from the Spring 2001 issue

How do you teach dance rhythms to early-level students?

Belinda Green's article continues . . .

Now examine a contrasting dance-the "Bourree in E minor" attributed to Leopold Mozart.

The bourree is a bright, quick dance in 4/4 or cut time. An important rhythmic feature of the bourrÈe is the upbeat, which begins each four-bar phrase in this piece. When the upbeat is compared to beats 1 and 3, it is often referred to as the "weak" beat, but I would prefer descriptive words such as light and buoyant. The upbeat can be played with an upward gesture of the hand and a light staccato touch. This upward movement is followed by an arc down to the first beat of the next measure. It would look like this, up to tempo:

To see the segment performed as described, click below:

208 kB, QuickTime movie file

The teaching steps for this would be:

• 1. Describe the upbeat (light, buoyant) and the movement (upward motion, slight pushing-off motion with the finger)
• 2. Show the motion of the hand/wrist/arm as you play the upbeat to the downbeat.
• 3. Show the weight and the touch of the upbeat and downbeat by playing on your student's forearm.
• 4. Have the student practice this motion on the lid of the piano without the distraction of hearing the sound.
• 5. Have the student practice this motion while playing the notes on the piano.
• 6. Ask the student to listen to the sound and analyze it-was the upbeat light and buoyant-sounding? Did the downbeat have enough emphasis? Was the downbeat stronger in tone than the upbeat?

Another approach in teaching the choreography is to have students verbalize the motion that they are trying to make while playing first on the lid of the piano and then on the keys.

For instance, in mm. 9-10 of this "Bourree," the student can say the wrist/arm movements out loud while playing: "up down-up down-up down-up up."

To see the segment performed as described, click below:

345 kB, QuickTime movie file

Rhythm needs to be felt physically in any kind of music but this is especially so in dance music. Each dance has specific rhythmic characteristics. These are accompanied by complimentary movements and gestures that need to be planned in advance, just as a dancer plans the steps and movements of the choreography of the dance.

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Biography

BELINDA GREEN holds a masters in piano performance and pedagogy from Northwestern University. She is a regular contributor to the new music reviews for Clavier and she has written a book, The Piano Teacher's Guide: Grades 1 and 2, for Conservatory Canada. She has been active as an adjudicator and examiner in Canada and the United States for the past fourteen years. She lives with her husband and two children in Evanston, Illinois, where she maintains a private studio in addition to teaching at the Music Arts School in Highland Park.