CREATING A RHYTHMIC PATTERN FOR A SONG
Rhythm is definitely one of the most important parts of a song. It creates movement, structure, and yes, energy in a song. It doesn’t matter if you are a beginner or an polished professional musician or singer, everyone should experiment with new ideas. Creating a rhythmic pattern for a song should be fun!
Rhythmic Patterns
The rhythmic pattern in a song is a repeated sequence of sounds. The pattern can be a steady beat or complex string of notes.
For example:
Stomp – Stomp – Clap repeated over and over in the song “We Will Rock You” by Queen.
Have fun with it, find different rhythmic patterns. Begin by choosing a steady pulse that fits the mood of the song. Your rhythm is the heartbeat of the song.
Elements To Consider
Note value is something to consider. You can experiment with different note lengths. Think about quarter notes, half notes (a little faster), or eight notes (even faster), or other rhythms.
Think about the rhythmic pattern from “We Will Rock You,” it is 1 – 2 – 3 – 4, so 1 is stomp, 2 is stomp, and 3 – 4 is clap.
Now change it to: 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, adding shorter notes creates more movement.
Adding rests (silence) is just as important as sound. If you add rests, your rhythmic pattern can become more interesting and creates contrast.
For example: Clap – Rest – Clap Clap – Rest
The last element is experimenting with accents. When using an accent, you are adding extra emphasis to a beat. Instead of making all beats equal in power, you can emphasize one or two beats in the rhythmic pattern.
For instance: STRONG – soft – soft – STRONG
Modify and Repeat
Most of the time a great rhythmic pattern contains repetition. So, once you’ve created a pattern, repeat it a few times. You can also make small changes in the pattern to keep it interesting. The combo of repetition and variation to a rhythmic pattern is powerful.
In Conclusion
By organizing sounds and silence, you can create your own rhythmic pattern for a song. You don’t need years of experience or vast musical knowledge to do it. Just begin with a beat, experiment with the different elements like note length, rests and variations. Most important, have fun!