My very best friend wants us to take dance classes together. Now I, being of sound mind and flabby body, am unsure how I feel about shaking my moneymaker in a room full of less flabby, more moneyshakering kids. That said, I understand the idea behind my best friends decision.
She wants rhythm.
I love her like she was my own flesh and blood, but she doesn’t keep rhythm very well. Not in music, not in dance, not in anything.
So can rhythm be taught?
If so, are there classes (music or dance, I’m assuming that they overlap to a degree) that will teach a person how to hold a rhythm?
I’m all up for a new adventure, but I can’t see what good it will be to have some lady screaming, “AH ONE, TWO, THREE, FOUR!” if my best friend is incapable of sticking to the beat.
Yes, it can be taught, but it can be a long and arduous process. The easiest way might be taking some percussion lessons and listening to some marches, waltzes, and polkas. It’s usually pretty easy to find the beat in those.
So far, according to my seventh grade percussion section, no. However, I am determined.
Just start simple – as was suggested with marches.
As to dance class, I bet that would be a wonderful way to learn. Make it a whole, kinesthetic experience.
My seventh graders may be waltzing around the room before long.
The rest of my band members, however, are becoming experts at independent counting, since the percussion section is NEVER playing the same tempo as the rest of us.
Drum God, have you tried having them march around in a circle, beating out the time on each other’s shoulders? Well, not beating, but tapping the shoulder of the person in front of them. I remember that being really helpful when I was in middle school. So was chanting out the rhythm in tempo.
How do they count out the measures–ta-ta, tee-tee style or just plain one-ee-and-uh-two-ee style? I found the latter much more helpful and easier to understand.
This seems to be a repeated meme among various music/dance/etc. teachers that <blank> cannot be taught and you have to be born with it. Or you are too old to learn <blank> and you missed your chance.
I call “cite” on all of them. Most of the “musical talent” are actually linguistic skills combined with thousands of hours of practice. Sure, kids are better at linguistics, as are some people born with innate abilities. However things like perfect absolute/relative pitch, ability to sing, speak a language without an accent, act or play a musical instrument ARE NOT outside of most peoples potential. More often than not adults simply do not have the time nor the dedication to practice as much as they need to. They simply declare themselves “unable” and put a period there.
Yes you can learn rhythm (or anything else musical for that matter) - depending on your personal abilities and inclinations it might come natural or it might take you a few years of 15-20 hours of directed practice a week, but unless you have severe brain damage it should not be outside of realistic possibility.
Yes, it can. My sweetie had horrible rhythm. He was also durn near tone-deaf. Then he decided he wanted to play mandolin, don’t ask me why. He had a near-phobia from school music lessons, and had owned a guitar for years without ever learning to play. But we bought a mandolin.
In the past couple of years, his sense of timing, rhythm, and ear for music have all improved TREMENDOUSLY. He plays mandolin and guitar, and has started on piano. None of them at professional level, but well enough that it’s very pleasant listening.
Yes, it can. I learned it (although I had some rhythm, it just wasn’t well developed)… I learned it the hard way, though.
This, though:
Having been to dance classes, having seen other dance classes… I can say you don’t have anything to worry about. Trust me… many people that take dance classes do not look like top models, nor are they “moneyshakering” or “less flabby”. They come in all shapes and sizes.
Oh, and from what I’ve seen… You know, an average guy dancing great makes me swoon easier than a hottie that can’t move. Good dancing is not about the looks.
There really is no factual answer to this question. In my opinion, it can be taught. Timing especially is paramount to playing in a band and I’ve personally been taught timing. Now, are timing and rhythm the same thing? Maybe.
I started out being unable to step in time to music at 19 in aerobics classes, and ended up going to dance school full time. As in I originally would hear the music but couldnt step from side to side in time with it to save my life, and had to pick it up over time. I was never a Fred Astaire but I was better than some.
So yes it can be learned, or at least its not the case that having no sense of rhythym at an older age means it cant ever be picked up. Whether it was there waiting to be learnt or I learnt it from scratch I cant say.
