Teaching cut time

[nattwell]

Hi all,

My choir is about to start working on Sue Nelson's Dances from the Tersichore, which we will perform with a local recorder ensemble at our fifth annual "Bells & Whistles" Christmas concert this December. Some of the movements are in cut time, which I am anticipating will create some problems. We've done very limited 4/4 music that involves 16th notes, so counting 1-e-&-a is a new concept to most of them, and trying to teach that applied to quarter notes may be confusing. They are a reasonably solid level 2 choir but it takes a long time for them to learn anything new or challenging, and as is typical for a church choir, there is a wide range of abilities represented.

Can anyone give me any ideas on how to teach cut time in a way that will make sense to ringers who are sometimes bigger on enthusiasm than musical proficiency? Thanks!

Nikki Attwell
West Kelowna, BC

[Nicholas Barnard]

I recommend taking a saw to 4/4.

But seriously, at least for me clapping and counting the quarters then the eighths, etc tends to help. I'm someone who struggles with rhythm. (Stereotypical white boy.) These don't have to be complex but feeling the rhythm and the strong beats is important for me to be able to get my bearings on any music.

Nick Barnard
Managing Director
Resonance Handbell Quartet
Seattle, WA

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[Jim Rossetti]

Nikki,

As school band director for many years (middle and junior high school) I've taught this many times.  And it works just as well for adults with bells. 

I would strongly suggest teaching them the piece in 4.  Forget the cut-time until they know the piece and are comfortable playing it well.  Then gradually start playing it faster, increasing tempo slightly each time they play it.  If they are unfamiliar with the sixteenth note counting system that you mentioned (which works very well) don't confuse them with it now.  As you get it up to tempo they may be looking for a new way to count it.  Even if they are still counting in 4, what's the difference as long as they can play it up to tempo.  

As far as your conducting pattern goes, when it becomes too difficult to conduct the 4 pattern, conduct it in two and suggest a different way for them to count it then.  They'll already know the music and can concentrate more on the counting system.  But again, how they are counting is not the issue as much as playing it correctly.

 

Jim Rossetti

Area 2 Past Chair

[Nancy Tipton]

I'm so glad to hear that I'm not the only one . . . this is usually my approach with middle school as well. By the time my ringers reach high school, they understand the concept, and I let them think about it any way that works for them. But I start middle school students in 4/4 until they can play it fast enough. 

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[F Simpson]

I'm gonna chime in on this topic. 

I'm a little surprised at the "lateness" this concept is being taught. Maybe it's just Handbell specific, but in classroom music, I've always taught 2/2 first. Is this unusual? It's really the easiest to learn. Strong beat then weak beat. It's also the easiest pattern to teach too. Down, up. 

MOST Western music is incorrectly in 4/4 and should be in 2/2. Marches and only a hand fully of piece are *really* ever in 4/4. But we are musical society seems to fear 2/2! I had a pit concertmaster ask me once - in the first rehearsal, in front of everyone no less - how was I gonna conduct the 2/2 sections? I looked at him and said "in 2 of course". He was like, are you sure, 'cause no conductor of this pit has ever done that before!

Thomas

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[Ann Frederking]

I tend to agree on this one. And a lot of hymns are "simplified" to 4/4 when they should be in 2/2.
When we had a number of Festival pieces 2 years ago in 2/2 or 3/2, I made them get used to the different metre. But I really enforced subdividing which most ringers should do more often. Now they may have been thinking 1,2,3,4 to themselves, but we were counting 1 + 2 + and they got the hang of it.

Ann

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