Developing a good sense of time or beat is key for every musician. A good sense of time can be developed while we play our instrument or away from it. Focusing on time while playing your instrument can be difficult since there is so much to think about while playing. Let’s focus on what we can do to develop time away from our instrument.

Make a playlist of songs of various styles and tempos. Pick a song and start tapping your hand on your leg. First you have to find the beat. Once you get it try to make it through the whole song tapping your leg. You can also do the same thing with a tennis ball. This requires more coordination since you have to time your bounce to the floor and back. The last thing you can do is simple: just dance. You don’t have to have great moves, just feel the beat and move to it. It’s important to try to dance or tap or bounce for the whole song. As a player or singer your time has to be consistent throughout an entire song.

Developing a good sense of time takes time (no pun intended). I constantly find myself tapping my foot on the floor or air drumming around the house if music is playing. After a while, you don’t even know you’re doing it but this will work it’s way into your playing giving you a better sense of time.