Aur­al Train­ing — Rhythm

• Year of study: One semester, autumn
• Final Assessment: Assessment from course instructor
• Prerequisites: GEHØR10 and GEHØR11, or equivalent
• Language of instruction: Norwegian/English

Course description

The course is open to all students who want to develop their rhythmic skills further and seek slightly greater rhythmic challenges than the basic courses offer. It will have a practical approach with a mix of playing instruments, vocal use, and movement.

Emneansvarlig: Composition, Music Theory and Music Technology Department

Learning objectives

Upon completion of the course, it is expected that the student:

• Has enhanced their ability for rhythmic precision in singing and playing, both solo and in ensemble
• Masters basic strategies for solving various rhythmic challenges
• Can analyze a rhythmic progression in terms of rehearsal strategies
• Has increased awareness of rhythm as a musical device
• Can communicate rhythmically with other musicians.

Overview

The content of the course is evenly distributed between rhythmic training with and without notation. Emphasis on each topic will be adapted to the students' level, preferences, and needs.

The course will primarily include work with:

• Meter and sense of sections in the music
• Pulse and subdivision of the pulse
• Varied subdivision of the basic pulse
• Regular and irregular pulses
• Alternating time signatures
• Polyrhythms and polymeters
• Rhythm reading techniques – also related to the student's own repertoire
• Rhythmic imitation and memorization
• Rhythmic coordination exercises – including complementary and ensemble rhythm training
• Rhythmic modulation
• Rhythm reading, sight-reading training, and rhythmic shadowing
• Polyphonic rhythm reading with a focus on music from the 20th and 21st centuries
• Rhythmic transcriptionmetrikk og periodefølelse

Structure

The course is organized in groups with two lessons weekly for eleven weeks. The teaching methods vary between practical exercises, coordination training, listening and imitation tasks, rhythm reading, and repertoire playing/singing, with and without instruments. Students will regularly receive homework assignments related to the material covered in class

Course requirements

1. Participation in the scheduled lessons is compulsory. Absence of more than 20% will normally lead to failure of the course.
2. The student is required to keep a logbook of the working methods and techniques throughout the semester. The logbook is to be submitted to the course instructor by the specified date.
3. Submission of eight practical homework assignments

Final assessment

All course requirements must be approved prior to obtaining a final assessment.

Students are assessed in correspondence to the learning outcomes of the course. The final assessment will be given as a mark of “passed”/”failed” for each individual student, which shall be determined on the basis of her or his level demonstrated through the course work a final practical test in prepared tasks at the end of the semester.

New assessment

Students failing the course will have to apply to re-follow the course for a new assessment