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TableofContents

Introduction to Modern Time

Definition of Terms

Practice Guide

Rhythmic Durations and Subdivisions

Developing Rhythmic Motives

Rhythmic Accents and Punctuation

Exercises for Rhythmic Development

Common Rhythms and Groupings

About the Author

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DevelopingRhythmicMotives

Asyou’velearned,youcanusedifferentrhythmicdurationsincombinationtocreatemotivesthatyouthenuseasthebasisforyourlinesandimprovisations.

Havingastrongcommandofrhythmicmotiveswillallowyoutobuildathreadofcontinuitythroughyourimprovisedphrases.

It’llalsoallowyoutostretchtheboundariesofharmonyandmelodyfurther.

Thisisbecausetherhythmicmotivesactasthegluethatholdsyourlinesinplace,andguidestheaudiencethroughyourmelodicandharmonicexplorations.

Abigissuethatplayersfaceintheirdevelopmentisthattheyoftenthinkofharmonyandmelodyasconcretethings,suchasscales,arpeggios,andchords,

But,whenitcomestorhythm,theythinkofitasanabstractorlessconcretethingthatcan’tbepracticedinthesamewayasharmonyandmelody.

But,thisisn’ttrue.

Inordertodigdeeperintodevelopingrhythminyourplaying,thefirststepintherightdirectionistobegintothinkofrhythmasaconcretething.

Thinkingofdifferentrhythmsasnodifferentthanscalesorarpeggios.

Ifyoudothis,you’llbeabletomanipulaterhythmsandusetheminthesamewaythatyouwouldtoimprovisewithaCmajorscaleorD7arpeggio.

Inthischapter,you’lllearntechniquesthatyoucanusetodeveloprhythmicmotivesinyourplayingbyusingretrograde,pairing,mirroring,andtransposition.

Allofwhicharecommonmelodicdevicesthatimprovisersusetodeveloptheirlinesfromaharmonicandmelodicstandpoint,butinthiscaseappliedtorhythm.

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NoteonRhythmsandPracticing

Youdon’thavetohavethefirstsectionofthisbookmasteredbeforemovingontotheseexercises.

Ifyou’restillworkingondevelopingyourrhythmicdurations,noproblem,juststicktotherhythmsyou’recomfortablewithwhendevelopingrhythmicmotives.

Forexample,ifyou’reworkingonwholeandhalfnotesinyourpracticeroom,usethosetworhythmstocreateandmanipulateyourrhythmicmotives.

Asyoulearnmorerhythmicdurations,addthemintoyourmotivicpracticetoexpandyourrhythmicpallet.

Asalways,it’srecommendedthatyouuseametronomeforalloftheseexercises.

Aswell,sinceyou’regoingtobeexploringthesemotivesinthecontextofperformancesituations,practicingwithajamtrackishighlyrecommended.

RhythmicPairing

Thefirstdevicethatyou’llexploreinregardstorhythmicmotivesanddevelopmentistheconceptofrhythmicpairing.

Thisconceptiseasytounderstand,butmighttakesometimeinthepracticeroomtofullyworkitintoyourplaying.

Thisisespeciallythecasewhenyoubegintoexplorelonger,morecomplexrhythmicmotivesinyoursolos.

Rhythmicpairingistheactofcreatingashortrhythmic-motive,thatyouthenpairwithitself,inordertocreatealongerrhythmicidea.

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Thisconceptcanalsobecreatedwithtwoseparatemotivesandbypairingtwovariationsofasinglerhythmicidea,whichwillbeexploredlaterinthischapter.

Here’sasimplerhythmicmotive,twobeats,thathasbeenpairedwithitselftocreatealonger,one-baridea.

Theoriginalideawascomprisedofaquarternotefollowedbytwoeighthnotes,fillingupthefirsttwobeatsofthemeasure.

Then,thatmotivewasrepeatedinthesecondhalfofthebartocreatealongerlinethatisnowfourbeatsinlength.

Youcanstartbyplayingthisrhythmonanynote,evenopenstringsisfine.

AudioExample42

Practicing

You’llbeginbypracticingrhythmicpairingbyapplyingittoatechnicalitem,suchasascaleorarpeggio,aswellaswithinthecontextofanimprovisation.

Here’sanexampleofhowthismotivewouldbeappliedtoaCmajorscale.

Feelfreetouserhythmicmotivestopracticeanyscalesandarpeggios.

Aswell,youcanuserhythmicmotivestopracticetechnicalpermutationssuchasscalesin3rds,4ths,triadsthroughscales,andscalepatternsinall12keys.

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AudioExample43

Youcanalsopracticerhythmicpairingbyusingimprovisation,overastaticchord,chordprogression,orentiretune.

Theconceptremainsthesame,chooseamotiveandthenpairitupwithitselftoformalongeridea.

Here’sanexampleofanimprovisedlineoveraii-V-IinthekeyofFmajor,usingthesamemotivefromthepreviousexample.

There’sabackingtrackincludedsoyoucanbegintosolooverthesechangesusingthis,orany,rhythmicmotiveasthebasisforyourlines.

BackingTrack10

AudioExample44

Whenyoupracticeinthisfashion,thegoalistocontinuouslyusetherhythmicmotivethroughoutyoursolo.

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But,thatdoesn’tmeanyouhavetocontinuouslyplaynotes.

Youcanbuildrhythmicmotivesthatincorporaterestsinordertobreakthingsup,aswellasusereststomarkyourphrasingwhensoloing.

Here’sanexampleofanimprovisedlineoverthatsamechordprogression.

Inthiscase,you’regoingtousearhythmicmotive,quarternote-eighthnoterest-twosixteenthnotes,thatincorporatespaceintoyourideas.

AudioExample45

Youcanalsoapplyrhythmicpairingtoothertimesignaturesbesides4/4.

Inthefollowingexample,you’llfindanimprovisedlineoverthefirsteightbarsoftheBrazilianstandard“Corcovado.”

Itusestheoriginalmotivefromthepreviousexample,quarter-twoeighthnotes,butfeelfreetouseanymotiveyouwishinthepracticeroom.

Aswell,here’sabackingtrackforthischordprogressionthatyoucanusetoimproviseoverwiththis,orany,rhythmicmotive.

BackingTrack11

AudioExample46

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Asyoucansee,thetwobeatmotivenowfilledupanentirebarof2/4,andsowhenitwaspaired,thesecondoccurrencefallswithintheentiresecondbar.

Thiscausestheideatobecomeabithidden,aseachbarsoundsthesame.

So,inordertodevelopthingsfurther,youcanbegintocheckoutasecondrhythmicdevicewithyourmotives,rhythmicretrograde.

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