Contenidos
Cuarto de ESO: groove, polirritmia y una coreografía entera
In 4th year the body is already a drum kit. Here you play the backbeat of "Uptown Funk", cross two rhythms at once, build a four-voice piece and end with a full choreography on a current song. And, at the end, one of your own.
Before you start
The basics are in The body as an instrument. The 3rd-year material, canon and triple time, is taken as read. And it helps to have read Why does everyone clap in the same place?, because this whole chapter is about the hit on two and four.
The groove: the 4th-year songs on the body
A groove is a repeating pattern that makes the body move on its own. The theory is in Why doesn't a one-chord song bore you?. Here you play it.
- We Will Rock You, for real this time: a long tutorial and its play-along, by the same author, in Spanish.
We Will Rock You, full tutorial
We Will Rock You, play-along
- Uptown Funk: Bruno Mars's funk, with a step-by-step tutorial in Spanish and then a choreography seen by almost six million people.
Uptown Funk, tutorial in Spanish
Uptown Funk, choreography
- Blinding Lights: the eighties drum-machine pulse we study in Who plays the drums on this song?. A play-along and a rhythm-gram in Spanish.
Blinding Lights, play-along
Blinding Lights, rhythm-gram
- Levitating: 2020 disco. Rhythm-gram and play-along.
Levitating, rhythm-gram
Levitating, play-along
- Calm Down: afrobeats, with the accent off the beat.
Calm Down, rhythm-gram
- Feel It Still: a level-1 rhythm-gram, to catch your breath.
Feel It Still, rhythm-gram
Polyrhythm: two rhythms at once
A polyrhythm is when one part of the body goes in three and another in two, or four against three, at the same time. It is the hardest thing in the book and the most striking when it works. Salvo Russo introduces it slowly; then the flamenco bulería, a twelve-beat polyrhythm.
A bit of polyrhythm
Bulerías compás
Polyrhythms with hands and feet, in Spanish
And the rumba clave, the one Cuban hand-clappers keep, as a coordination exercise.
Rumba clave coordination
Keith Terry, the musician who coined the term "body music" in the seventies, works with "rhythm blocks": chunks of three, four and five hits combined like pieces. Explained in Spanish.
Keith Terry's rhythm blocks
Four voices
With the class split into four groups, each with a pattern, you build a whole piece with no instruments. Mr. Noé has a four-voice game and a challenge on "Wellerman".
Four-voice rhythm game
Wellerman challenge
And the classic body percussion piece: "Clapping Music" (1972) by Steve Reich. Two people clap the same pattern, and one of them moves one eighth note ahead every eight bars until they meet again. Reich wrote it after watching flamenco hand-clappers in Brussels. Here, a version for five.
Steve Reich's Clapping Music for five
Songs of now
Three choreographies on songs from the last few years, to copy by watching.
APT., by Rosé and Bruno Mars
Berghain, by Rosalía, rhythm-gram
Believer, by Imagine Dragons, choreography
The full choreography
The year's project. Two options, both with a two-part tutorial and the full piece at the end.
Santi Serratosa on Billie Eilish's "Therefore I Am":
Therefore I Am, tutorial 1
Therefore I Am, tutorial 2
Therefore I Am, full choreography
Richard Filz on "Dance Monkey":
Dance Monkey, tutorial 1
Dance Monkey, tutorial 2
Dance Monkey, full choreography
And, as a model of how far this can go: Filz playing Bach's Badinerie with nothing but his body.
Bach's Badinerie on the body
One of your own
The last step in the book is composing. In groups of four or five: pick a song from your phone, find its backbeat, set one pattern per section (verse, chorus, bridge) and record it. The curriculum calls it "creating artistic and musical proposals using the body". We call it the end-of-year concert.
Classroom activities
- Backbeat on anything. A student plays a song from their phone; the class finds the two and the four in under a bar. Change song every thirty seconds.
- Three against two. Feet in two, claps in three, until both hold. Then the other way round.
- Four groups, one conductor. The conductor signals which group comes in and which goes quiet. The piece is different every time.
- Phasing. Two rows do the "Clapping Music" pattern; the second row moves one eighth note ahead when the teacher signals.
- Project. One term for "Therefore I Am" or "Dance Monkey", and another for the original composition.
Key vocabulary
- Groove: a repeated rhythmic pattern that makes the body move on its own.
- Backbeat: the hit on beats 2 and 4 of the bar.
- Polyrhythm: two different rhythms at once, such as three against two.
- Rhythm block: a group of three, four or five hits combined with others.
- Phasing: one voice gradually moves ahead of an identical one.
- Bulerías compás: the twelve-beat flamenco cycle, with accents on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12.
Antes de empezar
Los fundamentos están en El cuerpo como instrumento. Lo de tercero, canon y compás ternario, se da por hecho. Y conviene haber leído ¿Por qué todo el mundo da la palmada en el mismo sitio?, porque todo este capítulo va del golpe en el dos y el cuatro.
