The tools don't really matter THAT MUCH, as long as they produce an accurate, consistent ticktock.
About starting in tempo then slowing down: The challenge is not to overcompensate & start rushing mid-song. I have heard conductors tell singers & string players with pitch problems, "Just think it higher" -- meaning, don't deliberately raise the pitch -- just keep "higher" in mind & flat notes brighten right up. (It works every time, like a musical Jedi mind trick.) Try it for tempo issues. Don't "speed up," just keep aware that you need to drive that beat. I wouldn't suggest thinking "faster" right from the countoff, but I might suggest "drive it," or "forward."
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
One word about playing with a metronome (which I once that was a well-dressed midget) - Working in a studio I play with a lot of different types of musicians. There is a subset in this current generation of Shredder who CAN NOT play with anyone other than a metronome or a backing track - they CAN NOT play in a live situation. Practicing to play with a metronome can train you to play in perfect timing and that ain't good either. Just thought I'd make things a bit more distracting.
Working in a studio I play with a lot of different types of musicians. There is a subset in this current generation of Shredder who CAN NOT play with anyone other than a metronome or a backing track - they CAN NOT play in a live situation.
No. Please tell me you're kidding.
"You can't write a chord ugly enough to say what you want to say sometimes, so you have to rely on a giraffe filled with whipped cream." - Frank Zappa
One word about playing with a metronome (which I once that was a well-dressed midget) - Working in a studio I play with a lot of different types of musicians. There is a subset in this current generation of Shredder who CAN NOT play with anyone other than a metronome or a backing track - they CAN NOT play in a live situation. Practicing to play with a metronome can train you to play in perfect timing and that ain't good either. Just thought I'd make things a bit more distracting.
So how dose one use a metronome so this dont happen? this seems to be the case for me... but I'm no where near a shredder
As with everything else , the more you practice the better it will be . Until you can distance your mind from the concentration it takes to play your own part , you cannot really enjoy the whole experience of playing with someone , or something , else . You need to feel the music as it's happening , become one with all the other parts , listening with one part of your mind while the part that you are using to play is on autopilot . When that happens you'll know it .
Playing in a band is like the ingredients of a cake . Each one is pretty hard to take by itself but blended together they make something pretty delicious .
If I claim to be a wise man , it surely means that I don't know .
Sadly, it is very true. It's called BRS (Bedroom shredder) syndrome and chances are it's happening right in your neighborhood, or maybe even... in YOUR HOME. It seems to be a symptom of the Speedy Hyper Intense Thrasher or for short ... ah nevermind. Anyway, you get these kids who can do amazing mechanical feats but can't deviate from the program at all. I think of it like dancers; you have people who can dance when given choreographed routines and then you have Michael Jackson. But you really don't have to worry about that happening unless you are approaching the guitar as a strictly mechanical enterprise.
not sure what you mean by the end, all I know is unless I have something to keep time, I'm lost...
Meaning, if all you are focused on is playing one hundred mile an hour runs along to backing tracks - you might not develop a sense of rhythm other than the ability to execute fig a. between measures 6 and 10, for example. A very mechanical approach.
I wouldn't really blame the metronome for the shred kiddies. Simply having a very good rhythm should never have a bad effect on any of your playing in the same sense that extraordinary technique and speed doesn't mean you'll be a mindless shredder. They're tools in your toolbox, you can't blame them for the way they're being used. Having a good rhythm will help you understand music and allow you to play together with other people.
As I said though, they're tools to get to an objective, not a goal in itself. Racing your metronome and trying to get higher and higher is not the point, but it helps to bring consistency in your practice if you should need it for your music. I always tap my foot to the beat when I listen to music or when I play. In the beginning I counted in my head, which seems really awkward, but you have to start somewhere. Now, my foot takes over without thinking, and I can annoy people all day long by tapping my foot! :D
I can see where Ezra's coming from, but I doubt it's an issue in this case.
Sadly, it is very true. It's called BRS (Bedroom shredder) syndrome and chances are it's happening right in your neighborhood, or maybe even... in YOUR HOME. It seems to be a symptom of the Speedy Hyper Intense Thrasher or for short ... ah nevermind. Anyway, you get these kids who can do amazing mechanical feats but can't deviate from the program at all.
Like the kids you hear at Guitar Center. Amazing riff! Over and over again. Nothing else though, but that one riff is technically perfect. Look at me!
"Work hard, rock hard, eat hard, sleep hard,
grow big, wear glasses if you need 'em."
-- The Webb Wilder Credo --
Sadly, it is very true. It's called BRS (Bedroom shredder) syndrome and chances are it's happening right in your neighborhood, or maybe even... in YOUR HOME. It seems to be a symptom of the Speedy Hyper Intense Thrasher or for short ... ah nevermind. Anyway, you get these kids who can do amazing mechanical feats but can't deviate from the program at all.
Like the kids you hear at Guitar Center. Amazing riff! Over and over again. Nothing else though, but that one riff is technically perfect. Look at me!
LOL!!! I think we all know the guys!! When I first started going there, I thought... "Man that kids a pretty good player.." then as time went on... well it clicked that thats the only riff they probably know. :D Not that im one to talk.... no one wants to hear me "tear it up" at a guitar store. :D
Paul B
not sure what you mean by the end, all I know is unless I have something to keep time, I'm lost...
my mom used to bounce me on her knee to music when i was a baby, and i've never had rhythm problems since, but here's some ideas. i hope they help:
maybe play "lost" until you find your internal rhythm.
here's a little trick. if you're playing something at 120 bmp, set the metronome at 60 bmp and keep playing the same speed, but now you only have half as many beeps to guide you. then try 30. then 15. you get the idea. the rhythm's the same, but there's just a lot more space.
also, do you listen to music that moves your body around? fela kuti always gets me dancing, as does james brown and kraftwerk, but it may be something else for you. just something that gets you moving rhythmically.
i spent about a year nodding my head every time i'd play to develop a solid inner rhythm, and even now, when i'm playing something with a deep groove, my head and body will go along with it.
also, like people have said, always listen. your ears are more important than your hands in playing the guitar. i can let my hands just go on autopilot, and i can clear my mind or think about something else while i play, but if the rhythm's off, i'll hear it. don't focus on the playing. focus on the listening. make your hands do what your ears want them to as it's happening, not what you've decided before you even started. if you're learning a series of notes, you'll never really feel it, but if you realize that each of those notes are just part of a song, and you could probably play a whole different set of notes with the same rhythm and still have basically the same song, or that you can even change the rhythm, but that no song sounds good with bad timing, then you'll stop focusing on the mechanical note part of it, and finally discover what you always knew. you're playing something to make people dance. and you can't do that unless you're making yourself dance. you're a melodic drummer. my brother once called his guitar his "rhythm stick" and that's exactly what it is.
finally, and this is the most important, just work at it until you can do it. there really aren't any shortcuts or secrets. i can't two hand tap for crap, but i guarantee that if i spent 50 hours a week on it, i'd sound like van halen or kaki king or whoever within a month. same with almost anything. how do you prepare for a marathon? by running a whole lot. unless you actually have some sort of hearing or neurological issues that require medical help, it's on you to put the time and effort into it. it's not always easy at first, but it's always doable. it's just the guitar, not rocket science.
or rent out someone's mom to bounce you on her knee.
