My kids are both left-handed. When we play frisbee or basketball they refer to their right hand as their “use-less” hand.
A lot of musicians have a similar relationship to rhythm in that we feel certain rhythms more strongly than others.
When we come from a classical or folk background our “dominant” rhythmic feel is duple ( 4/4, 2/4)
Playing triplets can feel like our brain is useless,
like trying to throw frisbee or basketball with your non-dominant arm.
This rhythmic blind spot around triplet-based meters hinders our overall musicianship:
- in 6/8 or 12/8, like shuffle, swing, some Gospel, R&B, Flamenco, Pop, Hip Hop, et al.
- in 4/4 when it's swung, like in Bluegrass.
- even in duple-based meters like straight 4/4, when it comes to feeling phrases over the bar line
Most musicians I work with don’t know they have this rhythmic blind spot around feeling & playing triplets, or how it limits their musical expression.
If you want to test how fluid you are with triplets, or to develop your fluidity, play short phrases back to this video.
- Use our free playlists on blues, doo-wop, Jazz, R&B, 6/8, etc. Get the directory for $1 or any amount you choose to donate here. and get straight into your practice.
- Join our Guided Practice Sessions– play for 90 minutes straight go in-depth on rhythm and more.
