Rhythms are with us everywhere and everywhere. Our life is full of rhythms. It is impossible to imagine a sphere of activity, wherever a person finds rhythms. Scientists have even cited evidence that the mother's heart rate calms the baby during pregnancy. Thus, the rhythm comes to life to a person even before his birth! There would be fewer people in the world who suffer from a “rhythmic” incompetence complex if this sense of rhythm were considered as a feeling that, like smell or touch, a person has always had. After all, the feeling of rhythm is a feeling! However, not all so simple. How many people there are who have obvious problems with a sense of rhythm. It seems that such a person hears the rhythm, but he cannot repeat it in any way. And how do you develop a sense of rhythm? Just like the rest. We just feel. We feel and analyze. We analyze and reproduce.

What will give us an improvement in the sense of rhythm through special training?

1. Balance, coherence of all movements in any type of activity: walking, monotonous boring work, more complex actions - tilts, turns of the body, carrying loads, dance movements, playing musical instruments. A trained sense of rhythm allows a person to better feel, understand and feel his body and, as a result, better manage it. Endurance increases, the time for physical recovery after significant loads is reduced.
2. Speech and singing become more manageable, expressive, correctly accentuated. This gives a person the opportunity to consciously correctly operate with the semantic shades of speech or singing. And this contributes to the disclosure of the artistic image for singers and artists of the speech genre. In ordinary life, such skills enrich a person's speech with additional intonational and emotional colors.
3. A trained, balanced sense of rhythm creates the prerequisites for good blood flow throughout the body, eliminates mental and physical clamps. And this is an improvement in tissue metabolism and nutrition. Naturally, all this strengthens the body as a whole, increases resistance to infections, and improves working capacity. This improves well-being and mood.

Here one could list many more positive aspects of a well-developed sense of rhythm. However, this is not the purpose of this article.

CONNECTION OF RHYTHM WITH HEARING.

The main difference between the sense of rhythm and others is that it is closely, directly related to hearing. This is, in fact, part of what we hear. Therefore, all exercises to develop a sense of rhythm also develop hearing. Musicians have the concept of "innate hearing", which implies a musical gift - the absolute hearing of a person, which helps to distinguish the pitch and timbre of sounds with 100% accuracy.

But is there, by analogy, an "innate rhythm"? Undoubtedly. After all, many children of a very young age can freely repeat rather complex rhythmic patterns after you without any preliminary training. Working with the children of the "nursery group" in kindergarten, I have the opportunity to observe how the ear for music and the sense of rhythm evolve in young children. Toddlers react to music simply: the button accordion began to play - the arms and legs began to move. Cheerful music - stomping, slapping. Slow music - swaying the body from side to side, etc.

If rhythm accompanies us even before birth, then everyone has a sense of rhythm, only in a different degree of development. Of course, it is more difficult for an adult to develop it than for a child, but still, it is possible.

DEVELOPING A SENSE OF RHYTHM IN CHILDREN

Rhymes, songs, the alternation of sounds in a certain rhythmic sequence - all this can be the content of the concept of "development of a sense of rhythm." There are quite a few exercises for developing a sense of rhythm in young children. They can be easily found on the Internet. But here's what I wanted to emphasize: do not miss the time, as early as possible, introduce exercises to develop a sense of rhythm into the comprehensive upbringing of your children. Remember that at an older age, it will be more difficult to begin rhythmic development.

Older children - preschoolers and younger students - are offered the following:

-While reading poetry, clap or stomp on the strong and weak beat alternately, or march.

- Play in a shock-noise orchestra.

-Perform elementary rhythmic dance movements to the music.

Children's toys like drums, rattles, bells are very good for developing a sense of rhythm. If you purchased this for your child and want to work with him on your own, then offer him to repeat after you sequences of simple identical strokes, or vice versa - several strokes in some unpretentious rhythm.

DEVELOPING A SENSE OF RHYTHM IN ADULTS

The most important principle of developing a sense of rhythm is the same for all ages. We listen - analyze - repeat. It's just that adults need a more complex version. There are a few simple rules:

1. Listen to a lot of music, and then reproduce what you hear with your voice. Moreover, you should not listen to music automatically while chewing gum, as the vast majority of teenagers and young people do. Listening to music to develop a sense of rhythm must be purposeful. The goal is to develop a sense of rhythm, the task to achieve the goal is to track the rhythmic sections of the songs you listen to. Listening to works with complex, often changing rhythms develops a sense of rhythm well. This is a classic. Yes, symphonic music is rich in a wide variety of rhythmic patterns and can be a good school for developing your sense of rhythm.

