Basics of Rhythmic Improvisation

Summary

Mix and match activities to create a fun lesson on the basics of rhythmic improvisation. Integrate solfeg.io in teaching your students to improvise short rhytmical bits in a popular song.

🎲 What’s included in the activities:

• Learning the definition of improvisation and discussing about it
• Learning to improvise a two-bar rhythm in a group
• Choosing a song
• Improvising a rhythm part to an excerpt from a popular song
• Playing a pre-determined rhythm part in a popular song and improvising their arrangement
• Analyzing and comparing different rhythm patterns in a popular song

💻 Materials:

• Solfeg.io web app best used with Chrome browser
• Projector or computer and access to WIFI
• Simple percussion instruments, for example, hand drums, shakers, claves etc. (optional)
• Rhythm Cards (download at the end of this section)

Everyday Improvisation

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn the definition of improvisation and discuss about it

🎲 Activity:

• Find out what students know about improvisation.

What are your associations when you hear the word 'improvisation'?

Can you explain what improvisation is?

• Elaborate on students' answers and shortly explain what improvisation is (The creation of a musical work, or the final form of a musical work, as it is being performed. It may involve the work's immediate composition by its performers, or the elaboration or adjustment of an existing framework. Grove Music Online)
• In a broader sense, we improvise every day - we might choose a slightly different path to school, create or change a recipe while cooking or maybe even improvise in a maths test if we haven't studied enough.

When was the last time you improvised? What did you do?

Call and Response

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Learn to improvise a two-bar rhythm in a group

🎲 Activity:

• Give class some simple percussion instruments or discuss what types of body percussion could be used. Each student can choose a different instrument and/or play style and even combine several sound sources. Be free to explore!
• Start with achieving a steady pulse - either ask one student to steadily play quarter notes or put the metronome on. Ask the class to count from 1 to 4 repeatedly.
• Improvise a call - a rhythm that is two bars long, four beats per bar.
• The class improvises the response together - a rhythm of identical length.
• You can also ask individual students to play the response individually.

Improvise the Missing Rhythm

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Improvise a rhythm part to an excerpt from a popular song

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• Choose a song from the ‘Song suggestions’ list, for example, 'Blinding Lights' by The Weeknd. Tell your students about the song! You can pick some facts from the song description.
• Mute the rhythm tracks under 'Controls' - 'Volume'. Make sure 'Notation' is NOT selected under 'Tools' - 'Visuals'! Students should not see the rhythm lines for the following exercises.
• Play an excerpt of the selected song. Choose a section with a (usually) strong rhythmical presence, for example, Chorus 2 or include Verse 2 and/or Pre-Chorus 2 as well.
• Students might notice that the song sounds somewhat different than normally.

Do you notice something unusual?

Is something missing in the song?

• Loop a section of choice. Keep the rhythm tracks muted!
• Urge students to choose percussion instruments and/or body percussion types that suit best to the song.
• Either individual students or groups take turns to improvise a rhythm part to the looped song excerpt.
• Try asking students to create a specific mood while improvising their rhythm. For example, calm could be achieved playing longer rhythmical values, such as whole notes or half notes, but joy and vigour could be characterized by sixteenth notes.
• Try layering different rhythm improvisations - ask two (or more!) students or groups to play together.

Rhythm Jigsaw

🕐 Time: 10 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Play a pre-determined rhythm part in a popular song and improvise their arrangement

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• To improvise, you don't have to make everything up 'out of the blue'. You can also use fixed elements and improvise their arrangement (you can mention aleatoric music where players are allowed to arrange musical elements in different sequences)!
• Distribute Rhythm Cards. Each student draws one card.
• Make sure they understand how to play their rhythm pattern and let them practice on their own for a bit. They can play either simple percussion instruments or do body percussion.
• Play the looped song excerpt with the rhythm lines muted and the notation invisible. Students take turns and play the different rhythms one after another.

Students can play in order of how they are sitting in the class.

To make it more fun and allow some movement, you could ask students to stand in a row in order of their birthdates - those born in January at the beginning of the line - and so on until December!

One student could take up the role of conductor and indicate the next player. Make sure to do it early enough to give time for the next player to prepare!

You can even try layering different patterns - indicate two or more students to keep repeating their patterns at the same time.

Original Rhythm

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Analyze and compare different rhythm patterns in a popular song

🎶 Recommended Songs:

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🎲 Activity:

• Play the song excerpt once again, this time unmute the rhythm tracks and show the notation.
• Ask students to follow the notation and find which Rhythm Cards contain the rhythm patterns from the song!
• Discuss with students:

How does the mood change when the original rhythm tracks are added?

What's the difference between the original and students' improvisations?

What do you prefer - the original or any of the improvisations? Why?

• Bonus: Divide the students into three groups, assign each rhythm line to one group, and try playing the original rhythm lines with the class!

Reflection

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Consolidate the knowledge on the basics of rhythmic improvising

🎲 Activity:

• Talk about students' experience during the class.

How did you feel while improvising?

Which improvisation did you enjoy the most - making things up or doing a collective improvisation while following fixed rhythm patterns?

• Point the attention to the fact that the instrumentation was improvised too, not only the sounds they played.

Did you play an instrument or do body percussion you had never tried before?

Did you find a new way to play an instrument?

Beyond the Lesson

🕐 Time: 5 min

🎯 Objectives:

• Solidify the students' knowledge on rhythmic improvisation

🎲 Activity:

Challenge students to go beyond the lesson by...

• Exploring the sound library and doing a rhythmic improvisation along a different song.

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