I am sure there are those who would argue with me, but it is my experience that no element of music is more important than rthythm. A weak line will sound hip if played "in the pocket." Conversely a strong line will sound weak if played with bad time. As a means of showing you what not to do refer to Fig. 1. See how the horizontal lines, each of which represent a note are pushed quite significantly ahead of the barline meaning I was rushing horribly.
Fig.1
As you can see in figure 2 which is a complete piano part in g min. The player has obviously calmed down and a couple tweaks with the computer renders an almost perfectly times snippet of music.
Now these are just two pictures on a computer screen that do not seem all that different visually but they are worlds apart conceptually and in execution.
Fig.2
Well that is a huge question. If a person. like me. who has had a propensity to rush their wants to change old habits die hard, but it is possible. Some possible solutions will be explored in Music Ed. 2
Until then try not to rush in music or in life.
Cameron Weckerley May. 2011
