You’ve got to have rhythm!
Álamos-Gómez, Tejada & Farías (2023). Cognitive processing of rhythm in primary education: encounters between teaching practice and scientific evidence. Music Education Research, 25(4),435-446. DOI.10.1080/14613808.2023.2249020
This paper investigates the musical element of rhythm and how we can teach it effectively in the primary classroom to improve learning.
Context and significance of study
This paper explores the cognitive processing of musical rhythm based on the premise that the Chilean Ministry of Education belief that Music should be present at all levels of education: Listening and Appreciating; Performing and Creating; Reflecting and Contextualising. It is significant to the early reading and music partnership because of the pillar of reading fluency, reading with proper speed, accuracy and expression (prosody). Prosodic oral reading means reading with the appropriate rhythm, tone, pitch, pauses and stresses for the text.
In Chile, music is a compulsory subject throughout all six years of Primary Education. Specifically, in the third and fourth years (students aged between 8 and 10 years old), two teaching hours per week are allocated to music, out of a total of 38 teaching hours included in the full weekly study plan. This is much less than other subjects. As teachers find it hard to fit everything in (a universal problem), it was decided to treat separately some aspects of Music- specifically teaching rhythm.
Rhythm links to sensory perception, cognitive processing, and motor behavior During early childhood and primary music education, great emphasis is often placed on rhythm. In this article, pulse, meter, tempo, and rhythmic patterns will be considered as the main categories of analysis, since these elements form part of a fundamental taxonomy for the psychological understanding and acquisition of rhythm (Gordon 2012; Honing 2013).
The study
203 music teachers completed a questionnaire regarding how they approach pulse, tempo, meter and rhythmic patterns during rhythm production and perception activities. The results show that, in general, teaching practices are congruent with the scientific evidence related to the processing of these musical aspects. Finally, the use of elements that facilitate synchronization or constant pulse is suggested.
Aspects of rhythm addressed in study
Pulse
An underlying regularity or pulse is a fundamental aspect in rhythmic processing. The ability to maintain a constant pulse could be related not only to musical skills, but to reading fluency (Taub and Lazarus 2013), improve working memory (Plancher et al. 2018) and general learning (Hoch, Tyler, and Tillmann 2013; Selchenkova, Jones, and Tillmann 2014). It was found that using a regular pulse (like a metronome) facilitates rhythmic processing.
2. Meter
Meter is the arrangement of rhythms into repetitive patterns of strong and weak beats. In Western music the most common meters include grouped beats every 2, 3 or 4 beats. Teaching meter facilitates rhythmic learning. Students’ musical performance is likely to improve if the musical piece’s meter is heard previously, since meter accents effectively contribute to the prediction and anticipation of regularly recurring events. More than half of respondents favour 4/4-time (4 crotchet beats in the bar) in production (59%) and perception (54%) activities, which coincides with its widespread use in Western cultures.
3. Tempo
In music, speed is measured in beats per minute. Some studies indicated that slower tempi are more difficult for younger students (Abril 2011). This is consistent with some results showing that young children have a preferred tempo between 140 and 150 bpm, which is faster than that of adults. Children are more successful in rhythmic tasks when the tempo is close to their preferred tempo (Drake, Jones, and Baruch 2000). Furthermore, the ability to synchronize at an individual tempo, independently and with others, seems related to the individual’s ability to anticipate a regular pulse (Mills et al. 2015; Pecenka and Keller 2011). Findings indicate respondents always or almost always allow each student to select their tempo in individual activities. These results could be positive, given the suggestion that children are more successful in rhythmic tasks with a tempo close to their spontaneous -preferred- tempo.
4. Rhythmic patterns and note values
Teachers use repetitive patterns or phrases (like ostinato) increases working memory efficiency, which is essential in rhythmic perception-production (Gordon 2012; Jackendoff 2009; Patel 2008). Furthermore, it frees the child of a dependence on score reading, thus avoiding the use of attention resources that can be applied in rhythmic musical processing. These patterns were created especially for teaching through the composition of phrases, ostinato, echoes, rhythmic syllables, body movement, and games.
Conclusions
This research highlights the need to address musical rhythm more specifically and clearly in music curriculum. It is recommended that both teachers and governmental bodies take into account the fundamental elements of rhythm, as described in this study, to design gradual didactic sequences that support students’ musical development. In summary, when teaching rhythm:
mark the pulse in music as it facilitates rhythmic production and perception
a tempo of around 100 beats per minute (bpm) is recommended as it facilitates rhythmic processing
faster tempi for younger children (140bpm) however students natural pulses should be respected. Students are more successful in rhythmic tasks with a tempo close to their preferred natural tempo.
use time signatures production and perception activities, irrespective of whether students know they are using them. 4/4 and 2/4 meters should be used during rhythmic activities, as binary metrics facilitate rhythmic perception and production.
pre-established rhythm patterns are preferred, such as ostinato, echoes, repetitions and others. Regular rhythmic events are easier to process than irregular ones, fundamental to musical perception and improved rhythmic processing.
