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Metronome @ 20 bpm

Jens Telemark

Jens Telemark

Sep 1, 2023
336
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pnw
#1
Lately I've been starting the practice day with triad and shell voicing patterns at a slow tempo meditating on the time before playing a note. When 32 bpm got comfortable the tempo was reduced 2 bpm for however many days it took for that to become comfortable. At 20 bpm I've hit a wall to reliably feel the centre of the beat.

Subdividing makes 20 bpm quite doable but my thinking is to feel the time without subdividing. It's interesting that moving the tempo to 21 bpm still takes meditation to get into but most days it's possible to anchor the time there. Has someone else experienced this? What are the mental/physical processes that can make a difference of 1 bpm so critical?
 
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#2
Jens Telemark said:
Lately I've been starting the practice day with triad and shell voicing patterns at a slow tempo meditating on the time before playing a note. When 32 bpm got comfortable the tempo was reduced 2 bpm for however many days it took for that to become comfortable. At 20 bpm I've hit a wall to reliably feel the centre of the beat.

Subdividing makes 20 bpm quite doable but my thinking is to feel the time without subdividing. It's interesting that moving the tempo to 21 bpm still takes meditation to get into but most days it's possible to anchor the time there. Has someone else experienced this? What are the mental/physical processes that can make a difference of 1 bpm so critical?
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I can not speak the mental or physical process but you are pushing the boundaries. compare this to 00m sprinter trying to shave time of his/her PB. At some point your gains will become very cumbersome to achieve.
 
#3
I don’t know about a 1 bpm increment but I know there’s a limit to practice through and you’ve found yours.
I use the free Fender app sometimes because it goes to 10 bpm. It takes patience. Just don’t worry about perfection, worry about your motivation. You’ll get it with repetition.
 
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#6
33 bpm as the limit humans can keep time without subdividing sounds about right. I can manage 30 bpm without a great deal of effort but it might vary slightly from person to person. It's probably reasonable to consider that someone regularly spending time pushing the limit could push past 33. The limit may also go back up if you stop pushing.

It's not about trying to perform music at 20 bpm (I like getting paid). It's an effective meditation to get into a focused place to practice. It just got me curious about how other musicians believe they perceive time. I found there are many studies on the subject. Examining expectation as a component of perception of time is interesting.
 
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