Dealing with Dumb Bandmates

[Nashrakh]

Crutch for self esteem issues? So maybe if I give him a penis enlarger that will take his mind off his new tablet with the metronome app?

I meant it this way: maybe he does have pretty good time but is scared to ride his bike without his training wheels. That is, if he were to play without a click, he'd suddenly be all over the place because he thinks that what's gonna happen.

And I'm serious about that one. I don't think playing to a click is a sign of bad musicianship at all (it would be if he couldn't!), but since I've actually met a drummer once with this particular problem, I wouldn't be too surprised if I saw another drummer latching tightly onto his 'nome as if his life depended on it. Of course I don't know the guy so this is all conjecture and unfounded speculation obviously.

I can't really offer any advice beyond talking to him or them, and then if nothing changes for the better, either take it or leave it. Sometimes choices must be made, and I left my last band because all the talking and proposed changes amounted to nothing. That's life, I guess.

 

[lovethegrowl]

I hope he outgrows it. I hadn't expected so many replies. This thread was more of a joke. But the drummer's a relatively sophisticated individual & I see a weird incongruity in his behavior.

 

[lovethegrowl]

Also, not many opportunities out here in the desert. I'm in a developmental stage myself as a bassist & can't afford to burn my bridges. Some would envy my position here, so I'm going to have to put up or shut up.

 

[Feral Feline]

I find that hard to believe. People tell me that coyotes even devour teeth. I find that incredulous too.

Did my last tirade read like a Lewis Black routine?

No, but my tirade was indeed meant to read like a Lewis Black routine.
I hear pigs'll crunch up the teeth, too...

I'm not as experienced in bass-and-dealing-with-drummers as a lot of the others here, but I have to say out of the half-dozen or more drummers I've been privileged to work with, none used a metronome in the rehearsal room or on the band stand. In the privacy of home, perhaps they used the rhythm method, I don't know.

In regards to the clicker of your drummer... [DEL]Temper temper![/DEL] uh... Tempo tempo! I'm sure it's just a new toy to play with, the novelty will wear off and your drummer will relegate the metronome to the drawer-of-no-longer-used-music-items soon.

 

[yodedude2]

if you're using click tracks, and there may be a good reason (such as playing to pre-recorded tracks), than i suggest an audio click through in-ears rather than a visual 'click'. audiences want to see your eyes and interact. if he's playing while staring down a screen, like a jaywalker staring at a cell phone, forget it. your audience is gonna hate that.

oh, and chupacabras, not coyotes.

 

[Downunderwonder]

For a joke thread you're better off posting in the off-topic forum. We joke about but the underlying presumption is that the BM forum is serious. Get over yourself and talk to your bandmates. Nobody here is knowledgeable about disposing of dead bodies, even if they were they would hardly share.

 

[MTBK]

Now that overly those rigid tempos have been established, the drummer puts his phone on his snare drum, & stares at the pulsating of the phone metronome while he plays along, completely uninvolved.

He should really be doing that on his own. Then learn to wean himself off it for songs he has practiced a million times. First by cutting the metronome tempo in half and then in half again. (so it only clicks on the 1, 3 and then just the 1).

 

[pklima]

I hope he outgrows it. I hadn't expected so many replies. This thread was more of a joke. But the drummer's a relatively sophisticated individual & I see a weird incongruity in his behavior.

Well, clicks are a modern thing, especially with the tempo being an integer number of beats per minute, especially exactly 128. That has its advantages.

So, tell the drummer that playing with a metronome would make it a lot easier for a DJ to mash you up with some Pitbull. Which is true, and it's also not very important in a jazz combo. Hopefully he'll laugh, maybe he'll get your point.

 

[Bow tie]

Y'know, I don't get the need for a click track thing - but I would pay to have our drummer use one, as it sometimes feel like it's a grab bag on tempo. Or my personnel favorite - the steady climb in tempo until it's a drag race.
In general nobody can see the drummer, so an accurate drummer is not so bad a trade off for charisma.

 

[Mushroo]

Maybe it's not his own tempo that the drummer is worried about?

 

[Nashrakh]

Maybe it's not his own tempo that the drummer is worried about?

Well, then a click track ain't gonna help none neither.

 

[Jim Campbell]

I live out in the desert & play with a guitarist & drummer, both of whom are far more experienced & professional than I. The guitarist is the leader of the group, however he relegated the job of establishing tempos to the drummer.

While making preparations for a performance the drummer wasted tons of time between numbers finding an optimal metronome tempo using his cell phone. It took two sessions to cover all three sets, when it could have easily been done in one.

Now that overly those rigid tempos have been established, the drummer puts his phone on his snare drum, & stares at the pulsating of the phone metronome while he plays along, completely uninvolved.

