Music Theory De-mystified Blogtime signatures compound time

Simple Rhythms In Compound Time

This post is one of a 2-part series of free basic music theory lessons on my blog, musictheoryde-mystified.com. You can see the complete list here. Please feel welcome to make a comment or ask a question.

Note: There are a number of exercises in this lesson, so it may take a little longer to complete. Take as long as you need… You can the first few rhythms now and come back to the harder ones later.

One-Beat Rhythmic Modules

Below are some simple 1-beat rhythms in compound time, written as individual bars of 3/8. Tap, clap or play along with these until you are familiar with them and can play them by yourself.

Although not indicated in the part, each rhythm is played 4 times.

To start learning each rhythm, count each quaver as a beat, as demonstrated in B8. Time Signatures 2: Compound Time.

Once you’re comfortable with these exercises at a quaver beat of 180 bpm, try counting every bar of 3/8 as a single, dotted crotchet beat at 60 bpm.
From there, you can continue to increase the tempo, counting dotted crotchet beats.

Practice Tip: Beats are easier to feel if you emphasise notes which are on the beat by playing an accent. Accenting the beats will help transition from playing with a metronome to without.

These rhythms can be combined to form complete bars of 6/8, 9/8, 12/8 etc. You can make up your own combinations. There are a few common examples at the end of this post.

Rhythms with semiquavers

Any quaver in the above rhythms can be substituted by a pair of semiquavers. In the following rhythms, look at pairs of semiquavers as halves of a beat, “1 and”.

Note: As you continue to increase the tempo, the semiquavers become too fast to be able to say the word “and”. Hopefully, by then you can feel them without having to count aloud.

The above are by no means every possible combination involving semiquavers. However, these are the most common; familiarity with these rhythms will make it easier to learn new ones.

Syncopation

Below are three common syncopated rhythms within a beat in compound time. Again, they are written as individual bars of 3/8.

Each rhythm is preceded by a similar rhythm which you have already learnt in the previous exercises. To create the syncopation, simply hold the dotted quaver (or quaver in the last example) through the first of the pair of semiquavers in the previous bar, as indicated by the counting lyrics.

Bars Of One-Beat Modules

Each of the above rhythms in 3/8 amount to a single beat in compound time. They (and other 3/8 rhythms not listed here) can be combined to form rhythms of 1, 2 or more bars.

Below are a few common 1-bar rhythms for you to practice. Rather than having to learn the whole bar as a new rhythm, look for the individual 1-beat rhythms you have already learnt then join them together.

As recommended earlier, if you have any difficulty counting dotted crotchet beats, start by counting each beat as a bar of 3 quaver beats.

Try These…

Answers at the end of this post.

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NEXT LESSON: B10. Note Values 3: Triplets

PART 2 CONTENTS: Basic Music Theory Course Contents

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