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+ View Older Messages

Keep the Beat
Posted by kengraham
10/15/2007  10:34:00 AM
Whow

The response was very impressive and I thank you all for taking the time to offer suggestions. I can see that I am not alone, just need to stay with it. I have read each several times, will follow the advise and will keep trying.
Thank You
Ken in SD
Re: Keep the Beat
Posted by Eric
10/23/2007  10:44:00 AM
I'm with you on this. One of my studio's instructors asked me if I had problems hearing the beat. I've listened to enough music that I can now hear it in many songs (not all, yet), but I often lose it after I start dancing. He calls that "Don't bother me, I'm dancing". I'm getting better, as I can often recognize when I get off the beat, though getting back on is still a challenge.

Your situation is more basic. You need to listen to more music. Don't listen to the radio when you drive. Listen to the music you will dance to. Listen not to the tune, but the underlying cadence (not all beat comes from a drum). You should count until you are so comfortable that you can pick up the beat in the middle of the song and count it accurately. Some instructors will tell you not to count when you dance, but I'd suggest you tell them to go pound sand until you "get it" (politely). Eventually you will, and then you won't need to count (physically). Like any other skill, practice is the best medicine.
Re: Keep the Beat
Posted by Anonymous
10/23/2007  4:44:00 PM
Eric. Learn to count in bars of music.
1234 2234 3234 4234 through to 8234. Put a tick on a piece of paper. On a good piece of dance music it will be written that there is a four bar introduction followed by 64 bars of music played at a speed of.......I would use a none vocal Foxtrot and count every bar from the beginning to the end.What will happen towards the end is the concentration can wander. If you can get the same count repeatedly your doing OK. How often should this be done. Answere You never stop.
Re: Keep the Beat
Posted by molesaver
10/24/2007  4:30:00 PM
Check out "Social Dancing: Steps to Success," by Judy Patterson Wright. The first five chapters are about things to know before you learn any steps including two invaluable chapters called, "Music Structure," and "Ear-Foot Coordination". Best stuff about music for non-musicians I have seen, complete with simple (not to say easy) exercises to help you get it.
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