This will make you tight.

EmperorDoom · #1 09-10-2007, 11:09 PM

My drummer showed me this one..
1. Get out your Dr. Beat and set it to 60
2. play quarter notes for one bar
3. play eighth notes for one bar
4. play triplets
5. play 16ths
6. play quintuplets
7. play sextuplets
8. play septuplets (these are hard!)
9. play 32nds
10. then go in reverse

try and play it as tight as you can.. if you practice with your drummer you'll both get really tight

JimmyM · #2 09-10-2007, 11:17 PM

I would stretch that out to 8 bars for each exercise just to give yourself time to develop your skill at each thing. One bar just doesn't seem like it's enough.

Foamy · #3 09-11-2007, 02:00 AM

I wanted to be tight, but this just sounds like work.

JimmyM · #4 09-11-2007, 02:57 AM

Ya, God forbid you have to put any effort into playing. If it's hard, it's not worth doing.

Qvist · #5 09-11-2007, 07:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

Ya, God forbid you have to put any effort into playing. If it's hard, it's not worth doing.

If one never put effort into playing, he/she would never get any better

stedtale · #6 09-11-2007, 07:55 AM

do it with your scales, modes, arpeggios too.

Foamy · #7 09-11-2007, 09:15 AM

Bummer, I guess I'll never be tight then.

theshadow2001 · #8 09-11-2007, 11:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Foamy

Bummer, I guess I'll never be tight then.

You win some you lose some

GrooveBass · #9 09-11-2007, 12:06 PM

sounds like a good idea to play if you are having trouble locking with your drummer or need to work on your time, but other than that, just play along with records, it's more fun and if you have a varied CD collection, a lot more valuable. Just my humble opinion though...

LarryR · #10 09-11-2007, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrooveBass

.....just play along with records, it's more fun and if you have a varied CD collection, a lot more valuable.

I would say the same thing and have many times and I don't disagree with anything except one word: "just". Playing to a drum machine will give you a couple things: instant feedback of the quality of your time. Building up your stamina. I say this not having played to/with a machine for a handful of years, but, now I'm thinking to get out my Alesis HR-16 and start grooving to it.

Bottom line: why not do it all? It'll only make you a better player.

I just remembered an XTC song. Beautiful little ditty called "Chalkhills and Children". The bass player (Colin Moulding??) plays 1/4, 8ths, 16ths then 32nds on a buildup to the chorus.

thewanderer24 · #11 09-12-2007, 05:14 PM

this type of exercise is VERY useful. I use it as a warmup every day. I would suggest 4 bars of each subdivision, cause it will also drill into your head what 4 bars feels like, which is hugely important. Also, I would suggest slower than 60BPM once you get comfortable. It is MUCH more challenging and beneficial at slower tempos. I usually set between 40 and 45 BPM for this.

Also, Concentrate on all the notes having the same sound, feel and dynamics. Switch which finger you lead with each day, or when you "turn the corner"

Honestly I generally don't do the 5-lets and 7-lets, but that doesn't mean you should.

thewanderer24 · #12 09-12-2007, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrooveBass

sounds like a good idea to play if you are having trouble locking with your drummer or need to work on your time, but other than that, just play along with records, it's more fun and if you have a varied CD collection, a lot more valuable. Just my humble opinion though...

playing along with the radio doesn't give you an honest assessment of your time, tone, dynamics, etc. Playing with a metronome should. It's easy to fake it and slop it when playing with the radio. Playing with the 'nome, IME, is much more productive for instilling time keeping and tightness in your groove.

lunarpollen · #13 09-12-2007, 05:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GrooveBass

sounds like a good idea to play if you are having trouble locking with your drummer or need to work on your time, but other than that, just play along with records, it's more fun and if you have a varied CD collection, a lot more valuable. Just my humble opinion though...

I am all in favor of playing along with tunes in your collection... however there's the issue of variations in pitch between songs, and I don't mean alternate tunings, I mean songs being off by (for example) a quarter step from one another because of the way they were recorded and mixed... Things get sped up or slowed down slightly, and so unless you select a bunch of tunes you know are in the same pitch, you'll find yourself either playing out of tune to some songs no matter what notes you choose, or you'll find yourself re-tuning your instrument's pitch almost every time a different song comes on. Of course, if you have a program like SoundForge, you can take all the songs you know are slightly non-standard in pitch and correct them and save pitch-corrected versions to practice along to. I had to do that with "Are 'Friends' Electric?" (a Gary Numan cover my band does) in order to practice along with it.

51m0n · #14 09-13-2007, 09:19 AM

Get the band together, plug a drum machine into the PA with a clap on the following patterns:-

1 2 3 4
1 _ 3 _
_ 2 _ 4

Play your set with the hand clap just louder than the snare.

Now repeat with pattern 2

Now repeat with pattern 3

Now repeat with no drum machine.

Be honest, if you really work at it this is guaranteed to make any band tighter. It is basically what Doug Wimbish is supposed to have done with Living Colour, I've tried it (and its a hell of a battle to get across to people!) and the results are astonishing.

Do this every practise for 6 weeks, and you sound like you've been on tour for a year.

Oh and this doesn't get you tight to a metronome, this gets the band tight to a metronome, and that's much more important!

Cactusgrant · #15 09-13-2007, 12:15 PM

Theres something really dirty about the title I think. Please edit it I'm offended!

agreatheight · #16 09-13-2007, 12:20 PM

I do this type of exercise on a regular basis, especially before recording. I think it's an excellent way to work on your eveness and time.

agreatheight · #17 09-13-2007, 12:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 51m0n

Get the band together, plug a drum machine into the PA with a clap on the following patterns:-

1 2 3 4
1 _ 3 _
_ 2 _ 4

Play your set with the hand clap just louder than the snare.

Now repeat with pattern 2

Now repeat with pattern 3

Now repeat with no drum machine.

Be honest, if you really work at it this is guaranteed to make any band tighter. It is basically what Doug Wimbish is supposed to have done with Living Colour, I've tried it (and its a hell of a battle to get across to people!) and the results are astonishing.

Do this every practise for 6 weeks, and you sound like you've been on tour for a year.

Oh and this doesn't get you tight to a metronome, this gets the band tight to a metronome, and that's much more important!

That's a good one too! I have worked something similar - it's harder than you think!

chicagodoubler · #18 09-14-2007, 09:54 PM

A conductor showed me that OP exercise in the mid 90's. Had everone say
1 (quarter)
12 (eights)
123 (trip)
1234 (16ths)

etc.

Let's just remember that what we're doing is dividing time, right? Verbalize this stuff and it'll take your playing to the next level. If you can't sing it or say it, you likely can't play it!