Get Confident with Hard Rhythms

My wife and I performed an elaborate first dance at our wedding. She's a natural on the dance floor.

I am not.

But even though it don't look pretty, I can get my feet and hands to do different things at the same time, which is kind of important for dancing…

…and playing music.

Which brings me to my challenge to you:

Tap your foot on downbeats (1 - 2 - 3 - 4) while playing a syncopated rhythm on your instrument, i.e., a phrase in which at least one offbeat is emphasized.

Something like this:

Or perhaps something even more advanced:

A lot of people think toe tapping is easy. But when I look down, their feet are bouncing all over the place, and the player is often totally unaware.

The thing is, emphasized notes have a magnetic pull that's hard to resist (whether those notes are on downbeats or not). So what typically happens is your foot taps frantically along with the rhythm you’re playing instead of the steady downbeat.

In other words, there’s no independence between hands and feet.

Here's the thing: getting good at music, especially rhythm, is all about spinning a bunch of plates in the air at the same time.

Unfortunately, the “rhythm plate” is often the first to fall to the floor and shatter.

So please practice keeping that rhythm plate in the air by making sure you can tap a steady beat with your foot while playing a syncopated rhythm with your instrument.

And if it’s something you struggle with, be sure to check out the bonus lesson called "Syncopation Secrets" which I just added to my course "Phrasing  Secrets."

In it, you'll learn the super simple but effective technique I teach my students and use personally to make sure my rhythm and time are rock solid no matter how complex the syncopation gets.

You can enroll here:

https://go.jeffschneidermusic.com/phrasing-secrets-course

- Jeff