Estimated reading 3 minutes
Table of Contents
Introduction
Are you confused about how to chant the Kodaly rhythm syllables in cut time? Do you wonder if it’s like chanting 2/4 or 4/4 syllables? Don’t worry, this post has you covered! Read more to learn about singing rhythm syllables in cut time.
This article uses musical terms. For definitions, see the Glossary at the end of the post.
The Rhythm Chart and Singing Rhythm Syllables in Cut Time
Before you start singing rhythm syllables in cut time, we need to talk about Kodaly’s rhythmic system. The table below shows: the symbol, value, and syllable for each rhythm value.
Is cut time like 2/4 or 4/4? It depends on which system you use. If you use the traditional Kodaly rhythm syllables, you simply chant the rhythm as if you had a 4/4 time signature. However, you need to feel the beat on the half notes (Tah-ah) rather than on the quarter notes (Tah). Since we’ve already been using the traditional system, to keep things consistent we’ll continue as we started.
For a review of how Ti and Ki fit into a sixteenth note rhythmic structure:
Do you need to hear how the traditional Kodaly syllables sound? Watch the Traditional Kodaly Rhythm Syllables video below.
The traditional rhythmic syllables are what Zach VanderGraaff of Dynamic Music Room calls a replacement system. In this type of system, the sound of the syllable represents the sound of the rhythm. What advantage does this system have? They’re really easy to use, which explains why they get used a lot in the early grades in school.
However, the traditional syllables don’t represent the beat well. For this VanderGraaff advocates using what he calls a beat-function system. When using a beat function system, the syllable that represents the beat remains the same even when eighth or half notes get the beat. That means that cut time works like 2/4 rather than 4/4 in a beat-function system. For full details see the Cut Time Video below.
Mobile users: for best results reading the music, tilt your screen 90o to the right.
Rhythm Table
Traditional Kodaly Rhythm Syllables Video
Cut Time Video
Anchors Aweigh and Singing Rhythm Syllables in Cut Time
Anchors Aweigh:
Today’s example for singing rhythm syllables in cut time uses shape notes.
For a review on shape notes:
Brush up on your chromatic shape notes here:
The Kodaly syllables for the rhythm appear above each line in the music examples above, while the solfege syllables appear below each line. I suggest you chant the rhythm first. Then, try singing the solfege once you have the rhythm in your ear.
Notice the curved line connecting the whole notes in bars 7 and 8 in the example above. We call the curved line a tie. The tie turns the two separate whole notes into, in essence, one long double whole note. You can see that the rhythmic syllables reflect this.
Breathe at the end of phrases, so that you have enough breath to sustain your pitch. Otherwise, your note will go flat, making you go out of tune.
The song track helps you get the song’s melodic tuning in your ear. The song’s tuning was carefully chosen to help you develop good melodic tuning by developing your mental pitch template through regular practice. Singing with the sing-along song tracks every day is critical to developing the pitch schemata in your brain.
The song track uses synthetic voices rather than actual voices. Research has shown that this will help with the ability to identify and produce absolute pitch information. For more information read:
Just for fun, I’ve included a video of Anchors Aweigh.
Anchors Aweigh Video
Singing Rhythm Syllables in Cut Time: Quiz
Make sure you have Anchors Aweigh in your ear before attempting the quiz. Chant the rhythm syllables in cut time, then try to sing the solfege syllables (not included).
Concluding Thoughts on Singing Rhythm Syllables in Cut Time
Anyone can benefit from working with shape notes, but it’s especially important for LD, ASD, ADD, autistic, and other special needs students. Why? Because shape notes create a multisensory learning experience.
Like with learning pitch, practicing every day singing the rhythm syllables in cut time to the song track will help you get the sound of the rhythm in your ear. In no time, you’ll be accurately performing cut time rhythms.
© 2022 Geoffrey Keith
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