The Study and Application of Rhythmic Analysis for Wind Band ...

Identifying Notated RhythmsThe issue of counting and referring to notated rhythms is a complex one.Avariety of counting systems are employed in musical ensembles.Some are used forsimplicity or ease of remembrance, such as those that use words for various subdivisions(i.e. "mommy-daddy" for four sixteenth notes and "opportunity" or "hippopotamus" forgroups of five).Others are designed to reinforce articulation, such as the Eastmansystem, which uses syllables such as "ta" and "te" to imitate tonguing wind instruments.There are also those that reinforce physical counting devices, primarily through use of theterms "down" and "up" in relation to the motion of a foot, with no metrical referencebeyond the downbeat. I would encourage, for the purposes of this study, that an effectivecounting system requires the use of numbers for beats in a measure, such as the Eastmansystem.Another key element is the development of separate syllables for eachencountered subdivision.The widely used Eastman system does provide separatesyllables for basic duple and triple subdivisions, but it uses "ta" for any furthersubdivision (Middleton, et al 1998). This confuses the relationships of differentsubdivisions, as the timing of the second of a subdivision of four and the timing of thesecond subdivision in a group of six are not equal.This can lead to performing rhythmsapproximately, by feel, rather than developing a consistent ability to move betweensubdivisions.By establishing separate syllables for counting rhythms of differentsubdivisions, musicians are required to make a mental adjustment, a process known insome marching percussion circles as "gear changing." Gear changing is an important