I've played for a long while now, 6-7 years maybe? long since forgot which birthday, and I've posted on many forums, many times. But what I find is every year or so I get “new advice†that I did not get last year, so while some of you would think “You got advice already just do it†(I have been doing those things) my history has shown that this is helpful.
So lets hear it this year.
Bit of a back story, picked up guitar and had no teacher for the longest time, taught my self for like five years and during that time I had a bunch of bad habits and other things. It got to the point where I could play almost all the barre chords before I could play my first song.
Got lessons and now I can learn songs, but I still have a bunch of problems, like setting a “beat†that's not to fast or slow for a song, playing anything more in time then down down down down.
Playing in time period for the most part.
Yes, I use metronomes, the problem is that I've never gotten my “inner metronome†or even foot tapping, etc, time it self has always been a problem for me in everything I do, sometimes I think 6 months has been a year, other times I mix up what happen 3 weeks ago as four or so months ago
15 mins feels like an hour etc.
Another problem I have is that I live in the middle of no where, so I cant play with others or stuff that would most likely help me a billion times over.
I live in the middle of no where as well, lets get together and jam. :lol: Playing along with recordings can help with timing and the nobody to jam with problem. Inner timing is important. Do you tap your foot when playing to the metronome? After while the foot should take over on it's own so to speak. Let the metronome train your foot tap as well as your strumming and picking hand. I fixed my middle of no where nobody to jam with in a unique fashion. Had a son, waited fifteen years ..... then he was a player ......... now he's 25 and still lives home so I have a bass player at the ready. Should have had two cause we need a drummer. :lol:
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
One of two issues are usually at the root of rhythmious lackthereofosis; The fist is Naven Johnson Syndrome for which there does not seem to be any reason or cure - some people have no rhythm - that doesn't mean you can't fake it - you just have to get creative and work a lot harder. I worked with a very good Hammond Player who was tone deaf - he worked from charts and he had a great knowledge of music but couldn't come up with anything without a chart. He wasn't great but he was damn good and you'd have never known it in 90% of musical situations.
The Second reason for bad rhythm and the most common is preoccupation with "playing" rather than listening and playing and lack of experience. If you're thinking of what note to play next when that note arrives in a phrase you're probably going to be off by the time its played.
Hey, Wolfie,
There aren't many people blessed with rock solid timing. It really is something you have to work on.
I've had more success playing against simple bass and drums backing tracks rather than a metronome. The metronome is too robotic for me.
Playing against the rhythm elements, you tend to react (freeing you up), find little openings and you get out of the 'down, down, down' problem you mentioned.
This is unconventional advice. :) The real teachers on the site will likely consul learning to count, starting with 1, 2, 3, 4 but you sound stuck so I thought I'd throw it out there.
All the best!
Don
The fist is Naven Johnson Syndrome
I thought of this analogy right away and then I read sometimes I think 6 months has been a year, other times I mix up what happen 3 weeks ago as four or so months ago
15 mins feels like an hour etc.
and had to compose myself. My appologies if you haven't seen the movie "The Jerk" with Steve Martin. I didn't want to come of as making fun of the problem but if you have seen the movie ..... :lol:
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
I have not seen the movie, sad to say.
I do tap my foot but the problems lies with in the "ands" or the up part, its always been hard for me to add "ups" in time or not speed up, whats really hard is I dont know I'm doing it, so I'll try using drums instead this time see if it helps any.
An inexpensive electronic keyboard can serve as a drum kit . Almost all of them have a rhythm section and many different styles of music and different time signatures to boot . Tempos can be changed as well . For the computer savvy , sequencing programs can be purchased( or even downloaded for free) that allow you to create MIDI files which can contain drums as well as any other backing instrument you desire . It can be time consuming , yes, but you will always have someone to play with , anytime you want .
If I claim to be a wise man , it surely means that I don't know .
I have not seen the movie, sad to say.
I do tap my foot but the problems lies with in the "ands" or the up part, its always been hard for me to add "ups" in time or not speed up, whats really hard is I dont know I'm doing it, so I'll try using drums instead this time see if it helps any.
