Foot tapping

[chancho]

How long before you were able to maintain a constant foot tapping while playing?

I am so stuck on either concentrating on one or the other but easily get frustrated when trying to do both. I find that naturally my foot either stops tapping or speeds up crazy...

I can tap all day long while listening to a tune but as soon as I pick up my guitar it's as though Ive never tapped in time before

[Nate Miller]

when I took improve class from Rich Matteson at North Texas, I showed up as a freshman tapping feet, swaying around, all sorts of stuff. Rich said to me one time, "Man, if you ever got all the energy going through your guitar, you'd really have something"

he was busting my chops, yea, but what he was trying to tell me was that all that extra movement was getting in the way.

you are right, tapping your foot and playing takes more mental work than just playing. So why make things hard for yourself? Some guys tap their foot subconsciously. It would be work for them to stop doing it. But not everybody is that way, so if you don't tap your foot don't bother trying to force it and definitely don't practice it.

[michael_bxl]

I read this interview today :

Wayne Shorter: But it seems like honing in on the faults brought me and some of the other guys (only a few guys in Newark) closer and closer to what was behind the criticism. There was Walter Davis Jr., there’s another trumpet player named Al Armstrong—there’s only a few—Willy Wright, and what’s his name, the saxophone player—Ike Quebec and Danny Quebec. Those are the few people. The old-timers, we heard comments from them about, “Don’t pat your foot when you’re playing.”
EI: Oh, really?
WS: Yeah, don’t pat your foot. Your patting your foot keeps you in a certain era, the swing era. It gets in the way of your imagination. Don’t move, really, when you play. The movement is interrupting your imagination and you’re actually continuing something that a metronome does, and it continues what you call “music lessons.” You’re just playing your music lessons in variations. [chuckles]

[NoReply]

Back when I was in school we were told to tap our foot as part of learning, I think in the Barry Harris video he's telling someone to tap their foot. I've heard band directors say not to on stage. Then other teacher say you should move some part of your body to help feel the groove.

To the OP if tapping your foot is a distraction to your playing don't do it. When you listen to music that is really swinging to you find you're are moving something bobbing your head, foot tap, etc. Are you doing quarter notes, back beats, just measures, if you are that might be the movement to use when playing because it's already natural to you.

[EllenGtrGrl]

I played Baritone Euphonium in Symphonic Band from 6th grade till my sophomore year of college, and valve trombone in the high school marching band, and the college jazz band. Pretty much from Day 1, foot tapping to keep tempo was frowned upon. As a result, I have never done the foot tapping thing, when playing guitar. Hey, what can I say? I guess if it works for you, then tap away.

[orri]

I played Baritone Euphonium in Symphonic Band from 6th grade till my sophomore year of college, and valve trombone in the high school marching band, and the college jazz band. Pretty much from Day 1, foot tapping to keep tempo was frowned upon. As a result, I have never done the foot tapping thing, when playing guitar. Hey, what can I say? I guess if it works for you, then tap away.

...on the subject of brass bands.
As a child I played in one, and we went on a band trip to Chios (greek island) and met a local brass band. EVERYONE (at least 85%) in that band tapped their foot. It looked quite odd to see an entire band (at least 20) where everyone was tapping their foot.

[Stringswinger]

I am a firm believer that it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing, so I tap. I find that those who do not tap tend to rush and drag (and perhaps they like and need that fluidity).

If it swings, regular folks can dig it. If it's art music, well, enjoy being in a rehearsal band for the rest of your days.....

[EllenGtrGrl]

...on the subject of brass bands.
As a child I played in one, and we went on a band trip to Chios (greek island) and met a local brass band. EVERYONE (at least 85%) in that band tapped their foot. It looked quite odd to see an entire band (at least 20) where everyone was tapping their foot.

