As discussed in week 7, the beat of a tune is about the rhythm but also the texture and feel of the music. Subtle differences can produce completely different feels like, for example, the ‘up-down’ beat in a Missy Elliot track versus the ‘down-up’ feel in a Marvin Gaye song. As I’ve predominantly played melodic instruments in my life, I find rhythm and timing really difficult to grasp. If I do sometimes seem to have a ‘good feel’ when I’m playing or song writing, it really is just by feel. My goal for this course would be to feel more confident expressing rhythm and feel in intentional ways.
I love thinking about how rhythm can be communicated in instruments other than drums and percussion. Playing violin as a kid, I was always obsessed with the rhythm of different playing styles: pizzicato, tremolo, etc. As I had more vocal training in teenagehood, I was then focused on backing vocals’ ability the emphasise rhythm and provide support to the vocal melody beyond parallel harmonies for melodic emphasis.
I really love the beat in this tune <– My favourite parts are, of course, the electric cowbell and that the synth harmonic riff carries the rhythm when the drums break. It has such a strong rhythm the whole way through the track but is actually really sparse in the drums. The bass line drives the feel. The drum pattern focuses mostly on closed symbol high-hat taps with clean kick-tom hits.