Week 2 — Studio · "Groove transcription"

Course: MUS 156 Music Theory I · Kenosis College
Instructor: Professor Hemsworth
Unit: Learning Unit 2 of 16 (Week 2) · two sessions per week
Objectives: SLO 1 · SLO 7 (the spine: hear it → count it → write it)
Studio 2 · 20 points · Studios group · In session, Week 2's second session · async make-up path below, full credit, submit by the end of Week 2
Format: the course's signature hands-on session — Professor Hemsworth plays grooves at the drum and piano, you find the pulse, count it aloud, and write it down; then a neighbor plays your bar back from the page. Nothing to buy or download; rhythm-line worksheets are provided in the room, and clapping hands and knee-taps are the only instruments required.

Every content unit has a the second session studio. It's the week's payoff enacted: this week, the payoff is writing time down — so the band plays it the same way twice.

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Part 1 — The Big Picture

Session 1 named the system: the beat as a grid, five values in proportion, time signatures, "1 e & a," dots, ties, pickups. Today the system goes into your hands and ears at performance speed. Every round runs in the ear-first direction — hear it → count it aloud → write it — because that's the direction you'll use it on a gig: somebody plays a groove, and you catch it on paper before it evaporates.

By the end of the session your written bar will pass the only test notation cares about: someone else plays it back, and it's the thing you meant.

Part 2 — The Task

The guiding question: When the room plays a groove, how fast can you turn it into counted, written rhythm — and could a bandmate play your bar back exactly, without ever hearing the original?

No hypothesis to write today — your "prediction instrument" is your foot, and Round 1 warms it up before any counting happens.

Part 3 — Procedure (the four rounds)

You'll work on the rhythm-line worksheet (a single-line staff — no pitches today) and a counting sheet. Groups of 2–3 at the tables work well; the rounds also run fine solo until Round 4, which needs a partner (solo path in the make-up section). Clap, tap the table, or knee-tap — whatever your neighbors can survive.

Round 1 — Ears and feet only: find the pulse (≈8 min).
Professor Hemsworth plays four grooves, about thirty seconds each. For each groove, on your sheet: (1) tap along until you've locked the beat — honestly lock it, don't fake-nod; (2) circle whether the beats group in twos, threes, or fours; (3) put a light pencil mark where the strong beat (the ONE) keeps landing. No notation allowed in this round — ears first, on purpose.

Round 2 — Echo and count (≈12 min).
Six short patterns, each one bar, played twice. For each: the room claps it back as an echo; then you write the counting string with the attacks marked in Table 1 — like "1, 2 &, 3" — no noteheads yet. Check with a neighbor after every second pattern; where you disagree, count the pattern out loud together against a tapped beat and let the grid settle it.

Round 3 — Notate it (≈15 min).
Four patterns, played three times each, with the meter announced first. Now the full trip: hear it, count it, and write the note values (rests included) on the rhythm line in Table 2. Before you call any bar finished, run bar math: do your values total what the time signature promises? A bar that doesn't add up is wrong before anyone plays it — that's the week's superpower; use it.

Round 4 — The groove capstone, and yours (≈18 min).
Two parts:

1. The capstone. One last groove — two bars plus a pickup, with one tie in it. Same trip: pulse, counting, notation. This one uses everything: pickup bookkeeping, a tie across the barline, bar math to confirm.
2. Your line. Write one or two bars of your own rhythm — something from your actual musical life: the strum pattern you always fall into, a drum fill you love, the rhythm of a lyric you sing. Any simple meter. Check its bar math. Then trade sheets with a neighbor: they clap your bar from the page, cold, while counting aloud. If what comes back is what you meant — that's notation working, and you watched it happen. If it isn't, find out together whether the page or the clap drifted: that conversation is the whole course in miniature.

Fallback (no clapping partner needed): every round works solo except the trade in Round 4 — the make-up section below covers the solo version. If you can't hear the drum well from your seat, move; rhythm forgives nothing acoustically.

Part 4 — The Scaffold (complete during the rounds)

Table 1 captures Round 2 — the counting string for each echoed pattern, attacks marked.

Pattern	Meter (announced)	Your counting string (mark the attacks)
1	______	______
2	______	______
3	______	______
4	______	______
5	______	______
6	______	______

Table 2 captures Round 3 — the notated values (rests included), plus your bar-math check.

Pattern	Meter	Your values, in order	Bar math (does it total the bar?)
1	______	______	______
2	______	______	______
3	______	______	______
4	______	______	______

Round 4 goes on the rhythm-line worksheet: the capstone bars, then your own line, each with bar math shown.

