Ideas/devices for helping my band play at a steady tempo?

[Eye_Of_The_Liger]

I was thinking of ways to help my band tighen up, and one idea that my friend suggested was to get a blinking strobe light, like this one. You can set it to blink at a certain tempo for the band to play at. Only problems is that it may be too bright and you can't look at it directly while it's blinking (headaches, dizziness).

 

Anyone have any other ideas?

[Timmylikedthing]

metronome?

 

Tim

[Eye_Of_The_Liger]

metronome? Tim

 

We need something visual, a clicking metronome is just going to get drowned out by us playing.

 

Well, unless the metrononme you're thinking about is 100 watts and is connected to a 4x12 speaker cab...

[Micahb]

how about the drummer practice to a metronome and come back playing steady beats?

[quicksilver544]

I worked with a drummer who used this programable metronome thingy and he stored on it what ever bbm we decided to play a given song at and the would reference it at the begining of every song. I'll try to find out what it's called. It's tough coming up with the same speed you pratice with. Nerves, memory, they all come into play. It's nice to have a reference.

 

 

EDIT: Yamaha ClickStation. Part metronome, part electronic tuner; can save up to 85 'songs' and chain them together in any order and you can label the chains as well

[Micky Z]

Geez, this is sounding a little too mechanical. A little variation in tempo is usually not a problem, especially if it reflects the mood of the music.

 

Now if you're talking about major swings in tempo, use a loud metronome in practices until you can keep the tempo pretty steady on your own. But don't use it during performances - that's too geeky, and will distract the audiences (and they'll figure out that you might not yet be ready for prime time).

 

But if you insist on mechanically accurate timekeeping, then fire your drummer, and program a computer/sequencer to do all your drum beats. Mechanical perfection, every time.

[Eye_Of_The_Liger]

 

I worked with a drummer who used this programable metronome thingy and he stored on it what ever bbm we decided to play a given song at and the would reference it at the begining of every song. I'll try to find out what it's called.

 

 

That sounds like something that might work, but we don't have a problem establishing a tempo for a song. Maintaining a tempo, on the other hand...

[quicksilver544]

That's a whole 'nother can of worms ...

[Opus Antics]

At the end of it all, it comes down to one of three things - (a) either the drummer can't keep the beat, and when you are all playing and trying to rely on the drummer, it's failing, or (b) the drummer is fine, but each individual is having trouble keeping with the drummer, or © one other person (not the drummer) is having a hard time keeping time, and when that person goes off, it confuses the rest of the band and everything starts to fall apart.

 

If it is (a), then the drummer needs to work harder on maintaining the beat, or should try incorporating one of these other suggestions until the drummer is able to maintain without the aid. If it is (b) then you all need to work harder on your own developing your sense of timing when you practice individually. If it is © then the offending player needs to spend extra time practicing individually on maintaining tempo.

 

I guess what I'm saying is, try to figure out why the tempo keeps slipping, and that might help you find a more precise solution.

[rhat]

 

I was thinking of ways to help my band tighen up, and one idea that my friend suggested was to get a blinking strobe light, like this one . You can set it to blink at a certain tempo for the band to play at. Only problems is that it may be too bright and you can't look at it directly while it's blinking (headaches, dizziness). Anyone have any other ideas?

 

 

 

The best way i know to tighen up a band is to practice at very very low volume levels. Band that do that ,can turn it up and sound really good. rat

[quicksilver544]

Geez, this is sounding a little too mechanical. A little variation in tempo is usually not a problem, especially if it reflects the mood of the music. Now if you're talking about major swings in tempo, use a loud metronome in practices until you can keep the tempo pretty steady on your own. But don't use it during performances - that's too geeky, and will distract the audiences (and they'll figure out that you might not yet be ready for prime time). But if you insist on mechanically accurate timekeeping, then fire your drummer, and program a computer/sequencer to do all your drum beats. Mechanical perfection, every time.

 

I'll have to go ahead and disagree with your whole point. Natural variations are fine but if the song you play live is way faster than how it was rehersed it throws much of what I want to put into it, as a guitarist, way out of whack. Full time/pro drummers probably don't have a use for such a thing but us weekend warriors need as much help as we can get. Nerves is what gets us off the beam most.

