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Journal jawtheshark's Journal: Music and rythm 26

Journal by jawtheshark
It is always said that music is a common thing to all mankind. There is no tribe, culture or any human group that doesn't know or have music. Basic music seems to always include a rythm.

There is the problem: I don't hear this rythm. I can't "feel". Sure, I enjoy music, but this is the main reason I could never play music. This "beat" thing was beyond me. I can't even use a tracking program to make my own mixes. Not even lame tracks.

The problem is: I need this feeling for the dancing lessons. You know, X steps on the rythm of the music, then do X other steps, etc... My brain is too much concentrated to do the right steps so that I miss counting and never know what to do next. It is complicated by the fact that you should count the steps and count the number of sequences. 1-4 for the steps, repeated and then count the sequences of steps in order to do what next. I can't keep two counters in my head. I always delegated such stuff to computers.

All in all: I was very very discouraged. I always was nearly yelling to SmilingGirl (who seemed not to understand my difficulties) that I can't count these beats. Perhaps other people don't need the counting, but I seem to do. Let's just say that while driving home the there was tension in the air.

Anyways, SmilingGirl decided (and what do I have to say, these days?) that we will go on with the courses. I just hope that I'll get some Eureka effect in the next courses.... Otherwhise we will look like two morons on the dancefloor at our own wedding. *sigh*

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Music and rythm More

Music and rythm

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  • This won't help you, but I need to ask because you're the first one I heard of that has no sense of rhythm.

    Listen to Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells, the beginning. That's got an irrational rhythm, meaning it doesn't go 1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4... but changes the counting all the time. Typically people tend to 'not get the beat' and get all nervous and disoriented when you ask them to hand clap the beat. Does that one make you nervous? Do you sense anything 'strange' with it at all?
  • i am just the opposite. i have been playing drums for my entire life (well, since i was 6 years old -- that means... 25 years) and the beat just comes completely natural to me. i hear it instantly in anything. when i first hear music my brain first calculates the time signature then does a rough estimate of bpm... then within a few bars... if i like what i'm hearing... i'll usually start tapping my hands and feet to the beat... adding my own fills or something. SiliconJesus (the other drummer i know here) k
    • Well, of course I didn't expect musicians to understand it. My sister is like you: rythm in the blood (or how else could you call it?) It is very hard to explain this to people that have this "feel". This, alas, includes the dancing teacher and SmilingGirl. While SmilingGirl isn't the best in music, she still has to teach songs to the kindergarden kids. So she has at least a basic feel.

      i mean counting i suppose is one way

      I have to assume it is the worst way possible. After all, you can count wit

      • have you tried listening to different kinds of music and just trying to tap your foot or your fingertips at a constant rhythm in sync with the music? it might help. if that's tough, maybe start with a simple, slow song and try tapping every time you hear something change. for example, tap when the notes in the melody change, or every time the bass drum hits. keep it to one part of the song and keep it simple. in most cases this will make a pattern. try to feel how long the pattern is. usually that pat

    • i am just the opposite. i have been playing drums for my entire life (well, since i was 6 years old -- that means... 25 years) and the beat just comes completely natural to me. i hear it instantly in anything. when i first hear music my brain first calculates the time signature then does a rough estimate of bpm... then within a few bars... if i like what i'm hearing... i'll usually start tapping my hands and feet to the beat... adding my own fills or something. SiliconJesus (the other drummer i know here)

    • I play highland bagpipe, but I 'feel' the melody better than I can analyze it. In particular, I can't count the beats in the measure to save mabooty; something about the integers disrupts the 'feel' of the melody.
      Great thing is, the pipe is meant for walking. I seem to be able to handle enumerations as far as 'left' and 'right' without borking my playing.
      "A mind is a terrible thing..."
    • Funny that you say you hear the beat in everything. I have a theory that there is a "Universal rythm" that everything is based off of. When I go out to the manufacturing area and there are several large presses and a multitude of small presses all stamping metal, I can still find a definite rythm to the noise they make.

      I first started thinking about universal beat when I was in HS, the director would finish a song and I keep the beat with my foot and invariably he would start the next song on the same be

      • i don't know about a universal beat; although if the rhythm is complex enough, it would all fit eventually. perhaps the time signature is pi.

        i do remember a time i looked out the window and saw my friend (who then lived next door) walking his dog and wearing a walkman. he was stepping in exact time with what i was listening to. later when i told him about it, he said he was listening to "getting closer" by nitzer ebb, which was of course the same song i had been listening to on my stereo.
    • I always had no problem getting the beat of any music I was listening to and/or playing. However, if I was playing guitar, even though I would be playing reasonably well, my feet would do their own thing, tapping out some weird-ass beat that no-one could ever figure out. My music teacher would always look on in amazement and ask how the heck I could actually play like that - I had no answer. (Still don't.)