Part 5 — Analysis Questions (short answers on the sheet, ≈5 min)

1. In Round 1 your foot found the pulse before your pencil did anything. Which groove took longest to lock, and what finally locked it?
2. A bandmate writes a dotted quarter and calls it "two beats." In one or two sentences, set them straight — include the actual number.
3. In Round 3, did bar math catch any error of yours before a replay did? Describe one save (or one near-miss).
4. When your neighbor clapped your Round 4 line, what came back — exactly what you meant, or something else? If something drifted, was it the page's fault or the performance's?
5. Name one rhythm from your own playing or singing that you couldn't have written down before this week — and write its first bar now, right here on the sheet.

Part 6 — AI-Critique Moment (≈4 min, phones out — or on the projector if the room prefers)

Type three facts from today into your chatbot and ask it to check them — for example: "Check these: (1) in 4/4 a dotted quarter note lasts 1½ beats; (2) a measure of 3/4 can correctly contain six eighth notes; (3) beaming eighth notes together does not change how they sound." Then judge its reply against your sheet. The classic failures to hunt: it says the dot "adds a beat," or it insists 3/4 bars need three quarter notes. Write 2–3 sentences on your sheet: what it got right, and at least one thing you corrected or verified. The habit all term: the tool drafts, you judge.

Part 7 — What to Submit

Hand in before you leave: the counting sheet and rhythm-line worksheet (Rounds 1–4 + analysis answers + AI-critique sentences). 20 points, graded on the rubric below.

Async make-up path — full credit, submit by the end of Week 2. Life happens; missing the studio costs you nothing but the room. Do the same skills solo, with the direction flipped where a partner is required:

1. Counting → notation (replaces Rounds 2–3). Below are four counting strings with their meters — the attacks are the syllables shown; parentheses mean the previous note is still held. Notate each on a rhythm line (values and rests, in order) and show the bar math:
   - M1 · 4/4 · attacks: "1, 2, 3 &, 4"
   - M2 · 3/4 · attacks: "1 (held through 2), 3"
   - M3 · 4/4 · attacks: "1, & (of 1), 2, 3 (held through 4)"
   - M4 · 4/4 · attacks: "1 (held one and a half beats), & (of 2), 3, 4"
2. Perform it (replaces the echo). Record about one minute of yourself clapping two of the four patterns while counting the full grid aloud (voice memo or video — fidelity doesn't matter, honesty does).
3. Your line (replaces Round 4). Write one or two bars of your own rhythm with bar math shown, and record yourself clapping it once while counting.
4. Do the AI-critique step exactly as in Part 6.

Submit: phone photos of your worksheet plus the short recording(s). Same rubric, same 20 points, no penalty.

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Instructor key — REMOVE BEFORE PUBLISHING TO STUDENTS

Round 1 grooves (play ~30 seconds each; keep tempos comfortably apart):

#	Play	Grouping key	Note
1	straight rock four at the drum, backbeat on 2 and 4	fours (quadruple)	the gimme opener
2	waltz vamp at the piano (oom-pah-pah)	threes (triple)	most will feel it instantly; praise the physical sway
3	brisk march feel, LEFT-right, LEFT-right	twos (duple)	duple vs. quadruple hesitation is normal — accept either if they defend the ONE, then show why the strong beat returns every two here
4	slow ballad four, sparse	fours (quadruple)	slow tempos are the hard ones; let them tap subdivisions to stay honest

Round 2 patterns (announce the meter, play each twice at ♩ ≈ 80; the vetted counting is the attack string):

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q B4/q B4/q B4/q |

Pattern 1 — four quarters. Vetted counting: attacks on "1, 2, 3, 4."

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q B4/e B4/e B4/h |

Pattern 2 — quarter, two eighths, half. Vetted counting: attacks on "1, 2 &, 3" (beat 4 rides inside the half).

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/h B4/q B4/q |

Pattern 3 — half, two quarters. Vetted counting: attacks on "1, 3, 4" (beat 2 rides inside the half).

METER: 3/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q B4/h |

Pattern 4 — quarter then half, in three. Vetted counting: attacks on "1, 2" (beat 3 rides inside the half).

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/e B4/e B4/e B4/e B4/q B4/q |

Pattern 5 — four eighths, two quarters. Vetted counting: attacks on "1 & 2 &, 3, 4."

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q. B4/e B4/h |

Pattern 6 — dotted quarter, eighth, half. Vetted counting: attacks on "1, & (of 2), 3" — the round's summit; expect "1, 2 &" errors and resolve them by counting the full subdivision grid aloud.

Round 3 patterns and vetted notations (announce meter, play three times at ♩ ≈ 76):

METER: 2/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q B4/e B4/e |

Pattern 1 · 2/4 — vetted: q e e (1 + ½ + ½ = 2 ✓).

