The last post was about tapping and this is an extension of the theme.  I want to call your mind to it via two recommendations; one another blog and one a video lecture course.

Last month, Ferdinand Englander posted on animating to beats in a post titled:  ANIMATION SECRET: ANIMATING TO MUSIC.

Check it out, it’s highly recommended.

(Here’s a direct link if the image above doesn’t work:  http://www.animatorisland.com/?p=174)

For folks like me that are a bit short on musical talent I highly recommend the video lecture over at Yale University.  It’s serious enough to work if’n it sinks in.  😉

Here’s a brief description of the course:

Professor Wright begins this lecture with a brief introduction to musical acoustics, discussing the way multiple partials combine to make up every tone. He reviews fundamental rhythmic terms, such as “beat,” “tempo,” and “meter,” and then demonstrates in more depth some of the more complex concepts, such as “syncopation” and the “triplet.” Professor Wright then moves on to discuss the basics of musical texture, giving detailed examples of three primary types: monophonic, homophonic, and polyphonic. The class is then taught the basics of rhythmic dictation — skill that entails notating the rhythm of a piece after listening to it. Each of these disparate threads is brought together in the conclusion of the lecture, in which Mozart’s Requiem is shown to weave different rhythms, textures, and pitches together to depict the text effectively.

The Link:  http://videolectures.net/yalemusi112f08_listening_music/

 All in all 10 lectures of about 1 hour each (10 hours total) of very useful ‘musical listening’ training.  I’m watching them now in hope that something might sink in! 🙂

One useful bit I picked up on was how the emphasis is placed on the down beat.  This is also where musicians often facilitate rhythmic change.

The last post was of a silent animation but hopefully they won’t always be!