Posts Tagged ‘musical freestyle’

Ride your HORSE to MUSIC and solve training issues! Whether you are riding a dressage musical freestyle, or just riding your horse to music, there are TIPS you should know before you start. Over the years, you have told me that the most important thing to you is that you want the RIGHT MUSIC for your HORSE and you WANT TO HAVE FUN!!

You’ve also told me that:
* You want help recognizing the rhythm of your horse’s gaits.
* You can’t maintain a rhythm.
* You and your horse are nervous and you need help relaxing.
* You’re tired of seeing “4″s for loss of rhythm on your dressage tests.
* You’re frustrated because there is no harmony between you and your horse.
* You don’t know what the right tempo is for your horse.
* You don’t know the difference between rhythm and tempo.
* You don’t know what type of music to choose.
* You can’t hear the difference between walk, trot, and canter music.
* You can’t identify the tempo (or BPM) of music.
* You are tired of buying so many CDs when they only have one good song for riding.

Here’s how I got started…

I grew up in a musical family so learning to read music and play various instruments was ingrained into me early in life. But most of all, I’ve always loved listening to music. (I always had the radio on in the barn.)

But riding to music became a necessity when I got a high strung Trakehner gelding to re-train. This horse was so incredibly tense, and fearful that simply trotting in one rhythm was IMPOSSIBLE. Anyhow, one day I was trying to trot around the arena, when a perfectly cadenced Scottish bagpipe march came on the radio. That horse picked up a swinging, rhythmic trot all by himself! AND he was breathing in time to the music. (Yes, I even have two witnesses to this!)

I was completely shocked. After that, I became fascinated with how music affects both the horse and rider, and my quest began. As I developed my business creating musical freestyles, I was time and time amazed at how perfect music could improve and enhance the horse’s movement and the rider’s rhythm! When the music fit the horse and rider, both the quality of the gaits and movements improved. The music enhanced both the artistic aspect and the technical side of the ride. Because rhythm was maintained!

I thought this was AMAZING, so I wanted to learn more…

I was stunned by the things I learned such as:

* Studies show that music affects our physiology. Slow music slows the heartbeat and the breathing rate as well as brings down blood pressure. Faster music speeds up these same functions.
* Listening to your favorite music is good for your cardiovascular system. Researchers have shown that joyful music has a healthy effect on blood vessel function.
* Riding to music increases your endurance and feelings of well-being. Studies show that exercising to music improves endurance by 15% and improve the “feeling states” so, people derive much greater pleasure from exercise. (Those cool endorphins!!)
* Many hospitals use music to treat patients with stress-related illnesses to stimulate the brain and relax the body.
* Music affects both sides of your brain, so whether you are a left-brain logical thinker or a right-brain artistic thinker, music helps you ride better.
* Even animals react differently to various types of music. Given a choice, rats will choose calm classical music over hard rock every time.
* Music can also influence brainwaves. Faster beats make you more alert and slower beats help you relax.
* Music creates a long-lasting change in brainwave activity. That means that music can bring lasting benefits to your state of mind, even after you’ve stopped listening.
* Music filters out background noises so that you and your horse can concentrate better.
* Music acts as an INTERNAL metronome to help you maintain a regular rhythm.
* Music puts you in a more positive state of mind, helping to keep depression and anxiety at bay.

The bottom line is… it’s fun to ride to music! Rhythm and relaxation are essential for EVERYONE including dressage riders, trail riders, hunter riders, and western pleasure riders.

Ruth Hogan Poulsen
http://www.Ruthhoganpoulsen.com
Ruth@Ruthhoganpoulsen.com

Author: Ruth Hogan Poulsen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Tips to help your dressage horse (or any horse!) enjoy the benefits of riding a musical freestyle or just riding to music.

So whether you want to ride competitively or just want to enjoy riding to music at home, here are some free tips.

6 Tips for Picking Out Awesome Freestyle Music for Your Horse

1. Know your horse’s ideal BPM (beats per minute)

2. The average horse has the following BPM:

o Walk 90-106 BPM
o Trot 138-160 BPM
o Canter 96-108 BPM

3. Pick music that matches your horse’s BPM within 4-6 BPM range.

(For example if your dressage horse has a canter of 104 BPM, choose music that is between 100 BPM and 108 BPM)

4. Choose music that has a very clear downbeat. (You’d tap your toe to the downbeat.)

5. If you CAN’T tap your toe or clap your hands easily to the beat of the music, it’s not great freestyle music!

6. Choose freestyle music that will help you achieve your horse’s ideal tempo.
For example: If your horse is a bit on the lazy side, choose an upbeat and energetic piece of music that will help YOU ask for more energy. If your horse is hot or nervous, choose freestyle music that will help you feel calm and steady as well as help your horse with rhythm and relaxation.

7.Choose music that has dynamic changes. Dynamic changes are audible changes within the music (either volume or intensity) where you can make transitions. (for example, the music should FEEL or SOUND like there is a transition to an extended trot) When you are riding a freestyle for competition, the dynamic changes of the music need to match your transitions both within the gate and from gait to gait. Meaning, when you begin and end a half-pass, the observer should see and hear the transition and hear the change in the music occurring together. When riding a transition from gait to gait, such as the canter to walk for example, the observer should hear and see the transition to the walk occur with the change in the music.

