1.1 Steady Beat
REWIRE THEORY
OBJECTIVES
Maintain a steady beat with and without a metronome.
Understand the hierarchy of beat organization in a measure.
PREPARATION
Learning Event Steady Beat Watch the steady beat video and discuss the terms beat and metronome.
Activity Steady Beat Listening: Count along with the songs on the Spotify playlist while muting the device audio to test the groups ability to keep a steady beat. Have students identify when they hear beat one by clapping on that individual beat. Have them then count the rest of the beats in the measure. Call out a beat and have the class clap on that individual beat. You can also call on individual students to demonstrate their mastery of this.
Activity Metronome: Turn a metronome on and have the class clap on the different beats of a measure and test their ability to maintain the beat by muting the device audio intermittently.
Learning Event Beat Time Meter: Watch the animation of beat time meter at the bottom of the page. Ask questions to check for understanding.
Learning Event Backbeat Clapping: Listen to the Noteflight score together and practice clapping on the backbeat with the exercises. Apply backbeat clapping to student selected songs as well.
Assessment
Partner Check Steady Beat Test: Do the steady beat test together as a class by clapping with and without the metronome in the Soundtrap window. Give students an opportunity to practice this test on their own and have them assess each other in partners. Have students log their time tendency after their performance (do they naturally speed up or slow down).
Optional Formal Assessment Assess student’s performance of the steady beat test by having clap and/or count along with the video in person or through a recording.
Notes: Starting the study sequence with this lesson sets the tone for the rest of the course by interacting with one of the most foundational elements of music in deep and meaningful ways. I like to gamify the steady beat activities and through individual, small group, and classwide challenges. It is important to create a safe space for students to feel comfortable in the process of improvement. Celebrate successes and give plenty of examples of groups that have great time feels. Feel free to augment these activities with your own ideas to make the delivery as personal as possible. To make things light and to keep the momentum of the course moving forward, I like to do the assessments informally in small groups.