Examples of musicality in dance7/6/2023 He kept track of the sets of 8 as they passed, and he identified the bigger structure of the music. The concept of a beginning point was subtle but if someone identified it for me, I could hear it. ( Lingo Alert: Sometimes the word “ count” is omitted and a count 1 is identified as “the 1 of the music” or just “the 1.”) Moreover, I could hear that the 1s were beginning points that signaled the beginning of something new in the melody. (And, to a lesser degree, he also emphasized each count 5, the fifth beat of a set of 8, with a smaller punch.) With the help of his hand motions I could hear that all the count 1s were, indeed, naturally emphasized in the music. He emphasized each count 1 of the music, the first beat of each set of 8, by punching the air with his hand. He counted 8 beats of music-“ one two three four five six seven eight”-and then started over. We proceeded to listen to the house band, music I had listened to for years. He said he was connected to the music-through the count-and he demonstrated. I was dying to know his secret so I approached him and asked why his dancing was so distinctive. John caught my eye because the level of his dancing was high, higher than anything I’d ever observed in my local scene. I remember the first time I ever heard the structure of music counted, with the help of John, a stranger at a bar. Sets of 8 are important to dancers for a number of reasons but most importantly because they identify and define the underlying beat of the music. It’s the same way a sentence gives structure to the written word, as you’ll see in a moment. Sets of 8 exist because that’s how musicians compose the music it’s how they give structure to the music. This is the only thing you need to know: virtually all dance music is counted in sets of 8 beats. So, forget all the highfalutin-hieroglyphic-4/4-2/4-3/4-time-signature-mumbo-jumbo-music-theory you’ve been bulldozed with in the past. When I refer to “virtually all dance music,” it means all dance music except the waltz. The one exception is waltz, which is covered on pages 74 and 124. It pertains only to the structure of the music-not the step pattern being danced-and virtually all dance music is counted the same. Doing so reveals the structure of the music. Loops I didn’t need.Ĭounting music is counting the underlying beats of the music. And some teachers use musician lingo whenever they reference the musical count that always threw me for a loop. For most people, especially men or anyone who believes he or she is rhythmically challenged, I believe learning to count, both the music and step patterns, is the gateway to intermediate-level dancing and above.įor me as a beginner, counting music was hard to pin down because-well, because nobody ever told me how to do it. Not only is it rarely taught in a class, except for one situation (when a teacher counts you in to start a dance, discussed at the end of this chapter), it’s rarely heard in class. This chapter explores counting music Chapter 6, “Counting Step Patterns,” looks at counting step patterns. Although they’re related, counting music and counting step patterns are not the same. I believe part of the problem revolves around what is being counted. Dang it all, counting confused me! Fear not, I’ve expended endless calories, tortured and maimed untold brain cells and burned through thousands of dollars in dance lessons to make sense of this simple subject. I like numbers, and I’m a good counter, so it was odd. I’VE ALWAYS BEEN SUSPICIOUS OF THE COUNTING I HEARD IN DANCE CLASSES. Vince Lombardi, legendary Green Bay Packers coach * Amazon ($12.95) * Kindle ($2.99 $4.99) Football isn’t a contact sport it’s a collision sport. QUICK PROMOTION: To help launch my new book on music, Hear the Beat, Feel the Music: Count, Clap and Tap Your Way to Remarkable Rhythm, the kindle is on sale for $2.99 (down from $4.99).
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |