Recommended approaches to improving reading rhythm in standard notation; measuring progress.

[matthewbrown]

I've begun working on a much-neglected part of my musical education by working with Louis Bellson's book, Modern Reading Text in 4/4 and Rhythmic Training by Robert Starer again. Right now, I'm using a metronome and practicing both on and off the bass, counting aloud, including the sub-divisions. If you have had some success using a particular approach or approaches, I would love to hear from you.

FYI: I studied jazz at U. Miami for two years and played professionally, usually just reading lead sheets, in a variety of styles. I've only recently started taking gigs that involve reading a lot of written-out parts, mainly theater gigs and some jazz and Latin dates.

 

[Don Kasper]

working with Louis Bellson's book, Modern Reading Text in 4/4

+ 1 Trillion!
Good on ya'.

 

[Wasnex]

IMHO consider making flash cards for the patterns that you find most challenging. The idea is to get to the point where you don't have to count out common syncopations. It should be as automatic as possible.

Specific genres often have unique syncopations that are absent or uncommon in other genres. For example: funk, jazz, and classical tend to use different syncopations. You might get good at reading funk and struggle with jazz or classical. IMHO if you know you will be playing music in an unfamiliar genre, it can be helpful to review common syncopations for the genre.

Also the way shared syncopations look can vary significantly across genres because of the level of subdivisions used. Here's an extreme example.

 

[matthewbrown]

IMHO consider making flash cards for the patterns that you find most challenging. The idea is to get to the point where you don't have to count out common syncopations. It should be as automatic as possible.

Specific genres often have unique syncopations that are absent or uncommon in other genres. For example: funk, jazz, and classical tend to use different syncopations. You might get good at reading funk and struggle with jazz or classical. IMHO if you know you will be playing music in an unfamiliar genre, it can be helpful to review common syncopations for the genre.

Also the way shared syncopations look can vary significantly across genres because of the level of subdivisions used. Here's an extreme example.
View attachment 7250783

Thanks, that's some good advice! I find I have the most trouble reading cut time when I'm doing gigs, partly because of the ambiguity ("Is this 4/4 or 2/2? Only the conductor knows for sure!") and funk rhythms.

 

[dune]

“Dance Band Reading and Interpretation” by Alan Raph might be helpful.

 

[matthewbrown]

“Dance Band Reading and Interpretation” by Alan Raph might be helpful.

Yeah, I think that one's on my "final exam!"

 

[mambo4]

Twice a week is "treadmill day" at the gym. I take a printed copy of Cliff Engle's rhythm exercises with me,
and practice reading rhythms for 30 minutes while my feet keep tempo.
It is fantastic distraction from what would otherwise be mind-numbingly boring, and a 30 minute run flies by.
I've tried "real" music with pitch too but the bounce of my running makes parsing lines and spaces too hard.
(also: health)

Early on I used konnakol vocalizations to help decipher the subdivisions
but only at first, I since moved on just imagining a the rhythms with a click or clave sound in my mind's ear

Another thing I try to do , which I picked up from a Hal Galper video,
Is to imagine the notated rhythm with that clave sound really really loud.
I want to train my brain-eye-ear connection to parse those rhythms with as much vividness and intensity as I can.
As Hal says: "you can only play the way you hear, the problem is your aural imagination is not alive, not vivid enough for you to play it"

it's also useful to appreciate that many rhythmic patterns and ideas have well established names
clave, tresillo, samba, bembe, maqsum, big four, second line, Purdie shuffle and so on
A maxim form another discipline "If it has a name, learn it" may apply here.

Recently have noticed I can read ahead at least for simpler rhythms, so I'm trying to lean into that.
Glance at the bar then look ahead and try to recall the whole figure as I look at the next bar.
Sometimes the rhythms are too complex for that and still force me to 'read on the beat'

 

[bass12]

I've found Jeff Berlin's reading method to be especially useful. I've also found that writing out rhythms helps solidify the information. After a while you'll begin to see rhythmic cells as blocks, no longer in need of deciphering. I'd also ditch the metronome when reading through new information, because it will only trip you up.

 

[coyote1]

The Bellson book was at the core of my drum education - along with Ted Reed’s Syncopation.

The one thing I can suggest that eludes a lot of folks is this: SLOW practice with the metronome. Simple clapping of hands. Set it to, say, 50bpm. Now clap with it, on beat. The key here is that you do NOT want to hear the metronome! You want to ingrain the time into the core of your being, to the point that you are not playing TO the click but are instead co-creating the time WITH the click. And not just for a few seconds. Do it for five minutes without ever hearing the metronome.

When you get it at that tempo, slow it down a bit. When you get that, slow it down again. Can you get your internal time to the point that you can do five minutes at 30bpm, which is one clap every two seconds?

 

[dfp]

The Latin Bass Book by Oscar Stagnero

and the bible, Standing in The Shadows of Motown. Yes some of transcriptions get a note or 2 wrong here or there but it’s still overall killer and all the funk rhythms you will likely encounter (and then some) in any charted gig are there.

