Help with tempo

[jonctweddle]

Hi all

I've been playing the sax for a week now and am slowly learning the basic notes.

I'm at the stage where I can play very basic sheet music (Fly me to the moon, Money money money), but I have a problem with counting the beats.

I count my self in (1&2&3&4& etc) and then when I start playing my mind goes blank.

Perhaps it is because I'm concentrating so hard on reading the notes that this happens?

So I was wondering if any one had any good tips for a beginner trying to count the beats in his head. I think.

Cheers in advance
Jon

 

[Basil]

I tap my toe, the down stroke being the first half (the first quaver), the up stroke being the second. That way, it helps me count in quavers. I don't know if this is how others are taught, but it works for me.
My music teacher says that rythmn is by far the hardest thing to learn, so I guess it takes a while.
🙂

 

[Pete Thomas]

I find that a gently rocking from one foot to the other can be quite useful.

 

[Simon]

Alternating feet is what I use. Also, I've found the more your divide up the pulse of music (1e+a2e+a....) and try to count that AND play the tune AND keep your place in the music, it makes playing the music harder!

Eg with 'Fly me to the Moon', I'd only tap on the downbeats when you're starting out - 1...2...3...4... and not the '+s' (upbeats). So you get:

"FLY ME TO THE moon, and LET ME PLAY A-MONG THE stars ..."

Eventually, as this is a swing tune in particular, you'll want to aim at only tapping on 2... and the 4... to get the swing feel! So your feet go down on the words in caps :

"fly ME to THE moon, and let ME play A-mong THE stars...."

Simon

 

[Thaumaturge]

My teacher used to say to me (in a nice way of course) "If you don't stop tapping your feet I'll nail them to the floor". He advocated that you should feel the rhythm. If you are playing with a rhythm section the tempo is there for you. If you play for instance in a concert band you follow the conductor.
However, when you are practising on your own, especially for a beginner a metronome is useful. Also playalongs are excellent.

 

[Pete Thomas]

Yes, tapping your feet, and sometimes any kind of movement, is bad if your playing in a formal setting like a wind band. One of the worst things to see is a wind band or any orchestra with everyone tapping their feet whether it's in time or out of time.

The reason I advocate foot tapping is to help get a rhythmic feel and to get used to your body moving in time - I also advise anyone to learn dancing to help get a good feel for rhythm in their music.

And I agree, with (many/most) rhythm sections it should be redundant to tap your foot in ordder to be in time, but I still think it can help when practising at home on your own or with a metronome.

 

[jonctweddle]

Thanks for the helpful replys folks

Forgive my ignorance, but what is a metronome?

Jon

 

[spike]

but what is a metronome?

a very short person who lives underground in Paris

or . . . any device that produces a regulated audible and/or visual pulse, usually used to establish a steady beat, or tempo, ... (wiki)

see here at metronome online

gruss - spike

 

[nosaxyet]

Well I'm a real novice but my teacher says what is important at my early stage is trying to get the relationships between the note lengths correct/consistent and he suggested that I get some of these 'play along' cds and this is helping a lot.

From the cd I can hear the timing clearly and always run through the music when listening. Its a little harder playing along.

'Teach" says my timing is generally a little slow but fairly consistent so I'm working on it again using the cds. I have just bought a metronome but I'm finding that hard going. What with learning to sight read music, getting my fingers to work with some of the fingering combinations and changes between notes is hard enough though I've been playing around 10 weeks now.

 

[Mikec]

I've used a program called "Band-in-a-Box" for about fifteen years now. (www.pgmusic.com). It's a very versatile program, but as a practice aid, I've found it invaluable. You enter chords into it as in a spreadsheet and it then generates an accompaniment (Bass, Drums, Piano). It is a million times more fun than playing to a metronome, and you can alter tempo and key, loop sections, etc. with just a mouseclick.

 

[jadoube]

nosaxyet wrote:
I have just bought a metronome but I'm finding that hard going.

What with learning to sight read music, getting my fingers to work with some of the fingering combinations and changes between notes is hard enough though I've been playing around 10 weeks now.

A metronome is no doubt a great device for those who've played another instrument previously. For complete novices (like myself) I think its better to use a LoSuWoe (Long suffering wife, or equivalent)

While a metronome works straight out of the box its does insist that you play at its speed. 😡

Once trained a LoSuWoe will fit in with your tempo and is thus so much easier to play along to. 🙂

Training a LoSuWoe is simply a matter of finding a 'favourite' tune and murdering it. After a short while there will be a cry of "for gods sake.." and the LoSuWoe will join your practice session giving the beat at a suitable tempo for your playing. With a bit of luck there may also be additional advice and encouragement.