El groove: las canciones de 4.º con el cuerpo
Un groove es un patrón que se repite y hace que el cuerpo se mueva solo. En ¿Por qué no te aburre una canción de un solo acorde? está la teoría. Aquí se toca.
- We Will Rock You, ahora en serio: un tutorial largo y su play-along, del mismo autor, en castellano.
We Will Rock You, tutorial completo
We Will Rock You, play-along
- Uptown Funk: el funk de Bruno Mars, con tutorial paso a paso en castellano y, después, una coreografía que han visto casi seis millones de personas.
Uptown Funk, tutorial en castellano
Uptown Funk, coreografía
- Blinding Lights: el pulso de la caja de ritmos de los ochenta que estudiamos en ¿Quién toca la batería en esta canción?. Un play-along y un musicograma en castellano.
Blinding Lights, play-along
Blinding Lights, musicograma
- Levitating: disco de 2020. Musicograma y play-along.
Levitating, musicograma
Levitating, play-along
- Calm Down: afrobeats, con el acento fuera de sitio.
Calm Down, musicograma
- Feel It Still: ritmograma de nivel 1, para descansar.
Feel It Still, ritmograma
Polirritmia: dos ritmos a la vez
Una polirritmia es cuando una parte del cuerpo va en tres y otra en dos, o en cuatro contra tres, al mismo tiempo. Es lo más difícil del libro y lo que más se nota cuando sale. Salvo Russo lo introduce despacio; después, la bulería flamenca, que es una polirritmia de doce tiempos.
Un poco de polirritmia
Compás de bulerías
Polirritmias con manos y pies, en castellano
Y la clave de rumba, que es la que llevan las palmas cubanas, como ejercicio de coordinación.
Clave de rumba, coordinación
Keith Terry, el músico que inventó el término «body music» en los años setenta, trabaja con «bloques rítmicos»: trozos de tres, cuatro y cinco golpes que se combinan como piezas. Explicado en castellano.
Los bloques rítmicos de Keith Terry
Cuatro voces
Con la clase dividida en cuatro grupos, cada uno con un patrón, se monta una pieza entera sin instrumentos. Mr. Noé tiene un juego a cuatro voces y un reto sobre «Wellerman».
Juego rítmico a cuatro voces
Reto sobre Wellerman
Y la obra clásica de la percusión corporal: «Clapping Music» (1972), de Steve Reich. Dos personas dan palmas con el mismo patrón, y una de ellas se adelanta una corchea cada ocho compases hasta que vuelven a coincidir. Reich la escribió después de ver a unos palmeros flamencos en Bruselas. Aquí, una versión para cinco.
Clapping Music, de Steve Reich, para cinco
Canciones de ahora
Tres coreografías sobre canciones de los últimos años, para copiar viéndolas.
APT., de Rosé y Bruno Mars
Berghain, de Rosalía, musicograma
Believer, de Imagine Dragons, coreografía
La coreografía entera
El proyecto del curso. Dos opciones, las dos con tutorial en dos partes y la pieza completa al final.
Santi Serratosa sobre «Therefore I Am», de Billie Eilish:
Therefore I Am, tutorial 1
Therefore I Am, tutorial 2
Therefore I Am, coreografía completa
Richard Filz sobre «Dance Monkey»:
Dance Monkey, tutorial 1
Dance Monkey, tutorial 2
Dance Monkey, coreografía completa
Y, como modelo de lo que se puede llegar a hacer: Filz tocando la Badinerie de Bach solo con el cuerpo.
Badinerie de Bach con el cuerpo
Una que sea vuestra
El último paso del libro es componer. En grupos de cuatro o cinco: elegid una canción de vuestro móvil, buscad su backbeat, poned un patrón por sección (estrofa, estribillo, puente) y grabadlo. El currículo lo llama «crear propuestas artístico-musicales empleando el cuerpo». Nosotros lo llamamos el concierto de final de curso.
Para hacer en clase
- Backbeat sobre cualquier cosa. Un alumno pone una canción del móvil; la clase encuentra el dos y el cuatro en menos de un compás. Se cambia de canción cada treinta segundos.
- Tres contra dos. Pies en dos, palmas en tres, hasta que los dos se sostengan. Después, al revés.
- Cuatro grupos, un director. El director señala qué grupo entra y cuál calla. La pieza es distinta cada vez.
- Desfase. Dos filas hacen el patrón de «Clapping Music»; la segunda fila se adelanta una corchea cuando el profesor lo marca.
- Proyecto. Un trimestre para «Therefore I Am» o «Dance Monkey», y otro para la composición propia.
Vocabulario fundamental
- Groove: patrón rítmico repetido que hace que el cuerpo se mueva solo.
