Jogging/Marching to improve time.

[SonOfChaos]

Hello everyone!

Recently I have gotten an mp3 player and started jogging to music which I had never done before. Well, learning to keep time by running in time with music has DRAMATICALLY improved my rhythm and tempo. I read Keneally's book and he talked about encoding rhythm into different parts of your body and I feel like this is encoding rhythm throughout my whole body. When I play I can just *FEEL* the pulse so much stronger.

Anyone else have a similar experience, any particular pitfalls to watch out for?

Bonus Points: Any fun songs with a slow tempo that would be good for subdividing the beat with a moderate jog?

[thelimpingtoad]

Recently I have gotten an mp3 player and started jogging to music which I had never done before.
Anyone else have a similar experience, any particular pitfalls to watch out for?


Depending on the bands you're listening to, the tempo might not actually be constant. Live music usually doesn't have a click track behind it so sometimes tempo fluctuates...
I would recommend sticking to studio drumming from guys you know have perfect meter or that you've checked with the metronome to ensure consistent tempo.

[Pollyanna]

Nice idea, SOC. I love how ppl here keep thinking of new stuff.

Rick Marotta started drumming late at age 19 but had been a dancer for years before that. He was soon in high demand because of his natural perfect timing (and he was the flatmate of Andy Newmark, who taught him how to play and read).

Thing is, dancing made him a natural. I guess it's about getting those basic pulses running through your body. If I could bring myself to jog or go to the gym I might find out :) Maybe dancing in the house to music might do the trick?

[jameswadewilson]

It was only after I was out of marching band that I ever even thought about having timing problems...


Nice idea, SOC. I love how ppl here keep thinking of new stuff.

Rick Marotta started drumming late at age 19 but had been a dancer for years before that. He was soon in high demand because of his natural perfect timing (and he was the flatmate of Andy Newmark, who taught him how to play and read).

Thing is, dancing made him a natural. I guess it's about getting those basic pulses running through your body. If I could bring myself to jog or go to the gym I might find out :) Maybe dancing in the house to music might do the trick?

[SonOfChaos]

Well, it seems to be making a *FREAKISHLY* big improvement in my timing/rhythm and confidence so I am beginning to try and find ways to expand this approach, such as trying to find some fun slower songs that I can subdivide the tempo.

When I jog to the gym it is easy, I just have to adjust to incline/decline in the road, but when I get to the gym the treadmill makes it even more interesting cause I have to select a speed & incline, and if I am jogging too slow I start to drift towards the back of the treadmill, too fast the front, if my stride is too long I'm also trying to go to fast. It is fascinating and when I hear music after the workout I feel like I'm practically being *dragged* along by the beat reflexively, it is almost creepy and the treadmill almost offers some strange form of rhythmic feedback.

I need to lose some weight so I have spent the last 3 months building up stamina and now do a 90 minute jog, the health benefits are good but the rhythmic benefits are really shocking after only a week.

[larryace]

Hey as long as you don't have to take a lap around the stage in order to get the right tempo, I'd say you found a great path to get to that "inner clock" we all must find.

[nerdywhiteboy]

I remember back when I was into marching band, I got on this kick where I couldn't get out of step, and I couldn't get it out of my head. If I went for a walk (with my walkman, hah), every step was in time and counted (1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4). Drove me crazy.

[thelimpingtoad]

Well, it seems to be making a *FREAKISHLY* big improvement in my timing/rhythm.
I think i'm going to have to start jogging... seriously... if its making enough of a difference to be called "freakish".
this is a good thread with a really good idea for working on tempo maintenance...

[donv]

Hello everyone!

Recently I have gotten an mp3 player and started jogging to music which I had never done before. Well, learning to keep time by running in time with music has DRAMATICALLY improved my rhythm and tempo. I read Keneally's book and he talked about encoding rhythm into different parts of your body and I feel like this is encoding rhythm throughout my whole body. When I play I can just *FEEL* the pulse so much stronger.

Anyone else have a similar experience, any particular pitfalls to watch out for?

Bonus Points: Any fun songs with a slow tempo that would be good for subdividing the beat with a moderate jog?

Marching has had a drastic effect on my internal clock. There's been a lot of studies and research on internal time keeping and how it's effected\affected. Do a google search and see what else you can find if you'd like to know more. There's even some stuff on reading and sight reading while marching compared to sitting. It's interesting, and some of it will blow Benny's alphabet thing up if it's true. I bring this up in case you may be interested in taking your revelation to another level.

