Category: Songform

The musical “form” of a “song”. Names exist for popular forms such as “12-bar blues”, “16-bar tune” and “32-bar A1A2”. More complex forms often do not have names and need to be described, identifying their section lengths and types.

Who are Song Rhythm Tracks for?

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All Musicians!   New Musicians;    Experienced Musicians;     Great Musicians; Really, any musician including Pianists, Guitarists, Horn Players, Singers and even Drummers. The tracks can be used for practice, jamming, gigging and cutting a release. They cover a wide selection of musical genres with 1000's of rhythms available. They are best for musicians who play songs or 'numbers'  and wish to have an inspiring rhythmic accompaniment that fits the song they are playing, both rhythmically and the musical form. They are particularly useful for music teachers and students a

How can I learn about song form?

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Song form is the concept that every song has been composed around a musical form or structure.   Popular song often chooses simple forms as a basis but forms can be more complex as well. A good reference on song form (structure) is the Wikipedia article,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_structure Alive Drumming aims to provide you with the easiest and most reliable methods to select or describe song form. Song Form may be selected using either (i) traditional names such as ’16

When to work on your “Rhythm”?

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When learning a new piece of music, when should a musician work on getting right the rhythm and feel of the piece?

We have long believed it has to be the very first thing to get right and there’s little point playing notes at all unless they are in the desired rhythm (feel and groove).   Tempo, however, is a whole other subject – there’s a lot to be said for precision and even playing tunes at markedly different tempos to internalize the piece better.
Timing is the bedrock of all music:  “When a note is struck at the wrong time, it’s the wrong note”.
Getting playing in the right rhythm as soon as possible is why we have always sought out structured and inspiring rhythmic backing.  This ultimately lead to  “Song Rhythm Tracks“.

Rhythm and Tim

Who are Song Rhythm Tracks for?

Alive DrummingLeave a comment

All Musicians!   New Musicians;    Experienced Musicians;     Great Musicians; Really, any musician including Pianists, Guitarists, Horn Players, Singers and even Drummers. The tracks can be used for practice, jamming, gigging and cutting a release. They cover a wide selection of musical genres with 1000's of rhythms available. They are best for musicians who play songs or 'numbers'  and wish to have an inspiring rhythmic accompaniment that fits the song they are playing, both rhythmically and the musical form. They are particularly useful for music teachers and students a

What song forms does Alive Drumming support?

Alive DrummingLeave a comment

We support all the popular, essential song forms by name - 12 bar blues, 16 bar tunes, 32-bar A1A2 and 32-bar AABA, and about 30 other less common also by name.    The list is increasing!  We also support identifying these same song forms using stick notation.  This simply specifies section lengths in bars, for example, '8|8/8|8', where 'bridge' sections are preceded by a '/' instead of '|'. Additionally, we support user-defined song forms using stick notation, repeats, and concatenation of up to four (4) parts</

The Primacy of Rhythm in practicing popular music

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When learning a new piece of music, when should a musician work on getting right the rhythm and feel of the piece?

Introduction

I have long believed it has to be the very first thing to get right and there's little point playing notes at all unless they are in the desired rhythm and feel.   Tempo, however, is a whole other subject - there's a lot to be said for precision and even playing tunes at markedly different tempos to internalize the piece better. Timing is the bedrock of music:  "When a note is struck at the wrong time, it's the wrong note".  Getting playing in the right rhythm as soon as possible is why I've always sought out structured and inspiring rhythmic backing.  This ultimately lead to  "Song Rhythm Tracks".

Rhythm and Timing</h

What song forms does Alive Drumming support?

Alive DrummingLeave a comment

We support all the popular, essential song forms by name - 12 bar blues, 16 bar tunes, 32-bar A1A2 and 32-bar AABA, and about 30 other less common also by name.    The list is increasing!  We also support identifying these same song forms using stick notation.  This simply specifies section lengths in bars, for example, '8|8/8|8', where 'bridge' sections are preceded by a '/' instead of '|'. Additionally, we support user-defined song forms using stick notation, repeats, and concatenation of up to four (4) parts</

How can I learn about song form?

Alive DrummingLeave a comment

Song form is the concept that every song has been composed around a musical form or structure.   Popular song often chooses simple forms as a basis but forms can be more complex as well. A good reference on song form (structure) is the Wikipedia article,  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Song_structure Alive Drumming aims to provide you with the easiest and most reliable methods to select or describe song form. Song Form may be selected using either (i) traditional names such as ’16

Who are Song Rhythm Tracks for?

Alive DrummingLeave a comment

All Musicians!   New Musicians;    Experienced Musicians;     Great Musicians; Really, any musician including Pianists, Guitarists, Horn Players, Singers and even Drummers. The tracks can be used for practice, jamming, gigging and cutting a release. They cover a wide selection of musical genres with 1000's of rhythms available. They are best for musicians who play songs or 'numbers'  and wish to have an inspiring rhythmic accompaniment that fits the song they are playing, both rhythmically and the musical form. They are particularly useful for music teachers and students a

Who are Song Rhythm Tracks for?

Alive DrummingLeave a comment

All Musicians!   New Musicians;    Experienced Musicians;     Great Musicians; Really, any musician including Pianists, Guitarists, Horn Players, Singers and even Drummers. The tracks can be used for practice, jamming, gigging and cutting a release. They cover a wide selection of musical genres with 1000's of rhythms available. They are best for musicians who play songs or 'numbers'  and wish to have an inspiring rhythmic accompaniment that fits the song they are playing, both rhythmically and the musical form. They are particularly useful for music teachers and students a