⏱️ KEEPING A STEADY BEAT
⏱️ YOUR TEMPO TOOLKIT
Music buddy, today's mission is staying exactly the same speed the whole time, which is much trickier than it sounds. Clear a little floor space where you can march or clap without bumping into furniture.
- 👣 Two feet: for marching at a steady walking pace
- 👏 Two hands: for clapping along without rushing or slowing
- ⏱️ A clock, watch, or phone timer: to check your steady count
- 🧑🤝🧑 A friend or family member: to march beside you and test if you stay together
- 🧠 Patience: staying steady is a skill that gets better with practice
Time: about 15 minutes · No instrument needed · Best with a little open floor space
PAGE 1 OF 5 — TEMPO IS SPEED
FAST OR SLOW?
MEET TEMPO
In topic one you learned that rhythm is a repeating pattern. Now here is the next big idea: tempo. Tempo simply means how fast or how slow that pattern moves. A lullaby has a slow, gentle tempo. A song for jumping around at a party has a fast, exciting tempo. Musicians measure tempo in beats per minute, often shortened to BPM, which just counts how many beats happen in sixty seconds. A slow tempo might be 60 BPM, about one beat every second, while a fast tempo could be 160 BPM or more.
⚡ DID YOU KNOW?
People naturally walk at a fairly steady pace, often somewhere around 100 to 120 steps a minute, which is close to a medium music tempo.
TICK-TOCK!
SLOW
🐢 A slow tempo feels calm and relaxed, like a lullaby or a lazy Sunday.
FAST
🐇 A fast tempo feels exciting and busy, like a dance party or a race.