You were born with rhythm. If you think that you don’t have rhythm inside of you, you’re dead
wrong. There is rhythm in the way that you breathe, the way your heart beats, the way you
walk, how you talk – even when you sleep. There is rhythm in all that you do; there is asubconscious time keeper inside you. This is your inner metronome.
Everyone has an inner metronome, but the accuracy of said metronome depends on how much time you’re willing to invest into developing it well. Our inner metronome is based on rhythm, which we are all born with.
Our heart makes literal beats, involuntarily, without us having to be conscious of it. We practice rhythm when we walk to the beat of a song or sway back and forth to soft playing music.
We often subconsciously tap our feet to the downbeat. All these are proof that there is rhythm that lives in every one of us!
So we know that there is rhythm inside of us, but how do we develop that rhythm?
How do we create a healthy rhythm for our lives? How can we develop our inner metronome?
When it comes to drums it’s all about repetition. Practice, practice, practice is something I encourage my drum students weekly. Practice with a metronome often, even if it's for a short period of time each day. Start with a simple rhythm at a slow tempo before gradually increasing in speed a little bit at a time.
Tempo is the measure of time within rhythm and music, but is also used to describe the speed or rate at which an action is performed. A metronome is what produces and regulates that tempo.
Do you want to regulate the tempo of your busy life and establish a healthy rhythm?
Learn to control and discipline your inner metronome. You can develop your inner metronome in your personal life by starting with something easy and simple, practicing it slowly, a little bit at a time, before adding more. Take steady, deliberate steps as you progress forward.
In music, there is something called a “rest” in which there is no beat played. This represents the empty space between notes or beats – it is the waiting period before the next beat. The rest is very important and helps to create a dynamic pattern and rhythm in music. If there is no rest, the music will become a chaotic mess and won’t sound good at all.
In the same way, if you want to create and maintain a healthy rhythm in your life, you must have a pattern of rest. Develop your inner metronome by starting slow and small before increasing, disciplining yourself to practice repetition, and create a regular pattern of rest in your life.
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Ryan Ketcherside has been a drummer for 15 years. He is currently the Program Director and one of the drum teachers at Creative Arts Academy in Lake Worth Beach.