
VOLUME 9
unequal beats
After the simple and compound meters which deal with the division of a regular pulse by two or three, here are the unequal beat meters. Now, instead of dividing a pulsation, regular note values are added into groups of 2, 3 or 4. In this volume the note values are eighth notes.
Music in unequal beats reveals the richness of many cultures and gives you an irresistible desire to dance!
1. groups of five
This first track presents groups of five pulses. We hear both the duration of each group and the five beats. It will allow us to work on the global feeling of the groups of 5, before being concerned with different measures of 5 beats.
- Begin by stretching various parts of the body, with one movement per group of 5. Make sure that each stretching movement begins on the first of the 5 beats and lasts until the end of the group. Use the imagination to create visual images which can be translated into movement, for example, the idea of flames rising up is an image for older children or adults; the image which would rather speak to young children would be that of chewing gum which stretches.
- Clap each note in the groups of five when they are in the soprano, taking a step on the first of each group. Draw the students’ attention to the melodic line which they must make visible in their clapping. When the beats are in the bass, step each note in the groups of five, changing direction each time. Use the arm(s) also to draw the direction and the duration of each group.
- With a partner (A and B), A walks the five beats while B shows the global value with a gesture. The interest of this lies in the interaction between the two partners. Encourage the students to keep the fluidity when changing roles (the movement needs to be continuous). For adults.
We are presenting two concepts with this work: the idea of a global value and the idea of subdividing it, in this case, into 5 regular parts. Of course, this work can be done using a variety of materials: scarves, balls, bamboo sticks, etc.
- We could also consider subdividing the long value into 2, 3 or 4 equal parts, superimposing one of these subdivisions on the division in 5: it would create a polymeter (refer to volume 10). Such work is for advanced students and adults.
10 years and up
2. five beats 3 plus 2
With this track we begin to explore the notion of unequal beats. The previous track was careful to show groups of five. In this piece we hear clearly 3 + 2 even if the sensation of five still remains strong.
Let us consider the metric aspect of this 3 + 2 piece. We have three possibilities of interpretation:
- a global understanding, with the measure at 5 equal beats, even if we feel a division into 3 + 2 (we beat at 5 beats)
- a division into two unequal measures of 3 + 2 beats each (we beat one meter at 3 and one meter at 2 alternately)
- one meter with unequal beats where the strong beat lasts longer than the weak beat (we beat in 2 beats).
- Make a movement onto the knees on the beat(s) considered as the strong beat(s), letting the hands rise slightly in the air during the whole movement. (Some will do a gesture that lasts 5 beats, others may do two gestures, the first longer than the second). What is the difference between this piece and the previous one?
To feel the 5 beats globally:
- Step the beats and change direction each measure. Stop walking and “paint” lines in the air with the arm and hand (change the direction of the lines each measure). Alternate walking and painting.
- In small groups, mirror the movement of the leader, (one movement lasts 5 beats) while staying on the spot.
- In a circle, facing a partner. “Paint” with that person, interacting. At the end of two or more measures, make a half turn so that you are facing the person on the other side of you. Paint with that person. Return to your first partner. Modify your painting so that it reflects 3 + 2. Notice that the group of 3 invites a more rounded movement, and the group of 2 a straighter movement.
To emphasize the groupings of 3 + 2:
- Walk the beat and make a swinging gesture with a scarf on the 1st and 4th beats. One can imagine taking a waltz step followed by two steps forward.
10 years and up
3. five beats 2 plus 3
This is the first track of the volume that is at a faster tempo, and we are clearly now in measures of two unequal beats. It invites us to dance in “un moto perpetuo” (perpetual motion).
- On the spot, simply transfer the weight from one foot to the other in order to feel the unequal beats, this time the short one before the long one.
- The students are spread out in the room and conduct in a 2-beat measure, on the spot, while looking at someone. When a new phrase begins, they turn to look at someone else.
- Find your own way of conducting; then transform it into a free, personal gesture which allows you to enlarge your expressive vocabulary.
- Repeat the exercise facing a partner: one partner mirrors the gestures of the other. Change roles when you wish.
- There is a melodic echo in this piece. Find a way to follow the energy of the music and express the space evoked by the echo.
- Pass the phrases from one person to the other. One person steps/dances towards someone else, who then passes the phrase to another person. Do not stop the movement: while waiting your turn, continue to do this slight transfer of weight from one foot to the other.
10 years and up
4. melody in 5_4
In this piece we can feel the sensation of a wave, with a back-and-forth movement of the music largely created by the rhythm of the 3 first beats followed by the pulse of the last two beats.
There are a variety of ways of doing this, for example:
- As for the previous track, do a movement onto the knees on the 1st and 4th beat
- Step the five beats, clapping or tapping on a tambourine beats 1 and 4. Change direction at the beginning of each measure.
- By oneself or in pairs, roll a ball on beat 1 and on beat 4.
To illustrate minor and major parts:
- Part A (the minor section): with a partner on the spot, connect with the hands. One leads the movement and the other follows; change no more frequently than every 4 measures. One could also connect to one’s partner with a bamboo stick.
