Tapping foot while playing

I’ve played bass for almost one year. But still, I am unable to tap my foot to the beat of the song while I’m playing. I’ve always played things by ear, but now I realise the mistake I’ve made.

I just can’t do both at the same time. If I focus on playing, then I don’t tap my foot in rhytm. If I focus on tapping my foot, then I play the bassline wrong.

Do you guys have some tips to help me out? They’d be very appreciated.

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Don’t stress too much about it. I’m nearly 2 years in and still can’t concentrate on doing both

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I find moving my body to the rhythm helps me to feel it better. Don’t worry too much about tapping your feet. Try counting, slowly at first.

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There’s no requirement to tap your foot and you’re probably better off if you can internalize the tempo without tapping anything. If you need an aid to internalize the rhythm, you can move any part of your body that works for you. If you can’t do it with the bass, start by using your hands on your lap to get a sense of the rhythm before you start playing the piece. vocalize the rhythms by counting them out. Also practice playing with a metronome or backing track if you don’t already.

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I don’t tap my foot. Not worried about it. The important thing is to keep the rhythm. I have been known to add in ghost notes if there’s a measure I’m not playing bass in. Just to keep time.

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If you want to learn you can do it with metronome, too many apps to mention many are decent. It’s not required but it could add to the energy of playing I can tap quarter on both my feet but could only tap backbeat (2 and 4) on my left, something I borrow from my hi-hat foot, lol.

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I can sometimes tap my foot, but what usually throws me is playing a syncopated rhythm or maybe even just switching note durations. Not sure there is any quick fix other than maybe practising slow - start with a consistent beat, say quarter notes and then a consistent eighth notes. To keep it extra simple, just play either open notes or the same fretted note. Once you’re comfortable with that, play some different notes on the same string. Next, different notes across strings. If you can get all that, then try a syncopated rhythm.

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I dont tap my foot normally, but in tbe band, some songs have the drums drop out for a while, so i have to tap my foot to keep the rhythm.

Once that happens, from then on in, i always tap my foot!

Its weird. Its like it taps independently of me. I think if you jjst concentrate 100% on your bass playing, itll just come naturally over time.

I think thats one of the main things you have to notice about music - some things take a lot of time. But good that you recognise it, as now your brain wont forget about it and eventually, itll come up with a solution that suits you.

Keep at it and let us know what happens :slight_smile:

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There’s an exercise where you play and then have like 10 bars of rests and see if you can come in on time with only internalizing the time. I think someone did a YT video on that fairly recently but I can’t recall who it was.

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Josh does it in the later modules.

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I think if you play slow to a metronome that would help. I’ve been playing drum for a really long time and can’t help but tap my foot while I play anything. Try tapping your left foot while listening to music to get in the habit. Hope that helps Bud!