by Mike Overly
If you were to ask a 6-year-old to recite the alphabet, or to count inches on a ruler, Iʼm sure they would be able to do that quite easily. But, if you were to ask, "What time is it?" we would discover that they are having a little difficulty with that abstract concept.
In the same way, perhaps even now, you may be having a little difficulty with the equally abstract concept of rhythm, which is the time component of music. However, understanding rhythm becomes as simple as counting inches on a ruler when we realize that time can be measured, counted, and heard as sound space. Letʼs think about this.
Simply stated, the meter number tells you how many beats to count per bar. In the
April 2011 lesson, you learned how to group beats into duple meter (based on 2) or triple meter (based on 3.) You then gave those duple or triple meter groupings rhythm names, for example: the March a duple 2 beat meter and the Waltz a triple 3 beat meter. Then you applied those two rhythms to these simple songs: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Pop Goes The Weasel.
Now, in this lesson, you'll divide a single beat into an even (duple), or odd (triple) number of parts, and then group these divided beats into a pattern, give those patterns a rhythm name, and then apply the duple beat pattern to rock, and the triple beat pattern to blues.
Rock Rhythm
To better understand the rhythms of rock, letʼs imagine a Rock Rhythm Ruler. The rock rhythm ruler is just like the ruler you have at home, except that one inch is now 1 beat. This one inch on the ruler, or 1 beat in music, may be divided into an infinite number of equal parts!
To begin, letʼs divide one inch or 1 beat into two equal parts. This would be a half an inch on a ruler, or 1/2 beat on the rock rhythm ruler. A half an inch (1/2 of a beat) is counted as “and” and uses the plus symbol (+). For example, 4 beats, with each beat divided in half, would be counted 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and, and symbolized 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +. This is the simplest and most common rock rhythm, and may be heard in: Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry, Sweet Child Oʼ Mine by Guns and Roses, Sunshine of Your Love by Cream and numerous others.
Now, if we divide a half of an inch, a 1/2 beat, “in half,” the result is a quarter of an inch, a 1/4 beat. In other words, 1 beat is now divided into 4 equal parts and is counted: 1 e + a. A four beat bar would be counted: 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a. Many rock songs use this 1/4 beat rhythm, for example: Walk This Way by Arrowsmith, Mr. Scary by Dokken and many others.
Rock rhythms continue dividing the beat in half: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64…, until you have so many equal divisions that you have to call it shred. Listen to any song by Randy Rhodes, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Vinnie Moore, John Petrucci, or Tony McAlpine to get the idea.
Okay, now that you understand the duple meter basis of rock, let's explore the triple meter basis of blues.
Blues Rhythm
To better understand the rhythms of blues, imagine a Blues Rhythm Ruler. The blues rhythm ruler is not like the ruler you have at home because the blues rhythm ruler divides one inch, or 1 beat, into 3 equal parts! Here's something I find interesting. Even though you can fold a piece of paper into three equal parts, and a kitchen measuring cup divides one cup into three equal parts, the ruler you have at home doesn't divide an inch into 3 equal parts. I guess it's because 1 divided by 3 equals 0.3333333333… to infinity, in other words, there really isn't a 1/3 of an inch. Yikes! Oh well, let's continue.
In music, you can divide 1 beat into 3 equal parts. This is called a triplet, which is a two syllable word. Triplets are counted: 1-trip-let. And a 4 beat bar would be counted: 1-trip-let 2-trip-let 3-trip-let 4-trip-let. Here are a couple of songs which use the triplet rhythm: House of the Rising Sun by The Animals, and Time Is On My Side by The Rolling Stones.
