The course › Unit 6: Rhythm in detail
Lesson 34 of 72 · Ta-i ti: the rhythm of Ode to Joy and Jingle Bells
You know the dot: it makes a note longer by half its value. A quarter note lasts 1 beat; half of that is half a beat. So a dotted quarter note lasts one and a half beats.
It’s almost always followed by an eighth note, which completes beat 2: dotted quarter + eighth = 2 beats. Say “ta-i ti”, or count “1 – 2 &”: the eighth note falls on the “&” of beat 2.
Ta-i ti, ta, ta | ta-i ti, ta-a.
Why this way: Going from the known to the unknown is a central idea of Kodály teaching: first listen to “ta ti-ti”, which you know, then to “ta-i ti”. The dotted quarter note is a quarter note stretched over the first eighth note, which you don’t play again.
Hold the dotted quarter note a little longer than a quarter note, and place the eighth note just before the next beat.
You know this one: look at measures 4 and 8. The dotted E (then the dotted D) lasts one and a half beats, and the eighth note after it is short: “ta-i ti, ta-a”. Watch out in measure 4: the dotted E lasts a beat and a half, and the D after it is short.
In the first half of the Jingle Bells chorus, there are two dotted quarter notes: measure 3 (C… D) and measure 5 (F… F). And two eighth notes in measure 6.
Measures 3 to 6: ta ta ta-i ti | ta-a-a-a | ta ta ta-i ti | ta ta ta ti-ti.
Did you know?: Jingle Bells was written by the American James Lord Pierpont and published in 1857 as One Horse Open Sleigh. It isn’t about Christmas at all: it’s about a sleigh race!
The first half of the chorus, at your own pace. Spot the dotted quarter notes before you play, and play the repeated Es with the same finger (3).
The whole chorus, in rhythm. Count “1 – 2 &” on each dotted quarter note. The whole chorus. All the repeated E’s are played with finger 3.