PRACTICE THE RECOGNITION OF THE 1
If you want, you can practice recognizing the 1 with the following videos.
In them we have indicated the 1s so that you can check how you do it. You can work it in different ways:
- Listen to the whole piece watching where the ones are marked.
- Listen to the song with your eyes closed, identifying where it is the 1 and open your eyes, from time to time, to check that it matches.
- When you were not right where it was the 1, try to analyze what made you confuse and what elements you did not take into account from those that would have allowed you to get it right.
- Play the piece in different points (firts here, then more behind) and try to find the first 1 that will appear.
- Stand in front of the computer, standing. Move the video cursor to any point. Start playback, but do not watch the video. Listen to the piece and do a charleston, starting the first rock-step when you think there is the 1. Continue doing charlestons and, in the next 1, look at the screen to verify that it matches.
Surely you can think about other ways to work on it. You can suggest us the ones that worked best for you. Remember that you do not have to count, you should feel where is the 1.
If you want to review the theoretical content of this material you can go again to:
Songs to practice
Bearcat Shuffle is a song where you can use different strategies to recognize the 1. You can look at the tensions in the structure of the section, in the accents of the 1, in the accompaniment, in repetitive accompaniments... Even, to practice, you can try to listen to it several times and, In each of them, put attention only to one of these elements to see in which moment is more usefuleach strategy.
The next two songs (Gang Busters and The D.I.Y. Song) display with some clarity the tensions of the sections. In addition, both have a guitar accompaniment that is quite identifiable and shows the harmonic progression. See if these elements help you identify the 1.
Knock Me a Kiss is a song that depicts very well the section's tensions. In addition, in the A section, it always resolves with a break and facilitates a little more the identification of the 1. We can also focus on the accompaniment and the harmonic progression.
In the next song (How Do They Do It That Way) listen to the tuba. It can help you.
When the recording of the piece is not very good (or is very old) and when the sound of the dance hall is not good enough, we often lose the possibility of perceiving the accompaniment well. This makes the recognition of the structure of the piece and the follow-up of 1 difficult, as is the case with the next piece (Black Bottom). This causes us to be more aware of other elements such as section's tensions or accents.
The following version of Get Rhythm In Your Feet, due to the quality of the recording, does not allow a clear perception of the accompaniments (which can be a good guide to follow the piece). If we listen to it at home, with the headphones and with great attention, we can hear the accompaniment well and we can identify the 1 with more easyness. But on the dance floor we can hardly perceive it. Therefore we have to help with other elements. We suggest you do it through the tensions of the sections and accents of the melody.
Often the pieces of music have fragments of transition, which do not strictly follow the structure or the melody of what we have heard before or will listen later. They serve to break the monotony, to generate more attention or to prepare musically what will come next. These fragments are called an interlude or link section. They can have different structures and lasts, although it is quite usual that they last two eights and that they use melodic material of some part of the same piece.
In some cases, as in this piece, the link section only lasts four pulses (half eight!). Listen to minute 2.05: you can check it.
This really breaks the monotony of the piece, but, in addition, it makes it difficult for us to track the 1.
We think it will be a good exercise to repeatedly repeat the fragment where this link section is trying to perceive that it does not make a complete eight, that the dynamics are broken and there are elements that allow us to perceive it.
Stop Pretending also has a link section. In this case it has three eights and a half (28 bits). Can you identify it?
In the songs Look at There and I Like Pike, I Like Cake perhaps can be useful to follow the accents of the melody and, when there is melody, then the structure and the the accompaniment.
If you want, you can practice with I Found A New Baby, a faster song.
Just Kiddin' Around can be followed by the melody accents but, in some parts, the melody has variations that make very hard to perceive the one based on that. Then perhaps the section's tension can be helpful, as the acompanioment is not very clear. It is certainly a piece to test your ability to perceive the 1.
When you think that you've worked hard with these videos, we recommend that you use your own music and look for pieces that are harder to perceive. If you want, you can find a wide selection of music that we have prepared in Spotify. We recommend you start working at home, with peace of mind, first without dancing, then putting simple steps, that do not mislead you with the perception and interpretation of music. Once you have worked at home, you must also do it on the dance floor. When you choose to do so choose a couple that you know well. Even tell him or her that you will be more inclined to perceive 1 than other aspects of the dance, that you will not make too many steps or variations; that maybe you will not be too much for her. You even propose that he/she also do a conscious work of attention to the perception of the 1.
Remember that, as with any learning process, the aspects to be improved in a systematic way must be worked out; at small doses; with breaks. It is unlikely that after seeing all these videos, one after the other, you have already automated the perception of the 1. If so, I would not say that the exercises are great or that our explanations have been a success: I would say that you had practically resolved before looking at them. We have to work them out little by little. It is even worth proposing a systematic work adapted to your own possibilities and needs (for example: I will dedicate 30 minutes twice a week to work on these aspects, beginning to see the first three videos, analyze the strategies that I am able to perceive in it and repeat it to improve its perception; once this is achieved, I will go through the following three videos...).
Well, we hope these exercises will help you automate the perception of the 1. As always, we would like to be able to know your opinion and listen to your suggestions.