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Ricardo -> RE: How to properly count (Apr. 20 2025 16:25:01)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: digger
My first post here. I am trying to figure out what would be the proper way to count. I am trying to learn Herencia Latina from Paco Pena. Beat is 2/4. Should I count to two, four or eight? I tried with eight as, at the beginning there are eight notes in a beat. Then it becomes more confusing when there is less than eight. Playing without metronome is easier, but not correct and I want to learn it right way.
Thanks,
Milosh
Normally I recommend learning compás strumming patterns for any palo first, as that orients your inner clock to the meter and general feel of the underlying rhythm. Any melody or falseta would need to map on top of that feeling, and preferably you can play with a metronome clicking on some slow pulse. For this rumba, I recommend working first on the pattern that repeats from bar 9 to 12. The metronome would be two clicks per measure (quarter notes), and the bass line is tracing the accent pattern (3+3+2 subdivision is a universal pattern globally, either in 4/4 as eighth notes or in 2/4 as 16ths). It can be a point of argument whether to express this rhythm in 4 counts or 2 counts at half tempo (double time vs half time feeling).
As a general rule with notation, whatever my foot is tapping on I consider a quarter note. (that means for people that prefer to see this rumba in 4/4, their foot would be tapping half notes). So you can work on that arpegio pattern with metronome and foot on the quarter note, and as devilhand counted it (1e&ah, 2e&ah). The bass line is important to lock the feeling (1--ah--&-). You should eventually be able to express only the bass notes (without the arpegio fill-in notes) with the metronome and keep it grooving. Once you can do that, then go ahead and look at the rest of the piece...that basic feeling stays constant throughout.
I did not show any rumba in the Formative works Mel bay book that came out last summer, and many flamenco students and aficionados consider rumba inferior...but I am including one in Vol. 3 that I composed, because I feel all flamenco guitarists need to be well versed in this style as it becomes necessary for baile accompaniments of Tientos/tangos/Farruca/Garrotin/Colombianas and Taranto.
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