Three Irish Dances: A St. Patrick's Day Rhythm Challenge
In Minnesota, we are fortunate to have access to many opportunities to experience traditional Irish music. When my children were younger, they participated in Irish dance lessons. During performances, it was hard to miss the rhythmic entrainment of not only the dancers, but everyone in the audience. From a young age, dancers are taught to recognize and differentiate rhythmic meter, or beat patterns for specific dances. For example, dancers learn that repeating the word “piccadilly” represents the 4/4 meter of a reel. Repeating the word “galloping” represents the 6/8 meter of a jig.
Toader et al. (2023) define beat perception as “the ability to discern a steady pulse underlying a rhythmic stimulus” (p 2). The following intervention incorporates Irish dance tunes, rhythmic mnemonics, movement, and the opportunity to match beat patterns to corresponding rhythmic meters. This intervention could easily be adapted to meet the needs of individual clients and may be used to address cognitive, sensory, motor, and speech/communication goals.
Irish Music Rhythmic Mnemonic Intervention
Listen to the chosen dance music to promote movement (dancing, marching, swaying, clapping, tapping body, or playing an instrument)
Introduce the rhythmic mnemonic for specific dances by speaking each pattern
Continue speaking rhythmic mnemonic and reinforce learning/memory by adding drumming or body tapping to each mnemonic pattern
Listen to the dance music and try out different rhythmic mnemonic options to match the music to the corresponding dance (reel, jig, hornpipe)
Reference:
Toader, C., Tataru, C. P., Florian, I. A., Covache-Busuioc, R. A., Bratu, B. G., Glavan, L. A., Bordeianu, A., Dumitrascu, D. I., & Ciurea, A. V. (2023). Cognitive Crescendo: How Music Shapes the Brain's Structure and Function. Brain sciences, 13(10), 1390., https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13101390
