Keeping Time

[RustyBits]

How do you keep time? Foot tapping? Heel tapping? Head nodding? Metronome? Some other kind of gnome?

 

I've always had the beat in my head . . . sort of an inner metronome, and it seems to work pretty well. The person I'm learning tunes from wants me to tap my foot, but it screws me up every time I try!

 

What do you do?

[JimLucas]

The person I'm learning tunes from wants me to tap my foot,...

Amazing!

 

I've known so many people who try to learn to not tap their foot/feet. It's a habit that can be annoying and distracting for others. (It's really bad if it turns out you don't do it with the beat.) And your teacher is trying to force you to acquire the habit? WHY?

 

Keeping the beat internally is the best way, for sure.

[Boney]

I've known so many people who try to learn to not tap their foot/feet.  It's a habit that can be annoying and distracting for others.

True, but sometimes tapping your feet (or even stomping) can be a good thing, in traditional music. Especially for dance-type tunes, it can help you get your body into playing more, getting a strong sense of drive and rhythm. The sound is also a part of much folk music, certainly in American old-time, barn-dance type music, for example. Of course, there are many times when you don't want to add extra noise, so I think it's best to be able to tap your foot or not, as the situation dictates. Unless you're only playing classical or "formal" styles of music, in which case, you'd never want to audibly tap your foot.

 

Often when playing a dance tune, I feel the energy of the players and dancers ramp up (usually nearer the end of a tune), and it really helps to "kick it up a notch" by adding some stomping. Don't you think? But, some people will unconsciously speed up when they start "stomping." And it works better if your group is more rustic.

 

I've heard an old recording of a lady who grew up in the Appalachians (eastern US Mountains) in the early 20th century, whose father was a minister. He encouraged his kids to play music and sing, including devotional and folk tunes. But they were NOT to "pat their feet," since that would be too much like dancing, and they were not allowed to dance!

 

My answer to the original question: all of the above! But Jim's right -- tapping your foot shouldn't become too much of a habit or a crutch. Playing along with recordings is a great exercise in learning to keep better time. If you can tap your foot or not at will while playing, great!

 

Lisa, did this person say why you should tap your foot? Was it for every tune?

[Chris Timson]

I've always had the beat in my head . . . sort of an inner metronome, and it seems to work pretty well.  The person I'm learning tunes from wants me to tap my foot, but it screws me up every time I try!

Suggest you tap your foot on his head, that should sort the problem.

 

Seriously, like so many areas in folk music, I think that this is one where what you are comfortable with is right. Accept no substitute!

 

Chris

[JimLucas]

...it can help you get your body into playing more, getting a strong sense of drive and rhythm.

That can be useful. I do it a lot. But there are parts of the body that don't make as much noise as foot-tapping.

 

I think it's best to be able to tap your foot or not, as the situation dictates.

Absolutely!

 

Unless you're only playing classical or "formal" styles of music, in which case, you'd never want to audibly tap your foot.

Isn't that the same as the above, except that it's a situation that demands the "or not" option?

 

Often when playing a dance tune, I feel the energy of the players and dancers ramp up (usually nearer the end of a tune), and it really helps to "kick it up a notch" by adding some stomping.

Tapping and stomping are two very different things, in my book. But actually, no, I don't think that having the band stomp -- or even tap -- adds energy to the dance. It might add energy to some musicians, who haven't learned to control their own energy, but if more than one is going to produce extra percussion, they'd better be precisely together, or it'll sound like (if I may borrow a phrase from my Jr. High band director) "a herd of elephants marching through a field of marshmallows".

 

What I know as "stomping" is a heavy thing, and very anti-dance, to my mind. French-Canadian foot music is very different and wonderful, but I've never seen an entire band try it... probably for good reason.

 

But Jim's right -- tapping your foot shouldn't become too much of a habit or a crutch.

Jim feels that if it is at all "a habit or a crutch", then it's too much. If you can learn to use your feet to make music, that's great! But you should give them the same attention and respect as your concertina if you're going to use them in a musical situation.

[Animaterra]

Hi, Lisa,

I think you should trust the beat inside you! Our local middle school band director teaches all his students to tap their feet and it's so distracting in concerts- they sound terrific, except for this soft "thump thump" that accompanies them-

 

"a herd of elephants marching through a field of marshmallows".

 

exactly!

 

Allison

[geoffwright]

Mary Macnamara admitted that the foot-tap was part of her music and could not start playing without both feet going. She added that they put a carpet under her feet when she plays on the tv.

Feet-tapping is ok in solo playing, but not when playing along with others as it is easy to get three beats going.

I know a fiddler who stamps hard with both feet when playing to the extent that you have no chance of reading any music as the whole stage vibrates.

(I won't mention your name, Gerry)

[RustyBits]

Lisa, did this person say why you should tap your foot? Was it for every tune?

Yes. But he's an American-barn-dance-old-time-music kind of guy, which is great! He must know a million tunes. And he does a lot of "foot music" (not stomping) while playing. I think he wants me to feel the beat more.

