Testimonials and Reviews
I have been enjoying using your Bounce Metronome program to help with some of the complex timing of movements in Tai Chi. Your representations of time are very in sync with what I learn in Tai Chi...
Thanks for designing such a creative program
...Brian Eno said the problem with the computer is there isn't enough Africa in it. Well I find your program has some ancient China in it, some Africa, and some future in it.
About Tai Chi and Bounce Metronome
Steven Grainger
This is an extract from an e-mail from Steve to me, reproduced with permission. I think these ideas from Tai Chi may well interest other Bounce Metronome Pro users - not necessarily only Tai Chi practitioners. I found it interesting myself at any rate, also implemented many of his suggestions for BM Pro (Robert):
Bounce Metronome is helpful to me as it has fuller representations of time and space than other metronome programs. In Tai Chi we try to move with continuous awareness of as many dimensions as possible. This is challenging for me, as I have culturally absorbed a digital, abstracted, Euclidean version of time. Most people are only aware of discreet points of time, tick, tick, tick, and can't change direction or quality between these fixed points. In Tai Chi we learn to expand our awareness of what is happening between these points and to move freely at any moment in any combinations of directions.
Seeing the continuous journey of the ball in two dimensions helps me to feel the time and space between the beginning and end points of a cycle.
I like how your visual model is cyclic, with the ball going back and forth or around in circles. Your model helps me connect to rhythm as cyclic rather than as linear.
Also having the shadow of the bouncing ball helps me feel the compliment of the movement. Sometimes I follow the ball for one beat then the shadow for the next beat, which creates a wave. Being aware of both the ball and its shadow, and following each one with a different part of my body, helps my awareness into at least two dimensions.
A basic, but challenging Tai Chi exercise is to do two smooth circles with the arms in a given period of time, then three circles with the arms, in the same period of time. Often our subjective sense of time can be most misleading. We think our movement is fitting into a time frame but really it isn't. So comparing my movement to the bouncing ball is very instructive and I appreciate the control you give the user over many parameters which enables me to adjust the metronome to suit my purposes.. Comparing my movement with the bouncing ball can be very revealing as to where I actually am in the period of time. Like most martial arts, timing is everything in Tai Chi and the same with music.
Brian Eno said the problem with the computer is there isn't enough Africa in it. Well I find your program has some Africa and some ancient China and some future in it.
Steven Grainger
