Borrowed Divisions: Patterning
Goal: To prepare combinations of differing borrowed subdivisions of the beat (triplets in simple meter, duplets in compound meter, and singing scales).
Out of Tempo
All Levels
“Out of Tempo” exercises are not presented separately in Ear Training III and Ear Training IV improvisations. Should any exercise prove difficult performed in tempo, out of tempo versions of the materials in Ear Training III and Ear Training IV can be modeled on Ear Training I and Ear Training II approaches to out of tempo improvisations.
In Tempo
Teacher sets up a tempo, time signature, tonality, and rhythms.
Phrases can be four to thirty-two measures in length depending on the student’s ability.
Start with one note per measure and add different rhythms as students become more comfortable with the exercise. For more confident students, use non-repeating notes and rhythm patterns.
Students sing one, two, three, or four notes per measure.
Speaking, singing, playing.
Refer to the Rhythm Patterns/Borrowed Divisions Smorgasbord for ideas.
Beginning
- Teacher sets up as above and prompts, “Sing scale x using one repeating solfege per measure and alternate eighth notes with eighth note triplets within the measure.” For example: in four-four, using a whole tone scale, sing two beats of eighth notes followed by two beats of eighth note triplets.
- Students do so.
Intermediate
- Teacher sets up as above and prompts, “Sing scale x using one repeating solfege per measure and alternate eighth notes then eighth note triplets within the measure.” For example: in four-four, using a melodic minor scale, sing two beats of eighth note triplets followed by two beats of eighth notes.
- Students do so.
Advanced
- Teacher sets up as above and prompts, “Sing scale x using one repeating solfege per measure and alternate eighth notes then eighth note triplets within the measure.” For example: in four-four, using a pentatonic scale, sing one beat of eighth notes then two beats of eighth note triplets followed by one beat of eighth notes.
- Students do so.
More Advanced
Non-repeating scales can be used as well as melodic patterns such as upper and lower neighbor tone patterns, and adjacent or interpolated melodic patterns of three or four notes.