[SonOfChaos]

I think i'm going to have to start jogging... seriously... if its making enough of a difference to be called "freakish".
this is a good thread with a really good idea for working on tempo maintenance...

I have no other way to put it than the fact that I *feel* the beat LOUDER and more solid and more centered for lack of better word, almost like it is dragging me into it, like it is some kind of vortex, and I am starting to be able to distinguish gradations of rhythm I could not discern before, things that seemed steady before are starting to show signs of speeding up/down, even in studio recordings.

I am a 'decent' drummer, but for a long time I've wanted to be a 'great' drummer, and this simple stupid exercise is splitting my brain open and greatly improving my groove, on a technical level it is kinda a setback, cause I am reteaching everything correctly to myself now, but I'm learning it right this time.

Oh and donv, I've tried to google the research you mentioned but I can't seem to find it, I am observing results that would imply that all you say is true.

If anyone is not aware, this is based on the Mike Mangini method (sorry I said another Mike earlier), he talked about encoding rhythm into your body and how to do that, and I thought about how to encode the maximum amount of rhythm into as many body parts at once, all I had to do was leap from my elliptical workout to the treadmill, and focus on rhythm, and as I got more in shape I could just change out the songs for higher tempos, I didn't expect SO MUCH difference in my perception. I hope some other people out their try this, that way I can find out if this method just 'works for me', or if it is more applicable to people beyond myself. Oh, and per the Mangini method I definitely try and do a full 90 minutes, as I get stronger I will use faster tempo songs.

[Pollyanna]

After work today I decided to walk a few kms up the road with an iPod to collect a book I had on order and walked in time to the music. It was almost meditative; I feel pretty good.

Thanks for this suggestion, SOC, I like it a lot.

[SonOfChaos]

If you go for the full 90 minutes be warned that minutes 70-90 feel just plain *freaky* to me, its like the beat is always RIGHT THEIR. I'd love to get more people to try this.

[donv]

I have no other way to put it than the fact that I *feel* the beat LOUDER and more solid and more centered for lack of better word, almost like it is dragging me into it, like it is some kind of vortex, and I am starting to be able to distinguish gradations of rhythm I could not discern before, things that seemed steady before are starting to show signs of speeding up/down, even in studio recordings.

I am a 'decent' drummer, but for a long time I've wanted to be a 'great' drummer, and this simple stupid exercise is splitting my brain open and greatly improving my groove, on a technical level it is kinda a setback, cause I am reteaching everything correctly to myself now, but I'm learning it right this time.

Oh and donv, I've tried to google the research you mentioned but I can't seem to find it, I am observing results that would imply that all you say is true.

If anyone is not aware, this is based on the Mike Mangini method (sorry I said another Mike earlier), he talked about encoding rhythm into your body and how to do that, and I thought about how to encode the maximum amount of rhythm into as many body parts at once, all I had to do was leap from my elliptical workout to the treadmill, and focus on rhythm, and as I got more in shape I could just change out the songs for higher tempos, I didn't expect SO MUCH difference in my perception. I hope some other people out their try this, that way I can find out if this method just 'works for me', or if it is more applicable to people beyond myself. Oh, and per the Mangini method I definitely try and do a full 90 minutes, as I get stronger I will use faster tempo songs.

SOC,

Here's a couple of examples:

http://ticktockbraintalk.blogspot.com/

http://www.fastthinking.com.au/webdata/resources/article/FT008_-_We_got_Rhythm.pdf

The first is a bolg that deals with research and topics that go way beyond music, but that doesn't mean there aren't pertintent relationships and the connections to your own experiences are easy enough to make. The second is self explanatory.

While doing a search look for keywords like internal timekeeping, music, research, activities, muscle memory, etc. I'm sure you get the point. A lot of what you find will come up on sites that fill the purpose of archiving research and most of these sites come with a cost to view the research findings, but many are freel and available to the public. Most universities also have free online thesis's and disertations from grad students furthering research of their professors.

Also, if you are near a VA Hospital and have the time and/or desire to help disabled--for whatever reason--servicemen\women, a lot more information on this will be turned over to you. If this does interest you, I have no doubt you will find more then one drummer looking for the help necessary to bring back some normalcy to their lives. You'll get alot out of it also and as your post points out, you've already got a good understanding to help someone.

[SonOfChaos]

Thanks, the articles seem to be reinforcing the basic idea and adding a whole lot of information. I will assimilate.