Sunday 3/29

30 Minutes

foot tapping, keeping a pulse with "Flying Home" and "Calliope"

I can't tap my foot for any length of time standing up. A little more luck sitting down, but much of the time it still feels strained. With this matter more or less dealt with, I looped some parts for as long as I could whilekeeping part of my attention in my hands and some in my tapping foot. My aim for this was to keep the tapping "indifferent" to what was going on withthe notes. I noticed that:
1) sometimes my sense of the pulse wavers, or I do not hear a consistent pulse;
2) generally, it's the foot that wants to adjust or "anticipate" for the hands. So, for instance, I'll be coming up to a transition and I'll raise the foot prematurely, or release it late.
Often, this is followed by a hiccup in the next tap;
3) when the pulse is felt, there is a kind of momentum to it, rather than the feeling of tapping at the correct moment discreetly (like throwing darts)...
So, my approach right now is to just keep it up for as long as possible. I listen to the metronome and try to feel the small lifting and release of weight in the foot, simultaneously. So far, the greatest struggle seems to be with the first bass part in "Calliope", which is a shame. I would totally tap that.