Seeking advise for keeping in time and tempo

[nothingman0088]

I need any help i can get because i appear completely incapable to mantain consistency with time, just standard 4/4 and also tempo when i do not have a metrnome. I know time can not be taught, but any tips on how to over come this would be greatly appriciated.

[FretlessArt]

A great investment for a student bassist is a decent Drum machine/ rythem composer or sequencer software like Abilton LIVE. These devices/ software often have several hundred drum rythem presets that you can practice with. This is also a great way to develop creative ideas as you will often find new inspiration when impovising with the presets.

[jaebee]

metronome, i know it sucks but it is the best and only way to learn to keep rhythm. if you are bad at holding rhythm try starting at around 100bpm and slowly decrease it, playing exactly, and only, on the beat. see how low you can go, because the lower the better. once you have these slow tempo's mastered itbecomes a lot easier to fill in the gaps

[nothingman0088]

thank you for the advise, i will definitly look into prices of a drum machine or some kind of software. Let me know if there is any further advise since timing is one of the most critical factors in music.

[Dave Grossman]

Metronome metronome metronome. A drum machine can be programmed to do simple clicks too.

It may be hard to get the hang of it at first but keep at it. I hated practicing with a metronome when I was just starting and so I didn't. I paid the price for it for many years.

- Dave

[RiddimKing]

Nothingman,

One piece of advice: tap your foot. Do it whenever you're playing. If you arent good at it, practice till you are. I've noticed that a lot of the guitarists and bassists I know who have good time use their feet whenever they play. They also tend to tap forcefully, so they can not only feel the beat but hear it. Try it. It's stupid simple, but it may help you.

[BillMason]

Originally Posted by RiddimKing

Nothingman,

One piece of advice: tap your foot. Do it whenever you're playing. If you arent good at it, practice till you are. I've noticed that a lot of the guitarists and bassists I know who have good time use their feet whenever they play. They also tend to tap forcefully, so they can not only feel the beat but hear it. Try it. It's stupid simple, but it may help you.

Unless you're bouncing your foot out of time also - some people's feet follow their fingers rather than vice versa, but in general you're right.

But get a metronome! And use it! Try having each click represent a quarter note in 4/4 time, then have it represent beats 2&3 only, then slow it down and have each click represent a whole note (four beats).

[middy]

Clap along with the metronome. When you do it right, your clap hides the click of the metronome and you can't hear it at all. The slower you go, the harder it gets. Practice that for 5 minutes a day.