6/8 rhythmic literacy - 01

This has been a lurking annoyance for me for a long time: students don't know how to read basic rhythms in 6/8... any of the */8 meters. It looks weird and is often explained poorly, and people are afraid to touch it, so they avoid it. So what I've done here is write out some equivalent rhythms in 2/4 (as 8th note triplets) and 6/8— it's more a rhythmic key than it is a page of exercises:

Play each measure several times on the snare drum without stopping, while counting out loud in 2, as indicated. Every example for each numbered line is played and counted exactly the same. The stems-down part is intended to serve as beat marks, but you can play that part on the bass drum or hihat with your foot, if you choose.

This page is strictly remedial— you have to do the next step, which is to get a beginning or intermediate snare drum book and read through some exercises in 6/8 and 12/8.

Get the pdf