Word metaphors for rhythmic note groupings

[quantum]

I'd like to know what word or sentence metaphors you use to teach specific rhythmic groupings.  For example:

wat-er-mel-on (4 quarters)
app-le (2 halfs)
straw-ber-ry (half, quarter, quarter)


For polyrhythms:
Nice cup of tea  (2 against 3)
Pass the golden butter (3 against 4)


What do you use for dotted eighth, sixteenth?

[arensky]

Even five -  "oppurtunity".

[chocolatedog]

Even five -  "oppurtunity".

Or even "Hippopotamus"........

[overscore]

There's one system based on 'pie' but I can't remember them all (though you could probably make them up easily enough):

Pie
App-le pie
Huck-le-berr-y pie
Choc-o-late pie

etc

[chocolatedog]

I use various drinks for notes adding up to a quarter:

Quarter note = TEA
2 eighths = COFFEE
Triplet eighths = PINEAPPLE (yes, I know it's not strictly a drink - think juice!!!)
4 sixteenths = COCACOLA
Eighths & 2 sixteenths = STRAWBERRY (think juice again!!!)
2 sixteenths & an eighth = LEMONADE
Dotted eighth & a sixteenth = WHISKY (has to be said WHISSSSKY to try to get the rhythm accurate - am still looking for another word that is better - although thinking COcacoLA might help......)

For dotted quarter followed by an eighth I get the pupils to clap and say TEA  COFFEE first and then while saying, only clap on the TEA and the -FFEE bit of COFFEE. Plus we have a song in this country called "Bob the Builder" (kiddies TV programme) which I use to further illustrate that dotted rhythm followed by 2 further quarter notes.......

  Gosh - that post was hard work........having to think in quarters etc instead of crotchets like I usually do..................!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[luvslive]

I'll try to add some that haven't already been noted.

four sixteenths followed by 2 eighths: pep.per.o.ni  piz.za

for football fans-
eighth followed by two sixteenths: line back.er
two eighths tac.kle
two sixteenths followed by an eighth: quart.er back

[pianistimo]

this is very cool.  i think i'll print these out.  kodaly uses something similar.  will have to get the book 'sound thinking' out.  there were some songs that expressed rhythm in this way.

[pianorama]

wow this is confusing, you make a simple concept sound very confusing. What the hell are you all talking about? Can't you just clap it aloud for them? Or use numbers? Like for counting out loud my former piano teacher would count a number for each quarter, 'and' for an eighth and 'a' for a sixteenth note. So the like for the beginning of Here Comes the Bride would sound like: one-and-a-two. played to the (exact) words "here comes the bride". And I think that is far more simple a concept. Tea? Strawberry? Whissssky??

[pianobabe_56]

My teacher uses McDonalds words for her young students, and now I've started using them with mine. They love it!

Quarter = Coke
Two Eigths = French Fry
Triplet = Cheese-bur-ger
Sixteenths = Quar-ter-pound-er

[tds]

My teacher uses McDonalds words for her young students, and now I've started using them with mine. They love it!

Quarter = Coke
Two Eigths = French Fry
Triplet = Cheese-bur-ger
Sixteenths = Quar-ter-pound-er

your teacher should receive a commission or something from the mcdonald company...

[dnephi]

Peanut butter (With an australian accent)

[luvslive]

wow this is confusing, you make a simple concept sound very confusing. What the hell are you all talking about? Can't you just clap it aloud for them? Or use numbers? Like for counting out loud my former piano teacher would count a number for each quarter, 'and' for an eighth and 'a' for a sixteenth note. So the like for the beginning of Here Comes the Bride would sound like: one-and-a-two. played to the (exact) words "here comes the bride". And I think that is far more simple a concept. Tea? Strawberry? Whissssky??

It really isn't confusing as long as you don't use too many systems at once.  Pick a system and stick with it, unless of course it isn't working.  My band teacher in High School used the football counting system pretty much exclusively..probably because HS boys think they're tough and this caught their attention.  For my younger students I use a word system.  For kids over 10, I just use the usual syllables 1 e & a that everyone uses after a point.

[chocolatedog]

wow this is confusing, you make a simple concept sound very confusing. What the hell are you all talking about? Can't you just clap it aloud for them? Or use numbers? Like for counting out loud my former piano teacher would count a number for each quarter, 'and' for an eighth and 'a' for a sixteenth note. So the like for the beginning of Here Comes the Bride would sound like: one-and-a-two. played to the (exact) words "here comes the bride". And I think that is far more simple a concept. Tea? Strawberry? Whissssky??

Some children can't relate to numbers and find word rhythms easier to understand aurally. I've often noticed children trying to play and count will adjust their counting speed to their playing and not the other way around whereas a sentence/ word gives them an aural image to remember and work with...it's really actually very simple.......and they ENJOY the words, which is more to the point.....

[keyofc]

I feel the same as pianorama - but it does seem to work for some people.
I have noticed some of my students who have music in their regulary school program are taught this way.

For those of you who do teach this way - I'm curious - how do you make the transition later when they are working on more complicated pieces?  Or how about you?  Do some of you find it easier to count this way too?

It seems like the more complicated it gets - you'd be saying a lot of unrelated words and making people hungry too

[quantum]

Counting in even intervals and superimposing rhythmic figures on top of a grid of even pulse is an abstract concept.  Sometimes it is just too much for kids. 

Ask a child to count, they'll do it easily.  Ask a child to imitate a simple rhymic figure, they'll do it easily.   Ask a child to count while clapping a rhythmic figure, the results may vary greatly.  Have you ever tried to correct a child's rhythm by asking them to count?  How many times have you seen the child adjust the counting to fit into what they think the rhythmic figure should sound like. 

