Wednesday 21 January 2015

What's a waltz anyways?


Well friends, I thought I should clarify my waltz selection criteria.



It's informal, and here it goes. I'm going to try to keep it simple, and keep it moving.


1. Find the beat.
2. Find the beginning of a measure - its usually right on a beat, and at the beginning of a melody part. It     usually stands out. I try not to over think it.
3. Start counting 1-2-3-1-2-3 in time with the beat.
4. Does the counting match the song? That is, does each "1" start on the beginning of a "phrase"?
5. If the answer to 4 is "yes", wellsir, according to Rusty's waltz Wednesday criteria you've got yourself a waltz.

Let's try with an old post: Beach House's On the Sea





To my ear, I the first phrase begins as the piano comes in around the 12 second mark.

The piano does a nice job of sounding out the "1-2-3". The melody phrase consists of three LOUD-soft note combinations.

Once you start counting your "1-2-3"s, you'll find that the "2" always lands on the middle - which is usually the highest accented note in each 1-2-3 phrase.

Got any questions or comments? I'm all eyes, so comment below! Bye now.

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