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Thread: Verbally counting time in 3/4 waltzes

  1. #1
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    Unhappy Verbally counting time in 3/4 waltzes

    I have a timing problem. Always have, but I want to focus on this to improve my playing.
    I am working on "Westphalia Waltz". It has dotted 1/2 notes, dotted 1/4 note & 1/4 rest & Triplets.
    Somewhere way-way back in my memory, someone once told me to use this: Verbally count of 1&a2&a3 or 1&2-3 or 1 & 2 & 3 or on triplet, simply say tri-pel-et. I have forgotten all this so could someone please refresh me as this is an easy way for me to do my time count on songs I don't know or simply play by ear & try to follow someone else playing a song.....my timing stinks! HELP!

  2. #2
    The Amateur Mandolinist Mark Gunter's Avatar
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    Default Re: Verbally counting time in 3/4 waltzes

    I’m general:

    3/4 = 3 beats to a measure and the quarter note gets one beat

    So, a measure with three quarter notes is counted 1 - 2 - 3

    A measure with six eighth notes is counted 1 and 2 and 3 and

    A measure with eight sixteenth notes would be 1-a-and-a-2-a-and-a-3-a-and-a

    Four eighth note triplets would be 1-and-a-2-and-a-3-and-a

    Mix and match according to the actual note values that are occurring in each measure of music

    Remember that a dotted note extends that notes time value by half. So if a quarter note gets 1 beat, a dotted quarter note gets 1-1/2 beats, etc.
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  4. #3
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    Default Re: Verbally counting time in 3/4 waltzes

    Thank you Mark Gunter for this info. Appreciate it. It will help.

  5. #4

    Default Re: Verbally counting time in 3/4 waltzes

    Here is a visual version of the counting that Mark and the OP describe:

    Westphalia Waltz sheet music and mandolin tab *with* the 1-and-2-and-3-and counting added right into the sheet music to help keep track of where you're at with the count in each measure. (The sheet music is viewable in the browser, or becomes a printable PDF if you click that page's download button/link.)

    There are many other versions of this tune and they're all a little bit different from each other, so the above version (melody from the Traditional Tune Archive) likely isn't 100-percent identical to the one the OP is learning, but it might help get started anyway.

    (I didn't add any chord names because everyone has different ideas as to what chords to use for this tune.)

  6. #5
    Registered User Tim C.'s Avatar
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    Default Re: Verbally counting time in 3/4 waltzes

    Kudos for realizing how important the counting is.

    So important that the very first exercises I do with my students before learning a new song is the appropriate "Motor Rhythm Exercise". Here is the one for waltz.Click image for larger version. 

Name:	RH WARMUP motor rhythm straight waltz.pdf 
Views:	38 
Size:	26.1 KB 
ID:	200162
    Tim Connell
    Portland, Oregon
    www.timsmandolessons.com

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