I've found the Holy Grail.....it's called a metronome....

[magnusdeus123]

Today was the first day I really realized how goddamn usefull the metronome is , and if used correctly it gives you teh learning power of god . Honestly after the incident I'm about to decribe to you below , I was almost feeling sorry for the classic musicians , in times when they did not have metronome , otherwise they coulda achieved so much in such less time .

Today I sort out to learn the funky bassline in the song "Lets get it started" by Black eyed peas . I mananged to figure the notes out and all that , but to my great dismay , the bassline , running at near 180 bpm , is nothing I , a noob , handling the bass for less than 3 months , can even handle .

Anyways , after a through bout of dejection , I sat down , and started fooling around with the bassline on the metronome . Thought "What the heck....." , set it up at 60 bpm , and started practicing the line . After about 3-5 mins when I was sure that the bassline was running perfectly under my fingers , I noched it up to 70 bpm . Fair enough . 5 minutes later , another 10 bpm more . And so on , until in about 20-30 mins , I reached a speed of 160 bpm . I sat back and took a breather , and took a moment to realize what I had just achieved....and I was like...."Holy Sh.....did I just......but ****...!?!? Thats kinda difficult....how did I !?!"

End in end , I've realized the true purpose of the metronome now . Not only does it help to keep rhythm , it helps you to improve speed by god levels . Honestly , any technique exercise done without a met' is starting to feel useless to me now . I have just realized how much time I wasted doing all the fingering exercises I did without this nift device . Luckily I have realized it's use soon enough , and i'm sure this is gonna be a load helpfull . BEGINNERS THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT . LEARN TO USE A METRONOME . IT'LL MAKE YOU A GOD !!!

Thanks to all the elite , and intermediate bassist's who have continued to tell noob's like me to harness the power of the metronome . I am now truly aware of it's potential to invoke my own . Cheers .

[Asa Samuel]

i was going to use a metronome to learn higher ground by the red hot chilli peppers as i was c**p at slapping and really slow.


instead i just put it on repeat untill i could do it at flea's speed, BUT its all what works for you!

[lamarjones]

it's a tool, it won't make you god. You need to be able to do that on your own.

Just the same, you're gonna have many people who say its a crutch, don't use it, and I don't believe that either.

here's a quote for kai eckhardt, or maybe from someone else but on Kai's myspace page.

"
"Soloing is part cognitive and part intuitive. The most important thing for a musician to understand, is the function of the rational mind. There are three stages. During the first stage you have to acquire tools. Arpeggios, scales and approach patterns for instance. Work on the fingerings, practice a line - always in all 12 keys - and get solid on the new material at different tempi.

Stage two comes into play when you are able to recall the new material instantly. Then you should focus on a good sound and articulation. Master different dynamics.

During the third stage... you have to forget everything, and just play! The third stage is all about filling the notes with emotion.

-Kai Eckhardt
"

using a metronome deals with stage one. very important, but only part of a whole

[magnusdeus123]

Originally Posted by lamarjones

it's a tool, it won't make you god. You need to be able to do that on your own.

Just the same, you're gonna have many people who say its a crutch, don't use it, and I don't believe that either.

here's a quote for kai eckhardt, or maybe from someone else but on Kai's myspace page.

"
"Soloing is part cognitive and part intuitive. The most important thing for a musician to understand, is the function of the rational mind. There are three stages. During the first stage you have to acquire tools. Arpeggios, scales and approach patterns for instance. Work on the fingerings, practice a line - always in all 12 keys - and get solid on the new material at different tempi.

Stage two comes into play when you are able to recall the new material instantly. Then you should focus on a good sound and articulation. Master different dynamics.

During the third stage... you have to forget everything, and just play! The third stage is all about filling the notes with emotion.

-Kai Eckhardt
"

using a metronome deals with stage one. very important, but only part of a whole

Well said....

[Liko]

@lamarjones: Kai has a point, but the bass player's mantra should be "my timing's not good enough". Sense of time and being able to keep a rock-solid beat, even when your drummer can't, are fundamental to bass playing, and you have to have a sense of time so fully engrained in your head and hands that you cannot forget it.

Then of course you lock in with the drummer. You can't play so on-tempo it makes the drummer sound off, and you also can't ignore expressive changes in tempo (which are rare in most popular music, but do happen). But, if the drummer starts dragging or rushing, you need to be able to tell, and to be able to pull the drummer back up to tempo.

[peterpalmieri]

magnusdeus123, it's realy great that you are using the metronome, not sure it will make you GOD but it is a great tool.

To clarify a metronome has been around for hundreds of years, at one point they were like a pendulum and depending on how you "weighted" it it would swing faster of slower no need to feel sorry for classical musicians....

[johncg]

I've found the metronome to be more useful for developing time and feel than speed.

I have used it religiously for years. It's a good idea not only to "practice with it" but to "jam" with it. Perhaps the latter approach is more useful than the former.

Here are some ideas that have helped me:

Set it at half-speed (it you want to play at 120, set the metronome for 60) and feel the clicks as 2 and 4. This is where the hi-hat is in jazz, and the snare in just about everything else.

This will not only sound more musical but will force YOU to be the 1!

Also, try to feel the click on other beats... just 2, just 3, just 4, etc. Or try to feel it as every other 1, every other 2, etc.

Set it to its lowest speed (typically 40) and try to play scales or arpeggios evenly with different note values.

With continued use, you will develop a powerful inner pulse. This comes in handy because you can start to spot your fellow musicians when they speed up/slow down. But don't fight it... just make it feel good. For instance, if your drummer has trouble nailing the 1 after a fill...the music will sound wrong even if YOU are right. Don't enforce your opinion violently, be gentle but firm, and above all else, flexible. Make it sound like the band is together even when its not.

Then, when everyone else is enjoying the praise for how good they sounded, you can smile to yourself and know what a train wreck it would have been if you didn't know how to do your job.

And when you do play with people who are listening and have a strong inner pulse, things will REALLY cook!

[ALiP BoB]

What good metronomes are out there anyway? (Too lazy to search)

[Tommy Hagen]

I use this: http://stringsandbeyond.com/komame.html
Nice little metronome that don't cost much.

Tommy

[MichaelScott]

I use http://www.metronomeonline.com/

It's free.

[waytoodeep03]

Originally Posted by MichaelScott

I use http://www.metronomeonline.com/

It's free.

awesome. Free stuff is always good

[Nappa]

I use http://www.musiciansfriend.com/produ...ome?sku=210023
though i cannot get the hang of using one as it messes up my timing, go figure.

[BassSurfer]

http://www.cyberfretbass.com/jam-zone/index.php

This is a cool online metronome... with other drum styles.. very helpful IMO