Learner Question About Timing

The Ultimate On-Line Whistle Community. If you find one more ultimater, let us know.
Tunborough
Posts: 1419
Joined: Sun Dec 05, 2010 2:59 pm
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 10
Location: Southwestern Ontario

Re: Learner Question About Timing

Post by Tunborough »

I watched a video recently of two fine musicians, performing well together. Both were tapping a foot ... at different times. Not sure what to make of that.
User avatar
Chifmunk
Posts: 172
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2016 11:40 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: Hi, I play 5-string banjo, mountain dulcimer, bones, and am now a beginner pennywhistler. I have some Dixon, Freeman, and Susato whistles. This is obviously the most extensive forum for information in whistle learning- thanks!
I also run a banjo/mando/fiddle shirt site at https://harmonias.com/
and a mountain dulcimer social site at: fotmd.com
Location: Germantown, NY

Re: Learner Question About Timing

Post by Chifmunk »

You can ask your fellow bandmates what their preference is. If the audience and the other musicians you're playing with like the foot tapping, then go for it! In some situations it could be distracting and unnecessary, while at other times it can add some welcome energy for the audience. In music, things are seldom all right or all wrong.
Having FUN playin' my whistles!
http://pennywhistleclub.com/
...a new social network just for whistlers
Kade1301
Posts: 167
Joined: Fri Mar 02, 2018 4:44 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I've been trying to learn the recorder for about 5 years now and want to add a new instrument (tin whistle) to my repertoire. I hope with only 6 holes life will be a bit easier... (John Sheahan's Marino Casino in the Gaiety theatre has something to do with it - whereas my head knows that 40 years of practice is the reason why it sounds so good, I'm still hoping...)
Location: France
Contact:

Re: Learner Question About Timing

Post by Kade1301 »

pancelticpiper wrote:It's not like the foot is controlled by a different thing than the fingers!

...
Which is why I mainly tap my toes when my fingers don't have anything to do...
PB+J
Posts: 1306
Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:40 am
antispam: No
Please enter the next number in sequence: 8
Tell us something.: I'm a historian and the author of "The Beat Cop:Chicago's Chief O'Neill and the Creation of Irish Music," published by the University of Chicago in 2022. I live in Arlington VA and play the flute sincerely but not well

Re: Learner Question About Timing

Post by PB+J »

I've found that when people who know basically nothing about ITM--e.g. my relatives--are listening, foot tapping helps them A LOT in understanding what's going on. They can hear how the melody is moving in way they can't if the melody is played alone--it's like another instrument.

Many musicians who play with drummers have observed how a good drummer can pull everything together and make things that seemed be floundering start to work. The other night I was at a picnic and people were strumming guitars--not professionals, but people who like to play and sing. I picked up a bodhran and a wire brush and started playing a steady "train beat." Everybody smiled and the music came together, not because I'm good but because everybody now had a reference point. I think foot tapping can do that.

At the same time, a good whistle player, which I emphatically am not, can communicate the swing, time, and "logic" of a melody without the tapping.

I find practicing with a metronome to be really vital because it calls me out on those passages where I slow or rush without noticing. Once I have a good foundation, I can start to mess with the pulse in ways that make the tune swing
Post Reply