Terry Buddingh Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 Hi gang! I'm a chronic foot tapper from way back. Anybody else tap their foot to keep the tempo steady or feel the groove better? I always start tapping as soon as the tune is counted off. This helps me internalize the tempo before I play a note. I also tap on the back beat to feel the swing more if the drummer's not really gettin' it. I tap my left foot like it was a hi-hat. Tapping my foot makes me more aware of subtle tempo fluctuations. It's like having your own built-in metronome. Terry The more you listen, the more you hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy_dup1 Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 Hey Terry, It's my belief that if you CAN'T tap your foot while you are playing, the odds of you having good time are pretty low. I have spent many hours with "time deaf" students just working on simple foot tapping, tapping your foot on the down beat and playing the up beat and various combinations. I don't see how you could learn how to read complex rhythms without having the foot as a reference point. Even when playing in an orchestra, I would tap my foot (although in an orchestra you should tap your toe silently inside your shoe--imagine 120 orchestra members tapping their feet on a hollow stage and you'll know why). Rocking back and forth to the music is a good idea too, plus it looks better on stage then the Bill Wyman, John Entwistle stone-face, statue like pose. (although with their bands, maybe it was a good idea for one person to be standing still). Keep on tapping! ------------------ http://www.jps.net/jeremy/basspage.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 I am not usually aware of my tapping, but I know I do. Sometimes I use it consciously as a control thing. If I want to ground my groove at fast tempos, I'll tap my foot on the downbeat, or on beats 1 & 3. It makes 2 bars of fast 4/4 feel like one large bar of slow 4/4. The half-time pulse lets me relax and play more solid. Sometimes I have to do this to keep an errant drummer in line. Ever notice how often we bass players are the ones that have to baby sit the groove? Some gigs I feel like a janitor with a mop cleaning up after a beer bash! ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xtian_dup1 Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 I find myself tapping my foot when I am playing things that are particularly syncopated or funky. And then, it is more of a percussive accompaniment than a strict 4/4 timekeeper. I will do the Les Claypool "dancing leg" thing when my drummer gets particularly out of whack. He zones out when he plays, but seeing my amplified leg motions in his peripheral vision pulls him back in line. I don't think he is even aware of it... - Christian Budapest, Hungary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ben Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 One must have a diverse repertoire to keep the paying customers amused. All of the essential skills must be mastered: rigid body with stone face, gentle tapping, hard tapping, leg twitches, slight body motions, shuffles, and full body motions up to and including slight hops. Also, good tapping should be practiced with both the left and right foot. Not. Personally I try to relax and go with the flow, which means, in fact, that I do all of the above at different times, depending either on what is appropriate for a given situation or how carried away I get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gabrielk Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 Last actual band I was in, I had to stop tapping, because when I kept steady time, and stayed in the groove, I found the rest of the band would leave me behind...or fall behind themselves...or both. Needless to say, we don't play together anymore. ;P I left'em in Texas. --Gabriel! //Gabriel.k Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fet Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 I read that Benny Goodman PROHIBITED his band from tapping their feet, on the theory that this diverted or diluted the rhythmic energy that they should have been focusing into their instruments. I can understand this, although I don't totally subscribe to it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zujo Posted April 25, 2001 Share Posted April 25, 2001 I usually start taping my foot and somehow I end up clicking clicking my tonge. I have also found that relying on a specific sound of the drumset helps let go of the taping. I was once told by a teacher at Berklee that taping disrupts your perception of the "true feel" of the moment. If the drummer is good I'll play of of the snare, bass drum or hi-hat. Not necessariliy in that order of all of them in one song. But taping? TAPING GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!! "Word to your mother" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Friedland Posted April 26, 2001 Share Posted April 26, 2001 When I'm working on time with a student, I often suggest they stop tapping their foot so they can focus on the internal mechanism. Many players tap their foot unconsciously out of time. If you are trying to develop your time, it can be a hindrence. They will go with their foot over a steady time source (Read: METRONOME). So, when they stop tapping their foot, they pay more attention to the click and it usually helps. ------------------ www.edfriedland.com www.edfriedland.com The Bass Whisperer Bass Whisperer TV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fuzz Posted April 26, 2001 Share Posted April 26, 2001 hell yeah i tap my foot! if it is guitar or bass i always do a walk/dance type of step on the backbeat(left....right...left...right) even if on isn't beeing played cuz that is where the "soul" clap is.....before ya now it you are a walking talkling GROOVE MACHINE =) "fuzz" oh yeah and keep those arms and shoulders groovin too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Bolton Posted April 26, 2001 Share Posted April 26, 2001 > Personally I try to relax and go with the flow, which means, in fact, > that I do all of the above at different times, depending either on what > is appropriate for a given situation or how carried away I get. Great answer, and I strongly agree. Some of the sub work I did involves moving around on stage so I just can't tapping my foot when I'm doing that... in fact I can't rely on the movement being that related to the beat of the music. I found that once I'd mastered holding time reliably through unrelated stage movements, I was tapping my foot a lot less "habitually" than I was before. Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry Buddingh Posted April 30, 2001 Author Share Posted April 30, 2001 Mr. fet wrote: "I read that Benny Goodman PROHIBITED his band from tapping their feet, on the theory that this diverted or diluted the rhythmic energy that they should have been focusing into their instruments." That's an easy thing for Benny to sayhe had the best musicians of his era in his band! No problem swinging with a band of top pros like Benny's. Foot tapping can help in "damage control" situations, and serve as "preventive medicine." Under ideal situations however, foot tapping can seem unnecessary and even counterproductive when the groove is really happening in the pocket. That's the level we all aspire to, but it's often more elusive than we'd like. That's when anti-suck techniques such as foot tapping become valuable. The more you listen, the more you hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Capasso Posted May 1, 2001 Share Posted May 1, 2001 When sitting and playing in a larger band, I find I tap to keep me going while reading (which I struggle with). In my rock band, I am like the rest of your that are moving whatever you feel. This is sometimes inhibited by having to sing. Between getting the voice into the microphone and trying to do more than one thing at a time, I find I can't move much when I sing. And because I'm usually standing, I find tapping physically awkward. We just started doing the Allman Brothers "Don't Want You No More", and I can't stop moving like Joe Cocker during the quarter-note passages... Tom www.stoneflyrocks.com Acoustic Color Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars and keep your feet on the ground. - Theodore Roosevelt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwirk Posted May 1, 2001 Share Posted May 1, 2001 Heck yeah!! I LOVE the Tap!!! Derek Smalls has got to be my FAVORITE bass player ever!! and the lyrics to "Sex Farm"? Pure Poetry!! Oh...FOOT tapping.....mybad. I find it very natural to tap my foot, or bob my head up and down, or just plain groove to the music. I don't want to shut it down at all, but sometimes I try to restrict my self to where I tap, ie. which beats. I think that it locks your groove in even stronger if you can grow to just feel the tap on 2 and 4 rather than every beat. I've heard some Jazz teachers say you should set your metronome to the 2 and 4 to really build your rhythm skills. Some times I'll get into the quasi-headbanging, up down, groove motion...but I'll try to go UP on the beats, and DOWN on the off-beats. Makes you feel the subdivisions stronger. BTW, anybody tapping on just 1 and 3 needs to go find some soul somewhere. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ~clockwirk~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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