Tait Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 don't worry about tapping your feet, people only say you should tap your feet because they think it will make it easier to keep in time. if you can keep in time without tapping your feet or doing the chicken neck, then why bother doing either? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Then again if you can't count whilst playing it can be a nightmare trying to communicate difficult syncopations when you've written a new song and someone's just not getting it. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 [quote name='alexclaber' post='69729' date='Oct 4 2007, 09:53 PM']Then again if you can't count whilst playing it can be a nightmare trying to communicate difficult syncopations when you've written a new song and someone's just not getting it. Alex[/quote] Just get the drummer to give you a kick on 1 and a hi-hat on 2 and 4 (if it's in 4/4) underneath what you're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexclaber Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 [quote name='The Funk' post='69864' date='Oct 5 2007, 09:53 AM']Just get the drummer to give you a kick on 1 and a hi-hat on 2 and 4 (if it's in 4/4) underneath what you're doing.[/quote] That doesn't work so well when it's the drummer that's failing to get the syncopation. Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Funk Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hah, then I can't help. I sometimes kick them off the kit and show them. I was told how much fun this can be by my old drummer who's now a singer/frontman. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davemarks Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Hey chaps - This is a hot topic for me. I've seen all manner of players at college with variations on 'disrhythmia' :-) from mild to extreme. The main problem with the whole foot tap debate is that a lot of people don't know what to tap their feet along to. we can have Pulse foot -where the foot moves in time to the pulse of the music. This is good. Rhythm foot - where your foot moves with the notes you play. Not so good... Crazy foot - Fk knows what their foot is tapping with. I can honestly say, from the people that I've taught, those who can tap their foot in time have consistently better feel. It's important to engage with the pulse and not rely on your drummer to outline it. Every drummer feels it a little different - some push, some drag, some are right on it. If you have a strong sense of the pulse, you can adapt and play to match their groove, but if you have a vague sense of it, it can lead you to real problems. Rhythm is the only universal concept that exists in all music, regardless of style, so it's important to become rhythmically very strong. As an exercise to get you started, try playing 4 quarter notes in a bar with a metronome (C, C, C, C) now play the same thing, but start on the 'and' of each beat and play those four notes. (in the first exercise, your foot and note are in rhythmic unison. In the second, you get a tick - tock effect foot - note - foot - note etc..) Once you have this feel strong with your foot solidly on the pulse (i.e. with the metronome) you should try playing different notes (e.g. C, D, E, F etc...) then try some different rhythms. I posted a Funk Style file a while back that deals with 16th note rhythm exercises. I'll have the audio for it back up on my site if you wanna check it out (it's free...) Build up gradually - to start this process with some funk tune packed with 16th note syncopation can be like trying to climb onto a horse that's already moving. i.e. not very easy. If any of you guys are coming to the Bass Day, I'd be happy to alk a little about this more in my Institute Masterclass.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
endorka Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 If you can't tap well with one foot, try the other. Some people find one foot easier than the other. Jennifer [url="http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com"]http://www.jenniferclarkbass.com[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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