{"id":944,"date":"2020-09-23T10:51:15","date_gmt":"2020-09-23T14:51:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/?p=944"},"modified":"2026-03-31T15:07:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T19:07:39","slug":"beat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joviala.com\/jovialaworks\/beat\/","title":{"rendered":"Musical Subject: Beat"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I enjoy working with the subject of \u2018beat\u2019. The phenomenon itself is so fundamental it can be a challenge to define it. It\u2019s like asking, \u201cWhat is air?\u201d We can all produce a quasi-scientific definition of the air we breathe, but our experience of it could not be more fundamental to our existence. Yet it is very difficult to capture this experience with words. It is the same thing with \u2018beat\u2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The definition of the word itself is slippery. Older children or adults more oriented to popular music are likely to associate the word with drum patterns. Classical musicians who primarily learn music through notation tend to associate the word \u2018beat\u2019 with groupings of beats, i.e. time signature or meter. Jazz musicians relate the concept of beat to a player\u2019s sense of \u201ctime\u201d: one\u2019s personal style might be associated with being \u201cahead of the beat\u201d or \u201cbehind the beat\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many fundamental motor experiences, people can\u2019t really be taught to feel a beat in music any more than they can be taught to walk, ride a bike or skip. We can \u201cteach\u201d by setting up the right conditions for it to happen naturally, but I do think the we have to say \u201cteach\u201d in this case. With the Dalcroze approach, based on teaching through direct experience, I feel comfortable removing the scare quotes from the word.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I begin to plan a lesson related to this subject, I ask myself, “What are some things musicians need to be able to do with a beat?” The list is long and varied, but it might include things like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n