Feel and Rhythm

[Bell Banjos]

I was giving some tips to a player last night. Maybe a beginner can get something from these. Beats 1 and 2 should be played ON those beats. Notes that land on 3 and 4 should be ever so slightly behind those beats. This removes the static tempo that's often there in these modern times. This puts a longer silence between 1 and 2, and a shorter silence between 2 and 3. It works. It's a good habit. It's not swing. It's a mindset. Every good drummer, guitarist, and piano player knows it's true. It's a way to avoid the offbeats from coming in early, ruining everything, leaving other players nothing to latch onto and listeners mystified as they clap but they're not sure where to clap. Rhythm is important, VERY important. Here's another tip, some beginners kind of rush through a difficult passage. Beginners should be in the habit of 'settling down' and just playing through something complicated, maybe even slowing the tempo down for a couple measures, which in reality brings the passage into a steady beat because of the natural rushing due to nervousness. Then it becomes easier. It works. I believe these two tips make a HUGE difference and add that joyful feel.  -Terry Bell,  Making people dance since 1970.

[Strumelia]

Wonderful thread Terry.

I know about the emphasis on the 1 and 3 beats rather than on the 2 and 4 offbeats.  That's a big issue when trying to keep bluegrass and old-time from blending together into a big mush.

But I'm not quite sure what you mean by the "3 and 4 should be ever so slightly behind those beats" thing.  Is there any way you could post video or audio clips of this to illustrate it?- showing it being done and not being done, so we can hear or see the difference.  That would be so great, because these subtle rhythm/timing things are so easy to screw up, often without even being aware of it as we play.  The little rhythm idiosyncrasies can change the whole feel of tunes so quickly and so drastically.