Playing in the Meter
Part 3 of How to develop good Rhythm
Playing with good Rhythm requires you to play within the meter. In my last article, I talked about how to create your pulse within various meters.
You should now be feeling the pulse of the meter in your conducting.
The next step is to integrate your playing into the metric pulse.
Find a simple piece of music you can play.
Figure out what beat pattern you need to conduct based on the time signature. Then go ahead and conduct.
Put emphasis on feeling the groove. Try snapping your fingers.
In a moment, you are going to stop conducting. As you stop conducting, start to feel the meter and the pulse in your body.
This should feel like dancing.
Feel the pulse and the different beats of the meter.
Now it’s time to play. The key here is to keep your internal Rhythm going.
At this point you may realize that you chose too quick of a tempo for your ability. That’s fine. Create another pulse, this time at a slower tempo.
From now on, before you start playing, make a pulse.
When you run into something difficult, instead of playing the notes out of time, just create a slower pulse.
Disclaimer: If you are worried about having to dance and make big movements to play with good Rhythm, don’t be. Over time the movement can become so subtle that there appears to be none. In fact you can even not move at all eventually. That being said, movement is an important first step to creating pulse.
Another Disclaimer: Tapping only your foot does not work well at creating pulse. I’m not saying don’t tap your foot, but if you only tap your foot, there is a good chance you are not feeling the groove.
You are now well on your way to playing with good Rhythm
In my next article I cover how to extend the framework of the pulse using subdivision:
Until then,
Have fun Jammin’!