Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: Uncle_DaveO
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 01:18 PM

On some of Pete Seeger's recordings you can hear that he's got to be lifting his foot and smashing it down three or four inches, at least. "The Foolish Frog" immediately comes to mind.

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: kendall
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:53 PM

..and then there is Stompin' Tom Conners...

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: GUEST,chanteyranger
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:32 PM

In the Irish music scene, tapping your foot is like breathing, for the reasons RichM mentioned. In addition, since many sessions are in noisy bars/pubs, if you have trouble hearing the rhythm of a tune someone is starting, you can pick it up by glancing at their feet, and of those near that person.

-chanteyranger

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: dick greenhaus
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:24 PM

It's a habit that can produce problems if you're working with a mike. Oscar Brand, many years ago, found he had to remove his shoes for his radio show; he was billed for a long time as the shoeless troubador.

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: A Wandering Minstrel
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:22 PM

RichM has a good point. One caveat however, I once led a roaring shanty session in an upstairs room in an old pub and the landlord came up to complain that all the foot stamping was causing plaster to fall from the ceiling below into his patrons beer!

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:15 PM

oops...

sorry...

Subject: Tapping Your Rhythm To Keep In Foot
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:14 PM

On the other end of the spectrum... I can get to tapping and find all kids of syncopation and off tempo stuff while I'm playing... this usually drives the others on stage with me nuts!!

Mostly because they don't know how I do it... and neither do I...

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: RichM
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:13 PM

Tapping your foot is a good thing. Your body intuitively feels the rythmn--Let it out!. Don't focus on tapping; just let it happen.

Music IS rhythm! I believe that letting your body sway and go with the beat is helpful...to your music, and your interpretation of it.

Subject: Tapping Your Rhythm To Keep In Foot
From: Clinton Hammond
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:13 PM

On the other end of the spectrum... I can get to tapping and find all kids of syncopation and off tempo stuff while I'm playing... this usually drives the others on stage with me nuts!!

Mostly because they don't know how I do it... and neither do I...

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: kendall
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:12 PM

I've never been a foot tapper, cant understand the value of it, because I have seen too many tapping their foot way out of time as if there was no connection to the metre of the music.I've seen Bluegrass groups totally ignoring the bass player. He/she is in charge of the beat, the foundation, if you will, and if you ignore him/her, why bother having a bass?

Subject: RE: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: mousethief
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:06 PM

Yes! I have a hell of a time just keeping the SONG in time, and if I try to tap my foot, sometimes it works perfectly (not very often, mind you!) and sometimes it makes me lose my place beat-wise in the song. Augh!

But if I'm not the one whose job it is to keep the beat -- for instance if I'm playing with others, or listening to recorded music -- it's just as hard. It's like there's a disconnect between the rhythm centers of my brain, and my arms and legs. Very frustrating.

Alex

Subject: Tapping Your Foot To Keep In Rhythm
From: Little Neophyte
Date: 16 Jan 01 - 12:02 PM

When I first starting playing the banjo I noticed others tapping their foot to keep in beat. I thought how do they do that? In the beginning I never tapped my foot to keep in beat. I felt that was way over my head . It was more comfortable for me to stay still and focusing on picking notes & chords and getting the tune sounding right.
Then I started to work with a metronome to learn how to keep a steady beat. I started noticing my foot wanting to tap along with the tune but I was having difficulties keeping it all co-ordinated between the metronome, my picking and tapping my foot. So I broke the tune up in sections. Started tapping to the metronome and adding a section of the tune. I still find it challenging. Especially when I am tapping to a full note of the metronome but the tune has gone into 1/4 or 1/8th notes but I still have to keep my foot tapping pace with a full note. Oy, thats tough. Kind of like learning how to juggle balls.
Then there is the problem of playing in front of others where I do not have a metronome but I do have a fearful foot frozen in mid air. But thats another story.
Do any of you guys relate to these kinds of difficulties?

Little Neo