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.