Unit 5: Music History · Lesson 1
Music History - Lesson 1
What this lesson is for
- Students will explore musical concepts in Music History - Lesson 1
- Students will participate in singing or rhythm activities
Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Psalm 150:6
Hemiola is a rhythmic device in which three beats are subdivided into two equal groups, creating a temporary shift in the felt pulse. In triple meter (3/4 time), for example, two measures of three quarter notes can be reorganized so that the listener feels three groups of two — effectively creating a momentary sense of 2/4 or 6/4 over the underlying 3/4. The word comes from a Greek term meaning "one and a half."
Hemiola creates an irresistible rhythmic push toward a cadence. Baroque dance music, particularly the sarabande and the courante, uses hemiola extensively, as does Brahms, who was famous for his rhythmic complexity and his love of cross-rhythms. In worship music, hemiola gives certain hymn settings a distinctive feeling of gathering momentum toward a cadence.
To feel hemiola, try this: clap a steady pattern of six evenly spaced beats. First, accent beats 1, 4 (this is two groups of three — normal 3/4). Then re-accent beats 1, 3, 5 (this is three groups of two — hemiola). The same six beats can be organized in two completely different ways depending on where you place the accents.
Skilled composers use hemiola not as a trick but as an expressive device. A passage that has been flowing in gentle triple meter suddenly gathers its forces in hemiola before a full cadence — the effect is of increased energy, resolution, and finality.
Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there is "a time to mourn, and a time to dance." Dance music and the rhythmic sophistication of hemiola are part of the joyful, embodied response to life that God built into human nature.
This week, find an example of hemiola in a piece of music you are studying or can listen to. Clap the passage twice — once with the underlying pulse and once feeling the hemiola groups. Write a description of the difference.
Homework
Sing today's song to someone in your family.
Note for the parent
Today's lesson covers Music History - Lesson 1. Estimated time: 40 minutes. Encourage independent work but be available for questions.
The first three of this lesson's 10 questions
Hemiola is a rhythmic device in which three beats are grouped into:
Show the answer
Answer: Two equal groups, creating a temporary shift in the felt pulse
In triple meter (3/4 time), hemiola creates the illusion of which meter?
Show the answer
Answer: 2/4 or 6/4 time
The word 'hemiola' comes from a Greek term meaning:
Show the answer
Answer: One-and-a-half
Another 7 questions follow in the lesson itself, each one graded the moment it is answered.