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Meter: Landscaping

Goal: To establish a sense of meter, a sense of downbeat apart from other beats, and beats as distinct from one another.

Out of Tempo

Creating meter from scratch as a group activity.

Beginning

  1. Everyone claps at their own pace (chaos).
  2. Teacher selects one student to whom all sound or pulses will gravitate.
  3. Everyone matches one student and claps together at the same pace as one student – without downbeat accent!

Intermediate

  1. Everyone claps at their own pace (chaos).
  2. Class chooses a student to whom sound or pulses will gravitate.

Advanced

  1. Everyone claps at their own pace (chaos).
  2. Class chooses a student to whom sound or pulses will gravitate.
  3. Student or leader establishes an in-tempo meter.
  4. Group returns to individual clapping pulses dissolving the meter established by one student.
  5. This process repeats so that all students in the room have had a chance to lead the creation of the meter.

In Tempo

Beginning

  1. Teacher sets up a beat without downbeat accent. Can use a metronome or clapping.
  2. Teacher prompts, “Four time.”
  3. Students clap on top of the steady beat adding a downbeat emphasis to shape the four time.
  4. Teacher prompts, “Three time.”
  5. Students clap on top of the steady beat, adding a downbeat emphasis to shape the three time.
  6. This process repeats for two-four time.

Intermediate

  1. Teacher sets up a beat without downbeat accent. Can use a metronome or clapping and other sounds and movements.
  2. Teacher prompts, “Four time.”
  3. Students respond with a unique sound for the downbeat and clapping for the other beats.
  4. This process is repeated for other time signatures.

Advanced

  1. Teacher sets up a beat without downbeat accent. Can use a metronome or clapping or other sounds and movements.
  2. Students change downbeat accent, changing time signature with one measure in between the old time signature and the new one.