Christos Tsitsaros

ARTICLES

How do Rhythm and Tempo Interact with each other and How Does This Inform Your Teaching? (Excerpt, Keyboard Companion, Winter 2007)

Rhythm, meter, and tempo are intertwined terms that are often misunderstood, but taking the time to clearly understand their meaning, interrelationship, and effect on performance can greatly aid a student’s development. Rhythm, the broadest of the three terms, refers to the time organization of music “by means of regularly recurring pulses or beats,” typically arranged in groups with multiples of two or three. Meter refers to the internal organization of these groups of pulses, while Tempo refers to the rate at which pulses proceed (Harvard, p. 423). The combination of long and short note values within each pulse, called the rhythmic pattern, forms the simplest aspect of rhythm, one that the listener can easily grasp.

In a broader sense, however, rhythm is a deeper notion that goes beyond proportions and note values and manifests itself in a rhythmic feeling. Heinrich Neuhaus compared rhythm to “such living phenomena as pulse, breathing, the waves of the sea, the swaying of the fields” (Neuhaus, p. 30). Bruno Walter described rhythmic feeling as a “spontaneous utterance of living energy…compelled instinctively by a higher, immediate, non-arithmetical insight into the rhythmical meaning of each group of notes” (Walter, pp. 50-51). Walter wrote that the true meaning of a composition cannot be recognized just by the mathematics of the notated rhythm—that instead rhythm must “spring from its affinity to the life of our body, our heart beating and breathing” (Walter, p. 48). While Walter acknowledged that rhythmic exactness was a useful pointer in the right direction and a protection against the grosser kinds of rhythmic mistakes, it is clear that there is more to a truly rhythmic performance than just getting the note values correct.

So how do the elements of rhythm and tempo interact, and how can we develop a true sense of rhythmic feeling in our students? This article will attempt to answer this question as well as some related questions such as:

How can students develop a strong rhythmic pulse?
How do rhythmic inaccuracies affect the tempo, and what should teachers be aware of when these inaccuracies occur?
How can we teach our students to feel, understand, and bring to life the true rhythmic meaning of music?

Steady Pulse
The acquisition of a strong underlying pulse is undoubtedly a fundamental prerequisite of a rhythmic performance. The regular recurrence of the pulse sets the distances or units against which the rhythmic patterns are “fitted”; the relative evenness of the units is perceived as a steady tempo. Unless the shortening or lengthening of these time-distances occurs in a progressive and logical way, such as in a well-organized rubato, arbitrary abrupt distortions of the units (distances) result in an involuntary change of tempo. Such changes prevent both the performer and the listener from keeping the whole of the piece in view. Tobias Matthay in his Musical Interpretation stated that “there must always be continuity in the tempo if the course of the piece is to remain unbroken,” as changes of tempo make the listener “start afresh and readjust himself to the new tempo” (Matthay, p. 60).

An even, steady pulse can be cultivated in different ways, both at and away from the piano. Many teachers are familiar with music educational systems that incorporate the physical interpretation of metric pulses and rhythmic patterns, such as Dalcroze Eurhythmics or rhythmic solfége. Feeling the pulse in one’s body by encouraging young students to step to the beat, sway their hands in alteration, clap, jump, or even dance to a musical piece are all excellent ways of cultivating a strong inner rhythmic sense. More advanced students may also benefit from conducting pieces from beginning to end, as if they were performed by someone else. During piano lessons I recommend that students:

Clap the beats and syllabicate the rhythm (rhythmic patterns within the beats) using an easy syllable, such as “da” or “la.” (Sol-fa and Kodály syllables also lend themselves for this exercise provided the student is familiar with them.)
Count the beats out loud and clap the rhythmic patterns.
Count out loud and play the notes at the same time.

According to William Newman, counting the beats out loud while playing helps the student “feel both the pulse and pattern simultaneously” and “bring his rhythms to life” in a way that distinguishes him from pianists who play without rhythmic authority and therefore dully (Newman, pp. 84-85). Mentally counting the beat for an entire measure (pre-counting) is also an effective method of setting up the tempo before the beginning of a piece. The predominant tendency in a lot of students is to begin at an overly slow, timid pace and accelerate as the music progresses. Conversely, under certain conditions the opposite happens: students start at a tempo which is too fast to accommodate all the note-values. To avoid this, I find it useful to encourage students to clap the beat while imagining the rhythmic values not only of the opening but also of other sections within the piece, especially ones containing shorter note-values (faster notes). With experience, the student will hopefully be able to do the same exercise mentally and to briefly summon it prior to performance.

Click to read the entire article.