Because I said so! ~wink~ Just kidding.
There is an interesting phenomena that happens when you count in your head rather than count out loud. I have been teaching for 25 years now and I have seen this certain phenomena happen 100% of the time with all my students. What is this phenomena?
Time after time, when I ask a student to play their assignment for me, I ask them if they practiced it counting out loud, and of course the answer is always “yes”. So, I let them play the song counting in their head, while listening to the irregular rhythm.
After they complete the song, I ask them to play it again, counting out loud and to my amazement… every time… they rhythm is perfect! Hmmmm. 25 years, and still teaching. Still happens.
Do I have an explanation? I have lots of theories, but I still call it a phenomena because it works 100% of the time. Counting out loud engages your brain into paying attention to the rhythm. Counting in your head puts rhythm in the back seat.
So, that’s why I strongly encourage counting out loud until the rhythm is learned.
One Response
Great answer! I also am a piano teacher. During my 30 years of teaching, I’ve discovered that tapping and counting a newly assigned piece for at least the first 2 days of practice enables a student to experience the correct rhythm before applying it to the keyboard.
I have the student tap both hands while counting aloud.
They also count aloud when playing the piece for at least the first two days.
The tapping method on the lap is also used for observing rests, articulations and dyamics. Tap soft for ‘p’ sections. Lift the hand off lap to observe rests.etc.3