I struggled with rhythm for many years. The advice to tap my foot did not help…it made things worse. It just seemed to add one more task to my overloaded brain, and everything fell apart.
Justin’s tip on always keeping your strumming arm moving in time was an “aha” moment for me, and my rhythm go much better. And after 1 or 2 years of that, I can now tap semi-reliably.
A couple of months ago, I read the book “Learn Faster, Perform Better”, and it is the best collection of scientifically based music practice tips that I have ever read in book form.
One of the very best is to improve your rhythm by marching in place. @bkennedy74 summarized the technique in another thread.
My response:
Yes!
This is one of the best practice tips from the book - really deserves its own topic. Apparently, our sense of rhythm is closely associated with our sense of balance - which comes from the inner ear.
I always found that nodding my head worked much better than tapping my foot - and this explains why.
For the last few weeks, every time I’ve been struggling with a rhythm - guitar or singing - I stand up and start marching in place. What I’m doing wrong usually becomes clear in a minute or so.
This really seems to be a game changer for those of us who struggle with rhythm. It’s like foot tapping on steroids!
I’ll have more to say about his, but felt this was important enough that it deserved its own topic.