AKA Beat & Rhythm Inconsistencies
“Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that’s what we are.”
Mickey Hart
Many otherwise fantastic piano students will struggle with or neglect the area of rhythm accuracy. Whether they don’t see the value of rhythm or find it challenging, the result is often pianists who are less proficient in this area than other musicians. Since most piano students are not required to play in groups as frequently or as early on in their music studies, these problems can persist well beyond the beginning stages if we do not take a very proactive approach to encouraging good rhythmic fluency.
The following six beat and rhythm difficulties will cover the majority of the overarching problems. You can use these diagnoses and prescriptions to get your students up to a good level of proficiency in this area. If you encounter problems other than the ones mentioned here, you will all the same likely find that they are related to or stemming from one of these six core issues. You can then take inspiration for their cure from the prescriptions here.