Here’s a little tip that many of us already know but can really be helpful especially when sight reading.
I think we can all agree that it is essential to create and maintain a pulse to use as an internal metronome while playing. We were taught to tap our foot to the beat and play along with the pulse created by our foot tapping.* (I have a problem with this but will get into that in a minute.) My suggestion is to use BOTH feet when keeping time. Here’s why.
Most of us have at one time or another marched while playing trumpet. For some reason it seems to be universal that you always step off with your left foot. You know, ”Left…Right…Left, Right, Left.” So, keep that ingrained rule and use your left foot for 1 and 3 and your right for 2 and 4.
In the early stages of getting to know a piece or sight reading, it is VERY helpful to be able to look at a measure and divide it in half. (when in duple meter) In using this mark-time method your left foot is always defining the downbeat or mid-measure. (1 or 3) This can be especially helpful when counting through ties or long, sustained notes.
Cut-time can also be tricky to count. Now with this method your left foot is always on the bar-line and your right foot is showing you the half-measure.
I have found that my pulse is more consistent and steady when I am alternating my feet rather than relying on just one foot. Plus, it is easier to keep up with fast tempi.
* There are a couple things to keep in mind while creating your own musical pulse; I.e. tapping your foot.
- Do not make any noise with your feet.
- Do not tap your foot in a way that is distracting visually.
Your movement or noise can influence others’ attempts at keeping their own pulse. What works for me is either wiggling my toes inside my shoes or rocking back and forth from my instep to the outside of my foot. Both of these options are silent and not terribly visible and yet they give me the physical movement I want in order to feel the pulse internally.
Your explanation and example are very clear. Your suggestion of wiggling the toes and rocking the instep of the foot is good especially for those musicians who bang their feet during rehearsals or concerts. A suggestion would be to add an example using 16th notes with ties and/or rests for musicians who are beyond the beginner stage.
thanks for the suggestion. I’ll get on it.
Great ideas as usual dave… being a bass player i will sometimes shake the stage with my tapping… so lately i get my chord underneath my foot while i tap and it silences it. I like to think that the pulse also gets translated through the cable… wishful thinking! Will try the 2 footed tap.
I have a much harder time doing this Marking Time technique while standing. In fact I don’t think I tap at all when I stand…Interesting…I’ll have to look into this. Thanks for another future topic! By the way, I just learned the jazz bass prof at IU tells his students they should tap on 1 and 3. Since the rest of the band is feeling 2 & 4 having the bass solidify 1 & 3 creates more of an anchor. Interesting, huh.
makes alot of sense, i always tap 1 and 3 above 200 bpm. This topic really opens up a lot of interesting ideas about how to mark time, and use meter to our advantage… i remember one of the first and incredibly helpful ideas i came across came from mike stern who said he practiced his charlie parker heads with the metronome beating on the third beat of of an eighth-note triplet… so that the metronome landed on every other eighth note(in swing feel) in the bebob lines. Really gets you swingin’!