We had such a wonderful set of questions at the Revolutionize Rhythm In Your Studio webinar, but we didn’t have time to answer all of them. So we wanted to answer them here! Please leave a comment if you have more questions!
What Do I Purchase Questions:
Q: I’m new to this! Which bundle should I start with?
A: If you don’t have any of our curriculum or its supplements, have both elementary and at least early intermediate students, and are on a budget, definitely start with the core rhythm curriculum bundle. This gives you plenty of carefully sequenced material to help your students internalize and become more accurate in their rhythm. If you want fun rhythm activities (especially for groups but it works in private lessons to) that do help students rhythm, but less so than our core curriculum, you can also get the Rhythm Cup Explorations® bundle. If you want all of that for the best price and the best price for the streaming tracks, you can consider this big curriculum bundle.
Q: Do you have PDF books using “crotchet, quaver, minim” rhythm terms?
A: Of course! We have both a “North American” and an “International” edition, so just choose the “International” edition if you use terms like crotchet, quaver, and minim.
Q: Are the Rhythm Cup Explorations® tracks new? They sound fabulous! How do I get the updated tracks?
A: If you purchased our Rhythm Cup “Beats” before 2023, then you have the old tracks that are really nothing but fun beats to go along with the rhythm. In 2023, we introduced a completely different product of actual accompaniment tracks that were specifically composed to complement the rhythm and go with the music in a much more musical way! Those tracks are now all we offer, so you can purchase the updated tracks subscription here. Your old “beats” will still work, but as you could tell at the webinar, they are nothing like the new accompaniment tracks.
Q: I already have the PDF books. How do I get the tracks?
Just go here and select the tracks you need! (All the streaming tracks are at the top of the page.)
Updates to Curriculum and Tracks Questions:
Q: Has the Rhythm Menagerie® or Rhythm Manipulations® curriculum had any updates?
A: When we came out with the tracks years ago, we did make quite a few updates to the rhythms! So if you had any previous version of Menagerie® or Manipulations®, just re-download it from your account and you’ll have the most updated edition. You’ll definitely want the updated editions as those are the rhythms that are used on the tracks!
Q: Has Rhythm Cup Explorations® 1 and 2 had any updates?
A: Over the years, there have been a few updates (including adding the track numbers to the pages) to these books. There aren’t many updates, but if your PDF doesn’t show the track numbers at the top of the page, we would encourage you to download the latest file so that you have the most recent edition. You can do that from your account if you have one or from your original receipt.
Q: Is My First Rhythm Cup Explorations® new? I have Books 1 and 2.
A: Yes, you might have missed that we came out with My First Rhythm Cup Explorations® in 2019. So it’s been around for a while, but if you only have Books 1 and 2, it sounds like you might have missed this newer book. It’s great for students ages 4-8 who are just beginning to study music.
Q: How do I know if I have the old or new Rhythm Cup Explorations® tracks?
A: If you have a streaming tracks subscription, you can rest assured that all your tracks are up to date! We’ve only ever had the newest accompaniment tracks available on our streaming platform. But if you purchased the old Rhythm Cup Explorations® “Beats” before August of 2023, you probably have the old tracks. The new ones came out August 2023 and are called “accompaniment tracks” because that is what they are. They aren’t just beats to help you stay with the beat, they are actually music accompaniment tracks composed specifically to complement, and bring out the rhythms on the page.
How Do I Use It Questions:
Q: If my student has been taking lesson for a few years, where do I start them?
A: The beauty of Rhythm Menagerie® and Rhythm Manipulations® is that you can start anywhere and skip around to the units that are needed for each student. So if you have a student who is just fine with basic rhythms, you might find that you need to start them in the eighth note unit, or you might use the “rests and ties” unit as a good review before you tackle something more difficult. Start your students where they need to start and you can use previous units as review! But do use Rhythm Menagerie® and Rhythm Manipulations® as your primary, core curriculum. Remember Rhythm Cup Explorations® is just a supplement and does not have enough material to help students internalize rhythm.
Q: How many pages per week should I assign?
A: After using the introductory page for one week (some teachers skip this as they have their own way of introducing a rhythm concept), most teachers assign a full page for the students per week. However, it’s just as effective to assign just one line or two lines per week depending on how much time you have at the lesson (and whether you want to make sure they know how to do each rhythm at the lesson or you trust that they’ll be able to figure out some of the lines at home). Please tailor this to the needs of your student. If you have a slower moving student, then just one or two lines of a page per week might be plenty!
Q: How can I print the PDF most economically for my students?
A: There are a number of things you can do to print economically. First, you should know that you can print (or have a print shop print) and then charge the student for the price of the printing. But you cannot resell the book to them or make a profit in any way, but you can charge them for the price of printing. If a print shop prints it, you might check to see if they give educator’s discounts as they frequently do. Then, you’ll print it for less but you can charge the parent for the price of what it costs to print it.