Cool! I remember when my high school marching band, was invited to play at the 1982 World's Fair. It was fun trip (the marching band uniform was way too hot to wear in June in Tennessee - I just about melted in mine!). And yes, seeing 20 players in a band all tapping their foot is does look kind of odd. If we tapped our foot in Symphonic Band, we oftentimes got yelled at!

[Hep To The Jive]

Who said you have to tap? You don't! I actually try not too, because I notice I do it subconciously, and usually it's a right foot, which I had a fracture in last summer, and now I'm still trying to heal. But sometimes I can't help it, I get so excited from playing, and I almost always play standing up.

But look at all the rhythm bound rock or blues players- they just move their body, it's different from tapping the foot. Headbanging for example? The movement comes from the excitment, the energy of the music, not a concious desicion to create a metronome for yourself. At least thats how I look at it.

[Jazzism]

Interesting topic!
Ive gone through a variety of practices throughout the years. As an undergrad i used to tap on 2 & 4, trying to feel swing better, like a drummers hi hat. Interesting the Wayne story above. I think he s right. It does lock you in to a certain era when you realise that guys like Dejohnette will improvise with his Hi hat and place it on different beats on occasion.
A lot of drummers impressed upon me the need to know where "one" is at all times so i started tapping on 1 & 3, but at higher tempos your body starts tensing up, so i stopped doing that. When playing latin, I sometimes rock gently from right foot to left simulating 1 & 3, rationalizing that with the tumbao starting on the & of 2 i needed to know where 'one" is, and to lock in the clave. Sometimes guys will here the tumbao as 'one' and turn the beat around. But now i have a much better awareness of subdivisions, like a grid, so even if your slightly out with someone else, you can recognize what subdivision of the grid they are using and adjust accordingly, like a rubber band. So now i dont tap at all and feel less distracted and more connected to the music. I do sometimes experiment on the bandstand with tapping the 'one ' every 2 bars at higher tempos. You can almost fool your self into a very relaxed state with the illusion that the harmonic rhythm is changing, and everything is not moving by so frantically.
Cheers!

[mr. beaumont]

I don't usually tap, I do more of a toe twitch...if you look really carefully, you might see the top of my shoe move a little.

If I'm learning something, I might tap more noticeably. Heck, I might start out just tapping it out on a table with a pencil or "singing" the rhythm, but that's different, I guess.

The point is...if you aren't feeling the rhythm, then DO SOMETHING to feel it. And if you are feeling the rhythm, record yourself...and make sure you are

[Nate Miller]

now this is one topic that I usually see kicked around by folk players. Some folk players say you can't play that music unless you tap your foot, which is ridiculous.

I even had an idiot fiddle player tell me that not tapping my foot because I had been taught to not waste motion was a "cop out"

ideally, the way I feel the rhythm is with the back and forth motion of my pick

but I also realize that when I'm performing that I am an entertainer first and foremost, so I'll move around and do what is expected of guitar players when they are swinging for the fence when the moment warrants random gyrations or other gesticulations

I prefer the out of time head shake, myself

[Hep To The Jive]

but I also realize that when I'm performing that I am an entertainer first and foremost,

That's a brave thing to say on a jazz forum!

[pauln]

It seems to me that if one is tapping their foot, that rhythmic control of moving the foot is coming from somewhere within oneself... the foot tapping is once removed from the internal rhythm source.

Why use foot tapping as a second hand pace setter when the foot is getting its pace from your internal sense of rhythm? Why not learn to find and exploit your primary internal source of rhythm directly?

Don't you imagine this direct internal source is what allows a drummer to play his kit without the requirement to be constantly tapping his foot?

[matt.guitarteacher]

It seems to me that if one is tapping their foot, that rhythmic control of moving the foot is coming from somewhere within oneself... the foot tapping is once removed from the internal rhythm source.

Why use foot tapping as a second hand pace setter when the foot is getting its pace from your internal sense of rhythm? Why not learn to find and exploit your primary internal source of rhythm directly?

Don't you imagine this direct internal source is what allows a drummer to play his kit without the requirement to be constantly tapping his foot?