 

[matthewbrown]

Twice a week is "treadmill day" at the gym. I take a printed copy of Cliff Engle's rhythm exercises with me,
and practice reading rhythms for 30 minutes while my feet keep tempo.
It is fantastic distraction from what would otherwise be mind-numbingly boring, and a 30 minute run flies by.
I've tried "real" music with pitch too but the bounce of my running makes parsing lines and spaces too hard.
(also: health)

Early on I used konnakol vocalizations to help decipher the subdivisions
but only at first, I since moved on just imagining a the rhythms with a click or clave sound in my mind's ear

Another thing I try to do , which I picked up from a Hal Galper video,
Is to imagine the notated rhythm with that clave sound really really loud.
I want to train my brain-eye-ear connection to parse those rhythms with as much vividness and intensity as I can.
As Hal says: "you can only play the way you hear, the problem is your aural imagination is not alive, not vivid enough for you to play it"

it's also useful to appreciate that many rhythmic patterns and ideas have well established names
clave, tresillo, samba, bembe, maqsum, big four, second line, Purdie shuffle and so on
A maxim form another discipline "If it has a name, learn it" may apply here.

Recently have noticed I can read ahead at least for simpler rhythms, so I'm trying to lean into that.
Glance at the bar then look ahead and try to recall the whole figure as I look at the next bar.
Sometimes the rhythms are too complex for that and still force me to 'read on the beat'

Great stuff! I've been training myself to look ahead, and it's starting to work. I'm hoping it will pay off on my next sight-reading challenge.

 

[matthewbrown]

The Bellson book was at the core of my drum education - along with Ted Reed’s Syncopation.

The one thing I can suggest that eludes a lot of folks is this: SLOW practice with the metronome. Simple clapping of hands. Set it to, say, 50bpm. Now clap with it, on beat. The key here is that you do NOT want to hear the metronome! You want to ingrain the time into the core of your being, to the point that you are not playing TO the click but are instead co-creating the time WITH the click. And not just for a few seconds. Do it for five minutes without ever hearing the metronome.

When you get it at that tempo, slow it down a bit. When you get that, slow it down again. Can you get your internal time to the point that you can do five minutes at 30bpm, which is one clap every two seconds?

Thanks for the reminder about Ted Reed's book. I'm going to include that one in the rotation.

 

[brianrost]

Wasnex,

What the heck is that chart? Ia that very lat note a 1/1024 note?

I can’t even see the flags well enough to ID them on the fly, never mind trying to play them. Waaaaaaaay above my pay grade!

 

[Ed Fuqua]

I'd also ditch the metronome when reading through new information, because it will only trip you up.

For learning a piece, sure. But if you’re practicing sight reading, the time pressure of a steady tempo is the thing that creates real life conditions.
Sight reading is kind of the opposite of learning a piece of music.

 

[matthewbrown]

For learning a piece, sure. But if you’re practicing sight reading, the time pressure of a steady tempo is the thing that creates real life conditions.
Sight reading is kind of the opposite of learning a piece of music.

This is a great point. I've found that to improve my sight reading, a slow tempo with a metronome is the best starting point. I've also found that practicing sight reading on classical guitar has helped my bass sight reading, because some of the skills transfer, especially the habit of looking ahead. It's generally accepted on classical guitar that you want to work on sight reading pieces that are several grades lower than the pieces you're learning. That's why the Cliff Engel approach works -- by breaking out the rhythm reading, you're simplifying the task.

 

[bass12]

For learning a piece, sure. But if you’re practicing sight reading, the time pressure of a steady tempo is the thing that creates real life conditions.
Sight reading is kind of the opposite of learning a piece of music.

I totally agree. What I got from the OP is that his reading is shaky and that he specifically wants to improve his reading of rhythms. That suggests to me that he needs to solidify some basics and for that I would avoid using a metronome.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Rhythm occurs in time.

 

[mambo4]

Yah when I isolate rhythm specifically to practice sight reading I prefer some pulse going. Usually my feet as mentioned.
If I'm learnign actual pieces, I'll only use a metronome after I have a feel for playing it, to get up to speed

 

[srosenthal13]

+1 for Ted Reed Syncopation. Super versatile (at least for drummers). That and Stick Control are my desert island drum books.

Syncopation is printed in such a way that the bass drum part (quarter notes) is a stable grid that helps you get your head around the patterns. In fact, it's so cleanly laid out that one of my drum teachers had me cover over the quarter notes to force me to follow the lead patterns. That's a good "next level" approach to take with the book for improving sight reading.

 

[Ed Fuqua]

Rhythm occurs in time.

To expand on this, if reading rhythmic notation is the big "problem" area, then remove the pitch information and either clap or tap or vocalize the note values. A friend of mine, who does a lot of Broadway, TV, etc. in addition to being a jazz player, had a nice lesson on his website about reading. Not really so much on-the-spot sight reading as rehearsal reading - as you're looking over the chart you scan for problem areas and, if you identify highly syncopated sections just concentrate on the rhythms, intervallically challenging sections just concentrate on pitches and fingering.

And just read everything - Bach 2 parts, 4 parts, clarinet etudes, trombone etudes. Guy I used to play with used to read through different instrumental etude books like other folks read the newspaper, every time he had a few minutes to spare he'd pull out the guitar and a book and just start reading things. Not working on learning a piece, if you haven't gotten a passage by maybe the second time through, MOVE ON. You're working on reading, not learning.