God Save The King - Lesson
James Rae teaches “God Save The King” on saxophone, using it to introduce the dotted crotchet-quaver rhythm in 3/4, plus crescendo, forte, and rallentando.
Copyright © 2023 Universal Edition (London) Ltd., Traditional
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27 lessons (1h 3m) · 1 free
Lesson transcript
Understanding Dotted Crotchet Quaver Rhythm
Here is a very well-known tune in 3/4, which introduces the dotted crotchet quaver rhythm.
Counting the Rhythm
I like to think of the words "Wimbledon" or "Surbiton" to illustrate to my pupils how to count this rhythm. In the second bar of this tune, it goes:
- "I live in Wimbledon, not far from Surbiton."
This may sound a bit silly, but it makes the rhythm stick in their minds. The sillier they make something, the more likely pupils are to remember it, rather than thinking of subdividing, which is difficult at this stage.
Once you get the gist of playing this rhythm in 3/4, it's like riding a bike, it'll be there for life.
Dynamics and Expression
Now, let's talk about the dynamics of the piece. As you can see, there's a P marked at the beginning, which means piano (soft).
- Then we have a crescendo up the scale.
- The rest of the piece continues forte (loud).
At the end of the piece, you'll notice a term: "ral" which means ralentando (slow down). This is similar to rit. but usually spans a longer time scale.
- Rit. is generally over two or three beats.
- Ralentando is often over a bar or two bars or more.
The Concept of Ralentando
Ralentando is a gradual slowing down of the pulse of the tempo. You often find ralentandos near the ends of pieces.
As with many objects, they tend to slow down before they stop, much like buses.
- Buses don't suddenly stop; they slow down as they approach a bus stop.
Music does the same, it's a natural way to wind down a piece of music.
That's your rallentando!
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Meet your guru
Meet your guru
James Rae was born on Tyneside in 1957. He studied clarinet, bass clarinet, piano and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama from 1975 to 1979, under professors Yona Ettlinger, Stephen Trier, Meriel Jefferson and Patric Standford respectively. Since leaving the Guildhall, he has pursued a highly successful and varied career across three areas: performing, writing and teaching.
James Rae has worked in many West End and Royal National Theatre productions, including Sir Peter Hall's award-winning Oresteia with music by Sir Harrison Birtwistle, and has received many freelance engagements with some of the country's leading orchestras and ensembles. He is the leader of the Phoenix Saxophone Quartet, who over the years have given many recitals and BBC broadcasts, and have recorded the complete works of Carey Blyton on two albums, 'The Return of Bulgy Gogo' and 'Sherlock Holmes meets Dr Who'.
As a composer, James Rae is one of Europe's most published writers of educational wind music, with over 250 publications to his credit, mainly published by Universal Edition. His music includes instrumental study books, sonatas, tutors, baroque, classical and jazz transcriptions, plus many volumes of duets, many of which feature on all the major wind examination syllabuses worldwide. He has also written four musicals for schools with Mike Cornick, and his larger commissions include The Turn of a Wheel, a major work for concert band that premiered in November 1999 for the North Tyneside Concert Band, of which he was a founder member as a boy, and the overture Moving On in 2012.
James Rae has worked extensively as a syllabus consultant and composer for both the Associated Board and Trinity College London, and has been highly involved in developing the woodwind sight-reading requirements for both exam boards. As a teacher, he has held many posts in both the state and independent sectors, and currently works at King's College School Wimbledon, where he directs the Wind Orchestra and Concert Band, and Shrewsbury House School in Surbiton, where he coaches three large bands and a chamber group. That teaching experience runs right through his saxophone series for MusicGurus, which takes you step by step from your very first notes to a confident, stylish player: First Notes, New Keys & Low Notes, Expanding Your Range, Scales & High Notes, Extended Range & Rhythm, and Polish & Style.