- Backbeat: golpe en los tiempos 2 y 4 del compás.
- Polirritmia: dos ritmos distintos a la vez, como tres contra dos.
- Bloque rítmico: grupo de tres, cuatro o cinco golpes que se combina con otros.
- Desfase: una voz se adelanta poco a poco respecto a otra idéntica.
- Compás de bulerías: ciclo de doce tiempos del flamenco, con acentos en el 3, 6, 8, 10 y 12.
Before you start
The basics are in The body as an instrument. The 3rd-year material, canon and triple time, is taken as read. And it helps to have read Why does everyone clap in the same place?, because this whole chapter is about the hit on two and four.
The groove: the 4th-year songs on the body
A groove is a repeating pattern that makes the body move on its own. The theory is in Why doesn't a one-chord song bore you?. Here you play it.
- We Will Rock You, for real this time: a long tutorial and its play-along, by the same author, in Spanish.
We Will Rock You, full tutorial
We Will Rock You, play-along
- Uptown Funk: Bruno Mars's funk, with a step-by-step tutorial in Spanish and then a choreography seen by almost six million people.
Uptown Funk, tutorial in Spanish
Uptown Funk, choreography
- Blinding Lights: the eighties drum-machine pulse we study in Who plays the drums on this song?. A play-along and a rhythm-gram in Spanish.
Blinding Lights, play-along
Blinding Lights, rhythm-gram
- Levitating: 2020 disco. Rhythm-gram and play-along.
Levitating, rhythm-gram
Levitating, play-along
- Calm Down: afrobeats, with the accent off the beat.
Calm Down, rhythm-gram
- Feel It Still: a level-1 rhythm-gram, to catch your breath.
Feel It Still, rhythm-gram
Polyrhythm: two rhythms at once
A polyrhythm is when one part of the body goes in three and another in two, or four against three, at the same time. It is the hardest thing in the book and the most striking when it works. Salvo Russo introduces it slowly; then the flamenco bulería, a twelve-beat polyrhythm.
A bit of polyrhythm
Bulerías compás
Polyrhythms with hands and feet, in Spanish
And the rumba clave, the one Cuban hand-clappers keep, as a coordination exercise.
Rumba clave coordination
Keith Terry, the musician who coined the term "body music" in the seventies, works with "rhythm blocks": chunks of three, four and five hits combined like pieces. Explained in Spanish.
Keith Terry's rhythm blocks
Four voices
With the class split into four groups, each with a pattern, you build a whole piece with no instruments. Mr. Noé has a four-voice game and a challenge on "Wellerman".
Four-voice rhythm game
Wellerman challenge
And the classic body percussion piece: "Clapping Music" (1972) by Steve Reich. Two people clap the same pattern, and one of them moves one eighth note ahead every eight bars until they meet again. Reich wrote it after watching flamenco hand-clappers in Brussels. Here, a version for five.
Steve Reich's Clapping Music for five
Songs of now
Three choreographies on songs from the last few years, to copy by watching.
APT., by Rosé and Bruno Mars
Berghain, by Rosalía, rhythm-gram
Believer, by Imagine Dragons, choreography
The full choreography
The year's project. Two options, both with a two-part tutorial and the full piece at the end.
Santi Serratosa on Billie Eilish's "Therefore I Am":
Therefore I Am, tutorial 1
Therefore I Am, tutorial 2
Therefore I Am, full choreography
Richard Filz on "Dance Monkey":
Dance Monkey, tutorial 1
Dance Monkey, tutorial 2
Dance Monkey, full choreography
And, as a model of how far this can go: Filz playing Bach's Badinerie with nothing but his body.
Bach's Badinerie on the body
One of your own
The last step in the book is composing. In groups of four or five: pick a song from your phone, find its backbeat, set one pattern per section (verse, chorus, bridge) and record it. The curriculum calls it "creating artistic and musical proposals using the body". We call it the end-of-year concert.
Classroom activities
- Backbeat on anything. A student plays a song from their phone; the class finds the two and the four in under a bar. Change song every thirty seconds.
- Three against two. Feet in two, claps in three, until both hold. Then the other way round.
- Four groups, one conductor. The conductor signals which group comes in and which goes quiet. The piece is different every time.
- Phasing. Two rows do the "Clapping Music" pattern; the second row moves one eighth note ahead when the teacher signals.
- Project. One term for "Therefore I Am" or "Dance Monkey", and another for the original composition.
Key vocabulary
- Groove: a repeated rhythmic pattern that makes the body move on its own.
- Backbeat: the hit on beats 2 and 4 of the bar.
- Polyrhythm: two different rhythms at once, such as three against two.
- Rhythm block: a group of three, four or five hits combined with others.
- Phasing: one voice gradually moves ahead of an identical one.
- Bulerías compás: the twelve-beat flamenco cycle, with accents on 3, 6, 8, 10 and 12.