8. Choose music that has appropriate back ground music. Even when a selection of music has the correct BPM for a trot; for example, the music that is in the back ground has an impact on the FEEL of the music. If you have a hot nervous horse, a high pitched frantic violin in the back ground will NOT help you or your horse maintain rhythm and relaxation. On the other hand, if your horse is always lacking impulsion or is lazy, more upbeat and forward moving back ground music will help you increase his energy level. For example, a soft and slower piece of jazz music might be appropriate for a nervous horse, but would allow the quiet or lazy horse to have even less energy.

Ruth Hogan Poulsen
http://www.Ruthhoganpoulsen.com
Ruth@Ruthhoganpoulsen.com

Author: Ruth Hogan Poulsen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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When the judges are listening to your music, what are they listening for? One of the most frequently asked questions I get is, “How do the judges evaluate my music?” I’m going to go over the guidelines that are given to the judges so you can be on the same page as they are. There are four categories that the judges must consider when listening to and watching your freestyle. They are:

1. Suitability
2. Cohesiveness
3. Editing
4. Phrasing and dynamics

Let’s go over them one by one.

1. Suitability – The actual definition in the USDF rulebook says, “The music matches and expresses the horse and the gaits.”

What does this mean? “Matching the gaits” means that the music tempo or beats per minute (BPM) is the same as your horse’s down beat in the foot fall pattern of the walk, trot, and canter. (For the upper levels, it must also match piaffe and passage.)

The downbeat of the measure (the one you tap your toe to) should match the down beat of your horse’s gait. For example, in the canter the main down beat of the right lead would be the third beat, when the right front hits the ground. If the judge can tap his toe to the music and it matches when the right front foot is hitting the ground in the right lead, then the tempo matches your horse’s gait.

Matching your horse’s “expression” can be a bit more subjective although it’s very obvious when it does NOT match. If you’re riding a big springy warmblood, then cute circus music is not appropriate. On the flip side, a smaller, more average mover would look even more average if he had a large piece of music. Large music may draw wrong expectations from the judges because of the depth of the music. Bigger music is not always better.

2. Cohesiveness is defined in the rulebook as, “Music that is linked by genre, theme or orchestration.” This means that the judges should easily be able to hear the connection between the pieces of music.

The music should sound as if it were one piece for all the selected gaits. The link could be music of the same genre, like jazz or rock and roll, or the same instrument could be featured throughout the piece.

The link could also be music from TV shows, or a movie series. In any case, the connection of the music should be obvious to more than just you. You may think that the connection is apparent, but ask a few friends if they “get it” before you finalize your selection of music.

3. Editing is defined as “Music that has a smooth flow; there are no abrasive cuts, transition or fades.” If you can hear a cut or clip in a piece of music, it’s not a good edit.

Remember that music has phrases. You should never cut or edit a piece of music in the middle of a phrase. It would be like leaving off the end of a sentence. You’d leave the judges hanging.

Imperceptible edits are seamless. Elements that play an important role in a good edit are pitch, key, and where the beats are in the measure.

4. Phrasing and dynamics-Phrasing is defined as “The way sequences of notes are grouped together to form units of melody; the expression of musical sentences.”

This means that a line of notes or measures are grouped together with a clear beginning and end, like a sentence. You should almost feel like taking a breath at the end of a musical phrase much like you would at the end of a sentence.

Dynamics are the variations of the intensity of sound such as the changes in volume and intensity that would help define a change in a movement. For example, going from working trot to a lengthening, or a collected trot to half pass would be more enhanced with a clear, dynamic musical change.

The judges don’t want to guess when your lengthening was supposed to start. They want to hear a clear change in the music, volume, or intensity.

Hope this helps get you on the same “page” as the judges!

Ruth Hogan Poulsen

http://www.Ruthhoganpoulsen.com

Ruth@Ruthhoganpoulsen.com

Author: Ruth Hogan Poulsen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Here is a question I get all the time about the riding your freestyle at home vs. riding your freestyle at a show

Question:

I have ridden my freestyle a number of times in competition. I have ridden it time and time again perfectly at home and know my music very well.

This is my question. I ride my test perfectly at home but when I get to a venue… I am ALWAYS ahead of the music!!! It’s not a big problem because I know the music so well that we can ‘adapt!!’ But I am never riding the same pattern twice! Is there an explanation for this? What can I do so that I know where I am going to end up in my pattern at a show or new arena?

Answer:

This is a very common problem. In fact, I had the same problem with my mare Dream Lady when I first started competition in the first level freestyle. I could also go through my test and pattern with the music over and over at home perfectly. Then when I would get to the show, I would find myself so much in front of the music I had time for an extra movement! After studying my videos from the show I realized that Dream Lady was GROWING at the horse show. Her adrenaline and eagerness at the show made the size of her stride increase… and not just a little. My solution was to reevaluate her pattern and match it to the size of her stride at the show and not to the size of her stride at home.

