Who really keeps the timing?

SpectorBass308 · #1 08-03-2007, 06:42 PM

The bass player or the drummer? I have heard both. So who is it?

bassist15 · #2 08-03-2007, 07:27 PM

I think it all really depends on the band. There are bands that have busy drummers and the bassist keeps time. There are bands that the drummer keeps time. Depends on the players ...songs...bands.

AJ Brown · #3 08-03-2007, 07:30 PM

Our drummer and I go back and forth on this. It depends on the song and the groove. Overall I can usually tell if something is happening too fast or too slow, so it ends up in a bunch of head nods for correction.

steve66 · #4 08-03-2007, 07:58 PM

I keep the timing. I have better time than the drummer. Ive been playing drums for 25 yrs.

DWBass · #5 08-03-2007, 08:33 PM

It should be teamwork. Bassist and drummer. If the 2 of you are doing your own things while playing...........either it's by design or you have no interest in locking in and creating a groove! The whole point of a 'band' is to work together as an ensemble!

JimmyM · #6 08-03-2007, 08:56 PM

This business about timing being the responsibility of the drummer is BS. Everyone in the band is responsible for the timing, and not one person in the band has any excuse for not keeping the time.

coolrunner989 · #7 08-03-2007, 08:59 PM

the last band I was in had a bad drummer, so I kept time.

but in an ideal situation, drummer and bassist should be locked together so they can both keep time and do fills and stuff.

Jeff Moote · #8 08-03-2007, 09:01 PM

I agree with Jimmy in the sense that I feel it's the responsibility of everyone to have good time (unfortunately all too many don't!

)

When it comes to setting tempo and pusing/pulling things as needed, I'm of the school that this is the bassists role and certainly not that of the drummer. A long time pro drummer & vibeist who leads a band I'm in teaches this way - he expects me to hold it down, and feels the role of drums is more to define style and set up the band for their figures, etc.

MysticMichael · #9 08-03-2007, 09:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SpectorBass308

The bass player or the drummer? I have heard both. So who is it?

Everyone. Contrary to popular conception, time isn't something that's relegated to just the drummer, just the bassist - or even both. Time is a shared responsibility - and a shared consensus upon which everyone must agree in order for the music to work...

MM

JimmyM · #10 08-03-2007, 10:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Moote

I agree with Jimmy in the sense that I feel it's the responsibility of everyone to have good time (unfortunately all too many don't!

)

When it comes to setting tempo and pusing/pulling things as needed, I'm of the school that this is the bassists role and certainly not that of the drummer. A long time pro drummer & vibeist who leads a band I'm in teaches this way - he expects me to hold it down, and feels the role of drums is more to define style and set up the band for their figures, etc.

Ya, I agree with that. I've never let a drummer dictate to me what I should play by his playing. What I play is determined by the main rhythmic instrument (i.e. the instrument that carries the theme of the song), and therefore I think the drummer should follow the bassist and not vice versa. Carol Kaye espouses this idea, too, though I did it for years without knowing it.

seanm · #11 08-03-2007, 10:35 PM

Depends on the band. I have been in bands where the singer sets the timing, the rest of the band follows as best they can

JimmyM · #12 08-03-2007, 10:38 PM

If by setting the timing you mean count off the song, that's OK. But once the song starts, that's a different story, one that pretty much eliminates the singer as a factor.

Dan Molina · #13 08-03-2007, 10:41 PM

It's mainly the drummers job to keep the timing, but everyone should be keeping time.

Vin_MM_Sabre_79 · #14 08-03-2007, 10:42 PM

I was blown away recently when I had the opportunity to see one of Australia's best groove players playing a small back yard gig without a drummer. Soul, reggae, funk, jazz, latin... this guy has that 'X Factor' where they've got it nailed, but it's got that fluid impro looseness to it.

About halfway through the gig I noticed him tapping his foot and realised that he wasn't playing in time with his own FOOT! His playing was in front, behind, or whatever the groove required- but 'the foot' was on the money the whole way through.

seanm · #15 08-03-2007, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JimmyM

If by setting the timing you mean count off the song, that's OK. But once the song starts, that's a different story, one that pretty much eliminates the singer as a factor.

We never count off songs

Care to explain why the singer can't be a factor?

Jeff Moote · #16 08-03-2007, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seanm

We never count off songs

Care to explain why the singer can't be a factor?

Because they all have terrible time!

JimmyM · #17 08-03-2007, 11:26 PM

That's part of it,

, but the main thing is because the singer plays no instrument. Therefore he/she can't contribute to keeping time in a meaningful way once the song starts. All they can do is complain after the show.

Smallmouth_Bass · #18 08-03-2007, 11:41 PM

I also think it's everyone's responsibility, although I look to the drummer to be the most solid. It can also depend on the situation and the band too.

seanm · #19 08-03-2007, 11:42 PM

All the singers I play with also play guitar. But I think I may have a different meaning for timing. By timing I mean where the 1 is. If the singer is changing where the 1 is, he is effectively controlling the timing.

For example, after a guitar interlude (solo, bridge, whatever) he will quite often rush into the lyrics. For example, he might start on beat 3 of a 4/4 song rather than waiting for the 1. Now we all have to sync up.

Does that make sense?

poisonoakie · #20 08-03-2007, 11:48 PM

RAY BROWN