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syllables for counting

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Home Forums Teaching the Harp syllables for counting

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 18 total)
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  • #84141
    Misty Harrison
    Participant

    Wondering if anyone has syllables for counting large ‘tuplets, like groups of five (five-lets), etc. Something like 1-la-le or 1-e-&-a

    #84142
    rosalind-beck
    Participant

    Misty, I don’t have any suggestions for quintuplets or septuplets, but for sextuplets you can say 1-ah-da and-ah-da.

    #84143
    Sid Humphreys
    Participant

    Rosalind.

    #84144
    Misty Harrison
    Participant

    Thanks!

    #84145
    tonie-ogimachi
    Participant

    I still sometime hear myself counting “huckleberry” for 16th notes.

    #84146
    kimberly-rowe
    Keymaster

    I use words:

    Quarter note = “Pear”
    two eighths = “Ap-ple”
    triplet = “Pin-ap-ple”
    four sixteenths = “Wa-ter-mel-on”
    quintuplet = “Un-i-ver-si-ty” or “Phil-a-del-phi-a” (sadly, no fruit)

    I would love words for sextuplets and beyond if anyone has found them!

    KIM

    #84147
    Stephanie
    Spectator

    For a quintuplet my teacher came up with Span-ni-ko-pi-ta because I love Greek food.

    #84148
    sherry-lenox
    Participant

    Spanikopita works beautifully! “Hark, How the Bells” is actually “quarter-two eights-quarter”.

    Using real words is a Kodaly device. I’m sure music teachers used the idea before he did, but he refined it.

    Using real words or phrases is more helpful to learners, because meaningful verbalizations stick with you more easily than sequences of unrelated syllables.

    #84149
    harpglo-jean
    Participant

    These are great!!! really struggle with this all the time, and all I had was “straw-ber-ry” for a triplett, so the other words will help!

    Thanks,

    Gloria

    #84150

    Kim, sextuplets might be hig-ge-ly pig-ge-ly, adapted from the old nursery rhyme- Higgely piggely my black hen–!

    #84151
    kay-lister
    Member

    Another one for sextuplets is: do-ya-want-a-cook-ie.

    #84152
    kay-lister
    Member

    AND – have-you-seen-my-pup-py-dog (7)

    K

    #84153

    Syllables are great for counting tuplets, but it’s really important to make sure that all the syllables are evenly stressed, or you end up with an incorrect rhythm. “University”, “Hippopotamus” and “Philadelphia” all work brilliantly for fives. “Strawberry” can be pronounced as an eighth note with two sixteenths, so I would suggest “hamburger”. In fact, “Hamburger, Pepsi” is good for going back and forth between triplet and duplet rhythm. Two against three was “old rattletrap” when I was learning piano. Sixes can be “hamburger hamburger”, if they are to be counted as two groups of three, or “Have you seen my homework?” if they are three groups of two.

    #84154

    My favorite for quintuplets is Car-los-Sal-ze-do, naturally. For septuplets, I like pa-ra-leg-al-ass-is-tant. My sister learned ta-ki-ta for triplets and ta-ka-dee-me for quadruplets. Miss Lawrence used not-diff-i-cult for two against three. Miss Chalifoux used something like puddle-uddle-uddle for spelling out a chord.

    #84155
    diane-michaels
    Spectator

    I believe it was Miss Chalifoux who taught the opening notes of Chanson dans la nuit as “Blueberry huckleberry pie.”

    My 4 against 3 is PG-13: pass the goddamn butter.

    Funny how many food words get us through rhythms!

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