Dotted rhythms

By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)

The other day I was preparing for my today's recital of organ improvisations on the medieval Anglo-Saxon heroic poem "Beowulf" where lots of fighting with a monster giant Grendel, his mother, and the dragon take place.

Obviously in this story one of the main companions of the hero is a horse.

How do you depict a galloping horse or riders with musical means?

It works exceedingly well with dotted rhythms.

For example, playing  fast-paced repeated chords in the rhythm of dotted eighth-note and a sixteenth-note.

Something like this.

​Try it. It's fun.