Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Upon successful completion of the course student should be able to:

1. Identify rhythmic components such as tempo, beat, and division in common simple meters (4/4, 3/4, 2/4)

2. Perform commonly employed rhythmic patterns using beats, divisions, and subdivisions in simple meters.

3. Apply rhythmic theory concepts when using digital audio workstations (DAW) and sequencers.

4. Perform and transcribe short rhythmic examples in 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 that contain beat, divisions, and subdivision patterns, including syncopation within a measure at the beat or division level only.

5. Create and perform rhythms in simple meters that contain subdivisions, dotted notation, and both regular and triplet divisions.

Material for the course will be presented in a lecture format but also includes question and answer sessions as well as discussion of recorded musical examples.

• In-class exercises
• Homework assignments 
• Aural skills training 
• Projects
• Quizzes
• Class participation, small group work, and discussion
• Constructive critique and feedback to in-class performances

• Participation in class discussion and group activities
• In-class and homework assignments
• Exams and quizzes
• Project and assignment performances

• Simple meter and time signatures (4/4, 3/4, 2/4)

• Rhythmic durations and relationships

• Rhythmic notation systems and grids

• Rhythmic solmization systems

• Tempo & BPM

• Dotted notation

• Syncopated rhythms within measures at beat and division level

• Triplets, swing rhythms

• Rhythmic styles and patterns in Rock, Jazz, Hip-Hop, and Electronic music