 

I can tap when I know a tune really well, but while I'm learning, before it gets into my fingers, I find it almost impossible. At that point it doesn't provide a beat, just a distraction. I imagine I'll get better as I learn more.

 

I'd actually love to be able to make "foot music" like he does. I feel fortunate to have such a talented teacher.

[Robin Madge]

Foot tapping can be really awkward to eliminate when you want to make a "clean" recording. I always remember James Blades, the concert percussionist, giving a talk about his experiences. He recorded the "victory V" call sign on xylophone during WW2 and they had problem after problem eliminating odd sounds, ending up with him having to remove his cuff-links to avoid them jingling.

 

Robin Madge.

[RustyBits]

Sound kind of like Glenn Gould. When he recorded the Goldberg Variations there are places where you can hear him humming in the background.

[JimLucas]

Feet-tapping is ok in solo playing, but not when playing along with others as it is easy to get three beats going.

And that's with only two people tapping!

[Jim Besser]

I find that tapping/bouncing/stomping is a function of how well I know the tune, and the energy of the tune. A tune I barely know, I can't tap without getting screwed up. A tune I know well, it comes naturally. At a dance, starting to stomp a bit really jacks up the level of the music.

 

I find myself tapping to reels, not to jigs.

 

I was watching this recently at our big open contra dance band. GEnerally, when we go into the last time thru a tune, people ratchet up the energy level -- and suddenly people who weren't tapping are now really stomping. And it's reflected in the intensity of the music.

 

It's fun to watch one of the piano players in this band. He starts most tunes, and he often will get the rhythm in his feet, first -- doing a little clog dance under the piano until he's satisfied, then jumping into the tune.

 

The fiddler I've played with for 22 years taps her feet in a totally inexplicable pattern -- doesn't seem to correlate to the music at all, but it works for her.

 

Another fiddler I play with regularly stomps, and when she really gets going, starts bouncing on her seat.

 

Different strokes.

[JimLucas]

Foot tapping can be really awkward to eliminate when you want to make a "clean" recording.

One person (no names) told me that his foot tapping in a recording session was such a problem that they made him take his shoes off.

Then they noticed that with his shoe off he was no longer tapping his foot.

 

The puzzle was solved when he removed his sock.

With his toes no longer constrained by the shoe, he was snapping his toes -- like snapping your fingers -- instead of tapping the whole foot.

[Kurt Braun]

My first reaction was the same as Tim's -- stomp on his head! I couldn't figure out why he would have an issue with *your* foot. With regard to most classically trained teachers, not tapping is considered the rule. I can sort of see why and would recommend that you keep the skill as it is difficult for some people.

 

His point might be to keep a steady beat. Keeping a steady beat is realy good when playing with others. It is also a good thing to do from the get go when learning a new piece. It isolates the measures you need to work on. Put another way, allowing yourself to slow down for the difficult areas masks the reality that you need to "wood shed" those measures. This technique can reduce the time it takes to get tunes with difficult sections under your fingers. You could try a metronome.

 

Me? I can't play with a steady beat unless someone is stompling on my head and when I tap my foot, it wouldn't match a metronome.

[Rhomylly]

I never tap my foot -- unless I'm listening to someone else, like at a concert. Maybe it's just my way of participating in the music *somehow*

 

I will also admit, however, that rhythm is about the last thing I can deal with when learning a tune. Struggling with the notes takes up all my concentration. I am notoriously bad about having the rhythm right, unless I already know the tune really really well in my head.

[JimLucas]

Tapping your foot to keep a steady beat is, I believe, mostly a myth. I know too many "musicians" -- well, OK, musicians -- who tap their foot... and speed up their tapping when they speed up the tune.

 

The really crazy thing is that many folks not only speed up on the easy parts, they also speed up on the parts they have trouble with, as if they're desperate to get past them.

[Samantha]

The really crazy thing is that many folks not only speed up on the easy parts, they also speed up on the parts they have trouble with, as if they're desperate to get past them.

Oh yeah!! Too true!!

By the way, Jim, how fast is a Hamburska, or a Swedish Polska?

Samantha

[Boney]

Tapping and stomping are two very different things, in my book. But actually, no, I don't think that having the band stomp -- or even tap -- adds energy to the dance. It might add energy to some musicians, who haven't learned to control their own energy, but if more than one is going to produce extra percussion, they'd better be precisely together, or it'll sound like (if I may borrow a phrase from my Jr. High band director) "a herd of elephants marching through a field of marshmallows".

 

What I know as "stomping" is a heavy thing, and very anti-dance, to my mind. French-Canadian foot music is very different and wonderful, but I've never seen an entire band try it... probably for good reason.

 

Jim feels that if it is at all "a habit or a crutch", then it's too much. If you can learn to use your feet to make music, that's great! But you should give them the same attention and respect as your concertina if you're going to use them in a musical situation.

Hm. Interesting perspectives, Mr. Lucas. I think it depends more on the style of music and the preferences of the musicians than any absolutes. There are many worse habits than a little habitual foot-tapping, especially if you're able to keep it quiet. I'll say I sometimes like to see a band that's a little rough, but with a lot of energy, you might not.