Building Rhythms Exercise 3: Accenting Notes
An accent is when you play one note louder than the other notes in a rhythm. Accents can turn a boring passage of 16th notes into an interesting rhythm. Below is an exercise that starts with easier accents (on the beat) and moves to harder accents (off the beat). It is important to tap the beat with your foot while playing the 16th notes with your hands, so you don’t lose sight of the beat. Try to play the unaccented notes so quietly that you can barely hear them, and play the accented notes loudly. Again, it is good to practice one bar at a time. When the first bar easy to play, move on to the next one. The symbol for accents looks like this: >
