 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Philip Caron
Date: 2019-01-28 23:46
Sometimes I tap my foot while playing. It's more of a habit than a necessity; when I think to notice it, I stop. During performance I don't *think* I do it at all, it's only when relaxed during home practice.
I caught myself foot tapping yesterday and stopped to consider it. I noticed that depending on how I was sitting I might tap either foot. Without playing I then tried to tap both feet in unison - and to my astonishment I couldn't do it. !!! One or the other foot always led, until I spent several minutes practicing just that, and it left me with the feeling that more practice would be needed to make bipedal taps in unison consistent.
Which brings into question my basic rhythmic sense altogether, being as how my unconscious feet turn out to be rather approximate. I suspect this is a later developing problem in me, as back in the day I would show off (to a very limited audience) simultaneously tapping feet on floor and hands on knees, 1 against 2 against 3 against 4. Not hard, but at the time all the downbeats stayed together.
This may finally get me to practice at least some of the time with a metronome.
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2019-01-29 00:09
If there is some performance reason to coordinate movement along with playing (such as the sound of foot taps are part of the score), then that would be an issue for concern.
however
I point out to students that there is no physical connection between the foot and the sound that comes out of the clarinet. Your RHYTHM is determined by the length of time between the beginning of one note and the beginning of the next. So what I practice is REMEMBERING the length of that interval. For example, if I am playing quarter notes at 60 beats per minute, I simply try to repeat what that one second [oops.....post edited] time interval felt like (sounded like) before beginning the next quarter note.
So for me, moving any appendage (other than fingers from note to note) is really just some additional, and unnecessary action. But I don't necessary frown upon it either unless it is distracting to ensemble neighbors (or the player herself/himself).
I also realize this is probably not the thrust of your post but I thought I'd throw that out there for others looking in.
....................Paul Aviles
Post Edited (2019-01-29 19:38)
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Author: Ralph Katz
Date: 2019-01-29 02:52
By itself, foot tapping is not a bad thing. But, like air leaks in your embouchure, it leads to other problems, and doesn't sound good.
I always see people tapping their feet, bobbing their heads, or swaying in the breeze instead of following the conductor or listening to other players. These are usually the same people who tune with an electronic gizmo but don't ever listen to chordal tuning or sense how group pitch is evolving. Also, when the rhythm gets harder, they bob and weave even harder, and thus get farther away from the stick and from the rest of the group.
Most of the time I can't do anything about these folks. Understanding a little about Buddhism helps me get through these potentially maddening situations. I have to watch, though, that I don't start chanting my mantra.
It would be better to practice with a metronome, so that your hearing is always involved with rhythm, instead of using your foot, which is a purely internal stimulus.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2019-01-29 03:14
Ralph Katz wrote:
> I always see people tapping their feet, bobbing their heads, or
> swaying in the breeze instead of following the conductor or
> listening to other players. These are usually the same people
> who tune with an electronic gizmo but don't ever listen to
> chordal tuning or sense how group pitch is evolving. Also,
> when the rhythm gets harder, they bob and weave even harder,
> and thus get farther away from the stick and from the rest of
> the group.
I think you're painting with an awfully broad brush. I know many bobbers and weavers (and even a few toe tappers) who are perfectly capable ensemble players, fully able to follow a conductor and listen to others in the orchestra (or band).
There are lots of the ones you describe as well. The problem isn't their moving around, it's their insensitivity to the ensemble around them.
People "tune" to electronic tuners for a starting point. If they're competent players, they put the tuner away once the rehearsal or performance starts and adjust as needed.
There are certainly those who assume, because they were in tune to the tuner at the beginning, their pitch is automatically correct thereafter. Again, everyone who tunes to a tuner isn't by definition oblivious to the changing pitch needs of the musical context.
Karl
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Author: Arnoldstang
Date: 2019-01-29 03:53
Practice different ways
1. Play the beginning of a march and tap your foot
2. Same and tap your toe
3. Same and move the clarinet with the beat
4. Same and tap the beginning of each bar in 2/4
5. Same with no tapping and no movement of the clarinet
6. Back to #1
Tapping your toe in music that is more song like might make the interpretation “choppy”. In this case try to tap less frequently . For example tapping lightly on 1 and 3 or just on 1 might be more in the style. This is all very general.
One has to decide whether the notes are flowing along in a long phrase or whether the meter is well defined . Tapping isn’t always bad. In any case don’t get hung up on this . Enjoy the music.
Freelance woodwind performer
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Author: Ed Palanker
Date: 2019-01-29 18:14
I've sometimes done that as my "metronome" while practicing a passage to keep it steady but once I would become comfortable with the passage would no longer do it. Sometimes I would tap my toe inside my shoe in a difficult passage though for my feeling of security.. Taping is only a problem unless it's distracting to you or others when playing in an ensemble.
ESP eddiesclarinet.com
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Author: NBeaty
Date: 2019-01-29 19:56
I don't think foot tapping is helpful to improving rhythm/tempo stability and accuracy. It can often be irritating and distracting to other players if you're in an ensemble, although it can be humorous from the audience's perspective when they see half a band tapping their foot and not a single one is in sync with another (regardless of whether or not the ensemble is playing together).