Another thing you can do is to email the PDF to the student and have the parent print it! (This is permitted in our studio license.) Many parents and students may want the PDF anyway as they can use it on their iPad or device.
And lastly, if you don’t want to use color ink, you can tell your printer in the print setting to print it black and white.
Q: What ages are Rhythm Menagerie® and Rhythm Manipulations® good for? What about Rhythm Cup Explorations®
Rhythm Manipulations® works for all ages, including teens and adults. Rhythm Menagerie® works for all ages as well, with a few caveats. In each unit there are 3 “fun with sounds” pages that sometimes have animal antics on it (like beating your chest like a gorilla) that would not be desired by teens or adults, or even shy students! We recommend that for those pages, you simply replace the antic with something like snapping or tapping your hips or something that’s benign and or even fun for the teen and adult to do. There are only a FEW pages per unit where this might be something you’d have to do. The rest of the book is entirely suitable to all ages!
All ages love Rhythm Cup Explorations® Books 1 and 2. You can’t go wrong with these PDF books!
Q: How do you use Rhythm Menagerie® and Rhythm Manipulations® with Rhythm Cup Explorations®?
A: Of course, this curriculum is intended to be flexible, so you can do it however you please. Many teachers will have a student complete one entire unit from Menagerie/Manipulations® and then “reward” a student with one or two pages from Rhythm Cup Explorations®. Other teachers will have a student complete one level of one unit (remember there are 3 levels of rhythms in each unit) and then do a Rhythm Cup Explorations® activity after each of those levels.
Remember that the CORE curriculum is always Rhythm Menagerie® and Rhythm Manipulations® and the supplement is always Rhythm Cup Explorations®. This is because there is substantially more material in the RM books and they are carefully sequenced and paced to help ensure mastery. Rhythm Cup Explorations® jumps around in each book and has always been intended to be a supplement! Here’s a chart that shows how to use it:
Tracks Questions:
Q: Are the tracks really necessary?
A: Not only are they necessary for our core curriculum (My First Rhythm Cup Explorations®, Rhythm Menagerie®, and Rhythm Manipulations®, but we think they are essential to helping get rhythm inside your students’ bodies and helping them practice more accurately at home. Without the tracks, there’s no way for students to “check” themselves. But with the first 2 tracks for every line, they can hear the rhythm and make sure their rhythms align. In addition, I’ve sure you’ve “clapped” many rhythms in your life, and though our rhythms are musically composed, you know that hearing music while clapping makes a huge difference in enjoyment and internalization of rhythm. You could potentially “get by” without the tracks to Rhythm Cup Explorations® 1 and 2, but the tracks just make the fun activity outrageously fun and students beg for more when you give them the full experience!
Q: Can/should students get the tracks at home?
A: Oh yes! And you definitely want them to be practicing with the tracks at home for the fastest and most accurate progress. Just send parents the link for the tracks they need and say, “I would like you to get this subscription so Sophie can practice accurately at home. They can greatly improve her rhythm!”
Q: What if parents have kids in both books and need the tracks for both?
A: Just tell them they need the streaming tracks to both books currently and give them the URLs to the streaming tracks (pick which one they need from this page). They can always cancel their subscription when their child is no longer using the book.
Q: How do I talk to a parent about getting the tracks?
A: We have a whole blog post about this and it even includes a handout if you want to give it to parents. But really, it’s just a quick text or email that says,
“I would like you to get this subscription so Sophie can practice accurately at home. They can greatly improve her rhythm!”
And then give them the URL to the tracks they need to get! (Make it easy for them to get them and you’ll have much more compliance!)
Q: Are there slow, medium and fast tempos of tracks?
A: Yes! Every student is different though, so sometimes the slow track won’t be slow enough or the fast track won’t be fast enough. But we’ve used tempos, especially in the core curriculum tracks (MFRCE, Rhythm Menagerie® and Rhythm Manipulations®), that are good for most students. However, you’ll want to practice the rhythm with them first without the tracks just to make sure they know the rhythm first.
Q: Does the student have to achieve the fast tempo before going on?
A: No! Only use the tempos that are comfortable for the student and challenge them when you feel like they are ready. But some students will get too tense when they try the fast tracks, so they never have to do those. The goal should be an enjoyment of practicing with the tempo with accurate rhythm. “Challenge by choice” is a great motto. If the student doesn’t want to try something faster or it will cause them to be tense, just stick with a slower tempo.
Where Can I See All the Available Rhythm Products?
Just go to our rhythm page here. Or just click SHOP in the top menu and then the RHYTHM category that you’ll see!
You can also download our FREE Student Solutions Catalog that has an entire section devoted to explaining the rhythm curriculum, seeing the Scope and Sequence of that curriculum (including where in the curriculum you can find specific rhythm concepts), and more!
Bundles We Recommend:
Individual Books + Tracks:
Tracks Only:
These would be the URLs to where you would send parents as well.