At our last performance the drummer brought his new set, & had a separate stand for a new tablet that had a metronome app. He was staring at the metronome during the damn performance! Surreal!

No need to burden all you good BTF users with what I should do. I've already figured it out. It involves chloroform & duct tape. The question is, do coyotes really devour all the bones, as well as all the flesh, of the dead mammals they eat. Or is that just a wive's tale.

i've often thought an l.e.d. type of thing mounted on a drum set could be a great way to avoid a lot of the fast counts i hear ...especially from touring bands who want to race through their back catalog....

maybe find your drummer a metronome that is easier/faster to program than a cell phone app and place it in an unobtrusive spot that he can see it/adjust it quickly without appearing to be looking down at his tubs,or is obvious to the crowd.........personally i'd be thrilled that your drummer is so concerned ....not my method of choice,but whatever works,dude....

 

[HeadyVan Halen]

I never knew what a 'click' was until 10 years in...could never see how/why any human would want to play to it. Opinions aside, he lacks feel. Period. The best cooks in the world don't own a set of measuring cups..its all internal. Can you still be good without ever using a click track? Sure. But you(they) won't ever be able to really get 'there'. In that magic place where music really is.
If you enjoy it, stay with the group and laugh it off...click track is musical Viagra

 

[DwaynieAD]

drummer doesn't use a click:

TB says "amateur"

drummer uses a click:

TB says "crutch for self esteem issues"


Maybe we should be writing this down.

I never knew what a 'click' was until 10 years in...could never see how/why any human would want to play to it. Opinions aside, he lacks feel. Period. The best cooks in the world don't own a set of measuring cups..its all internal. Can you still be good without ever using a click track? Sure. But you(they) won't ever be able to really get 'there'. In that magic place where music really is.
If you enjoy it, stay with the group and laugh it off...click track is musical Viagra

yeah they use kitchen scales because measuring by weight is more accurate. analogy is lacking.

 

[blue4]

I never knew what a 'click' was until 10 years in...could never see how/why any human would want to play to it. Opinions aside, he lacks feel. Period. The best cooks in the world don't own a set of measuring cups..its all internal. Can you still be good without ever using a click track? Sure. But you(they) won't ever be able to really get 'there'. In that magic place where music really is.
If you enjoy it, stay with the group and laugh it off...click track is musical Viagra

How can he lack feel if, up until the click, they were getting good reviews? I'd bet that since he was put in charge of the time, he doesn't want the time ball to drop on his watch. Or, less likely, he has felt that someone in the band has bad time and he is using the click to prove its not him. After all, he's been playing with that guitarist for years. Add an admittedly less experienced bassist and NOW the drummer is compulsive about time?

 

[QweziRider]

The question is, do coyotes really devour all the bones, as well as all the flesh, of the dead mammals they eat. Or is that just a wive's tale.

Nope, wives tale. Those rotten animals leave the mess in my back yard when they find the stray meal.

 

[BayStateBass]

Lime. Lots and lots of lime. Don't trust the coyotes.

 

[Tituscrow]

Threads like this remind me how lucky I am to play with my drummer....he IS a metronome, which surely is a prerequisite for any half-decent drummer?

 

[BurningSkies]

If your drummer is concerned about tempo he should practice at home with a click (he does practice at home, right?). And if you as a band need it, there's nothing wrong with running a practice with a click either regularly or semi-regularly, although there is some 'getting used to' to be done by all.

After that, for gigging hopefully it as built your sense of time enough that you don't need it. I prefer a band who can work dynamic, as long as that dynamic isn't 'sounding tired and running underwater'.

 

[Joe Louvar]

I live out in the desert & play with a guitarist & drummer, both of whom are far more experienced & professional than I. The guitarist is the leader of the group, however he relegated the job of establishing tempos to the drummer.

While making preparations for a performance the drummer wasted tons of time between numbers finding an optimal metronome tempo using his cell phone. It took two sessions to cover all three sets, when it could have easily been done in one.

Now that overly those rigid tempos have been established, the drummer puts his phone on his snare drum, & stares at the pulsating of the phone metronome while he plays along, completely uninvolved.

At our last performance the drummer brought his new set, & had a separate stand for a new tablet that had a metronome app. He was staring at the metronome during the damn performance! Surreal!

No need to burden all you good BTF users with what I should do. I've already figured it out. It involves chloroform & duct tape. The question is, do coyotes really devour all the bones, as well as all the flesh, of the dead mammals they eat. Or is that just a wive's tale.

lol, that's to funny and thanks for sharing - I bet the "Bass Humor & Gig Stories" forum would enjoy it even more.