Songs and Rhythm
Primary 2 · Creative Arts
Songs and Rhythm
Lesson 2 of 3
12 min
Let's begin
It is break time and a football match is going on. Somebody scores!
The children on the side start to clap. Clap... clap... clap... clap.
Nobody told them when to clap. They all just felt it together. That feeling has a name: the beat.
Put your hand on your chest and be very still. Feel your heart: bump... bump... bump... bump. Same speed every time.
Music has that too. The beat is a pulse that keeps the same speed all the way through a song.
Now clap four times, nice and even:
clap - clap - clap - clap
Leave exactly the same gap between every clap. Not a big gap and then a tiny gap. The same gap. That is a steady beat.
Listen to Ishimwe:
clap - clap - clap - clap - clap - clap
Every gap is the same size. Ishimwe is steady.
Now listen to Mugisha:
clap - clap - clap - clap-clap-clapclapclap
He began well, then he got faster and faster and faster. Mugisha is not steady. He is running away from the beat.
Speeding up is the mistake almost everybody makes. If your hands start racing, walk on the spot and let your feet slow you down.
Most of the songs you sing group the beat into fours. Clap and count out loud:
1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 2 - 3 - 4
Clap a little harder on every 1. Feel it come round again and again, like a friend coming home.
Here is a small sum for you. If you count 1, 2, 3, 4 and then 1, 2, 3, 4 again, and you clap on every count, you clap 4 + 4 = 8 times.
Read this part slowly. It is the big idea of the lesson.
Clap once for each part of these words:
Ke-za = clap, clap. That is 2 claps.
ba-na-na = clap, clap, clap. That is 3 claps.
U-mu-to-ni = clap, clap, clap, clap. That is 4 claps.
Every word has a different pattern of claps. That pattern is the rhythm. The rhythm follows the words, so it is full of long sounds and short sounds, and it keeps changing.
Now do this: walk on the spot while you say all three words. Your feet do not change at all. Left, right, left, right, the same speed the whole time.
So the beat is underneath, always the same, like footsteps. The rhythm is on top, changing with the words. Beat below, rhythm above.
Clap hard with flat hands: CLAP! That is a loud sound.
Now clap gently with just two fingers on your palm: tik. That is a soft sound.
Your hands did the same job. Only the strength changed. Hit hard for loud, touch gently for soft.
Try this pattern, counting in fours:
LOUD - soft - soft - soft - LOUD - soft - soft - soft
The big clap lands on the 1 every time. Can you hear the pattern come round?
Gatete taps his desk very quickly: tap tap tap tap tap tap. The beat is fast.
Then he taps very slowly: tap... tap... tap. The beat is slow.
Both times he tapped just as gently. So he did not change how loud it was. He changed how fast it was.
This catches many children, so hold on to it: loud and soft tell you how big the sound is. Fast and slow tell you how quick the beat is. They are two different things. A fast beat can be soft, like quick little finger taps. A slow beat can be loud, like a big drum booming.
Here is a game. Somebody claps a short pattern. You listen right to the end, then you clap the very same pattern back. That is called an echo.
Never start clapping while you are still listening. Ears first, hands second.
Tip
Feet keep the beat, hands play the rhythm. If you get lost, stand up and walk on the spot. Your feet will hold the beat steady while your hands clap the words.
Clap once for each part of the word ba-na-na. How many claps?
Answer: 3 claps.
Clap once for each part of the name Ha-bi-ma-na. How many claps?
Answer: 4 claps.
Mugisha claps and gets faster and faster until he is racing. Is his beat steady?
Answer: No. A steady beat keeps the same speed all the way. He is speeding up.
Keza taps her desk very quickly, then very slowly. She taps just as gently both times. Did she change loud and soft, or fast and slow?
Answer: Fast and slow. The taps were gentle the whole time, so the loudness never changed.
Count 1, 2, 3, 4 and then 1, 2, 3, 4 again, clapping on every count. How many claps altogether?
Answer: 8 claps, because 4 + 4 = 8. Clap a little harder on each 1.
What you learned today
Quick check
Clap Ke-za. How many claps?
