As a former specialist in Phys Med & Rehab (retired and banjo playing) I recognize this theory from motor learning: external rhythm improves gross motor skills in neurological patients as well. I fully endorse this theory as applied by Josh. Which source you select is depending on personal (learning)preferences and the experience you feel comfortable with.
Great point! An external rhythm likely benefits neurological patients for the same reason - outsourcing the task to reduce cognitive load (or in conditions where the networks for internal rhythm generation are dysfunctional, as in Parkinson’s).
Yes, we all have SMT. I just didn't know I had it until I read this. I can relate it to my ukelele group. At times I mention the song was played too slowly, especially if we're practicing for a live performance. Someone invariably says, "If we play it faster, no one will be able to keep up." What they meant to say was, "If we play faster I won't be able to keep up." Makes sense now as to why that is. Playing music with others, even playing the exact same thing, has its pluses and minuses. If I make a mistake in a group playing the same thing, no one seems to notice. If I made the same mistake playing a solo, wow, it'd really stand out. Add some singing to playing and trying to speed up makes it even harder, at least for me, to think that fast and make chord changes and play melody, etc.
I have to wonder, does tapping your foot to the beat count as an external time-keeping device?
Great Volume 2 of Chillgrass, Josh. 3 favs: Wandering Boy, Duck River, and Bonaparte's Retreat I think, but Elk River Blues, Cold Frosty Morn, and Cowboy Waltz weren't far behind. Great choices. Love a good waltz on the old 5 string. Excellent!
Regarding playing while tapping your foot - good question! While it may seem like it’s an external beat, the ultimate source is still your own brain, meaning that 1) you’re still using up cognitive resources for beat generation and 2) fighting against your SMT. Plus, it requires automaticity for foot tapping to pull it off. I always cringe when I see people recommend beginners tap their foot as a means of developing rhythm - it just makes it much harder!
As a classical pianist I have found that 1. finding my comfortable tempo when learning a piece comes first; 2. setting a metronome to THAT tempo and practicing with it is next; 3. increasing the metronome setting by up to four bpm is a comfortable increase in tempo (for me) when practicing; 4. using this practice proceedure over time until I get the tempo up to speed (marked tempo). This has worked for me and it aligns with your cognitive research I believe.
I'm interested in how the SMT curve might vary between people. I feel I have a relatively wide SMT curve - so I subjectively feel that I'm comfortable playing with minimal conscious effort across a wider range of tempos than some other folk. All your curves look the same shape. Is that your finding?
The consistent finding is that performance diminishes the further and individual goes from their SMT. While there’s less data on this specifically, it’s likely that the the degree to which it diminishes varies from one individual to the next, which in part seems to correlate with musical experience (so musicians are better are holding tempos that deviate from their SMT, even though the same general principle applies).
I think that’s probably a fairly common experience. Playing with an external beat is still a skill, and I think playing with other musicians (or a drum beat) draws upon years of experience we have with listening and synchronizing with popular music. A metronome, on the other hand, is a pretty unnatural and not especially musical stimulus. So we have to learn how to find the beat and use it. It’s hard to make the case for using a metronome in this era, unless you just want to get good at playing with a metronome.
It makes far more sense now to practice along with backing tracks or recordings. Had we always had access to such things, I highly doubt the metronome would’ve ever been invented!
As a former specialist in Phys Med & Rehab (retired and banjo playing) I recognize this theory from motor learning: external rhythm improves gross motor skills in neurological patients as well. I fully endorse this theory as applied by Josh. Which source you select is depending on personal (learning)preferences and the experience you feel comfortable with.
Great point! An external rhythm likely benefits neurological patients for the same reason - outsourcing the task to reduce cognitive load (or in conditions where the networks for internal rhythm generation are dysfunctional, as in Parkinson’s).
Yes, we all have SMT. I just didn't know I had it until I read this. I can relate it to my ukelele group. At times I mention the song was played too slowly, especially if we're practicing for a live performance. Someone invariably says, "If we play it faster, no one will be able to keep up." What they meant to say was, "If we play faster I won't be able to keep up." Makes sense now as to why that is. Playing music with others, even playing the exact same thing, has its pluses and minuses. If I make a mistake in a group playing the same thing, no one seems to notice. If I made the same mistake playing a solo, wow, it'd really stand out. Add some singing to playing and trying to speed up makes it even harder, at least for me, to think that fast and make chord changes and play melody, etc.
I have to wonder, does tapping your foot to the beat count as an external time-keeping device?
Great Volume 2 of Chillgrass, Josh. 3 favs: Wandering Boy, Duck River, and Bonaparte's Retreat I think, but Elk River Blues, Cold Frosty Morn, and Cowboy Waltz weren't far behind. Great choices. Love a good waltz on the old 5 string. Excellent!
Thanks for those comments, Jim!
Regarding playing while tapping your foot - good question! While it may seem like it’s an external beat, the ultimate source is still your own brain, meaning that 1) you’re still using up cognitive resources for beat generation and 2) fighting against your SMT. Plus, it requires automaticity for foot tapping to pull it off. I always cringe when I see people recommend beginners tap their foot as a means of developing rhythm - it just makes it much harder!
As a classical pianist I have found that 1. finding my comfortable tempo when learning a piece comes first; 2. setting a metronome to THAT tempo and practicing with it is next; 3. increasing the metronome setting by up to four bpm is a comfortable increase in tempo (for me) when practicing; 4. using this practice proceedure over time until I get the tempo up to speed (marked tempo). This has worked for me and it aligns with your cognitive research I believe.
That is super interesting, and an approach that aligns with cognitive research on multiple fronts. Thanks for sharing, Bill!
I'm interested in how the SMT curve might vary between people. I feel I have a relatively wide SMT curve - so I subjectively feel that I'm comfortable playing with minimal conscious effort across a wider range of tempos than some other folk. All your curves look the same shape. Is that your finding?
The consistent finding is that performance diminishes the further and individual goes from their SMT. While there’s less data on this specifically, it’s likely that the the degree to which it diminishes varies from one individual to the next, which in part seems to correlate with musical experience (so musicians are better are holding tempos that deviate from their SMT, even though the same general principle applies).
Interesting. But I find that trying to play with a metronome is itself overloading. Not so when playing with others. Any thoughts?
I think that’s probably a fairly common experience. Playing with an external beat is still a skill, and I think playing with other musicians (or a drum beat) draws upon years of experience we have with listening and synchronizing with popular music. A metronome, on the other hand, is a pretty unnatural and not especially musical stimulus. So we have to learn how to find the beat and use it. It’s hard to make the case for using a metronome in this era, unless you just want to get good at playing with a metronome.
It makes far more sense now to practice along with backing tracks or recordings. Had we always had access to such things, I highly doubt the metronome would’ve ever been invented!