Castellano Català

STRATEGIES THAT CAN BE USED TO IDENTIFY THE 1

1st strategy: perceive the strong beat

After what we have explained in the section what is the 1? it would seem that the most logical thing would be to say that the basic strategy to follow is to learn to perceive the strongest beat. But, as we have explained in the section having swing, there are often too many elements that distort recognition of the 1 through the exclusive perception of the strongest beat. That is why we recommend strengthening the recognition of the 1 using other strategies.

2nd strategy: recognize the sections

We believe that recognizing the structure of the song is the most useful strategy for identifying the 1 and there are various reasons for this:

• all musical pieces have an identifiable structure;
• with just a little practice the structure can be quite easily identified, often even without having to concentrateb on detecting the strongest beats;
• only rarely are there aspects that hinder perceiving this structure;
• the other strategies are not applicable if the piece has a lot of improvisation and feeling in the interpretation (aspects that are characteristic, and therefore very frequent, in swing music); on the other hand, the more improvisation a piece has, the clearer its structure must be (for musicians and, of course, for dancers);
• if we perceive the structure of a piece correctly, we will not only have information for identifying of the 1, but it will also be useful for other aspects related to musicality.

Now is not the time to go into details or propose exercises to practice recognising the structure (this can be found in the section on the improving identification of the structures). We will, however, briefly explain what phrases are and how they can help identify the 1. Here we go!

In the case of the music we usually dance to, although there are many variants and exceptions, the eights are usually grouped from four by four or, less frequently, six by six. Just like in poetry, each of these groups communicates an idea. This is usually in the form of an introduction, a climax, and an outcome.

Although not always the case, in the 4-eight phrases the first two tend to present a musical idea, the third introduces intrigue (generating musical tension) and, in the fourth eight, the idea is resolved (the musical tension is released).

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - presentation of the musical idea

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - the presentation continues or is reinforced

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - creation of musical tension based on the first two eights

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 - the idea is resolved, releasing the musical tension

This discourse can be identified from different points of view such as melody, harmonics accompaniment or rhythm. In the same way that in poetry we are able to understand that the idea is above the words, in music we should also be able to perceive the idea, with practice.

Now we will not look at any particular aspect. We would like you to try to capture the musical feeling that is generated every eight, the tension it generates. Try to perceive it in the following piece and see how the same evolution always repeats:

Note that we have only shown the pulse in the first sentence. We have done this because we think that the goal is not to count but to put all our attention on perceiving how the musical tension evolves throughout the 4 eights and concludes in the fourth. If you are concentrating on counting, it will be much more difficult to perceive this tension. And anyway, the idea is precisely to be able to detect the 1 without counting.

In order to know whether you need to improve your perception of the evolution of the musical tension, try this test: only listen to music and change the point where the video starts -towards the end, more at the beginning- and try to identify which eight you hear. Look at the screen to see whether you are right or not! If you find it difficult, you can practice with the exercises on the page about improving identification of the structure.

If you are able to easily hear how the tension evolves, then you can identify the 1 from two things:

1. Each inflection in the change of tension corresponds to the beginning of an eight and, therefore, indicates a 1. The inflection is usually more evident at the beginning of the third and fourth eight.
2. The fourth eight is very conclusive and, almost always, very identifiable. If you can pick that out then it is quite clear when the phrase finishes and this very clearly indicates the beginning of the next eight and, therefore, its 1.

3rd strategy: the melody as an aid

Some songs have a melody (instrumental or sung) that starts at 1 and ends at 8, over and over again. These songs make our work much easier. You can hear this example:

Momma's In The Kitchen-Slim Gaillard.

Notice how in the first sentences Slim Gaillard sings each verse coinciding with the eight beats and, therefore, following the melody helps us to identify the 1. But what happens when he does not sing? The solos no longer begin and end precisely with each eight.

The truth is that very few songs have a melody (instrumental or sung) that is regularly attached to an eight. In fact, it most probably does not strictly follow the structure and this leads to confusion. Listen to this song and watch how rarely it begins at the 1.

My Baby Just Cares For Me-Nina Simone.

As we have explained in the section having swing, the feeling with which the majority of musicians usually interpret their pieces causes the beginnings of the phrases to slow down or advance several beats. This can be seen very easily in the videos on the practice page.

Therefore this third strategy, although we know that there are dancers who use it, should be used with caution and not as the main or only criterion.