It's just a reference , but it's often helpful one, especially for beginners. For pianists and drummers, the beat isn't always in the same hand/appendage , but it's very often referenced SOMEWHERE most of the time. For me, difficult rhythms on the piano are most easily counted by referencing something against the opposite hand. Guitarists often have the same kind of things going on with pick direction or with right-hand fingers.

For rank beginners, it's as much as knowing what is on the beat versus off the beat for eighth notes. It's similar when you're working on complex rhythmic elements like polyrhythms.
There are no have-to's though...

[cosmic gumbo]

I play in a couple big bands, so I can watch and see what 17 different people do to keep time, it's all different, personal, and seems to work. It is what it is. No need for any foot tap police.

[nowhere man]

I play a brass instrument in a large band, and we play music with a very wide range of tempos and in a variety of meters. In some pieces, the changes come quickly and reading the music prevents watching the conductor. Keeping count when you are playing 16th, 8th, quarter, half and full notes is difficult, and foot tapping seems to be used by nearly everyone. On the other hand if you are playing rhythm guitar, foot tapping seems redundant.

[matt.guitarteacher]

I still think a lot of the "what you should do" ideas are almost beside the point. Some of it is for your enjoyment of the music, just to better feel it, whatever. If it doesn't help, don't.

There's probably a whole thread other thread in the sideways-triplet-head bob (hereafter referred to as STHB)of really advanced players. The STHB is most often combined with a forward-and-back, basic-beat-reference, rocking motion. Before I learned to count a little better, I just thought these guys were really soulful, really "into" the music, or filled with the spirit etc. :-)

A lot of these weird, tick-looking movements are the same kind of physical referencing that we're talking about with foot tapping. I don't know that there are rules to all of this.

Now, everyone, please go to the shed, and work on your STHB! ;-)

[AlsoRan]

I thought you folks might find this entertaining. At the 5:28 this former trumpet player for Jelly Roll Morton, one of the originators of Jazz, tells the story of Jelly Roll stopping a recording and commenting that you can't play Jazz unless you stomp your foot.

[matt.guitarteacher]

I thought you folks might find this entertaining. At the 5:28 this former trumpet player for Jelly Roll Morton, one of the originators of Jazz, tells the story of Jelly Roll stopping a recording and commenting that you can't play Jazz unless you stomp your foot.

Love it! Doc Cheatham interviews great throughout that doc.

[dasein]

Watch videos of a variety of different great jazz players. You're going to see all sorts of variations.

Some tap every beat. Some tap half notes. Some don't tap at all. Some don't tap, but have some other rhythmic body movement going on. Some are like statues.

There's no right answer. Try different methods, and do what works for you.

[chancho]

My experience has been avoiding the tapping, either I'm going to fast or slow but, as mentioned here, it does get in the way

[rolandspacey]

I learned to play music in a school brass band and was discouraged from tapping my foot. Conductors don't like foot tapping because players are supposed to be taking their timing from the conductor, otherwise everyone could be playing to a different tempo. To this day, tapping my foot seems unnatural to me so I don't do it, and don't seem to need it. If you think about it, there's not much point using your mind to control your foot tapping which you then use to set your playing tempo, when you can just use your mind to control your playing tempo directly. On the other hand, if foot tapping works for you, do it.

[Alter]

i can tell you tapping can get very tiring if you play 3 set gigs! And in fast tunes, i 've found tapping on one instead of 2 and 4, or not tapping at all to help with stability and "anchoring" your time feel. No matter what you choose to do, its gotta be relaxed and loose. I 've kind of practiced both ways, not tapping comes more difficult to me than tapping. I sometimes keep time with the toe/foot, and longer forms like 4 bars by slowly moving the upper body forth and back

[mrcee]

Someone once asked Miles what he looked for when hearing a musician for the first time. He said that he could tell if a person could play just by how they took their instrument out of the case and set it up and that keeping time by tapping the heel was a good sign.