Re: [Harp-L] re: rhythm playing

[Pierre <slavio@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Here is a great test to check your rythm, use a metronome set it around 
80-100 beats per minute and play the major scale notes as follows in the 
middle register:

D up to D starting from 4d
G up to G starting from 6b
C up to C starting from 4b
D **down** to D starting on 8d

Do it in one phrase one note per beat, i.e absolutely no rests. Breathe 
during interval jumps.

This is a really good test as there are interval jumps, also the unusual 
starting places trip us up and you have to conquer the great divide each 
time up or down. The other thing is our lips tend to stick now and then so 
we lose it.

Once you're good at doing this, you can practice emphasizing individual 
notes, when we play louder we often play faster unless we've practiced 
emphasis changes.

To make it easier I suggest you draw the notes on a staff (need not be a 
real staff, just dots) and underscore the divide notes so you see the divide 
comming.

At 80 beats as soon as you screw up, you get everything that follows wrong; 
so its a humbling exercise. After a while (1 or 2 hours of practice over 2 
weeks) you get near perfect.

This ended up being the best exercise I ever did. I highly recommend it. It 
develops your sense of timing and it teaches you timing recovery where you 
learn to skip a note or shorten one to get back on track and maintain the 
rythm.

If you can't do this at any speed, then you're in big trouble as it means 
you play at the speed you can play and that can sound awful.

BTW if you want a real challenge do this exercise on the low register. Its 
important to bend real time without tripping up. I'm sure any good pro can 
do it easily at 120 BPM.

As for always playing with a metronome, I would not recommend it unless you 
want to go insane.

Pierre.











----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Jp Pagán" <jpl_pagan@xxxxxxxxx>; <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 8:24 PM
Subject: Re: [Harp-L] re: rhythm playing


> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "Jp Pagán" <jpl_pagan@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: "harp-l harp-l" <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Wednesday, December 29, 2004 8:02 PM
> Subject: [Harp-L] re: rhythm playing
>
>
> > hey all,
> >
> >   in another thread BBQ Bob mentioned the need for
> > good rhythm. i know this has come up before, but it's
> > something i was thinking about just recently. i have a
> > metronome (an in ear thing i pretty much hate) and in
> > terms of when i'm just playing, by myself or with
> > others, i THINK i have good rhythm, but how can i be
> > sure? what can i do to better my rhythm? i don't
> > really want to lay down the cash for a drum machine
> > but i thought that would be a great idea. what do
> > y'all think?
> >
> >       --Jp
>
> Hi,
> The metronome will help in getting the TIME together, which eventually 
> helps the rhythm, but the one thing metronomes to my kowledge, still CAN'T 
> do is teach some one how to play either behind the beat (which is the way 
> most blues and black music in general is played) or ahead of the beat 
> (where many rock, metal, some country and rockabilly music is played), nor 
> can they teach the different delineations of each and drum machines can't 
> do that either (at least not yet at this point in time). Working with 
> metronomes definitely is a good tool for learning time, and rhythm is the 
> next step from there. Many instrument teachers will have you keep tapping 
> your feet to help keep an internal clock in your head so that you avoid 
> messing it up, but one has to listen with bigger ears to make sure 
> everything is kosher on that.
>
> Sincerely,
> Barbeque Bob Maglinte
> Boston, MA
> http://www.barbequebob.com
> MP3's: http://music.mp3lizard.com/barbequebob/
>
>
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