I’ve been thinking all year about rhythmic deficits in singers – I think strong rhythmic skills are harder to find in singers than strong pitch skills, and I wonder why.
At this point, I think the answer comes down, at least in part, to these two questions:
- How often do you spend practicing pitches out of rhythm?
- How often to you spend practicing rhythms without pitch?
I am willing to bet that in both private practice and in group rehearsal, more time is spent on #1 than on #2.
If we accept the maxim that “the right pitch at the wrong time is the wrong pitch,” then we must give equal time to both #1 and #2. Or risk creating rhythmic skill deficits in our students.