Try Clapping While Sing This…
It’s a gloomy day here in northern New Jersey.
Too wet to play outside, which is why I’m playing rhythm exercises inside instead.
Try this one out:
Sing a familiar song, something like Twinkle Twinkle Little Star or Donna Lee ;-)
Clap along on all the downbeats. Easy…
1
2
3
4
Clap on beats two and four. Not too hard…
2
4
Clap on beat four only. A little more challenging…
4
Clap every three eight notes. Yup…
1
and of 2
4
and of 1
3
and of 4
2
and of 3
Clap every five eight notes: Beast mode!
1
and of 3
2
and of 4
3
and of 1
4
and of 2
This exercise gets harder each time around because your awareness of the downbeats becomes increasingly blurred.
Remember this: You cannot lose your awareness of the downbeats if you want to play syncopated rhythms – the bedrock of groove-based music, including jazz, R&B, soul, Afro-Cuban music, Brazilian music, etc.
Fortunately, good time and rhythm are skills that can be learned and developed.
And even though it’s hard work, you can speed up the learning process if you know what and how to practice.
In the bonus section of my course, Phrasing Secrets, I break down my most effective and efficient system for mastering syncopated rhythms so that you can focus on making great music and enjoy playing…without having to worry about losing the beat or getting lost in the form.
So if you want make everything you play to sound better as quickly as possible, you absolutely must prioritize how you play over what you play. Phrasing Secrets will show you the way:
https://go.jeffschneidermusic.com/phrasing-secrets-course
- Jeff