“Rhythm is all too often overlooked or not taken seriously enough. As people learn music they tend to focus solely on getting the correct notes and don’t accurately execute rhythm. Most people play notes for just ‘longer’ or ‘faster’ instead of actually mathematically breaking down the entire song and playing accurately. Consider this: If you miss a note, you will sound bad for a moment, but if you miss a rhythm, you will be in the wrong place and are now missing every note. The song ends up not being the song entirely…
“It’s important to know that ‘rhythm’ and ‘timing’ mean slightly different things. ‘Rhythm’ means the regular succession of strong and weak beats, but ‘timing’ is your ability to keep a beat. Sometimes an individual has difficulty keeping time…. But most often it’s generally just overlooking the rhythm written that is the issue.
Most of the time method books don’t spend enough time in this area. Students will learn the durations of notes and Bam, the method book throws tricky rhythms at the student and doesn’t allow them to get a grasp on simple concepts.”
Here are ways to help:
1. Spend time on simpler rhythms…. Lots of time… until they are played correctly more than just a handful of times.
2. Count out loud. A LOT… If you can’t count it out loud you probably can’t play it correctly….
3. Know where each beat lives in each measure. If you don’t know how the rhythm is mathematically broken down you don’t stand a chance.
4. Clapping the rhythm also helps too.
5. Practice with a metronome to keep yourself steady and avoid rushing.
6. Pick material that is within your ability to play the correct notes and the correct rhythm.
~Mary Bellah
