Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. Today I’m going to tell you why all beats are not created equal. Did you know that typically in 4/4 time, the strong beats are the first and third beats? The weaker beats are the second and fourth beats. In particular, the fourth beat is not as strong.
The way you count should reflect the feel of the music.
Instead of counting rigidly, you end up counting with accents on the first beat or the first and third beats. I’m going to demonstrate this with a Haydn sonata in D major, so you can hear for yourself. First, I’m going to play it with all the beats absolutely equal to hear what it sounds like, then I will play it with accented beats.
Watch the video to see the demonstration!
When you play with all the beats equal, it doesn’t have a bounce. It doesn’t have a pulse. It just kind of plods along. By playing with accented beats, you give your music a pulse. This isn’t only for 4/4 time. How about 3/4 time? You certainly wouldn’t play a waltz with all beats equal. It would lose the feel of the music.
You have to figure out where the strong beats are.
Typically, the strong beats are one and three in 4/4 time and the first beat in 3/4 time. In a waltz, the third beat is also pretty strong, but not as strong as the first beat. Each piece of music has its strong and weak beats. You must identify which beats are strong so you can give emphasis to those and propel the music forward so it doesn’t get bogged down. All beats are not created equal! I hope this is enlightening for you! Let us know in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.
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2 thoughts on “All Beats Are Not Created Equal – Part 2”
I have a peculiar habit when it comes to the waltz rithm! Automatically I end up playing the beats as in the Viennese waltz, that is 1, 2-3. I find it impossible to break this habit! It even happens when I practice some studies of Czerny, after I know them very well. It must be because I am from Trieste, and we triestins are still dreaming of being part of the Austro-Hungarian empire!! :))
Waltz feel works well with a lot of music in 3/4 time!