Keeping time.

[Sharkabilly]

Do any of you have weird habits when playing with a metronome or drummer?

I know a bassist who goes into a seizure-like shake and can't keep time without doing it.

I recently noticed that I grind my teeth.

Do any of you have any weird habits when playing with a beat?

[mikezimmerman]

This probably goes under Technique or General Instruction rather than Basses.

Mike

[ba-dum-ba-dum]

Move the thread if need be, but this is a good thread!

I too clench my jaw when keeping time? Probably not good for our teeth. I also tend to keep time with my right heel, as opposed to tapping my toe... which would make my leg (and bass) move much less.

[Phalex]

I stomp my foot like a horse doing long division.

[robgator]

About practicing w/ a metronome; at times, I think about a Fellini movie where there is a recurring dreamlike flashback to several people who are walking down a road and all you hear is the click-click-click of their heels on the pavement. That thought blows my concentration.

[Stumpy]

I have been known to stop breathing, or go to a very shallow - long space between breaths, when I am concentrating on the groove (bass / drums clicking and sticking with the click track).

That seems weird to me.

[sensible68]

Originally Posted by Phalex

I stomp my foot like a horse doing long division.

rofl! I do that - then I get cramp in my leg :-)

I think the first thing you have to do is forget about trying to keep time

[blikeng]

I tend to breath the rythm I'm playing

[Tenma4]

Originally Posted by blikeng

I tend to breath the rythm I'm playing

Same here. For me it comes from years of playing brass. I can't seem to break myself of the habit. I also move my jaw into the position I'd use for playing a passage on trumpet... Without the resistance of a mouthpiece against my teeth I just end up screwing up my face and making my jaw horribly sore. It's best if I mutter lyrics while playing unless I'm actually singing while playing.

[steve66]

I tap my foot in quarter notes. After 27 yrs of playing drums, its very natural to me.

[FrizzleFry]

When I'm really concentrated, I Drool ( yehehe ) and I forget to breath

[Poop-Loops]

Used to be that whenever I sat down to play, even without a metronome (this was when I was just starting), I would suddenly get very hot and stuffy. Because I wasn't breathing.