Motor Rhythms: Bowing + Articulation ~ Music For Violin

A) What are “Motor Rhythms?”

Motor rhythms are rhythmic patterns that repeat over and over again throughout the course of any piece of music. Motor rhythms are the engines that drive the pulse of the music forward and help the music groove. Motor rhythms also help to determine the form of the music. For instance, a specific motor rhythm may be played during the verse of a song, but not the chorus.When you hear the motor rhythm, you know where you are in the song.Specific motor rhythms are often closely associated with the musical cultures from which they come. Learning to listen for motor rhythms and then to differentiate between them is an important step in the development of your musical understanding. Every musical tradition utilizes a set of rhythmic building blocks that helps make it unique. From great national traditions to regional, ethnic, religious and other traditions, you will find this to be the case.

B) SAY IT, THEN PLAY IT

Music teachers often say, “If you can say it, you can play it.” Learning to verbalize the rhythm you are playing can be very helpful when you need to communicate with another musician or when you are simply trying to better understand the music yourself. There are many rhythmically descriptive languages already in existence that you might know already. However, I want you to invent your own rhythmic language.By using combinations of fragments and words, you can create your own rhythmic language. The combinations you use to describe your rhythms can change every time. What is absolutely vital is that rhythms you spell out verbally are said “in time.” What does that mean? That means that every motor rhythm you say or play is created within the context of a steady beat.The pulse, the 1-2-3-4 that makes up the rhythmic foundation of all music,must stay steady. If you can’t feel the beat, your motor rhythm and your musical language will not make sense.Here are some sample combinations you might choose to employ to help you verbally communicate rhythm:

Boom Bot Bee Bah Doom Dot Dee Dah Fee Fay Foo Fig, Etc… You get the picture…

C) PRACTICE: Motor Rhythms from around the world

• Say these rhythms several times using the syllables I have provided below. Or feel free to create your own … After saying each rhythm several times, play it on your violin.