2. Play musical instruments with a metronome. Any tool will do. Block flute, harmonica, tambourine, bell, etc. And if you own the button accordion, guitar, piano - it's generally great.

3. Play rhythms with claps and taps, constantly complicating rhythmic patterns. You can do this anytime and anywhere: in public transport, at a boring lecture, at home on the couch, etc.

4. Dance or learn to do so. Dancing is very good for developing a sense of rhythm.

5. Work in a group or in pairs. This applies to singing, playing instruments, dancing. If you can attend classes with orchestras or ensembles - then participate, play with them, or sing in a choir, or dance with a partner!

It should be noted that the sense of rhythm must be developed purposefully. This set of video exercises is designed specifically for training the rhythmic data of students. With the proper approach, the results will not be long in coming - literally after mastering a few exercises, you will feel changes for the better. Do not be afraid of the apparent complexity of the rhythms. They are all quite simple and understandable so that they can be understood, although they seem at first glance cumbersome and impracticable.

An example of a rhythmic exercise for beginner bayan and accordion players

An example of audio exercises to improve rhythmic data from the kit:

Test - a game to study the sense of rhythm

"Hands"

Purpose: to reveal the level of formation of metrorhythmic ability.

The teacher invites the child to sing a song and at the same time clap her metric pattern with her hands. Then the child is invited to "hide" the voice and "sing" with one hand.

Criteria for evaluation:

1.accurate, error-free reproduction of a metric pattern with one palm for all 8 measures - a high level;

2. reproduction of a meter with one or two metrical violations and with some help from the voice (singing in a whisper) - medium level;

uneven, inconsistent metrical performance and with the help of a voice - a low level.

Diagnostics of pitch feeling (melodic and harmonic hearing)

"Harmonic Riddles"

Purpose: to identify the degree of development of harmonic hearing, i.e. the ability to determine the number of sounds in intervals and chords, as well as the nature of the sound in modal consonances.

The teacher performs a consonance (interval or chord) and then invites the child to guess how many sounds are "hidden" in it, and also to determine how the consonance sounds: cheerful or sad. 10 harmonies should be performed.

Criteria for evaluation:

weak level - guessed by the child 1-3 consonances

average level - guessed by the child 4-7 consonances

high level - the child guessed 8-10 consonances

"Repeat the Melody"

Target:

determine the level of development of arbitrary auditory-motor representations:

vocal type, i.e. the ability to control the muscles of the vocal cords in accordance with the auditory representations of the intonation standard of the melody;

instrumental type, i.e. the ability to pick up a melodic sample by ear on an instrument (piano).

Stimulating material can be simple chants or songs.

The child is offered:

sing any song he knows;

pick up the proposed melody by ear on the instrument.

Criteria for evaluation:

weak level - sequential execution of sounds up or down towards the tonic sound in the third range;

middle level - singing the tonic and sequential performance of the tetrachord (up - down towards the tonic) in a range convenient for the child;

high level - singing, consistent and spasmodic (by a quart, fifth, small or large sixth) performance of melodic lines in the range of an octave or more.

Diagnosis of dynamic feeling

Test - the game "We'll go to Loud and Quiet"

Purpose: to determine the ability of an adequate auditory-motor response to dynamic changes (strength of expression) of an instrumental and vocal-instrumental stimulus.

Stimulant material:

Drum or tambourine;

fragments of musical plays: H. Volfart "The Little Drummer"; K. Longchamp-Drushkevichova "March of preschoolers".

The child is invited to play "loud-quiet". The teacher plays the piano, and the child plays the tambourine or drum. The child is invited to play the way the teacher plays: loudly or quietly. Adequate performance of the contrast dynamics "piano" is estimated at 1 point.

Then the teacher performs a musical fragment in such a way that the sound of the music either intensifies or weakens; the child is invited to repeat the dynamics of the sound on the drum or tambourine. Adequate dynamic performance of "crescendo" and "diminuendo" is estimated at 2 points; total - 4 points.

