A Switch in Time

As a musician, I've always been interested in the difference between duple and triple time signatures, that is between 4/4 and 3/4.To my students, I usually describe it as a square and a triangle, respectively.The first is used in most rock beats, and the second in the waltz and ballad.

4/4 has  more of a lockstep feeling, and 3/4 feels more fluid , more relaxed, almost cyclical. 

So now that we are switching from the summer's schedule to a more rigorous school and piano lesson schedule, it's a bit like changing the time signature from 3/4 to 4/4 in the middle of the song. It takes a little while to accept the new time. And while we welcome the change both ways, (what if our schedules never changed? ) the new time feels foreign at first.

So give yourself a little transition time. Don't change everything at first, and practice the new rhythm before you expect yourself to perform it flawlessly.  Before you know it, it will become comfortable, and about then it will be time to change rhythms again!