Having said that, you have to be careful to still strive for the horse’s PERFECT BPM and not create your music to a tempo that is too fast for your horse. In Dream Lady’s case, she was not actually going “faster” she was just increasing the length of her stride. In other words, she was still walk/trotting and cantering to the beat of the original music, but she was covering more ground with each step. That was why I was ending up so far ahead of my music.

Knowing this made it easier for me to create a pattern that was more appropriate for her. Then I KNEW where I would end up at the show and was not guessing and making things up as I went! Hope this helps… Ruth

Ruth Hogan Poulsen

http://www.Ruthhoganpoulsen.com

Ruth@Ruthhoganpoulsen.com

Author: Ruth Hogan Poulsen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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RHYTHM AND TEMPO

Before you can pick the perfect freestyle music for your horse, you need to understand the difference between rhythm and tempo.

Many people use the words rhythm and tempo interchangeably, but they don’t mean the same thing. This month, I’ll go over the meaning of each–both in musical terminology and in riding terminology. It doesn’t matter if you ride DRESSAGE, HUNTERS, or you are an EVENT RIDER. Every equestrian needs RHYTHM!!!

Rhythm – When riding, regularity of the rhythm refers to the even spacing between each step in a stride of walk, trot, or canter. In music, rhythm is made up of sounds and silences. These sounds and silences are put together to form patterns of sound which are repeated to create rhythm.

Look at the two descriptions of rhythm and put them together. Think of the sounds and silences of the musical terminology and the even spacing between each step of your horse’s gaits as the same thing. When the horse’s foot is down it is a sound. When your horse’s foot is up, it is silent. This is how we can relate the rhythm of music to the rhythm of your horse’s gaits.

Tempo -Tempo is the speed of the music or the speed of your horse. Depending on how fast you want to go, you can adjust the rate of repetition of the rhythm.

Tempo in music can be fast, slow, or in-between. Music sounds and feels different depending on how fast it’s played. The same piece of music will have a different effect or mood depending on whether it’s played fast or slow.

Hopefully, this description clarifies the difference between rhythm and tempo as it applies to music and to your horse.

Next month, we’ll talk about choosing the particular kind of music that will accentuate your horse’s strengths. Stay tuned for a whole lot of fun!

Ruth Hogan Poulsen

http://www.Ruthhoganpoulsen.com

Ruth@Ruthhoganpoulsen.com

Author: Ruth Hogan Poulsen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Canada duty

While dressage has its roots in ancient Greece, it was in the seemingly magical displays of horsemanship in Italy and France of the 16th to 19th centuries that haute cole, or high school dressage and riding to music developed. Northern Italy was the center of equestrian arts in Renaissance Europe during the late 16th century and it was here that what would become the musical freestyle in competitive dressage was born. Not in Pignatelli’s school in Naples which is one of the most famous but in the schools of Fiaschi and Fredirico Grisone music became intimately connected to dressage. Both men wrote early treatises on dressage and included the use of music. While Pignatelli is known for being the first to train horses in pillars, bringing a new aesthetic to training a horse, it is the musical displays that have lasted and made it into international competition.

In Italy in the 1500s, music was introduced to the equestrian arts first to teach rhythm and tempo to riders, and soon after to accompany the lavish horse ballets. Grisone encouraged the use of the voice to help the horse’s tempo. He wrote a treatise in 1550 which was soon translated into French and German. Fiaschi included in his 1556 treatise short musical tunes corresponding to a horse’s gaits and movements. Thus, the first musical vocabulary for dressage was put onto paper. Fiaschi encouraged his riders to learn music well enough to sing while riding and to ride as if he were playing rare and excellent music.

As early as 1548 in Lyons France costumed chevaliers amazed audiences with their horses leaping, turning, and jumping to the sound of small bells attached to the horses: “So pleasantly resonate that the harmony of their sweet sound did not tickle the spirits of the astonished people any less than the flash of the gleaming gems dazzled their eyes so that those watching did not know if they dreamt or lived.” By 1602 La Broue wrote that without musical sensibilities one could never have the sensitivity to the horse’s beat and tempo necessary to ride well.

In a spectacular feat, Pluvinel, who re-introduced the gentle horse training techniques of xenophon, created a horse ballet in 1612 to honor the engagement of Louis XIII to Anne of Austria. The ballet was but a few minutes in a long day and evening of a lavish parade, jousting, and a carrousel. Pluvinel stole the show when the horses of the spectacularly costumed riders leapt and danced and circled and jumped, captivating the audience.

While dressage shares a long history with music, musical displays were absent from the competitive arena until fairly recently. From the early 1900s competitive dressage drew more on its military roots than the roots of entertainment. In the 1980s horses once again seemed to dance in the arena when organizers brought the musical freestyle to international competitive dressage, aiming to bring spectators to what was often seen as a fairly boring event. The 1996 Atlanta Games were the first Olympics that added the freestyle to the format and today musical freestyles attract large crowds to see the dancing horses.

Author: Michele Morseth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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