Rhythm Part 2

Rhythm Part 2

Welcome Back to my articles on Rhythm. As a quick reminder to you, the main function of this group of articles is to look at the problem facing many musicians of modern electronic keyboard instruments, when to use a background RHYTHM.

Let's bring logic in here.

If you are set up with a nice Flute or Tibia setting and are about to play "The Lord's My Shepherd," you are generally looking for the slow smooth flow of the music, generating a feeling of peace. Now, in most cases that is right, but DO NOT be frightened to experiment. Hymns can be looked at as religious Folk-Songs. Many Folk-Songs are great to a background rhythm, and before any of you think I am anti-religious, I love singing hymns, attend church, have played the organ in church before now, and ran services.

Perhaps we should look at that favourite, "The Christmas Carol."

Now I have mentioned this one already in my article on Mood, My Dad bought an LP record at Christmas, in the late 1960's called "Tijuana Christmas" by the Torero Band. It was brilliant, containing fast moving Christmas Carols with good Latin style rhythms, plenty of trumpets, marimbas and tubular bells. It was so good, that Granada Television in England, used it as the background music for their Christmas TV Program adverts. I still love it after all these years. A classic piece off this, is a real goody "Good King Wenceslas". It is played around a real Latin Swing rhythm, and sounds fantastic. I have attched it to this article and when you listen to it, it gives you that get up and go feeling, and yet you can still sing to that, Dah-Da Da Dah-Dah Dah-Dah-Dah-Dah-Dah, Dah-da, Dah-Da, Dah-Dah. And you will enjoy it. After all, isn't enjoying music what it is all about?

Also remember that once you start playing with an automatic rhythm, it does not mean that you are stuck with it. For example, on my video clip of "Frosty The Snowman" which is on my You Tube Channel, and on this Organ Blog, you will see me apply a subtle rhythm change part way through, to the Swing rhythm that I am playing with and some Fill-ins to allow registration alterations. In this particular case, it allows me to change the dynamics of the playing style, otherwise, in a long piece of music after three or four verses, you can sound boring and repetitive to yourself, as well as those listening.

The subject of Rhythm will be continued again on my next article, because once you get the hang of it, you will gain confidence in yourself.

Finally, do you have to have the Background Rhythm all through the piece of music?

The simple answer is NO.

I often play the piece of music "How Soon" and start with no accompanying background rhythm, playing it in a easy moving Slow-Foxtrot style, then after the first verse, I bring in a Rhumba rhythm with its delays and pauses, and as if by magic the feeling of the piece has changed.

NOW JUST BEFORE YOU THINK THAT EVERYTHING I DO IS WRITTEN IN STONE.

I also do the same piece "How Soon", starting with no background rhythm, in an easy moving Slow-Foxtrot style and then after the first verse, bring in a Swing rhythm, which gives a more aggressive style to the piece, and just to really blow your minds, I often START it in a Rhumba Rhythm, and then bring in that aggressive Swing rhythm. That is the beauty of the Electronic Organ, and other multi-voiced instrument

Bye for now, see you soon

Robin