Can someone who doesn't have any rhythm learn to have it?

[musicioso]

Hallo dear musicians and teachers. I have a question. I hope you guys can help me and advise me.

Is rhythm something you either have or you dont? And if its possible to learn it, what method should be used? I need to help out someone (an adult).

All suggestions are most welcome.

[gearmenta]

Rhythm can be taught. Take a back to basics approach, clapping, foot tapping and the like. Also I have my students try to walk in time with their music, even when they're walking around campus.

[kclee6337]

I'd like to see them listen to a funeral march

[mcdiddy1]

Every person has natural rhythmic skills. What it comes down to is being attuned to our sense of pulse. Our hearts beat with steady beat, run and walk with perfect time and even out speech has our own unique rhythmic flow. If you want to help your student then try and show the student the connection between natural movement and how it relates with written notation. Often people with rhythmic problems fail to recognize the connection between steady beat and subdivision. One strategy you can try is having the student pulse the pulse or multiple subdivisions on their knees while you play the music. You can change to different meters by changing the pattern to a clap tap tap beat for 3 4 time or clap tap tap tap for 4/4 etc. if you teach the student to echo you rhythmically from the very beginning either verbally (saying note names in rhythm, using rhythm counting system) or by imitate your clapping from the start their sense of rhythm will get better as long as you are consistent on your demand for it. Find creative ways to use the metronome as well can be effective. Rhythm can be taught you just have to find the avenue that works for the individual student.

[ichky]

Learning how to dance also helps you practice your rhythm.

If you can clap your hands to a song and tap your feet to a beat, you know you have rhythm.

Rhythm, like any other sports or skills, requires practice to perfect.

You can do it.

Best of Luck

Ichky

[scottmcc]

I'm afraid the answer is that some people are simply and completely arrhythmic.  I went to a military college and we all had to learn how to march, which I thought was rather simple.  the rhythm was a pretty straightforward 1-2 left-right kind of thing, after all, and most people got it.  but there were a few select special individuals who could never seem to grasp that concept, let alone something complicated like 4 vs 3 or the like.  bottom line: some people are simply rhythmically incompetent, despite all efforts to the contrary.  some people may grasp 7 vs 13 immediately, and the rest of us may eventually get polyrrhythms with extensive practice, but a few selected folks will never, ever, ever even come close to getting it.

[mozart_to_go]

Leopold Mozart didn't think they could.