TEATROBODABIL

Memory trick — the medal trap

LUNA MEANS MOON. THE MOON LOOKS SILVER. BUT LUNA WON GOLD.

Juan Luna — GOLD, for the Spoliarium, 1884 Madrid Exposition of Fine Arts.

Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo — SILVER, same year, same exposition.

This is the single most-swapped pair on the whole topic, and the reason is right there in the name. Luna is the moon, the moon is silvery — so your hand wants to write silver. Write gold.

Memory trick — if you see this, write that

• See Basi Revolt · 14 paintings · Ilocos · 1807 → Esteban Villanueva
• See Father of Philippine Painting · art academy · Tondo · 1821 → Damian Domingo
• See Spoliarium · gold · Badoc, Ilocos Norte → Juan Luna
• See silver · 1884 Madrid → Felix Resurreccion Hidalgo
• See congratulated them · "on par with the Spanish" → Dr. Jose Rizal

Memory trick — the three F's of colonial art

FAITH → FUSION → FREEDOM

Faith: santos and biblical characters carved from wood, clay, ivory or stone — some with European faces, some with indio faces.

Fusion: shrines, altars and candleholders covered in flowers, leaves, scrolls and long elegant lines. Indigenous plus European equals folk Baroque.

Freedom: the educated mestizo class joined the revolution, artists turned from religious to secular subjects, and paintings became political statements.

Memory trick — the rule that replaces the whole table

FLIP IT AND TIMES FOUR.

Take the note's name as a fraction, flip nothing — just multiply it by 4.

Whole = 1 × 4 = 4 beats.  Half = ½ × 4 = 2.  Quarter = ¼ × 4 = 1.  Eighth = ⅛ × 4 = ½.  Sixteenth = 1/16 × 4 = ¼.

Every step down the list halves the one above it. Rests work exactly the same way — a quarter rest is 1 beat of silence, an eighth rest is half a beat of silence.

Memory trick — the dot

THE DOT IS GREEDY BY HALF.

A dot adds half the value of the original note or rest to itself.

Dotted half = 2 + 1 = 3 beats.  Dotted quarter = 1 + ½ = 1½ beats.

Memory trick — the three C's, and the trap inside them

C IS COMMON. ¢ IS CUT. 6/8 IS COMPOUND.

Common time = 4/4. Written as a plain C. Four beats, quarter note gets the beat.

Cut time = 2/2. Written as a C with a line cut through it — the symbol tells you its own name. Two beats, and the half note gets the beat.

Compound time = 6/8. The top number divides by three. Six eighth notes grouped into two groups of three, so six beats but only two strong beats.

Here is the trap: cut and compound both start with C, and a question asking for the compound one will pull your hand toward writing "cut time." Cut is 2/2. Compound is 6/8. They are not the same thing and they are not even close.

Memory trick — reading a time signature

TOP = HOW MANY. BOTTOM = WHICH ONE.

The top number is the number of beats in each measure. The bottom number is the note value that receives one beat.

To turn the bottom number into a note, just say it: bottom 4 means the quarter note, bottom 2 means the half note, bottom 8 means the eighth note.

Memory trick — meter

COUNT THE WEAKS, ADD ONE.

Strong–weak = one weak + 1 = duple meter (2).

Strong–weak–weak = two weaks + 1 = triple meter (3).

Strong–weak–weak–weak = three weaks + 1 = quadruple meter (4).

Meter is the repeating pattern of strong and weak beats — the pulse you tap, clap or stomp. To classify it, listen for how many beats fall between one strong beat and the next.

Memory trick — rests on the staff

HALF SITS. WHOLE HANGS.

The half rest sits on the third line, like a hat resting on a table.

The whole rest hangs down from the fourth line, like a hole in the ceiling. Whole and hole — that is the hook.

They are the same little black rectangle. The only thing that tells them apart is whether it sits on top of the line or hangs under it.

Memory trick — the tempo ladder

MIND THE GAAAP.

Grave → Adagio → Andante → Allegro → Presto. Five anchors, slowest to fastest, and the initials spell it.

The dead lie still (grave), then move slowly with feeling (adagio), then get up and walk (andante), then run brightly (allegro), then fly (presto).

If you only remember one: Andante = "walking" speed. It is the one that gets asked.

Memory trick — the counting rule

ONLY THE WALTZ IS IN THREE. ONLY THE LEVEE IS IN SIX. EVERYTHING ELSE COUNTS TO FOUR.

Waltz — triple meter, 3/4. The only one of the five in three.

Levee tap — 6/8. The only one in six. Its partner style, the clog, is in 2/4 or 4/4.

Tango, Charleston, Rhumba — quadruple, 4/4.

One rule, five dances, and it answers most of what a time-signature question can ask you here.

Memory trick — the five-line roll call

• Tap the toes and heels — footwear as a percussion instrument.
• Charleston the city — South Carolina, the 1920s.
• Waltz in three — Europe in the 1800s, elite clubs.
• Tango for two — Argentina, lively gestures.
• Rhumba slow-quick-quick — east coast USA, Afro-Latin.

Five lines, one breath. Each line carries the one fact that dance gets asked about.

The swap your teacher already used once

On the True or False activity, two items were built by trading the waltz's description with the rhumba's. Expect it again.

If a sentence says "already popular in Europe during the 1800s, popularized in elite clubs" — that is the WALTZ. Not the rhumba.

If a sentence says "east coast of the United States, big brass band music and Afro-Latin Caribbean style" — that is the RHUMBA. Not the waltz.