Criteria for evaluation:

weak level of dynamic feeling - 1 point;

average level - 2-3 points;

high level - 4-5 points.

Diagnostics of the feeling of musical form

Test-game "Incomplete melody"

Purpose: to reveal the level of development of a sense of completeness (integrity) of musical thought.

Stimulating material is selected by the teacher independently.

The child is invited to listen to several melodies and determine which of them sounded completely, and which "hid" ahead of time.

Stimulating material is built in the following order:

1st melody - the last measure is not played out;

2nd melody - played to the end;

3rd melody - the last phrase of the melody is not played out;

4th melody - interrupted in the middle of the second phrase (out of four);

5th melody - played to the end.

Criteria for evaluation:

weak level - 1-2 points are correctly identified;

medium level - 3-4 points are correctly identified;

high level - all 5 points are correctly identified.

The concept of "ear of music" should be considered from the point of view of the ability to quickly capture, identify, remember and reproduce the sounds heard. For artificial development, cultivation of musical ear, the use of systematic methods is required, with the help of which the best result can be achieved.

Proper qualitative testing of musical ear will reveal in the child, and not only in the child, the abilities that should be developed.

When is it necessary to conduct an ear test?

Basically, anytime! In general, there is an opinion that a person acquires a musical ear at the genetic level, but this is only half true. In order to become a professional musician, no special talent is required, and even the presence of some “rudiments” of such talent guarantees the possibility of obtaining high results in the process of regular practice. Here, as in sports, everything is decided by training.

How is a musical ear tested?

In particular, only a professional music teacher should conduct and test musical hearing. The process itself consists of several stages, as a result of which it becomes possible to draw certain conclusions (although you don’t have to rely on the reliability of the findings - often, often they turn out to be erroneous simply because the child perceives the test situation as an exam and is worried). It is important to diagnose hearing according to three main criteria:

• having a sense of rhythm;
• assessment of voice intonation;
• musical memory abilities.

Rhythmic hearing test

Usually checked like this. The teacher first taps a certain rhythm on the table with a pencil or other object (or slaps it in the palm of his hand) (best of all, a melody from a famous cartoon). Then he asks the subject to repeat it. If it accurately reproduces the real rhythm, we can talk about the presence of hearing.

The test continues: examples of rhythmic patterns become more complicated. Thus, it is possible to check the musical ear for a sense of rhythm. It should be noted that it is the sense of rhythm - in the matter of the presence or absence of hearing - that is the main and accurate criterion for evaluation.

Voice intonation: is it sung cleanly?

This is not the main criterion for "sentencing", but the procedure to which all candidates for the title of "listener" are subjected without exception. To identify the correct intonation of the voice, the teacher sings a familiar simple melody, which the child repeats. In this case, the purity of the voice and the prospect for vocal lessons are revealed (timbre beauty - this applies only to adults).

If the child does not have a very strong, melodic and clear voice, but the presence of hearing is detected, he may well attend lessons in playing an instrument. In this case, it is the test of musical ear that matters, and not the presence of excellent vocal data. Yes, and one more thing: if a person sings dirty or does not sing at all, then it is a mistake to think that he has no hearing!

Diagnostics of the child's musical abilities

Development of children's musical abilities

You can determine the presence of a child's musical abilities using methods such as:

• conversation with the child;
• child supervision;
• testing to determine musical ear and sense of rhythm.

Conversation

A conversation with a child should take place in natural conditions, during a game, a walk or after watching a movie, a performance where music was played. It helps to determine the artistry, emotionality of the child and his interest in music.

1. To determine emotionality and artistry, ask the child to recite their favorite poem. If he loves and easily memorizes poetry, reads them with expression, tries to convey the mood - he already has a certain artistry and emotionality.

If a child is shy, reads poetry dryly and inexpressively, do not immediately draw negative conclusions! Perhaps your child is not yet able to express his emotions and feelings. There can be no single approach, each child will have their own characteristics. But if you see that the child is bored, he does not like not only to tell, but also to listen to poetry, it is difficult for him to remember them, then perhaps in this case it is better for you to go in for chess or sports.

2. To reveal an interest in music, ask the child what he knows about music, would he like to do it. What does he like more - singing or playing an instrument? Find out from your child what kind of music he likes best (or more specifically: from which cartoon or movie). Does he have favorite songs? Ask him to sing one of them.