[Opus Antics]

I'll have to go ahead and disagree with your whole point. Natural variations are fine but if the song you play live is way faster than how it was rehersed it throws much of what I want to put into it, as a guitarist, way out of whack. Full time/pro drummers probably don't have a use for such a thing but us weekend warriors need as much help as we can get. Nerves is what gets us off the beam most.

 

Oh, yeah, that's true. We actually count on the live performance being faster than rehearsal, so in rehearsal we will focus on setting the right tempo, even if it is a little slower than it's supposed to be. Because live it will be a little faster. Then once the song is underway, we stick with the drummer. If it goes faster or slower, we're all together. It's like dancing, one person has to lead. Then when the song is over, we'll talk about the tempo, and maybe try it again if it changed during the song, or was too fast or too slow.

 

I don't know if this is at all helpful, but that's how we do it.

[Micky Z]

I'll have to go ahead and disagree with your whole point. Natural variations are fine but if the song you play live is way faster than how it was rehersed it throws much of what I want to put into it, as a guitarist, way out of whack. Full time/pro drummers probably don't have a use for such a thing but us weekend warriors need as much help as we can get. Nerves is what gets us off the beam most.

 

Then Opus_Antics has the best approach - figure out how it's happening and fix it.

 

My main point is to work it out in practice. My drummer is also not so steady sometimes, but with repetition he's become more reliable. But it usually doesn't work to try to have an external gimmick during a gig. Think nerves are a problem now? Wait 'til you add some gizmo that further distracts your attention while you're exercising your nerves - yet another reason to lose it completely.

[Lee Flier]

I think I've mentioned this here before, but this is the most useful little device I've ever found for this purpose:

 

http://www.luglock.com/temporef.htm

 

It's great because it doesn't lock you into a strict tempo, but you can still see what your tempo is.

[Lurko]

If you're that off, your drummer needs to start practicing more.

[BigMac5]

how about the drummer practice to a metronome and come back playing steady beats?

Bingo!

[FitchFY]

I'm a drummer, and I'm aware that tempo is everyone responsibility, though predominantly MINE. When my band practices, I run a metronome into a pair of Vic Firth Isophones, so I'm playing to the click, and the band plays to me. This way, the band plays in time and learns at the proper tempo, I get to practice to a metronome, and most importantly, THE BAND PLAYS TO ME AND NOT TO THE METRONOME! Keeps it feeling organic.

 

We do the same thing recording - I do the drums to a click, then we remove the click and the band records to the drums.

[slight-return]

At the end of it all, it comes down to one of three things - (a) either the drummer can't keep the beat, and when you are all playing and trying to rely on the drummer, it's failing, or (b) the drummer is fine, but each individual is having trouble keeping with the drummer, or (c) one other person (not the drummer) is having a hard time keeping time, and when that person goes off, it confuses the rest of the band and everything starts to fall apart. If it is (a), then the drummer needs to work harder on maintaining the beat, or should try incorporating one of these other suggestions until the drummer is able to maintain without the aid. If it is (b) then you all need to work harder on your own developing your sense of timing when you practice individually. If it is (c) then the offending player needs to spend extra time practicing individually on maintaining tempo. I guess what I'm saying is, try to figure out why the tempo keeps slipping, and that might help you find a more precise solution.

 

 

great post!

 

I think rhat's post might be tangentailly speaking to this as well - "turning down" can give you a chance to listen and figure out what the hell is happening - and this not just volume, but in 'performing' intensity of all sorts

I mean stuff like classical guitarists and baroque claviers are pretty damn quiet, but can have notoriously poor tempo stability (this may be in large part b/c so much of the time is spent solo, sometimes we can fool ourselves into it being an 'expressive retard' - "oh this section is really complicated, but it is also nuanced and I want to give it the time/room for the detail to breath" - yeah right, its just hard and we slow down )

So, if/when you turn down, do it for a reason

[rocket888]

There are 2 areas where the problem probably lies.

 

First, as everyone has mentioned, and obviously, is the drummer. A good drummer can maintain the tempo, and not be easily swayed by other bandmembers. So you first have to look at your drummer.

