I am learning the strum for Wonderwall. I find that I tap my foot 8 times per bar instead of 4 times. Eg. 1 & 2& 3 & 4 &. I tap on the number and the &.
Should I try for 4 taps or is 8 taps the correct way? I find I naturally tap 8 times and find it awkward for 4 times.
Thanks in advance for your response.
Attila
You should only tap your toe on the beat, so four times per bar, not eight. Justing discusses this at 4:30 of this lesson:
It will take some concentrated practice, but after a while it comes naturally.
Tapping your foot while playing is not easy. So, don’t worry if you find it difficult at times. For me, even after many years playing, there are some songs that I still find hard to tap to. These songs tend to be the ones that have some technique (guitar/vocal) which I am still not 100% percent confident/comfortable with. So, it requires me to concentrate more on getting the technique right and there is only so much I can do at a time :).
Once you are comfortable with the song, tapping will come naturally with practice as @jjw mentioned.
As for tapping on the & beat, I personally wouldn’t worry about it. If it helps you play better or feel the song more, then don’t overthink it. As long as you are aware that you are not tapping the actual tempo of the song, I think it’s ok. Remember that tapping is suppose to help you play better and maintain your tempo/feel. You can worry about the tapping once you are comfortable with the song.
I know this might go against what we should do. But that’s how I’d approach it.
Hope this helps.
I agree. In the past, I’ve found that 8th note tapping can sometimes be easier than “correct” quarter note tapping - especially with 16th note rhythms.
One of my music teachers played in professional bands…he told me it was fairly common to tap on the 8ths in certain songs when on stage…especially for bass players.
Ok thanks, I watched the video which was helpful. Definitely a challenge but slowed it down in practice and as you said it comes natural after while.