Well, there is a scene where he talks about time not seeming like what it is. Week seemed like a day ect.... You cracked me up. In the movie he is a white man that was adopted by a black family and he does not realize it. It is a major comedy. He has no rhythm til he hears some swing on a late night radio show. Then he finds his rhythm. I found it funny because I suspected you had not seen the movie yet posted what you did. Steve Martin by the way is an awsome musician. I'm sure you will be as well. Keep at it, it will come to you. I just didn't want you to think I was laughing at you. I advocate encouragement to the max. Check out the movie. PS The crazy guy trying to kill him is from my home town. So where is your middle of no where?
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
In TX between San Antonio and corpus christi
two hours to CC and almost an hour going 70 mph down interstate to S.A (its one long road)
My amp has drum presets, as dose my pedel.
My middle of no where is actually north of no where. Nearest city is an hour away and it is only the size it is due to a military base. Nearest full sized city (Syracuse) is 2 hours away. When I drive down the highway I can see Canada.
Do you practice with the drums in your amp or pedal? I've been playing for 35 years. I'm not sure when I developed timing but I'm almost sure it wasn't there in the begining. I probably developed my timing when I started making recordings with my casette player. I had a Yamaha drum pad thing that had some basic beats. I would use 2 tape decks to layer tracks with multiple instruments. Primitive but a learning experience. I was several years into my guitar journey at the time. Today with computers it is so much easier.
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
I've used some of them, but most of them its very hard for me to know WHEN to play
some got rat tat tish tat tish rat long before its even on the 3rd beat...
not sure how to count that :P
Forget the drum machine for now…..
Focus on the metronome, most people see the metro as just a boring click- click and so did I for a long time, but I come to find that is about as necessary as any other tool you might use. You need to set it to a slow beat, but I wouldn't go any slower than 60 though. On the click play a note then the same one, what I try to do is get that note right on top of that click as exact as possible, every time. Its not as hard as you might think.
After that try it with chords, then you can try a scale, increase speed as you get more comfortable.
Metronome is our friend :D :D :D
Pat
Forget the drum machine for now…..
Focus on the metronome, most people see the metro as just a boring click- click and so did I for a long time, but I come to find that is about as necessary as any other tool you might use. You need to set it to a slow beat, but I wouldn't go any slower than 60 though. On the click play a note then the same one, what I try to do is get that note right on top of that click as exact as possible, every time. Its not as hard as you might think.
After that try it with chords, then you can try a scale, increase speed as you get more comfortable.
Metronome is our friend :D :D :D
Pat
Maybe I did not make it clear.. I use them and when i use them, they work, i can keep time for MOST things, not the best in the world, but I can keep time, its the fact that if i dont have the metronome it falls apart.
I cant get my inner metronome to work so either I'm going to have to use a metronome on evrey live show I do for the rest of my life or i need to find a way to unlock my inermetronome.
Forget the drum machine for now…..
Focus on the metronome, most people see the metro as just a boring click- click and so did I for a long time, but I come to find that is about as necessary as any other tool you might use. You need to set it to a slow beat, but I wouldn't go any slower than 60 though. On the click play a note then the same one, what I try to do is get that note right on top of that click as exact as possible, every time. Its not as hard as you might think.
After that try it with chords, then you can try a scale, increase speed as you get more comfortable.
Metronome is our friend :D :D :D
Pat
I completely disagree . Music is an audio experience , not visual . The whole metronome thing started to replace the conductor of an orchestra who was necessary because of the distance between the players in a large group of musicians . I'm going to go out on a limb and say that that this particular poster is not part of a large orchestral group . If I'm wrong then by all means use the metronome but it's akin to using stone tools to assemble a watch . You are probably a music teacher who is stuck on tradition because that's the way you learned . Step into the twentieth century already . ( Yeah , I know it's the 21st . )
If I claim to be a wise man , it surely means that I don't know .
No orchestra, not a teacher other than to myself. Well I used to practice with a "rock" band that had no sense of timing, wasn't pretty, and since then timing has been my focus.
Some folks have impeccaple timing naturally, many folks, such as myself do not....
http://www.metronomeonline.com/ is always up on my computer, along with GN :D
