Rhythm: Konnakol

Konnakol is a system of syllables and gestures you can use to practice rhythms. With the gestures you keep the beat while you sing the rhythm using the corresponding syllables.

These are the syllables for units from two to nine notes. Note that for some unit lengths there is more than one options.

There are three different gestures denoted by the following symbols.

• X: clap
• O: wave with the palm facing up (or a clap with the back of your hand)
• I: successive tapping of your fingers, starting with the little finger

For example, X I I I X O X O would mean clap, little finger, ring finger, middle finger, clap, wave, clap, wave.

Here are clapping patterns for some common time signatures.