As adults we may think using the rhythm of words sounds more complicated, because we tend towards investigating meaning towards many things in everyday life.  A child will approach this with a sense of wonder and ingenuity that everyday words can be used in such creative fashion.  The uniqueness of this melding between musical rhythm and speech also helps bond the rhythmic patterns into their memory.

I also think this has a lot to do with a child's understanding of the space-time continuum.  A child can be taught to tell the time at an early age, but studies have shown that a childs perception of the passage of time does not develop until much later.  For example: a child may be able to point out how long 5 mins is on a clock, but cannot estimate the passage of 5 mins if a clock were not present. 

[amanfang]

I don't use this for everyone, but especially with rhythmically insecure students, it seems to really help.  I have students that if they try to learn something on their own, the rhythm is waaaay distorted when they come play it for me.  The verbal/aural association of the words helps them a lot.  And sometimes if they can remember the words, they will implement it on their own.  Even for adult students, it seems to be a good way to get them to feel the rhythm.  Granted it doesn't help teach meter per se, but at least the rhythm is steady.  In fact just today I was working with a student on a Chopin piece, and this one measure was strawberry, strawberry, university, university, pear.  To get a beat of 3, 3, 5, 5, and end on 1.  It worked.  Another student in a much lower level was playing a little Handel piece, and the rhythm was the same for the whole piece.  Dotted eigth/sixteenth, two sixteenths/eigth, and then two eighths.  So the words: I - - like buttery popcorn, for the entire piece.  Worked for her too.  She is probably my most rhythmically insecure, BUT she is getting much better.

[amanfang]

Also, for some "syncopated" rhythms -

For example, eighth, quarter, eighth, quarter, quarter - I use Ba-NA-na Ap-ple

[chocolatedog]

For more complex rhythms (eg syncopations) I have "yellow banana" "green banana" "tie me kangaroo [down]" (from a Rolf Harris song) "Winnie the Pooh" "yellow and mellow" etc. A lot of pupils seem to get the feel of the rhythms far more easily this way....

[pianorama]

For kids over 10, I just use the usual syllables 1 e & a that everyone uses after a point.

 YES! That makes sense! My teacher ever since I was 7 used that and I didn't ever really think it was too hard... but whatever everyone is different, I guess to some people, whissssssky makes more sense than 1 e and a 2

[amanfang]

Yes, that works for rhythmically intuitive people, but for students with chronic rhythm problems, 1 e & a gets quite warped and they make it fit however they want it to fit.  I have found that I can eventually switch to numeric, but sometimes it just takes a while.

[keyofc]

As long as it works for you!

I think I'd feel overwhelmed getting the right fruits down!

Amanfang,  Did you learn couting this way?

[amanfang]

No, I learned the traditional way.  All numbers.  I really don't even remember unit counting (like counting quarters 1, 1, 1, 1).  I have always been taught metric counting.  With students that I start, I also use metric counting. 
With transfer students that can't count, I begin trying multiple approaches.  I have found that the word metaphors work often.  Some might call it a "crutch," but I have also found that once they get comfortable with it, they no longer need it. 
My preference of course is metric counting.  I feel that meter is quite important in determining the character and interpretation of a piece.  But there are some who just don't get metric counting at first.

[tds]

try "tds" for your triplets. tis the most effective, me think. ( yeah right )

for loud, yet most articulated whole note, try "SPA!"

tee

[quantum]

"Mud tur-tle" for quarter, eighth, eighth
"Salamander" 4 even sixteenths

as suggested by my 8 yr old student.

[galonia]

I personally dislike using word groupings - I find they distract me!  So I never teach them to my students.

Any students who start from scratch with me are taught to count aloud and clap rhythms from the very beginning.  I find this prevents most rhythmic problems that may occur later on.

For transfer students who aren't in the habit of counting aloud, I generally encourage them to start doing so, and counting aloud while clapping again solves many problems.

But it's true, some students just don't have a good feel for rhythm by counting aloud and clapping.  For these, I don't get them to clap, I get them to sit and tap the rhythm out on their knees or on their shoulders.  I also get them to stand up and walk and skip things out around the room with their feet.  I find engaging more of the student's body really helps.

And imitation probably helps a lot - I never get a student with rhythm problems to go do these things by him/herself.  They know they have problems, and the lack of confidence doesn't help.  I'll usually show them first, and then do the exercise again with them.

[cjp_piano]

wow this is confusing, you make a simple concept sound very confusing. What the hell are you all talking about? Can't you just clap it aloud for them? Or use numbers?

You can, but that's BORING!!!  What kid wants to go " 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and on and on and on ?!

[cjp_piano]

I'd like to know what word or sentence metaphors you use to teach specific rhythmic groupings.  For example:

wat-er-mel-on (4 quarters)
app-le (2 halfs)
straw-ber-ry (half, quarter, quarter)


For polyrhythms:
Nice cup of tea  (2 against 3)
Pass the golden butter (3 against 4)


What do you use for dotted eighth, sixteenth?

All of these things and what others have said are good ideas . . .

Just be careful because someone might think of "strawberry" as a triplet, while it may sound like long, short short to someone else.

To make sure there's no confusion, usually I ask the student to come up the word or words.  I might vocalize the rhythm on da's or bum's or whatever, and they say, " oh, that sounds like strawberry pie"  or whatever.

If they come up with it, there's a  greater chance they can reproduce the rhythm when practicing at home 

To get a swing feel, I like, "cheese doctor, cheese doctor"