• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Counting vs Feeling it

Counting time vs feeling time

  • Count

    Votes: 12 18.2%

  • Feel it!

    Votes: 54 81.8%
  • Total voters
    66
#3
yeah I know you need to count on some stuff, like a drum intro, or maybe a break..even then my timing on hitting my "mark" get's messed up if I count it :help: I just "feel" it...maybe I need to work on that..but heck it's worked for me for 20 yrs..most the time :bassist:
 
#12
I don't know if you need this explanation or not but the thing about counting is to anticipate where the beat occurs and play simultaneously (or at least in time) with the next beat. We don't count one, two, three, four, one then play; we play on the one, getting the feel for where it (one) will fall by counting.

Lots of things will throw off accurate counting of a beat or tempo but they can be worked through and eventually overcome. Using a metronome to practice and play with is one way, learning to identify the time cycle of a phrase in a song is another.

If getting by most of the time is enough for you, great! If you want to be a better musician, and feel working on time will help, fantastic. If I have gone up the wrong tree, I apologize.

Check out Sister Moon on Herbie Hancock's Possibilities or Filthy Habits from Frank Zappa's Sleep Dirt and try counting and feeling the beat.
 
#13
i've been playing for like 5 years and recently started lessons.. man o man counting is so hard, and i got a decent sense of timing but counting and playing the simpliest of things has been a real challenge. reading rhythm notation is what i'm working on
 
#15
My goal is always to "feel" it but if I'm reading music I'll usually count it the first couple of times.

If I'm playing a repetative part I used to and somtimes still count the bars initially but feel them after a few times through. I can easily feel the 4 bar mark, 8, 16 etc

I attended a jazz clinic run by NYC (well la tee da) session guys who when asked the question about playing and counting mixed and/or odd time signatures, stated that the goal was to feel the rhythm.
 
#16
The goal IS to feel the rhythm, but how do we figure out the feel of the rhythm? By counting until it's second nature to us. Really, this shouldn't even be a discussion. You need to count until you feel it. And even once you're feeling it, you should still keep a count in the back of your mind just to keep you on the right track. They are not exclusive "one or the other" concepts. They work together.
 
#18
JimmyM said:
The goal IS to feel the rhythm, but how do we figure out the feel of the rhythm? By counting until it's second nature to us. Really, this shouldn't even be a discussion. You need to count until you feel it. And even once you're feeling it, you should still keep a count in the back of your mind just to keep you on the right track. They are not exclusive "one or the other" concepts. They work together.
Click to expand...

You could say that feeling is just internalized counting.
 
#20
wsmerwin@hotmai said:
Hang in there man. It's really worth it in the end.
Click to expand...

Thanks man, one thing that fudges me up is like saying the number in my head + tapping foot at same time... I mean if i can tap my foot i WILL be on time..of course not if i'm sight reading(which is my goal). so i find my self counting and not tapping my foot when practicing my reading rhythm notation, and i always remember my first bass teacher (who i respect alot, and would have kept studying with if i hadnt moved) used to preach never let your foot stop moving! lol its a work in progress. can't wait till it's second nature and i'm walking along to the standards @ the jazz jams...:bassist:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back