BEAT EMPHASIS — BEAT ACCENT
To accent means to bring attention to the importance of something.
Certain beats are more prominent in rhythmic patterns and are accented.
Musical accent refers to the stress on certain beats within a measure. These accented beats have more intensity and are called strong beats.
Beat-Patterns have different accents and contain strong and weak beats. The most common beat-patterns have evolved from centuries of dance-beat patterns as well as from rhythmic patterns in poetry structures.
When placing your foot down to begin a dance step, it creates a strong first beat. The first beat of a measure receives a strongest accent and is called the Down-Beat.
Conductors outline beat patterns with their baton in order to lead the orchestra. The first beat of the measure is gestured with a down motion. This is similar to putting the foot down on the first beat of dance patterns, and why the first beat is called the Down-Beat.
Learning different conducting patterns helps you learn how to “get the feel” of beat-patterns.
As your Quest Maestro, I will be teaching you the baton motions that conductors use to communicate beat-patterns and their emphases to the orchestra.
I will utilize primary colors to define beat emphasis in order to bring attention to strong beats and weak beats.
STRONG BEATS = RED
WEAK BEATS = BLUE
OTHER ACCENTS = YELLOW
Meet Cal Universal Language Rhythm Notation Music Staff Origins of the Staff
Rhythm Laboratory Notation Parts Note Heads Stems Beams Flags Note Construction
Common-Time Measures Bar-Lines Counting in Common-Time Whole, Half and Quarter Notes
Ties Dots Time-Signatures Q’s Rhythm Review Time-Signature Rules Beat Accent
Down-Beat and Up-Beat Conducting Patterns Cut-Time Common-Time Beat Emphasis
Three-Beat Measures Note Values Rhythm Workouts The ‘Cycle’ Note Equivalents
Counting Sub-Divisions “If You Can Say It, You Can Play It” Author’s Story Sub-Division Lingo
Quarter Notes with Eight Notes Adding Sixteenth Notes Notes Sharing Beams Beam Awareness Pointers
Triplets Triplet Workout Compound-Time Compound-Time Workout Music Rests
Rest and Note Equivalents Whole Rest Half Rest Quarter Rest Eighth Rest Sixteenth Rest
Dotted Rests Q’s Rest Review Process of Sub-Division Relating Rests to Notes Rhythm Exam Prep
Level 1 Rhythm Exam Level 2 Rhythm Exam Level 3 Rhythm Exam
Rhythm Laboratory Notation Parts Note Heads Stems Beams Flags Note Construction
Common-Time Measures Bar-Lines Counting in Common-Time Whole, Half and Quarter Notes
Ties Dots Time-Signatures Q’s Rhythm Review Time-Signature Rules Beat Accent
Down-Beat and Up-Beat Conducting Patterns Cut-Time Common-Time Beat Emphasis
Three-Beat Measures Note Values Rhythm Workouts The ‘Cycle’ Note Equivalents
Counting Sub-Divisions “If You Can Say It, You Can Play It” Author’s Story Sub-Division Lingo
Quarter Notes with Eight Notes Adding Sixteenth Notes Notes Sharing Beams Beam Awareness Pointers
Triplets Triplet Workout Compound-Time Compound-Time Workout Music Rests
Rest and Note Equivalents Whole Rest Half Rest Quarter Rest Eighth Rest Sixteenth Rest
Dotted Rests Q’s Rest Review Process of Sub-Division Relating Rests to Notes Rhythm Exam Prep
Level 1 Rhythm Exam Level 2 Rhythm Exam Level 3 Rhythm Exam
