Do you count?

I prefer NOT to count(really).
Sometimes, I 'hear' the rhythm I'm trying to play in my head(all that "1e&a" stuff).

That said-
In the shed, I will practice counting.
I may write out a certain figure, count it out, & play it without deviation(I tend to deviate a lot).

There are times when I MUST count...
ODD times(still working on that bug-a-boo)
"Hits" that the band plays together(especially if it's 'weird' or has a lotta rests amongst the 'hits').

As far as counting when playing 'fast stuff'...
Have you considered counting 'slow' while playing 'fast'?
...maybe counting in 1/2 time vs. all the "1e&a" stuff?

 

if im reading music then i count but if im playing with other people then i just tap my foot or somthing to keep the beat.

 

When learning complex new rhythms I've found it helpful to count. I like to eventually get to the point where I can just "feel" it - like now for simple odd times (5,7) I don't need to count.

There's also "big picture" counting - play 7 bars of this pattern, 12 bars of this pattern, etc. Again at first I count, but eventually like to be able to "feel" the overall pattern.

However, if you're *not* counting, and you get lost, you might not be able to get back "on". It's a trade-off however: it's always possible (and actually quite likely) to mis-count, and that gives you a false sense of confidence. If something sounds wrong you might just blindly keep going.

 

I count when I'm reading music. If I'm just out playing a rock/country/blues/ect. tune, I never count. I have enough natural rymthm/timing that I know how long to hold notes and when to change chords. Strange time singatures sometimes require me to count, but I haven't played anything in an odd time signature in while.

 

Oh, to answer your other questions: I don't often count 16ths - and if I do, it's at a slow practice tempo. Mostly I count quarters or eighths.

Learning to play the off-beat is a whole beast unto itself. You can practice that skill specifically by repeating a single note on the off-beat with a metronome. Further, you can move to 16ths and play only every third, fourth, fifth, etc pulse.

Counting itself can be an exercise - counting quarters while playing sixtenths in patterns of 13 or something like that. The skills learned doing that (specifically dividing your attention between the counting and the playing) will help you out everywhere. I used to not be able to talk and play at the same time .

 

When I'm actually playing, I just sing the rhythm in my mind and play along, but I do count rests at times to make sure I come back in correctly.

 

I almost always count. It always comes handy when someone gives a syncapated groove to learn.

 

I count when Im playing something with an odd time signature. When it gets into wierd syncopated grooves then I tap my foot, but I rarely, if ever, start with the 1 e & a stuff.

 

i guess i concur with a large majority here then...i only count when i need to to get a rhythm- otherwords i prefer to "feel" the groove as opposed to tapping it out.

 

I think JimK and Gard covered it mostly - if there are unison parts or tricky hits, or rests where you have to come back in together, then I will be counting in my head. Sometimes, when we have had last minute substitutes, say a percusssionist, I have actually counted for them to hear on these parts.

 

tis like wot bruce sed... i be cowntin wen i nede to...

if there's a space before we all come in together, or if we're finalising the arrangements or whatever.
most of the time i dont need to actually count, it's just there, maan.

 

After 30 plus years of playing and reading percussion music (especially tympani), the one thing I can do on bass is read the rhythm of the notes easily enough. Finally, there is one thing I can do right!

 

I dont usually count while Im playing unless theres a rest, this way I dont come in too early or to late.

 

Very rarely do I actually count when playing, usually I'm just tapping my foot or whatever to keep the Mi-T-Fine(tm) groove happening. When I do count, 99% of the time it's rests or a whole note that's some odd length of time.

 

I voted "yes" because when I'm am playign something for the first time or so, I always count. However, I play it several times it just becomes memorized, for lack of a better word,

Travis

 

Not consciously. If I'm playing songs I'm familiar with I'm playing along with the playback of the song in my head so it's not necessary. On syncopated stuff with rests I still don't count with numbers, I'll work off the instruments I'm playing with or put in imaginary drum (or other) fills to cover the rests and timing. I have no idea if that's wierd... it works for me. Sometimes I'm playing in 5/4 or 7/4 and don't really think about it unless someone asks... it's as natural as 3/4 or 4/4 to me. So are some of the more Zappa-esques forays into odd times.

 

I chose sometimes, because it depends.

I don't count when I am playing bass, unless I am reading music, or playing (or not) through a rest.

I always count when I am playing tuba, or any other concert instrument. It is second nature to do that because the tuba part is more rests thwen not in many cases.

No matter what I am playing, I use cues a lot. I listen to it one time, and count it out. I listen to it to find a certain sound or phrase before I come in. Then I learn it, memorize it, and use it.

It all depends.