Counting Out Loud : Running Out Breath & Random Questions

delta

Member
Hello all!

I've been practicing some strictly paradiddle/double paradiddle/paradiddle-diddle passages (sixteenth notes). I can sight read and play them well enough, but I have no real sense of actually where the accents fall in time without counting. I was hoping to get some opinions on counting

1. Do you "mainly" count quarters, eighths, or sixteenths when playing stuff like this? I'm doing these diddle passages anywhere from 80 - 120 bpms. At 80 bpms it's okay to count out all sixteenth notes, but that gets harder at 120 bpms.

2. Is it "better" one way or another to count out all the notes or not? It's easier to count out all sixteenths at slower tempos, but something tells me even then slow it's better to just count out quarters while playing all those sixteenth notes (accents varying between quarters and eighths). Really "feel" the quarter note.

3. I'm running out of breath when counting. Does this mean I'm not breathing properly? I think I am... I mean I'd run out of breath in normal conversation by constantly counting. Is this normal?

Thanks!
 
I'd count the highest note value you can without losing the rhythm. Quarters are fine, provided you can subdivide without vocalizing. I would think that for performing, internalize the count, but it's good to vocalize for practice.
 
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