METER: 3/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q B4/q B4/e B4/e |

Pattern 2 · 3/4 — vetted: q q e e (1 + 1 + ½ + ½ = 3 ✓).

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q qr B4/q B4/q |

Pattern 3 · 4/4 — vetted: q qr q q (1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 4 ✓). Play the silence honestly — a clean stop on beat 2. Accept any answer that counts the rest as a full beat; "q q q" (three beats, no rest) is the expected miss.

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/h. B4/q | B4/q B4/q B4/h |

Pattern 4 · 4/4, two bars — vetted: h. q | q q h (3 + 1 = 4 ✓; 1 + 1 + 2 = 4 ✓). The dotted half is the test: "h q q | …" in bar 1 means they heard three attacks where there were two — replay and have them count attacks on fingers.

Round 4 capstone (announce: "4/4, with a one-beat pickup; there's one tie in it"; play three times at ♩ ≈ 72):

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q | B4/q B4/e B4/e B4/h~ | B4/h B4/q B4/q | B4/h B4/q |

Vetted notation: pickup q, then q e e h~ | h q q | h q. Bar math: pickup 1 beat; bars two and three each total 4; final bar totals 3 — pickup + final bar = one full measure ✓. The tied half spans the barline: one four-beat sound attacked on beat 3 of the first full bar. Vetted counting: pickup on "4"; then attacks "1, 2 &, 3 (held through the next bar's 1–2), 3, 4"; final bar attacks "1, 3." Full credit requires: the tie written as a tie (not two attacked halves), and the short final bar (not padded to four). A dotted-whole-equivalent spelled with a dot across the barline is impossible — anyone who tries it has just discovered why the tie exists; say so warmly.

Round 4 "your line" and Round 1 (own responses): grade the method — honest pulse marks, counting strings with attacks distinguishable from held syllables, bar math shown and correct for their own line — never agreement with one "right" groove. If a neighbor's clap-back diverged, the sheet should say which side drifted; both answers are acceptable when defended.

Make-up key (counting strings → vetted notation):

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q B4/q B4/e B4/e B4/q |

M1 — vetted: q q e e q (attacks "1, 2, 3 &, 4"; 1+1+½+½+1 = 4 ✓).

METER: 3/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/h B4/q |

M2 — vetted: h q (attacks "1 (held through 2), 3"; 2+1 = 3 ✓).

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/e B4/e B4/q B4/h |

M3 — vetted: e e q h (attacks "1, & of 1, 2, 3 held through 4"; ½+½+1+2 = 4 ✓).

METER: 4/4    CLEF: treble
| B4/q. B4/e B4/q B4/q |

M4 — vetted: q. e q q (attacks "1 held 1½, & of 2, 3, 4"; 1½+½+1+1 = 4 ✓).

AI-critique full credit: names a specific claim checked, with either a caught error (most common: the dot "adds a beat") or a real verification ("it agreed, and I re-added the 3/4-with-six-eighths bar myself: 6 × ½ = 3"). "The AI said it was all correct" with no checking shown earns the partial band.

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Grading rubric — 20 points

The rubric below maps the studio's parts to points; bands are full / partial / none. The async make-up path uses the identical rubric (Round 1 credit transfers to the recorded counting).

Criterion	Full	Partial	None
Round 1 — pulse and grouping: all four grooves marked honestly, grouping right on ≥3 (3)	3	2	0–1
Round 2 — counting strings: attacks marked, ≥4 of 6 correct (5)	5	3–4 (grid right, a few attacks misplaced)	0–2
Round 3 — notation: values and rests in order, bar math shown, ≥3 of 4 correct (5)	5	3–4 (one wrong value or one unchecked bar)	0–2
Round 4 — capstone + your line: tie and pickup handled, own line's bar math correct, trade attempted honestly (5)	5	3–4 (capstone right but no own line, or vice versa)	0–2
AI-critique: 2–3 sentences with a specific catch or a real verification (2)	2	1	0

Quality gate (self-checked): every pattern in the instructor key re-verified against the theory reference (all bars sum to their meters, including the pickup/final-bar pair; every counting string matches the course syllable tables; the dot and tie arithmetic checked); rubric sums 3+5+5+5+2 = 20; no purchased or downloaded materials; the make-up path requires no partner and no instrument beyond hands. ✓

Canvas placement block

canvas_object    = Assignment
title            = "Week 2 Studio — Groove transcription"
assignment_group = "Studios"
points_possible  = 20
grading_type     = points
submission_types = [on_paper]        # in session; async make-up: online_upload (photos + short recording)
due              = in session, Week 2's second session; make-up by the end of Week 2
published        = true

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