Metronomes
Timekeeping is all around
As a musician, my brain tries to put any extraneous, repetitive noise into a beat pattern. This is not always possible, as most noises don’t happen in a regular meter, but I’ll try to count out a pattern, nonetheless.
My car left turn signal beats in a very consistent 4/4, at about 90 bpm. The right turn signal is a slightly faster tempo.
The clock in my co-working space ticks away in 4/4 at 60 beats per minute (as most clocks are wont to do).
The hotel room air-conditioner that kept me up all night when I was returning from my summer program at Northwestern was an irregular 7/8, I think. Part of the reason it kept me up was that I got annoyed that I couldn’t count it.
Most recently, thanks to the LA monsoons, I have discovered a drip from a gutter right outside my window that beats at approximately 72 beats per minute.
Now, I should note that the reason I have an uncanny knack for naming tempo markings is not because of some uncanny savant skill that I could market for a show that rewards odd talents. I am not that talented a musician.
Rather, this is the result of conducting practicing tempo markings for hours without a metronome from college conducting class for our final exam, and the model songs now live in my brain rent-free. They are as follows:
60 bpm - That’s a second hand on a clock (okay, not a song)
72 bpm - Dream On by Aerosmith
96 bpm - Africa by Toto
124 bpm - Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa
Conveniently, if you’d like to run at a consistent tempo and have music to match, you can find curated song lists by bpm. One Tip: 124 is faster than you think it is.
Anyway…I first noticed this drip after the first rain of our rainy season (which I now think is fair to say as I have heard we have had more rain than Seattle). And, at first, I was angry that I could have another air conditioner situation on my hands.
Fortunately, as the drip progressed, it settled into a rhythm — a hollow “plop” that I now listen for most nights as I go to sleep.
Typically, my nighttime routine includes a meditation track from Insight Timer or Calm, and recently, the drip has become a nice, meditative accompaniment.
Sometimes, I’ll just note it as noise and not judge the sound. Other times, I’ll assign numbers to it, counting up to 8 and back down again. Maybe up to 10 if I’m feeling ambitious. I haven’t assigned lyrics to it yet, though beat poetry is obviously the next logical progression.
I don’t know how much longer I’ll have with the drip this season (for the sake of all Angelenos, I hope not long), but I think I’ll miss it when it’s gone.
I guess then it will be time for the air conditioner to take over.
Ten Things This Week
Insight Timer has a vast array of meditations, ranging from Zen meditations to Body Scans to Visualizations. And it’s free.
Calm is another favorite for its stories. If I really can’t get to sleep, I pop on the Harry Styles track and get soothed into a blissful slumber.
Peloton also has some really fantastic meditations.
If I’m pitching meditation services, I’d be remiss if I didn’t include my dear friend, Shawnta Valdez. Shawnta runs Sit With Shawnta, and her meditations are my absolute favorite. Check them out on Zoom 3 days a week.
For reference, here are the BPM examples: Dream On by Aerosmith
Africa by Toto
Stars and Stripes Forever by John Philip Sousa
For fun, here’s a list of songs to run to that are 96 bpm.
If you’re looking to get into tempo tracking yourself, here’s a metronome!
And, because I was tasked with being able to say the Hebrew in this piece at 174 bpm by (quarter note = a beat) by next Wednesday, here is the remarkable first movement of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms
Musically,
Melanie
I love Africa. I also use the Calm app and sometimes Insight Timer. Hope you're well!
Susan :)