      That was one reason I could never play the drums - my feet and hands just naturally want to do differe
  • I think my dad is the same way. I think for some folks that it just isn't as important or natural to them. Although not as nerdy, I'm more like blinder. ;) (just joking honeypie!) I just actually feel the rhythm and it comes naturally to me.

    I'm not great at dancing though either because I'm not coordinated for it and I think it's kind of silly; however, I have rhythm up the heehaw regardless and I can usually express that rhythm in playing instruments. I haven't had the opportunity to play drums much,
  • My musical achievements have been fairly mediocre. I got Grade 5 on the violin when I was 15 and I taught myself bass guitar and now a bit of 6-string.

    I found learning music hard too, since neither of my parents were musically trained. I didn't "get" rythm properly until I was about 12 or 13 when one very good and patient music teacher helped. I was never very brilliant at intonation, hence only grade 5 on the violin (and a cat-free neighbourhood).

    In simple time (4 4 is a kind of simple time) the beats ar

    • I think you may cause more trepidation than help. For dancing at a wedding, you need to know '1 2 3 4' and maybe '1 2 123' and that's about it.

      If he has to work this hard at it, chances are it'll all be thrown to the wind on the big day.

      My suggestion is to pick a song or four, and memorize each and every single step and the timing.
      • You're right. 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 etc.
        • Once upon a time, I had a GF who was a musician. She had a fit because I wouldn't bother waiting for the '1' to start dancing, I would often start on '3'. Bitch just needed to STFU and learn to be led.
          • Heh :-) That reminds me of the episode of Jeeves and Wooster when they're all learning to play banjo at the club, playing Lady of Spain, and one of them finishes playing early and shouts out, "I win!"
  • While this may mean catastrophic things for your dancing, this makes you eminently qualified to play lead guitar...

    Thats a big ol' middle finger from the rythm section, you wankers! ;)

    Watch Steve Martin in "The Jerk"... yu0 R n0t @l0n3.
    • Heh. You're just jealous because your guitar sounds plain and thumpy next to the exhilerating soaring tones of our leads. And you hate the fact that we create all the melodic hooks during the verses that people remember.

      The fact that we do have an immenantly natural understanding of where to come in and where to stop, but are also able to play complex overlays, like 3/4 over 4/4, only adds insult to your injuries.

      ROCK'N'ROLL!
      • actually, I tear shit up on the 6-string. I can play your basic rythm guitar, junk-jigga-junk-jigga-junk-jigga-junk-jigga-jah-J A H!
        and I can also play some hott lixx where you mash your fingers up on the tiny strings like meedley-meedley-meedley-meedley-meedley-meedley-me edley-MEEEEEEE!
        yeah, YEAH! And then StrongMAd comes in on his bass like "Dow-dow-dow-DOW-dow-dow-dow!" and the Cheat with his keyboard "booop-boop-boop-boop-Beep-boop-BOOP-boop!"

        AND the dragon comes in the NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIGHT!
    • Thats a big ol' middle finger from the rythm section, you wankers! ;)
      Ok, just when I think you're pissing me off pineapple boy, you go and say something like this.

      AND TOTALLY REDEEM YOURSELF!!!!!!!! :)

      I was about to start the whole Strong Bad guitar email, but I see you beat me to the punch.

      Uhhhh, did you just say "doing"?
  • This is exactly the same problem I have and exactly the reason why I failed at playing the guiter - to my huge frustration at the time.

    During my dancing lessions with Muriel way back in 2002 I got a bit ticked of during our first evening, too. After that first night I relaxed more and had fun, not caring if I did not get it right and ended up at the wrong side of the room. We had some good times there, and that is what it is all about.

    Enjoy this practice stuff, don't get mad: that would be silly. Does she
  • and Practice.

    This is how rythm is taught.
  • Music analysis software on a small computer fed into a heads-up-display projected on your glasses. It can tell you where the beat is.

    Alternatively...

    Get SmilingGirl to tap a finger on your shoulder to the beat.

  • ..why not ask your sister? She plays the drums, doesn`t she?

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