In last week’s post, we practiced using two-beat extensions within basic patterns. Now it’s time to apply that technique in order to phrase the music. The Drill: First, listen to Sweet Sixteen by Junior Wells: In the last four beats of each major phrase (musical paragraph), there is a clear bass drum on the beat,… Continue Reading
Tag Archives: rhythm units
Two Beat Extensions
WCS is a two-beat dance. As a result, it is easy to extend patterns by two beats in order to phrase the music. In order to remain on the same foot, we’ll use a double rhythm unit to extend the pattern, and we’ll put the extra double between the rhythm units of the base pattern.… Continue Reading
Where the & Belongs
This entry is part 4 of 4 in the series Music and CountingThe biggest difference between straight and rolling count is when the weight transfer between the beats happens: either directly in the middle of the beat, or closer to the upbeat. However, there is another significant difference between the two forms of counting. Each… Continue Reading
Dance Atoms: Breaking Things Down
When practicing, it is important to break skills down into their fundamental parts. When a skill stretches your current abilities, your brain can’t process all the elements of the skill at once. As you practice, your brain develops the ability to reliably coordinate the elements for that particular skill, and it becomes possible to put… Continue Reading
A Two Beat Dance
This entry is part 3 of 4 in the series Music and CountingAlthough west coast swing is composed of six- and eight-count patterns, the actual dance itself is a two-beat dance. Every movement in west coast swing goes through a downbeat-upbeat pair. Those pairs of downbeats and upbeats are then joined together into a full… Continue Reading
Musicality: Footwork to Emphasize Doubles or Triples
In the post on rhythm units, we described double and triple rhythms. To wit: a double rhythm has two weight changes within 2 beats of music, and a triple rhythm has three weight changes in two beats of music. One way to make your dancing fit the music is to dance triples when you hear… Continue Reading
Doubles and Triples as Lead-Follow Concepts
Although we learn the west coast rhythm of double triple triple by rote, higher-level dancers actually lead (and follow) doubles and triples differently. By learning how to lead or follow a specific rhythm pattern, it becomes possible to dance variations such as triple double triple or double double double. In lead-follow terms, triple steps occur… Continue Reading
Learning the WCS Rhythms: 6s and 8s
This entry is part 3 of 8 in the series Beginner TrackNow that you’re comfortable with triple steps, it’s time to put those steps into your basic patterns. There are two basic rhythms in WCS: the six count rhythm and the 8 count rhythm. Six Count Rhythms: Once you are comfortable with triple steps, six… Continue Reading
Learning the WCS Rhythms: Triples
This entry is part 2 of 8 in the series Beginner TrackOne of the first challenges that WCS poses for new dancers is that the basic rhythms are more tricky than most social dances. First, WCS has two basic rhythms: the six count rhythm and the eight count rhythm. Second, both WCS rhythms include triple… Continue Reading
Rhythm Units
Almost all dances can be broken into 2-beat units of a downbeat and an upbeat. Each unit of the dance, in turn, can have a different number of weight changes and can have those weight changes occur at different times. To keep track of the “how many” and “when” of weight changes, we use rhythm… Continue Reading