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Arguably, it may be best when the audience, not you, does it.
Barry Harris liked the way I did it. Ron Carter (at CCNY) did not. (I'm more relaxed around Barry than Ron).
I remember having a conversation with Red Mitchell about this, probably stating that I thought I was patting in a f'ed up, out of time way. He said everyone taps out of time. I wonder, and have a feeling Red meant you tap to your ideas soloing, not the time.
Also, in my early 20s Bob Mover taught me some stuff: I was tapping nervous and all over the place. We recorded our little group with a singer in his building. Someone said all the untogether tapping sounded like 'horses galloping'. Funny. Bob suggested in my case to bounce rather than tap.
Also, since I've been on this board I've not seen a discussion about time or time feels, so here is mine.
What are your thoughts, mates?Last edited by fasstrack; 10-02-2016 at 04:43 PM.
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10-02-2016 04:37 PM
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C'mon, guys, I'm disappernted in yiz!
Joel calling!
Gertrude!
Heathcliff!
ROFLMAO!!
Seriously, ladies and germs, I thought at least ONE of y'all would pick up on this.
Alas, alack...
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When the band was really swinging I'd do more of a heel bounce thing. Not really making percussive contact. Also a kind of side to side chicken neck motion... Sort of stabbing my chin out left then right on 2 and 4.
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I do whatever feels right at the time. Maybe toe taps, maybe the heel, I don't even think about it when I'm doing it. If you watch videos of people playing, they're all different. I don't think it's that big a deal.
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Originally Posted by pants
'Side to side chicken neck motion'.
Is that like the line in Broadway Danny Rose, where he says he taught Lou Canova to move the mic off the stand?
Tina Vitale:
'He always did that'.
Danny Rose:
'Yeah, but I taught him to move it from side to side'.
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you havent looked closely enough. There have been discussions of this topic!
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Oops! Actually, Danny said
'But I taught him to throw it from hand to hand!'
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Originally Posted by Jazzism
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Argghhhh! This discussion.
You pat your foot on 1 and 3 or all four. Never 2 and 4 ohnonononononono
Unless you do of course, and play great in which case, whaevah.
I did notice one guy tapping his foot in hemiola over a waltz. Very good player.
But there's definitely good foot tapping (feeling the pulse on a deep level) and bad foot tapping (nervous energy, or doing it intellectually.)
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Originally Posted by pants
I don't think it's very cool.
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Originally Posted by fasstrack
Isn't Ron well known for his push? I've never had the privilege, but I have played with a student of his for a few nights, and it's a very pushed yet completely solid feel and a thing of beauty. It's a feel that says 'don't be late! Don't drag!'
Perhaps a pianist can afford to chill out a bit more with a two feel vibe, while a bass player of that school wants to keep the beat moving.Last edited by christianm77; 10-03-2016 at 08:29 AM.
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Originally Posted by christianm77
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When I pat my feet, I make sure everybody follows me.
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I'm a "toe twitcher." You might not see me tapping, but I'm tapping.
I've been working with tapping on the "1" only. I like the way it slows things down even more...
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Originally Posted by pants
Then, I realized that it was mostly a triplet subdivision thing. It's funny. It's kind of an x-y axis thing for feeling three and four simultaneously. They would kind of rock forward and back to the actual beat and shake their head sideways for triplets. Meanwhile, everyone else just thinks they're just "into it".
I notice singers doing the same thing with very bizarre side-to-side hand gestures which look convulsive. When you figure out what they're actually doing, none of them look quite as possessed. :-)
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Originally Posted by christianm77
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I've gotten good at it. My time was quite nervous when I was a young man. Now it's one of my strong suits.
I seem to tap OK. It even seems to help me, steady my nerves some kind of way. Maybe not a good idea on a fast tempo, because your foot can't keep up? I enjoy it, though.
I coined a term for myself: 'back porch swing'. That's when you're really relaxing at a medium to slow tempo. Then the foot seems to go by itself...
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Originally Posted by christianm77
Seriously though, the only time it matters is if you're making a noise that detracts from the music. Otherwise, it shouldn't make a bit of difference what you do with your body.
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Originally Posted by fasstrack
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Originally Posted by pants
When I was in the (Jaki Byard-led) Apollo Stompers years ago Bob Norden, a fine musician. asked me politely to please stop. Suppose I was throwing him off...
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Originally Posted by christianm77
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Originally Posted by fasstrack
The real fight is to get pianists (looking at you Keith Jarrett) to stop moaning like a walrus suffering intestinal bloat.
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Originally Posted by fasstrack
1 2 3 2 2 3
And then tapping his foot in a slow three:
1 2 3 2 2 3
I don't know if it is something he had consciously worked on, but I thought it was quite hip.
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Originally Posted by fasstrack
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Originally Posted by pants
To quote Bill Evans (about Woody Herman calling a guy who kept asking for 'Woodpecker's Ball' Charlie Pecker)
'That's real hostility'...
Moffa Mithra
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