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The foot tap: what is up with it? Why do all the greats use it? What use is it? Is it necessary?
I can't seem to tap my foot along the rhythm and play ... it sorta breaks my concentration. Just like trying to sing when playing something complicated; my brain sorta can't deal with the two things at the same time. I feel like my compas is not bad, but I don't usually use a metronome that often ... I've always had good inborn rhythm (does that actually exist??!). Then again, when I use a metronome, my guitar sounds way louder, and the metronome's clicking gets drowned out...
Would like to know what everyone thinks, and could use some advice on better playing habits (as relating to foot tapping, metronome usage, and rhythm / compas maintenance in general). Muchas Gracias!!
i dont have to tap to know where i am. its an automatic way to feel the pulse.
But if you have good rythm you should be able to tap your foot while playing otherwise its a bit contradictory(is that a word)
In fact
is it possible to have good rythm and bad coordination? coordination and rythm sort of go hand in hand.
Im sure that a guitarist (or any other instrument) the can´t play a simple eight-note rock n roll rythm a la AC/DC on drums cant possibly play good guitar with a solid groove.
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This is hard stuff! Don't give up... And don't make it a race. Enjoy the ray of sunshine that comes with every new step in knowledge.
I remember Ricardo saying recently that a few folks just have natural rhythm.
Mabey you don't need your foot? I think folks use it as a reference point just like a metronome. I think we trick the body into using it's muscle memory in order to become a metronome. But you have to train it. If you train it wrong its no good.
Can you play at a note over an over at 102bpm with out changing tempo? Can you sub divide the beat into sixes and play only the 5th subdivision without loosing track of the down beat in your head? I can hardly do that with a metronome! And if I didn't have one, my only reference point would be my foot. Because I can not trust my interal clock.
Ramzi, The best way to judge it is to record yourself and put yourself in the position of the listener. Guitarists DO tend to "blank out" a few bits of a second here and there, particularly doing difficult fingerings etc, but it sounds OK to them at the time. But on playback you can hear it.
cheers
Ron
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A good guitar might be a good guitar But it takes a woman to break your heart
Koella: I don't see why you can't have inborn rhythm and still not be able to tap your foot. One has to do with inborn ability, and the other has to do with acquired motor coordination in your brain. Notice the word "acquired."
Henrik: I believe it IS possible to have good rhythm and bad coordination for the same reason as the one above (in response to Koella)
Jason and Ron: I usually trust my internal clock, but I have never actually tried to record myself playing something difficult, and then listening to the recording for any rhythmic mistakes. I should try that sometime, thanks.
I asked because I see all the greats tap their foot, and I noticed how Jeronimo Maya uses it as a percussive effect (as though some percussionist accompanying him), so I said to myself that maybe as I progress in my playing, I will come across rhythms that are too complicated to keep up with via the inborn clock solely. And maybe I can use that foot tap a la Maya to produce some nice effects ...
Ramzi, sounds like you are trying find an excuse, or get a pat on the back. Truth is, if you can't tap your foot to a simple beat when playing, you don't really "feel" the rhythm. If that is acceptable to you then great. But if you want to play with other musicians, it is important to be able to groove together some how. Perhaps your playing is fine, but only one way to tell for the outside listener, and that would be a reference of some kind. If you just can't tap and play at the same time, then you need to make sure you are comfortable with a steady metronome pulse. The fact you say your guitar is too loud to "hear" the metronome, is not a good sign. When you play right on time, you should not be able to hear any clicking. If you are playing off the beat, then you should hear the click just fine. Rhythm can be pretty simple like that, no need for a super loud click reference. I have met some folks that DONT tap their foot by choice, but "don't" and "can't" are very different things.
hey ramzy the foot practicing is so easy its not a big deal but some people use it for the notetion to read the music and after this they get used to make it them moternome so they get used to count inside them mind as you said the inner feeling others they got used on it as you mentioned joronimo maya he use some time s the foot tapping but i think i ve never seen paco de lucia taping ever so dont hisitate to ask anybody here they are very helpfull ...like me sure lol
Playing bulerias on a guitar, and tapping your foot along with yourself, i do not consider to be doing two things at once.
It is ONE thing. There is only one rhythm happening. So both hands and foot are doing the same thing. They are syncing to the same beat.
If you were to play Bulerias, while tapping Tangos with your foot, then you would be doing two things at once. This is called Polyrhythm.
You have to develop a sense for Polyrhythm. But if you have good Innate rhythm, tapping your foot along with what you're playing is not, and should not be any issue at all.
You may have tried to convince yourself that you have "innate rhythmic sense" but if you cant tap along with yourself, you most cerainly do not have, what you thought you had. You need to work on it. TK
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