Are You a Rhythm Faker?

If you…

• Can’t play something until you hear it
• Follow rather than lead when playing with others
• Get lost or fall behind in rehearsal
• Can write in counting, but can’t confidently execute it
• Absolutely loathe the metronome

Then you are likely what I call a Rhythm Faker!

And if you are honest with yourself, I bet you know that you are often faking it when it comes to rhythm. Or maybe a nicer way of putting it is that you are “feeling it”.

Now there is absolutely no moral judgment for being a Rhythm Faker! It doesn’t mean you are a bad musician or “untalented”. It just means that you haven’t truly mastered rhythm yet (probably because you were taught wrong, but we will dive more into that in a future email).

However, being a Rhythm Faker does lead to:

• Less productive and more frustrating practice
• Less ensemble accuracy and clarity
• Less confidence and more uncertainty

It is one of the top causes for the feeling of stagnation in practice. You do repetition after repetition noticing the obvious mistakes (squeaks, missed notes, etc.), but rarely feel confident that you will be able to consistently execute the trickier bits.

Spoiler Alert: The reason you are inconsistent is because, at the core of it, you aren’t really sure if the important parts (*cough*rhythm*cough*) are correct or not…

If you are ready to start your journey from being a Rhythm Faker to being a True Rhythm Master, where you can recognize rhythm patterns, confidently and consistently play your music correctly, and actually use the metronome as a helpful tool, then stay tuned for some more posts with my most helpful rhythm tips!

Happy Rhythming,
Josh