 

Second, it could be the rest of the band. Even a great drummer will have a difficult time holding a steady tempo when the band is constantly pushing the tempo upwards.

 

In my experience, the band's pushing of the tempo occurs gradually thoughout the song at two basic areas:

 

First, on turnarounds. Second, when someone (rhythm or lead) goes from a slower note, such as quarter notes, to quicker notes, like eighth notes or triplets.

 

On each turnaround and/or faster note section, the band can pick up the tempo ever so slightly. Say you start at 100 beats per minute, and pick up on a turn-around to 101 beats, which is so close to 100 that no one really notices.

 

101 is now the new standard, and at the next turnaround or fast note section, the speed jacks up up to, say 102. Now 102 is the new standard, and on and on until the song is racing along.

 

I was in a band where we started one particular song and the singer sang two verses. Then the guitar player soloed two verses, then I did two on piano.

 

When it was the singer's turn again after the solos, the band was going so fast that he could not spit the words out fast enough.

 

We listened to the rehearsal tape (tape your rehearsals!), and we were speeding up ever so slightly at every turnaround, etc, and it was adding up.

 

If you pay attention to those areas (have band members count through them), you should be able to fix it.

[whit townsend]

Drummer definatly needs practice keeping a steady beat.

So does everyone else, but the drummer is primarily responsible for maintaining the proper tempo, holding back the runaway horses and pushing the draggers.

The drummer playing to his own click track is a good idea, but he wont be able to do that without practice. He should also work with the metronome at home.

Also he can play along with any good solid tempo music at home. Put it in the headphones or just crank the stereo and bang away for a few hrs.

I have only drummed in a band for about a year aprox 10 yrs ago. It was an acoustic/electric folky/americana/country/bulegrassy type outfit. I got in the habit of just putting on the radio and jamming with whatever came on a couple of hrs every night. Mostly top 40 or classic country. It may be mostly commercial crap but those guys know how to keep time, and it was less boring than metronome work for long periods. Before long I could regin in the band no prob. They were bluegrassers and tended to speed up the country/folky stuff.

I've also played upright in a no drummer band for many years, same kind of responsibility. Best practice was just putting on some good tunes in the genre you want to lean and play along, a LOT. Do it enough and you can learn to drive the train steady and true, especially if you resist the urge to get fancy(another good tip, KISS).

[basshog]

The way we work on our tempo is to practice with headphones on running the guitars and bass and vocals through the headphones along with a click track and just let the drummer play along with us. He is loud enough for us to hear him through the headphones and everyone can easily hear everyone else and the click track. We also record this so we can play it back and point out where the drummer went off the click. We rehearse like this for a couple of months before a recording session so that everything is nice and easy when it's time to go into the studio and record to the click. My drummer had a really hard time of it at first as he constantly sped up and slowed down..but mostly sped up. Now he is very consistent and seldom goes off the tempo. He had to work through little areas in songs where he would get off time due to a fill being too long or a change throwing him off. We are all much better off now.

It's not as much fun as cranking up all the amps and blowing the roof off the rehearsal room but it's made us a much better and tighter band, we get props for how tight we are almost every time we play

[slight-return]

have you considered a sweatsock with a couple of D batteries?

[n4vgm]

How about recording the same song over several days, each time MINUS one member. Maybe put a click track on one channel but only use it for the lead in. Then go over each clip listening to the click in one channel and the band in the other so you can hear when it starts going off.

[BlueStrat]

 

Bingo!

 

 

 

I'll see your "Bingo!" and raise you a "DING DING DING DING DING! We have a winner!"

 

Seriously, if you don't have a drummer who can keep time and remember tempos, you're screwed. My old drummer used to speed up a bit, so I always had to start the songs a little slower. I have to be very careful when I start songs with the drummer I have now, because wherever the count is, that's where it will stay through the entire tune.

[Eye_Of_The_Liger]

You know... I just realized that we used to record ourselves with a camcorder during practice. That helped us a lot. We knew who {censored}ed up and where 'cause it was on video, therefore no bull{censored} arguments. But one fine day the drummer's house got broken into, and out the camcorder (among many other things) went.

Guess it's time to save up for a new one.