Sherry C
11-30-2009, 03:24 PM
Howdy friends,
In a recent conversation with another musician friend, I was reminded of the importance of keeping a steady tempo. This is essential if you're playing with others, and time keeping should not be relegated to the rhythm section. In moving from a "good" to a "solid" band, all the musicians really should be keeping the time.
In light of that necessity, I'm sharing here part of the email that I sent him, in the hope that others may find it helpful, and as a reminder to myself to periodically repeat these exercises for my own musicianship :)
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It’s really easy to start speeding up, especially for “exciting” passages. I’ve found that doing various permutations with a metronome or Composer during my practice times really helps a lot with internalizing a steady tempo. They all have to do with slowing down the metronome and still playing in time, because it forces you to internalize the tempo better. Slowing down to get better timing may seem counterintuitive at first, but it really works!
Some exercises I do that have helped me:
1. Set the metronome at a comfortable pace (eg. 90) and play scales or intervals or something. Then, set the metronome slower (not faster) by about a third (eg. set it at 60). Now play the exercises again. It’s actually more difficult to play it properly slower, but it also helps you to internalize the tempo better. Continue to play the exercise til you nail the tempo consistently, then repeat by slowing down by a third or so again. Play the exercise.
2. Set the metronome to beat at about 100 or so, and hit single notes (or chords) on the beat. Then play a note/chord on the beat and in between (i.e., divide the beat in duplets). When you’re hitting those evenly, do triples. Likewise go on to quadruples. Now slow the metronome down (eg. From 100 to 80), and repeat the exercise. Slow it down again, and repeat.
3. Play a piece (or scales or whatever) with a metronome set at something like 60. Then, set it at 30, but play at the same tempo (i.e., if you’re using the metronome for 1 2 3 4 initially, you’ll only use it for hearing 1 and 3 the second time). Get to where you’re nailing the beat, then set it at 15 so you’re only hearing the metronome for 1.
4. Practice with Composer :) Sometimes I’ll just make a file that has just drums, but I’ll silence beats here and there so that the structure of the song remains but I don’t hear all the beats. Further into the song I’ll remove a whole measure, then later on in the file, remove multiple measures and see if I can keep things steady enough to be right on beat when the next drum measure comes back in.
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If you have practice tips or tricks that you find helpful, please feel free to post them here or in a separate thread. I'm sure we'll all benefit from each other's help!
ttfn,
Sherry
In a recent conversation with another musician friend, I was reminded of the importance of keeping a steady tempo. This is essential if you're playing with others, and time keeping should not be relegated to the rhythm section. In moving from a "good" to a "solid" band, all the musicians really should be keeping the time.
In light of that necessity, I'm sharing here part of the email that I sent him, in the hope that others may find it helpful, and as a reminder to myself to periodically repeat these exercises for my own musicianship :)
------------------------------------
It’s really easy to start speeding up, especially for “exciting” passages. I’ve found that doing various permutations with a metronome or Composer during my practice times really helps a lot with internalizing a steady tempo. They all have to do with slowing down the metronome and still playing in time, because it forces you to internalize the tempo better. Slowing down to get better timing may seem counterintuitive at first, but it really works!
Some exercises I do that have helped me:
1. Set the metronome at a comfortable pace (eg. 90) and play scales or intervals or something. Then, set the metronome slower (not faster) by about a third (eg. set it at 60). Now play the exercises again. It’s actually more difficult to play it properly slower, but it also helps you to internalize the tempo better. Continue to play the exercise til you nail the tempo consistently, then repeat by slowing down by a third or so again. Play the exercise.
2. Set the metronome to beat at about 100 or so, and hit single notes (or chords) on the beat. Then play a note/chord on the beat and in between (i.e., divide the beat in duplets). When you’re hitting those evenly, do triples. Likewise go on to quadruples. Now slow the metronome down (eg. From 100 to 80), and repeat the exercise. Slow it down again, and repeat.
3. Play a piece (or scales or whatever) with a metronome set at something like 60. Then, set it at 30, but play at the same tempo (i.e., if you’re using the metronome for 1 2 3 4 initially, you’ll only use it for hearing 1 and 3 the second time). Get to where you’re nailing the beat, then set it at 15 so you’re only hearing the metronome for 1.
4. Practice with Composer :) Sometimes I’ll just make a file that has just drums, but I’ll silence beats here and there so that the structure of the song remains but I don’t hear all the beats. Further into the song I’ll remove a whole measure, then later on in the file, remove multiple measures and see if I can keep things steady enough to be right on beat when the next drum measure comes back in.
----------------------
If you have practice tips or tricks that you find helpful, please feel free to post them here or in a separate thread. I'm sure we'll all benefit from each other's help!
ttfn,
Sherry