While its true that the blues is based upon a triplet rhythm, the most common blues rhythm is the shuffle. The shuffle rhythm is created by unevenly grouping the triplet into 2 unequal parts. The first part sustains the down-beat number tied to trip, and is followed by the second part let. In other words, the shuffle rhythm is heard as a long/short pattern because only two sounds are heard. It helps to think of the fractions 2/3's followed by 1/3. The first sound is on the beat number, and the second sound is on the let. A 4 beat shuffle rhythm is counted: 1-trip-let 2-trip-let 3-trip-let 4-trip-let. The shuffle rhythm may be heard on these songs: Hideaway by Freddie King, Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hoochie Coochie Man by Willie Dixon and many more.
Remember, rock and blues rhythms are created by dividing a beat into equal parts, then grouping those divided beats into patterns, and then applying these patterns according to the meter. Both rock and blues rhythms may be applied to either duple or triple meter, and because of this, it is essential to have a method of counting that remains constant no matter how complicated the meter or beat divisions become. For example, duple rock rhythms will always include a down-beat number plus an up-beat and, while triplet blues rhythms will always include a down-beat number, plus trip-let.
Now that you have a basic understanding of rock and blues rhythms, would someone tell me what time it is? 'Til next time ~ stay in time and on time… I'll be listening!
Globally-renowned guitar and bass instructor, Mike Overly easily combines the worlds of deeply-rooted academic study with a well-textured performance resume. His pathbreaking 12 Tone Music Publishing products, including the newly released "Tone Note® Music Method for Guitar," provide valuable illuminating insights while simplifying the learning process.
Join Mike at www.12tonemusic.com to explore and expand your knowledge of these two iconic instruments through a variety of reviews and interviews, tips and tricks and free lessons of remarkable originality, all presented in a family-friendly forum. Plus, as an added bonus, you get to follow Mr. Pick as he introduces you to fun fretboard games, jokes, riddles, quotes and more. Be sure to read the 12 Tone Music Blog where Mike offers a behind-the-scenes look at the development of his unique approach to solving the problems of modern musical notation and traditional guitar and bass methods.
Mike Overly's unmatched perspective on fretboard education has something for everyone ~ from the amateur hobbyist to the serious professional player ~ as well as any music enthusiast who wants to come along for the ride.
If you were to ask a 6-year-old to recite the alphabet, or to count inches on a ruler, Iʼm sure they would be able to do that quite easily. But, if you were to ask, "What time is it?" we would discover that they are having a little difficulty with that abstract concept.
In the same way, perhaps even now, you may be having a little difficulty with the equally abstract concept of rhythm, which is the time component of music. However, understanding rhythm becomes as simple as counting inches on a ruler when we realize that time can be measured, counted, and heard as sound space. Letʼs think about this.
Simply stated, the meter number tells you how many beats to count per bar. In the
April 2011 lesson, you learned how to group beats into duple meter (based on 2) or triple meter (based on 3.) You then gave those duple or triple meter groupings rhythm names, for example: the March a duple 2 beat meter and the Waltz a triple 3 beat meter. Then you applied those two rhythms to these simple songs: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Pop Goes The Weasel.
Now, in this lesson, you'll divide a single beat into an even (duple), or odd (triple) number of parts, and then group these divided beats into a pattern, give those patterns a rhythm name, and then apply the duple beat pattern to rock, and the triple beat pattern to blues.
Rock Rhythm
To better understand the rhythms of rock, letʼs imagine a Rock Rhythm Ruler. The rock rhythm ruler is just like the ruler you have at home, except that one inch is now 1 beat. This one inch on the ruler, or 1 beat in music, may be divided into an infinite number of equal parts!
To begin, letʼs divide one inch or 1 beat into two equal parts. This would be a half an inch on a ruler, or 1/2 beat on the rock rhythm ruler. A half an inch (1/2 of a beat) is counted as “and” and uses the plus symbol (+). For example, 4 beats, with each beat divided in half, would be counted 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and, and symbolized 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +. This is the simplest and most common rock rhythm, and may be heard in: Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry, Sweet Child Oʼ Mine by Guns and Roses, Sunshine of Your Love by Cream and numerous others.