- Part B (major), in a circle facing a partner, make a “Grand Chain” in 3 + 2: Practice first by walking the pulse on the spot and alternately touching the right hand of your partner on beat 1, then the left hand on beat 4 (like a handshake). Then, give the right hand to your partner on beat 1 while stepping forwards; on beat 4, take the left hand of the person coming towards you and pass him/her by on the left. Keep on passing right and left, doing alternatively 3 steps for one handshake and 2 steps for the next.
Students who are used to dancing the “Grand Chain” could even walk the rhythm of the music:
During this entire exercise, encourage the students to sing the melody.
- This piece can be the subject of a choreography of your creation.
The complete score can be found in the improvisation exercises section at the end of this document.
10 years and up
5. unequal beats in 9_8
The introduction of this track immediately signals something different!
- Become familiar with this unequal-beat meter by clapping the first note of each group (= beats). Use body percussion: choose three different places on the body to tap the beats and repeat your pattern. Imitate other students’ ideas.
- Show the three different groups (2, 3, 4) using a bean bag, passing it from one hand to the other on each beat.
- Step the beats. Encourage a “dancing” feeling.
- Pull imaginary lines in space, beginning on the first note of each group, alternating hands, always connecting the end of one movement with the beginning of the next.
- Do the same activity with a partner (A and B). Each in turn does the whole measure once. Then try sharing the pattern between A and B by doing one beat each: A = 2; B = 3; A = 4; B = 2; A = 3; B = 4 and so on. It is not necessary to continue with the same gestures (pulling lines). Any gesture would work as long as it is precise. (The challenge here is that each partner changes the group each time).
- Roll a ball on the floor between both hands, adapting the use of space and energy to the music.
- In pairs, clap the beats in the partner’s hand(s): right hand – left hand – both hands, according to the pattern 2 + 3 + 4.
- Sit in a circle, each person with a tambourine in the left hand. Tap the beats in this way: 2 = my own tambourine; 3 = tambourine of the neighbor to my right; 4 = my own tambourine; 2 = tambourine on my right, and so on. Repeat to the left, holding the tambourine in the right hand.
- Find a way to dance this pattern; for example: two steps (group of 2 and 3) and a skip (group of 4).
Experienced adolescents/adults
6. measures in 10_8
- Listen and feel the irregularity of this four-beat meter.
- Start by clapping, tapping, snapping or showing with the body the different beats.
This track has a structure which is defined by the alternance of staccato and legato sections. The change from one to the other can be heard easily, and thus, anticipated.
- Walk the first beat of the groups: staccato sections on the spot and legato sections forward, with a fluid step. Be aware that these sections are part of the same music: keep in mind this continuity when changing from one to the other.
- Find your own way to move.
- The style of this piece (whole tones) could suggest a machine. Make small groups: each student adds a movement to the “machine”. Superimpose movement patterns.
10 years and up
7. unequal meters 6_8-3_4 alternately
This piece presents an alternance of two different meters (compound and simple). It is structured by the following sequence which is played 4 times:
4 x 6/8, 4 x 3/4
2 x 6/8, 2 x 3/4
1 x 6/8, 1 x 3/4 twice
This particular track needs preparation time in order for students to have experience of 3/4 and 6/8.
- Without the music, work with groups of six 8th notes. Find a variety of exercises based on the division of the 6 pulsations in 2 groups of 3 or in 3 groups of 2.
- With the musical track, begin intuitively by finding one’s own movement which corresponds to the music (for the measures of 6/8 this will probably be some variety of a sway; for the measures of 3/4 the movement will likely be something that advances). Explore your own ideas, interact with other people.
- In a circle, establish a sway on the spot for measures at 6/8; step forwards and backwards for measures at 3/4 (with or without holding hands).
- Use a scarf to show the sway movement for 6/8. How would you move the scarf during the steps of the 3/4?
- With a partner, move face to face for the sway and invent your own movements for the 3/4. Repeat the same idea for the sway and use the measures of 3/4 to find another partner.
- These measures lend themselves to the use of a variety of materials; for example: long bamboo sticks, one per student. In pairs, hold the ends of both sticks and sway, then take your own and move freely on the 3/4 (or create with your partner another movement of the sticks).
Experienced children/adolescents and adults
8. measures in 7_8
This piece shows measures of 3 beats.
- Firstly, step the beats spontaneously, feeling the difference between the short and long beats. The sensation of shifting weight and following the different durations engages the whole body, which helps one to become aware of the meter. Draw the attention of the students to the change of foot each measure.
- Draw the measures in space by “painting the beats”.
Part B is faster and more energetic; express it freely with jumps and accents in your whole body.
- With a partner, clap the first note of each group, alternating hands. Make the quality of your gestures feel like a dance.
- Put hands palm against palm. “A” leads the movement for a certain period of time and “B” follows. Change roles. When the partners are in tune with each other, someone watching should not be able to see who is leading. Then, allow total freedom regarding who leads and who follows.
- By oneself, step the beats. At a signal, step all the divisions (eighth notes), showing the groupings and making one’s own pattern on the floor. Alternate beats and division.
