In my experience, when it comes to moving and singing at the same time, men seem to find it hardest.
Why is this, and are there ways to help?
I think there are three main reasons.
1. We don’t grow up in a rhythmic culture
In the UK, music tends to be melody-led rather than rhythm-led. The folk and pop music we’ve grown up with isn’t especially rhythmic and is rarely syncopated. Our songs don’t naturally lend themselves to movement beyond a bit of gentle swaying.
2. We separate singing and dancing
As a culture, we tend to compartmentalise. You’re either moving or singing, but rarely both at the same time.
Contrast this with many cultures across Africa where song and movement are inseparable. Rhythm is embodied rather than simply listened to.
3. Men are discouraged from dancing
Even in 2026, dancing is still not widely seen as a “manly” thing to do — no matter how many blokes there are on Strictly Come Dancing. See also the recent Guardian article Will the stigma around boys who dance ever shift?
As a result, many men — especially older men — grow up with very little experience of dance or rhythmic movement.
So why is moving while singing so difficult?
These factors combine to leave many men unfamiliar with moving to a beat, especially a syncopated one.
There is also, perhaps, an understandable reluctance to try something new in front of other singers. Most people want to appear competent, and many men in particular find it uncomfortable to look awkward or exposed in public.
I recently publicised an African singing day and, hoping to attract more men, described it as
“An opportunity to sing and move to infectious African rhythms.”
One man wrote back:
“This could be a wonderful event, but I am too concerned about the movement bit. I really cannot dance.”
It didn’t matter that I explained the movement wouldn’t be compulsory, or that many other singers would find it challenging too. He decided not to come.
Which means I’ve inadvertently put him off exploring a whole world of songs and musical traditions.
Since I teach predominantly songs from cultures other than our own, I often ask singers to move to unfamiliar syncopated rhythms. Not to make life difficult, but because the movement frequently helps singers internalise the rhythms and find the correct phrasing in the song.
And it’s often the men in the room who struggle most.
But this is not a fixed trait. It’s simply a lack of familiarity and practice.
Like any other skill, moving rhythmically while singing can be learned.
We all come into the world with an innate sense of rhythm and a natural ability to move freely. But if those skills aren’t regularly used or encouraged within a culture, they gradually become inhibited.
The good news is that they can always be rediscovered.
I’ll write more in a future post about practical ways to improve your sense of rhythm and how to get rhythm properly into the body.
Chris Rowbury
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