4th strategy: look at the base or the accompaniment

In some songs, the rhythmic base or accompaniment (either performed by the drums, bass, piano or wind section) changes more or less clearly at each eight. This can help you identify the 1 in some pieces. There are even accompaniments that have a very well-defined structure, such as walkings and riffs.

Walking is a type of accompaniment, usually associated with the double bass or the left hand of the piano, based on a succession of notes of the same duration (usually a note for each beat). A riff is usually a rhythmic or melodic fragment that is repeated over and over again, usually every eight, and is usually quite singable.

You can hear an example of riff in the next recording of a concert by the Count Basie Orchestra. Listen to the first piece, Easin 'it.

In the following song observe how the bass plays a sequence of notes very distinctly marks, with a clear and repetitive accompaniment, the structure of eights and the 1's.

Chica Boo-Lloyd Glenn

Did you identify the accompaniment? Do you see how it coincides with an eight?

If it was not easy for you to understand what we mean, take a look at the next video where there is only the accompaniment and the beginning of each eight is marked.

Now watch the next video where we have marked the 1's on the original song. Try to identify the double bass doing the accompaniment and see how it marks every eight and, therefore, every 1.

In fact, the support of the double bass is often very simple and aids recognition of the 1. Look at this example where we have marked the 1 and the double bass. As is often the case with swing music, the more freedom the soloist instruments have, the clearer the base must be. Here the melody and the second voice are playing with lot of freedom, making it very difficult to follow the structure of the song if we focus on them. However, if we follow the double bass, which is responsible here for setting a clear pattern for other musicians, it all becomes much easier.

Given that the double bass, the tuba or the left hand of the piano usually follow cyclical patterns that are quite recognizable every eight, it might be useful to practice the recognition of these patterns with some exercises. If you want, you can go to the accompaniment perception section.

Riffs can be an important source of inspiration for our musicality. If you are interested in this topic, you can find more information on the riffs and musicality page.

5th strategy: harmonic progression

The melody is a group of notes that are played one after the other. Harmony is the combination of different notes at the same time in order to provide colour, a mood, to the melody. In fact, the same melody will give us a totally different feeling based on the notes that give it support, the accompaniment, and the harmony that is generated behind this melody. You can find a very understandable explanation of this in The music Lab or in our section What is harmony?.

Composers and musicians know the best way to combine these notes to generate the feeling they seek. In the case of musical phrases, the evolution of the tension that we perceive is based precisely on how the accompaniment of the melody is combined. Most songs that we dance to follow sequences of repetitive chords with patterns that are based on rarely transgressed rules (a chord is a set of notes that are played at the same time). Even more important than what is now the case, the harmonious changes (the changes in the chords) are made at the beginning of each bar. This does not mean that, invariably, at every eight there is only one change. On the contrary, there may be several chord changes within the same eight. But in many songs the most marked, most identifiable changes occur at each 1.

So, if we are able to perceive harmonic progression (the evolution, the changes, the direction followed by the series of notes accompanying the melody) we will have another way of perceiving the 1.

Listen to the next piece. This time you have to identify the banjo. The banjo plays the chords that accompany the melody and the harmonic progression can be followed.

The harmonic base of the pieces can be played by various instruments such as the guitar, the piano or even the wind section. Sometimes it is not an instrument that determines this harmonic base. However, if we are able to recognize harmonic progression, this can be extremely helpful in identifying the 1. All those people who are able to perceive the harmonic structure of a song, either because they have studied music or because they have an innate ability to do so, have an advantage.

6th strategy: the sum of all indications

Very often there is no single strategy to clearly identify the 1. In fact, this is usually the most common situation. In these cases it is the sum of small indications which makes our brain end up recognizing the 1.

In one piece two people can use different strategies to recognize the 1. Each one will feel more comfortable using one or another. The more you are able to use this technique spontaneously (without having to be aware of it) you will follow any song much more easily. Therefore, we suggest that you practice each of these strategies at home. Once you can do it without effort, put on a song that you like to dance to and listen to it carefully trying to decide, in every eight, which element or elements allow you to identify the 1. Remember that you must feel the 1, you do not have to count.

We would very pleased to hear your feedback about the strategies you use regularly; it will surely be very useful for other dancers.

Now you can go to the accompaniment perception section or practice with following pieces. We have marked the 1's in them to make it just a bit easier for you.