My old bandmate Warren Hall once shared a story with me about his experience playing with blues harmonica legend Junior Wells. Before they started, the first thing Wells asked him was, “How do you tap your foot?” Wells believed that tapping his foot from toe to heel gave him a better feel for the music, allowing him to experience it through his entire body.
Whether you tap your foot from the heel or the toe, what’s important to me is that you do it. The foot keeps the pulse—the underlying beat of the music. Your picking hand can then establish the rhythm, groove, or strum. While specific strum patterns aren’t as crucial, it’s vital that your picking hand stays in motion and maintains the groove. From there, you can’t go wrong.
Just look at Tommy Emmanuel—his left foot really gets a workout when he plays. When you watch Stevie Wonder or Ray Charles, you can see how they feel the music through their entire bodies, the way their heads move from side to side. They are totally engaged with what they are playing.
