How to practice 'Rhythmic Dictation'

[rtheunissen]

Dear people,

In a couple of months, I'm going to audition for a conservatory. However, I'm still really struggling with some parts of the theory test, especially the rhythmic dictation. I'm pretty sure they ask you to write down the rhythm that the play (I think they tap instead of playing the actual keys) in either 3/4 or 6/8. However, the multitasking between memorizing what I hear (in every bar separately, all together, and where bars start and stop because they play 4 bars in a row), writing it down AND finding the note values (so for example a dotted 8th, followed by a 16th then 2 8ths and a quarter) is killing me. So I really want to practice this, however, I of course only see my teacher once a week and I can't find a website where I can practice this (because I believe musictheory.net doesn't have exercises for this). 

Does anyone know of a way to practice this, perhaps a website or exercises I can do by myself to get better?

Thanks in advance!

Kind regards.

[ignomike]

Pretty easy to self-teach this fortunately. Do you have notation software? Musescore is free if not.
Just invent a rhythm in your head or take one from a song you know. Try to write it out. Test yourself by inputting it and playing it back.

Tips:

The beat is everything. Notate each beat individually - If you notate independent from the pulse you will make many more mistakes and also won't become familiar with the typical patterns as fast.

There aren't many common rhythm patterns. I imagine they will avoid 32nds. Work on 3/4 first as it's more limited than 6/8.

Consider starting by notating each 16th note pattern i.e 4 16ths; 8th followed by 2 16ths; dotted 8th followed by 16th etc. Get familiar with the sound and feel of each.

Don't mix up 3 16ths with a triplet! If you're keeping pulse it shouldn't be hard also the triplets sound smoother.

[quantum]

However, the multitasking between memorizing what I hear (in every bar separately, all together, and where bars start and stop because they play 4 bars in a row), writing it down AND finding the note values (so for example a dotted 8th, followed by a 16th then 2 8ths and a quarter) is killing me.

I would advise not to approach the task in this way.  Reading music off the sheet has a different optimized workflow than notating rhythm from something one hears.  The way you describe your process is akin to building a house by starting with wall art, then adding paint, then adding drywall.  Will it hold together, of course not, because there is no frame and foundation to put all those finishes on to.  When we view our house in daily life, we mostly look at its finishes.  However, those finishes are not what keep the house standing.  The really important stuff is behind walls, in attics, under floors - the framing and foundation. 

Work in layers, don't try to notate the finished product from beginning to end in a single pass.  Use many passes and add a little bit of detail with every pass.  Accept the fact that you may need to make quick corrections, and that later passes may provide evidence to correct data entered in earlier passes.  There is no need to work linearly, fill in where you can, leave blanks for the next pass.

Work from the entire passage as a whole first.  Once you have a concept of the entire passage as single unit, then you can break it down into smaller units of measures, and then beats, then beat subdivisions.  Don't put off writing something down for the sake of working in a linear manner.  There is no need to complete filling in beats and measures in the order which they are heard.

Start by making yourself a grid.  Write down the given metre, and draw out your bar lines before hearing the first tap or note.  For the purpose of rhythmic dictation exercises, it is advisable to give fixed physical space on the manuscript paper for given note values.

For example:

Code: [Select]

Half note gets this much space: o--- ----
Quarter note gets this much space:  o---
Eighth note gets this much space:  o-

Think of a piano roll, or music box, or if you have worked with MIDI in a DAW, the piano roll view.  What you are going to do during the playback or tapback by the examiner is to make dots or tick marks on the staff paper.  Not notes, not stems, not marks that resemble standard notation.  Just dots that mark the onset and duration of a note.  Add, delete, correct as necessary.  Revise, repeat.

If you have ever done ticker tape labs when studying physics, this is another way of thinking about it.  Which in this case the speed of the tape is constant, and the duration of the mark is variable. 

With every playback you should be checking the accuracy of your work, as well as adding detail.  Only once you are reasonably assured of the accuracy of your work, should you begin filling in the actual music notation.  Most of the drawing of the notation happens in the latter stages of the exercise. 

What you are aiming to do is minimize the amount of calculation needed during playback.  Trying to figure out if it is a quarter, dotted quarter, triplet eighth, etc. during the playback is an inefficient use of time.  Similarly, trying to calculate how much physical space to leave between drawing notes is an inefficient use of time, therefore by using a grid, that work is delegated in a logical manner.  Don't attempt to analyze the passage before you have collected sufficient data.  Avoid the trap of analysis paralysis while playback is happening. 

Don't think of the exercise as needing to quickly memorize a bunch of data.  Think of it as developing the agility to document incoming data in real time, then formatting it into musical notation so others can understand it.  Unlike rhythmic clap back, with rhythmic dictation you have the tools of paper and pencil available to you, use them. 

If this is a purely rhythmic exercise, you can substitute staff paper for graph paper used for math.  From there just draw out your bar lines. 

Rhythmic dictation is really an exercise in time management.  One needs to notate time values of notes, as well as complete the exercise within the allotted time frame. 

It would be well advised to develop skill and efficiency in rhythmic dictation.  The natural progression from this exercise is dictation that involves both pitch and rhythm, another level of complexity.  If you develop good habits with rhythmic dictation, you can apply them going forward to melodic dictation.

[jgallag]

Leave out the noteheads first. It takes time to draw those little circles. Draw the stems only, and put a dot where you need to - you'll have a much easier time getting the rhythm in as you hear it. Also, as quantum said, they will play the rhythm for you more than once, so think in passes. Tap the beat in your foot as you listen, and see if you can chant/tap the rhythm from memory once you've heard it.