So you can determine the child's penchant for music, as well as find out what he is interested in in life, understand whether he needs to study music more seriously, go to a music school, or is it enough to attend a music and dance club.

Observation

Watching a child (or remembering some episodes), you can easily determine whether he has or does not have musical abilities.

In early childhood, up to the age of 3 years, the following may indicate that the child has a penchant for music and developed musical abilities:

• increased attention of the child to any musical background;
• a clear manifestation of interest in music;
• a vivid emotional manifestation of the joy of the baby while playing his favorite music (some children begin to dance without even learning to walk, sitting in the crib);
• the baby loves to listen to different music, not only children's and lullabies performed by his mother.

At the age of 3-7 years and older, indicators of musicality and the presence of abilities in children are:

• maintaining interest in music, shown in early childhood (the child interrupts his work and listens to suddenly sounded music, he likes to listen to various music, not only children's songs, but also good pop music, classics, tries to sing along or starts dancing to music) ;
• the ability to easily and permanently memorize the songs he likes (the child sings more or less “purely”, likes to invent some of his own songs, combining the words and melodies he heard earlier from popular musical works, sometimes composes his own poems and songs on the go);
• the desire to speak in public (the child loves to take an active part in matinees and holidays, loves to be creative in any form - sing, dance, read poetry, play musical instruments).

Definition of musical ear

1. Ask your child to come to the piano and turn away. Play two sounds in turn in different registers (upper and lower) and ask him which sound was lower and which was higher.

2. Press one key on the piano and ask the child how many sounds sounded. Then press two keys at the same time (preferably at a great distance from each other) and ask how many sounds he hears now. If the child finds it difficult to answer, press the same keys in turn.

The first two points test the activity of hearing, the ability to "orientate in the sound space", to distinguish individual elements from the general sound of music (at the simplest level). They allow you to determine whether the child understands the difference in pitch, as well as the difference between a single sound and several sounds that sounded at the same time. If a child finds it difficult - don't worry, it's not so easy to understand, usually this is taught at an early stage of education (preparatory or first grade of a music school).

3. Sing on the syllable A note mi of the first octave (who does not know musical notation, sing any note) and ask the child to repeat. Then sing another note (for the first octave) and ask again to repeat. If you hear that it is difficult for a child to sing in this range, choose a different one. Suggest different notes to determine the range of the child's voice. It is important that you sing yourself, without accompaniment: the fact is that the sound of the piano, as a rule, “knocks down” children, it is more difficult to adjust to it than to the human voice familiar to them.

4. Sing a simple, short melodic phrase and have your child repeat it.

5. Ask your child to sing their favorite song.

Thus, points 3-5 allow you to check the child’s musical ear, musical memory, “reproductive” musical ear (can the child repeat the sounded note and melodic phrase), the child’s voice range, can the child intotone (sing “clearly”). Remember, if a child shows an average result, if he can at least catch the melody without hitting the exact note, then he has an ear for music, albeit poorly developed. There are quite a lot of such children, but in music schools they know how to work with them and, in the end, develop their abilities to a certain level.

Defining a sense of rhythm

Here are some techniques for determining the sense of rhythm, which are also used in music schools when listening to children.

• Tap (not fast) a simple rhythmic sequence and ask the child to repeat. Repeat the technique 2-4 times, depending on the progress of the child, using different rhythmic sequences.
• Have your child march in place to the music. Play or record any popular marching music. For example, the song "It's fun to walk together ...".
• Ask your child to clap their hands to the music (as they do at concerts when the audience likes a song). Play or record any rhythmic music. If a child has a weak sense of rhythm, this does not mean that it cannot be developed.

Summing up the results of testing, it is important to understand that the presence of musical abilities, such as an ear for music or a sense of rhythm, does not yet mean that a child has a penchant for music. It is interest, the desire to make music that plays a decisive role in whether a child achieves success in music or not. The absence of pronounced abilities and a clear desire to study music does not yet give the right to consider a child "incapable", "non-musical". Perhaps it is in the process of learning that the child will reveal his abilities, and he will have an interest in music (as they say, appetite comes with eating). Thus, until you start making music with your child, you cannot be completely sure that he does not have the ability and inclination for music.