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Turning the seed rhythm into a Dance

A selection of horns

Who plays the first dance?

THE SEED RHYTHM is a rhythm you could dance to – a dance rhythm. The strong (accented) beats of the seed rhythm mark out exactly the kind of regular pulse that is essential in dance music.

Seed Rhythm

Here’s the seed rhythm. How does David Horne develop the seed rhythm into a dance rhythm in Emerging Dances?

bars 4-7

In this clip, you can hear one of the first times the seed rhythm appears in Emerging Dances. It's played by the horn, trumpet and trombone, harp and strings at the beginning of the piece.

Some beats sound stronger than others, and these stronger beats create a regular beat which you can tap out aloud.

bars 4-7

Here’s what those instruments sound like when they’re joined by all the other instruments who play at the beginning of the piece.

The seed rhythm sounds even more dance-like here because David Horne draws attention to the strong (accented) beats in the rhythm. He also adds rapid flourishes in the other instruments, giving a sense of movement and energy.

Emerging Dances score

David has also marked the beginning of the score with an exact indication of how fast to play the piece (tempo marking). Here he asks for the music to be played at 144 beats per minute. So this is a fast and energetic dance. The notes are also played in a short and ‘spiky’ way which contributes to the character of an energetic dance.

One Emerging Dance?

The seed rhythm sets up one dance, or one type of dance, but David Horne’s title suggests that there is more than one dance in his piece – more than one dance emerges in Emerging Dances!

Where are these other dances?

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A dance rhythm?

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More dances emerging

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Also of Interest

Also of Interest