- Two by two (A and B). “A” claps the beats and “B” the complementary divisions (which means the divisions of 8th notes that are not heard in the rhythm).
Change role: a) at vocal signal b) whenever each partner decides (one must never be doing the same as the other; nevertheless, in this case, there is always a short overlap before the partner adjusts).
- Do the same by stepping, still in pairs.
- Keep the ostinato rhythm by moving or dancing throughout the piece:
If you want to change the leg each time, choose to skip the trochee instead of taking two steps (skip – step – step).
10 years and up
9. irregular 9_8
This track presents the meter of 9/8 divided in two different ways. Each phrase is formed by three measures of 4 unequal beats (2 + 2 + 2 + 3) and one measure of 3 equal beats (3 + 3 + 3), this last measure acting as a sort of rest or transition measure.
The introduction (in the treble) is very clear and allows the students to listen, feel and understand the structure of the phrases, and to prepare for the movement activities.
- Explore the phrases, by drawing them freely in space. Breathe with the phrases; show them by changing the direction/orientation/level of the movements. The beginning and end of each phrase must be visually very clear, shown by the breathing.
- Sway in place, be aware of how and when the body weight is shifting.
- Show, using a scarf, the shift of weight (a light scarf helps also to express the fluidity of the music).
- Sitting or squatting on the floor, roll the ball from one hand to the other. Find a way of expressing the resting measure.
- Sitting in a circle, roll the ball from one hand to the other for the first three measures of the phrase. In the fourth measure, roll the ball to the neighboring person on one’s right (or one’s left) 3 times in a row, while receiving a ball from the neighbor on the other side. Everyone begins firstly with the ball in the right hand (roll to the neighbor on the left); then start the next phrase with the ball in the left hand and roll it to the neighbor on the right, so each phrase starts with the other hand.
- Step the rhythm of the phrases by fixing the pattern in the feet: step-step-step-skip three times + sway-sway-sway. Notice that each phrase starts with the other leg.
- Dance in a circle using the foot pattern above:
1st measure: three steps and one skip forwards (towards the center of the circle);
2nd measure: idem, backwards;
3rd measure: idem forwards;
4th measure: take three slow steps to make a half turn. The following four measures will start with the other foot, going towards the outside of the circle.
- Interact with a partner by dancing freely. Find your own choreography patterns for the four measures.
Experienced children/adolescents and adults
10. unequal 8_8A
This quiet piece, in 3 irregular beats, has a clear circular movement.
- Show this lying down, by drawing shapes with arms or legs. What kind of shape do you want to draw for each measure? Draw one measure with the arms and the next with the legs, for example.
- Sing the melody and draw the length of the measure using a step or a movement of the foot (take a step or initiate the movement on the strong beat). This slow tempo is challenging for balance. Bend the knees and try to walk or move with fluidity (legato), which requires the body to be in constant but subtle movement. Clap or indicate by another movement of the arms the 3 beats. Give a direction to the movement which changes at each measure.
- Step all the beats:
- Sing the melody and clap the rhythm:
- Step the beats and clap the division (eighth notes).
- Do the same but remove the first eighth note of each group (complementary division).
- In groups of three: A draws the measure, B moves on beats or division, C sings, claps or steps the melody. Change roles.
- In groups or four or five: pass the rhythm by clapping one beat each. It is important to be always aware of where we are in the measure – perhaps find a way to indicate the strong beat. At the same time, make sure that the measures flow. Being in a group of 4 or 5 makes me become aware that every time I have my turn, I am responsible for a different beat in the measure – hence the challenge and importance of fluidity.
Experienced children/adolescents and adults
11. unequal 8_8B
This piece suggests a certain attitude. Ask the participants for their impressions. Does it evoke Greek mythology? aliens? robots? It might feel angular, with a cold and metallic-like atmosphere.
- Choose three parts of the body and move them one after the other, always in the same order, according to what you feel about the music. At the vocal signal, change for three other parts of the body.
- In small circles, one person moves during one measure (3 movements) and the next person moves in his/her own way (also 3 movements) during the next one, and so on.
- Imagine how aliens might relate to each other: Students are spread out in the room; each person moves on the beats, looking for a buddy: they don’t speak, they can only move (body language, visual contact). The participants choose either to adjust their gestures to each other, or to keep their own pattern; the mirror works, or it does not work. If it doesn’t, we could imagine that the protagonists go and find another pair ready to integrate them, so the groups could increase in size.
Advanced level
12. unequal 8_8C
- Find ways of showing the three beats in the body with a gesture for each beat. Change the part of the body frequently; for example, a movement of the shoulders, or the hips, knees, and so on.
- Use a scarf to show the beats. The movement of the scarf can be legato, but it can also express accents when held between two hands, alone or with a partner.
- Still with a scarf, fix a pattern of 3 movements, for example: “toss, catch, catch”, or “up, middle, down”. Shape your movements according to the music, in order for the scarves to reflect the changes in energy.
Get inspired by the ideas in the preceding tracks which use unequal divisions of groups of eight.
8 years with experience and up