Rhythm,,,,i don't got!

How do you get it? I find it difficult to walk and chew gum at the same time. I'm serious! I've gotten a few chord under my belt. I do pretty good on Kumbaya ( my opinion) but I can't get my right hand to obey very good. I practice a lot. my next song I want to do is 26 miles to Santa Catalina. They are easy chord give my left hand a workout. any ideas about the rhythm would be helpful.

Metronome.

Here is a free to use online one.
https://www.metronomeonline.com/

Maybe, buy a physical metronome like my Korg MA-1
http://www.korg.com/us/products/tuners/ma_1/

I agree, use a metronome, old school style or smartphone app.

Get a metronome. Make sure it has an arm or some digital pendulum, that can help when counting notes smaller than halves or doing a triplet strum.
Start out learning a song or piece at a slow beat and then move up to a faster beat once you have the fingering or strumming down solid.

I like a physical metronome but I am a bit "old school". I use a Wittner Digital MT60. It has a great feel and nice design. Very compact and loud(has volume control and single earbud too) And has a digital pendulum. That is a bonus.
http://metronomes.net/wittnermt60metronome.htm
https://www.brookmays.com/i--MT60--Wittner--Quartz-Metronome.aspx
FYI, you can have to beep on the first beat of a measure or have it function like a regular metronome with a constant tick(wood block) sound. The dial is a great feature too. It has the different Latin phrases for each speed so if you don't know the BPM but know how it is to be played you can find the range on this metronome.

Another thought, look for lesson books that have metronome beats in the audio. That helps when learning too.

I have a long-developed view on this subject. It boils down to something simple. Music is a body dance and some instruments are more rhythmic dance partners than others. Our body parts make excellent pendulums. And controlling them with gross muscle movement turns them into dandy metronomes. Clapping hands, nodding heads, snapping fingers ( I don't know about you, but I swing my arm when I snap in time ), tapping feet and ... swinging arms. We went to a wedding in India last year and I was amazed to see the Rajistani women in their traditional dances. While the drummers suggest a set of beats, they dip at the knees, swing their hips, snap their fingers, pump their arms, bob their heads, to name a few. Each body part has its own natural rhythm.

The concertina and the 5-string banjo use low-amplitude body motions. The piano and the harpsichord are similar-looking keyboards but they call for fairly different low-amplitude body rhythms. Some of us keep rhythm with twisting shoulders and tapping sustain pedal. On instruments like drums, guitar, and ukulele you have to swing your arms. On the piano, I swing my left arm in an um-pa, um-pa in a bass/chord, bass/chord pattern while right tinkles out a set of busy notes. The guitar and its relatives uses the right arm and the left does the busy work.

So automatic and nearly perfect rhythm is already built in to playing the ukulele. I highly recommend tapping a foot while you play. It's almost impossible to tap your toe a-rhythmically while you swing your arms, right? And vice versa. Just pay attention and get into the habit of toe-tapping and letting your right arm set the pulse.

Good luck and happy swinging.

Try this page;
http://ukuleleinthedark.com/ud-28-strum-like-a-drummer-backbeat/

I'd say start with the most basic rhythm that you can comfortably play. If that's one down strum per bar then go with it. Once you can comfortably keep that rhythm going, take it to 2 down strums per bar and keep incrementing until you eventually get to the right rhythm. This is a method I use when I'm struggling to song over a certain pattern and it seems to work for me.

Sometimes when I'm really struggling to sing and play a song at the same time, I stand up to play. I sort of sway back and forth from one foot to the other. It seems to set the rhythm for me. Try it and see what happens.

Learn to dance. Then play the uke to dance tunes.

Thanks for all the great idea everyone has! I signed up for the ukulele school here on the forum. I like it so far I just gotta get some rhythm!

I agree with all of the above although I just browsed it, but I would add one thing; pick easier tunes and play them slowly at first. Leave the more difficult tunes and chords and rhythms for later.

Ya gotta crawl before you walk and walk before you run. Play "Twinkle' Twinkle, Little Star". "Flight of the Bumble Bee" can come later.
ld:

I think there are folk that have issue with things. Rhythm, math, language, tools, mechanical understanding, etc.. you get the drift.
What I would concentrate on IS just enjoy what you have, use the metronome, try to figure it out, but don't put pressure on yourself to be something you ain't at this juncture.

Not saying you can't get there, but maybe you're the type that takes the long way around. Away from the uke, use your mind, ears, feet and fingers to find grooves in places you wouldn't normally.

Neal said:

I think there are folk that have issue with things. Rhythm, math, language, tools, mechanical understanding, etc.. you get the drift.
What I would concentrate on IS just enjoy what you have, use the metronome, try to figure it out, but don't put pressure on yourself to be something you ain't at this juncture.

Not saying you can't get there, but maybe you're the type that takes the long way around. Away from the uke, use your mind, ears, feet and fingers to find grooves in places you wouldn't normally.

Click to expand...

Thanks I fell in love with the ukulele. Now I just want to play it good.

And you will, if you kinda let go of the time frame. Concern yourself with enjoyment to the detriment of others in the meantime. (That was meant as humorous)

If you're in your 40s or older, then DEFINITELY let go of the time frame or become a hermit devoted. Otherwise, you'll get it in time.

You can "train your brain" with a metronome. Also, if you hit the gear icon on youtube, you can slow a song down so you can keep up. Speed comes only with familiarity and practice.

Another tip, record yourself, it will sound pretty awful when you start, but if you keep the recording & play it back in a couple of months, you will hear that you have improved.

I did this when I first joined in on the Seasons thread, (& if you want to, take a listen to my first few vids, then jump to a more recent one).

I'm still not a 'good' player, but I have progressed, & you will too.

If you can clap your hands four times, you've got rhythm. Heck, if you can walk without face planting, you've got rhythm.

Try the tick tock (aka tuck tock):


Don't think of it as a rule but as an exercise or tool. I use it when my rhythm seems off. I take a breath, slow things down a little, focus on my strumming hand and the beat tightens up.

I find that lifting my heels in turn helps a bit. Compared to tapping with your forefoot, it requires you to shift the weight of your legs a bit, witch gives more pendulum similarity.
I will tap my left heel on 1 and 3, the right on 2 and 4, rocking my body a bit from side to side. This can be done while playing.
I don't know how great it is, I have terrible timing, but it helps me.

Souper said:

Thanks I fell in love with the ukulele. Now I just want to play it good.

Click to expand...

Neal said:

And you will, if you kinda let go of the time frame. Concern yourself with enjoyment to the detriment of others in the meantime. (That was meant as humorous)

If you're in your 40s or older, then DEFINITELY let go of the time frame or become a hermit devoted. Otherwise, you'll get it in time.

Click to expand...

I like your attitude Neal. For myself, I have found that the first thing to go when I start pushing too hard is my rhythm and timing. Staying loose is as much a part of it as anything. There is a line between pushing oneself, and pushing oneself too hard.

if you are fortunate to be playing in a group, just let the group set the tempo and rhythm.
ideally, the leader of the group will be able to do that properly.
if you have a bass player, who is not shy about turning up his volume, so much the better.

I know it can be challenging to have to think about chords, fingers, tempo, rhythm, and
lyrics (oh, and melody, too) so give yourself a break and let the group carry you on.

keep uke'in',