games, and challenges for those who need something a little more difficult.

For show notes, click here.

Resources Mentioned

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

Music Learning Theory Rhythm Content Learning Sequence

Rhythm Keeper (Musikal Husky)

Entrepreneur Profile: Samantha Steitz of Musikal Husky

Piano Safari Sight-Reading Cards

Ep. 008 - 10 Creative Ways to Use Rhythm Pattern Cards in Your Teaching

Rhythm Pattern Card Set

Sight-Reading and Rhythm Every Day (Helen Marlais)

RCM Syllabi