Now, if we divide a half of an inch, a 1/2 beat, “in half,” the result is a quarter of an inch, a 1/4 beat. In other words, 1 beat is now divided into 4 equal parts and is counted: 1 e + a. A four beat bar would be counted: 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a. Many rock songs use this 1/4 beat rhythm, for example: Walk This Way by Arrowsmith, Mr. Scary by Dokken and many others.
Rock rhythms continue dividing the beat in half: 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64…, until you have so many equal divisions that you have to call it shred. Listen to any song by Randy Rhodes, Joe Satriani, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Vinnie Moore, John Petrucci, or Tony McAlpine to get the idea.
Okay, now that you understand the duple meter basis of rock, let's explore the triple meter basis of blues.
Blues Rhythm
To better understand the rhythms of blues, imagine a Blues Rhythm Ruler. The blues rhythm ruler is not like the ruler you have at home because the blues rhythm ruler divides one inch, or 1 beat, into 3 equal parts! Here's something I find interesting. Even though you can fold a piece of paper into three equal parts, and a kitchen measuring cup divides one cup into three equal parts, the ruler you have at home doesn't divide an inch into 3 equal parts. I guess it's because 1 divided by 3 equals 0.3333333333… to infinity, in other words, there really isn't a 1/3 of an inch. Yikes! Oh well, let's continue.
In music, you can divide 1 beat into 3 equal parts. This is called a triplet, which is a two syllable word. Triplets are counted: 1-trip-let. And a 4 beat bar would be counted: 1-trip-let 2-trip-let 3-trip-let 4-trip-let. Here are a couple of songs which use the triplet rhythm: House of the Rising Sun by The Animals, and Time Is On My Side by The Rolling Stones.
While its true that the blues is based upon a triplet rhythm, the most common blues rhythm is the shuffle. The shuffle rhythm is created by unevenly grouping the triplet into 2 unequal parts. The first part sustains the down-beat number tied to trip, and is followed by the second part let. In other words, the shuffle rhythm is heard as a long/short pattern because only two sounds are heard. It helps to think of the fractions 2/3's followed by 1/3. The first sound is on the beat number, and the second sound is on the let. A 4 beat shuffle rhythm is counted: 1-trip-let 2-trip-let 3-trip-let 4-trip-let. The shuffle rhythm may be heard on these songs: Hideaway by Freddie King, Pride and Joy by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Hoochie Coochie Man by Willie Dixon and many more.
Remember, rock and blues rhythms are created by dividing a beat into equal parts, then grouping those divided beats into patterns, and then applying these patterns according to the meter. Both rock and blues rhythms may be applied to either duple or triple meter, and because of this, it is essential to have a method of counting that remains constant no matter how complicated the meter or beat divisions become. For example, duple rock rhythms will always include a down-beat number plus an up-beat and, while triplet blues rhythms will always include a down-beat number, plus trip-let.
Now that you have a basic understanding of rock and blues rhythms, would someone tell me what time it is? 'Til next time ~ stay in time and on time… I'll be listening!
Globally-renowned guitar and bass instructor, Mike Overly easily combines the worlds of deeply-rooted academic study with a well-textured performance resume. His pathbreaking 12 Tone Music Publishing products, including the newly released "Tone Note® Music Method for Guitar," provide valuable illuminating insights while simplifying the learning process.
Join Mike at www.12tonemusic.com to explore and expand your knowledge of these two iconic instruments through a variety of reviews and interviews, tips and tricks and free lessons of remarkable originality, all presented in a family-friendly forum. Plus, as an added bonus, you get to follow Mr. Pick as he introduces you to fun fretboard games, jokes, riddles, quotes and more. Be sure to read the 12 Tone Music Blog where Mike offers a behind-the-scenes look at the development of his unique approach to solving the problems of modern musical notation and traditional guitar and bass methods.
Mike Overly's unmatched perspective on fretboard education has something for everyone ~ from the amateur hobbyist to the serious professional player ~ as well as any music enthusiast who wants to come along for the ride.