"practice at least some of the time with a metronome."
The more you practice with a metronome and internalize rhythm, the less dependent you will be (consciously or otherwise) on tapping your foot.
Practicing while standing up also helps, since you're less likely to have foot tapping go unnoticed. There are plenty of other benefits to practicing while standing as well, particularly with air support and keeping the mind and body more engaged in the practice session.
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Author: kdk
Date: 2019-01-29 21:04
As an aside - maybe it really doesn't need saying - I hope in ensemble situations we aren't talking about obvious up-and-down *foot* tapping, which can be distracting to audiences and noisy - apart from all feet not being in synch. At the least players who want to move something should learn to tap their toe inside their shoe.
Although I don't associate foot tapping with poor musicianship, I don't really think it's helpful as a habit. Most people I've observed - students and colleagues - who tap their toes visibly to any degree almost always tap in time with their playing, not the other way around (playing in time with a steady toe tap). Some players who think they're tapping their toes actually end up reflexively tapping the rhythm instead. Once you start to play, toe tapping, even when it's done, isn't the main focus.
Karl
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Author: Luuk ★2017
Date: 2019-01-30 16:26
Now we have a clarinetist in our band who sways back and forth in a rhythm which seems totally independent from the musical rhythm. Imagine a waltz with him moving at 4.5 quarters or so.
This is especially annoying when his swaying has large amplitude (which happens when the music gets expressive or very dance-like): sometimes his clarinet swings 90 degrees up and down within one cycle.
Since this distracts his colleagues and the audience (we got remarks) I discussed this with him, and he said he doesn't notice it himself (!). Since our talk things got better.
Regards,
Luuk
Philips Symphonic Band
The Netherlands
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Author: monnarush
Date: 2019-01-30 19:22
OK more fodder to think about. I only toe tap when lerning a new piece. I have a metronome so I will begin using it because it sits and collects dust and that is sad, its an older wind up model and I do love it. Happy playing!
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Author: dorjepismo ★2017
Date: 2019-01-30 20:27
"I think you're painting with an awfully broad brush. I know many bobbers and weavers (and even a few toe tappers) who are perfectly capable ensemble players, fully able to follow a conductor and listen to others in the orchestra (or band)."
Like the woodwinds in the Berlin Phil. Fair to say that moving around a lot when they play hasn't held them back any. The two main objections to moving with the beat are inflexibility and the tendency of beats to show up as pulses in the sound. If that's not happening, it shouldn't be a problem.
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Author: Ursa
Date: 2019-01-31 05:18
Quote:
The two main objections to moving with the beat are inflexibility and the tendency of beats to show up as pulses in the sound. If that's not happening, it shouldn't be a problem.
At a recent rehearsal, I noticed a pulse to my sound when tapping my toe, as well as a destabilising effect on my embouchure. I was on tuba at this rehearsal rather than clarinet, and of course the tuba rests on my thigh and jiggles when I tap my toe.
If somebody had noticed this effect at some time in the past, I wish they would've made mention of it. I'm now trying to unlearn this decades-old habit. Bah...
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Author: Tom H
Date: 2019-02-01 09:49
Tapping feet is not necessary for most players, and not ever needed at all for advanced ones.
The brain tells the foot what to do (well, in most cases.....).
I had 2 or 3 students over the years that could not tap their feet in a steady rhythm. So, they could not for example play a half note for two beats, because they were uneven beats. So of course, they could not count properly to play rhythms correctly because they couldn't count a steady pulse at all (feet or no feet). But maybe that's .005% of all that I have taught.
Must admit I do tap my feet at times in our band when we play those Big Band Medlies or during "Dixieland Fronts the Band" numbers (but not when I'm doing the solos).
Foot tapping, unless just for fun, adds one more (unnecessary) physical movement while playing.
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Author: Noqu
Date: 2019-02-07 23:41
Whenever foot tapping comes up, I can't resist posting this wonderful poem by Heather Wastie:
_Until I saw your foot_
I thought this music was in four,
Until I saw your foot.
But now I think it must be three,
Or maybe five, I can’t quite see.
Or six? Or maybe not.
I thought this piece was rather slow,
Until I saw your foot.
But now I think it’s double speed –
Sometimes it’s very fast indeed.
And other times it’s not.
I thought conductors gave the beat,
Until I saw your foot.
But now I think it rather neat,
To look at all the tapping feet,
And choose the speed that I prefer,
And play along with him – or her.
I find it helps a lot.
I thought my timing was all wrong,
Until I saw your foot.
Conductors beat both east and west,
But we don’t play with all the rest:
We’ve found a tempo of our own,
And bar by bar, our love has grown.
O I was feeling so alone,
Until I saw your foot.
© Heather Wastie
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Author: onesyphorus
Date: 2019-02-12 05:10
At the end of the day this stuff needs to be internalised to the point where you can play the most syncopated rhythms with little to no effort! But until then its a wise habit you have formed over here... I don't care what genre of music you perform, this sense of rhythm is fundamental at all costs.
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