Rhythms: Volume 2
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
| Q | I am a bass player. However, many years ago I played the drums. I consider myself fairly adept at reading most basic rhythms through sixteenth notes. Where should I start with your rhythm books? |
| A | You should check your rhythm skills to make sure your in the right place.
Go to http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/rhythms.html If you can read these rhythms at a half note equals 120 then you are in good shape for eighth note reading. Go to: http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/rhythms2.html If you can read these rhythms at a quarter note equals 120 then you are in good shape for sixteenth note reading. http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/oddmeters.html If you can read these rhythms at an eighth note equals 200 then you are in good shape for odd meter reading. If you have problems with any of these books at the tempo markings I've indicated then your not up to the same level of musicianship that at least I'm use to playing with. Everyone has different things that they want to focus on in their music careers. If reading isn't one of the big issues with you then maybe these books wouldn't be good for you. I've found that the great readers are also the "great" musicians but that's an opinion. "Great" can mean a lot of different things to different people especially when it comes to music. |
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| Q | I just found your books on Amazon.com, which led me to this site. I'm a pianist (jazz, mainly) and have become fascinated with the rhythmic conceptions of people like Brad Mehldau, Larry Grenadier, Jorge Rossy and all the guys who are in Dave Holland's Prime Directive. Not only is their odd-meter playing incredibly fluid, but their playing in common-time is also amazing. I've been working with the metronome with some degree of improvement, but not a lot. Which of your books would I find most helpful in improving in these areas? |
| A | I would recommend working with Rhythm series. I don't know your current level but most professional musicians in NYC find any of these books to be challenging. You should at least work through:
Rhythms Volume One Rhythms Volume Two Odd Meters The Big Metronome If you email me after you get the books I'll give you a practice regimen to bring your playing and rhythmic ability to a new level. |
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| Q | Before I order, would this same stuff be suitable for gaining more fluency in playing over the barline in common time? |
| A | Thanks for checking in. I think first we should figure out how challenging these books are going to be for you. I'm a firm believer that you first need your basic musicianship to be strong before you attempt more advanced concepts. Since I'm not there to check your abilities you should Go to:
http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/rhythms.html If you can read these rhythms at a half note equals 120 then you are in good shape for eighth note reading. Go to: http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/rhythms2.html If you can read these rhythms at a quarter note equals 120 then you are in good shape for sixteenth note reading. http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/oddmeters.html If you can read these rhythms at an eighth note equals 200 then you are in good shape for odd meter reading. If you have problems with any of these books at the tempo markings I've indicated then it's my opinion that you need to first have your basic rhythms together at the suggested tempos because the tempos given are commonly found in contemporary music. The Big Metronome on the other hand is totally into developing your time on the micro and macro level so that is definately a book to get. Just keep in mind you will be working out of that book for the rest of your life. There is really no end to the possibilities you can explore with this concept. |
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| Q | You sort of answered this question in the email without me asking it, but if a vocalist looked at your Rhythm books, how would they go about working in your books? I'm asking because I know a vocalist that is interested in your books, but I wasn't sure exactly how one should go about practicing. Maybe just like you said, sing the rhythms or tap them. Would it be better for a singer to sing these rhythms just using one pitch? Or maybe for each exercise write out a melody (or possibly even the singing exercises in Fanatics?) using the provided rhythms and work from it using the Fanatics Guide CD in the background? |
| A | All of your suggestions would work. I think any singer would first work through the rhythm books by just singing the rhythms without adding in a melody. The rhythms are not easy so they will need all their concentration to get the rhythms right just singing one note. It actually will help to develop perfect pitch too, so the singer should make sure they are in tune with each note they use. To help with this Perfect Pitch ear training I would only use one pitch for each book.
Once they finish the books they could also follow any of your suggestions to improve there use of pitch and rhythm together. |
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| Q | First a little information. I am a bass player. I play a six string bass. I use a three finger right hand technique:
i - index m- middle r - ring 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & i m r m i m r m I do this strictly alternating. I am having a hard time increasing my speed to match your tempo markings. Would you please give me some suggestions? Lastly, is it necessary to have rhythm primer up to advanced speed before moving on to your other books in the series? |
| A | I think your right hand picking technique is good and should present a problem no matter what the tempo is. Your problems with playing faster tempos could come from a few different things. First it could be related to how long you have been playing but I think you could expand upon this technique by doing some right hand technique exercises. First you need to work on all the permutations of your three finger method. To do this you would first take constant triplets and work on the different combinations of fingers.
I, M, R I, R, M M, I, R, M, R, I, R, I, M R, M, I Once you have worked these up you should expand in a few ways. 1st try 4 note combinations: I, M, R, I I, R, M, I I, M, R, M I, R, M, R M, I, M, R M, I, R, M M, R, M, I M, R, I, M R, M, I, R R, M, R, I R, I, M, R R, M, I, R I would then extend this into complex rhythms. A good place to start is the eighth and sixteenth note rhythms in the Rhythm Primer. I would then do it using the rhythms in Rhythms Volume One and Two. The important thing to remember is that your mind memorizes rhythmic patterns and sends this information to your fingers. So you need both multiple fingering and multiple rhythms to get your fingers responding correctly to any situation. You don't have to work up to the advanced level of Rhythm Primer before moving on. Come back to it after you have worked through Rhythms Volume One and Two and I think you will find it much easier. |
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| Q | I have made my mind and shall order the suggested books at your store. I have one little question:
I would also order your book A big Metronome for tempo training. Or is it better to start practicing with a metronome? From the faq I read that the book A Big Metronome is more alike for intermediate to advanced students. If you have a simpler book verse for tempo training I really would have you recommend me this. |
| A | It's hard to say if A Big Metronome would be good for you because I don't know your exact level. I would though recommend that you work through the rhythm series before attempting the big metronome. To get an idea of what kind of rhythms are involved I suggest you download the examples found at:
http://www.arnoldjazz.com/workshop/index.html You will see them listed as: Eighth Note Rhythms (Rhythms Book One) Sixteenth Note Rhythms (Rhythms Book Two) Odd Meters (Odd Meters One) These books will give you a solid foundation in all rhythms on 2 different metric levels plus introduce you to the complexity of Odd Meters. The muse-eek.com Web site also has midi files that you can use to play along with these books to check your accuracy. Rhythms Volume One also has some MP3 files with a swing feel. I think starting with these books would much more beneficial and give you a solid background before moving into the time studies in A Big Metronome. |
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