We have a drummer, who a couple times has complained about the tempo of a song we do sort of likeL "Hey, the other night when we did that song, it was too fast. We need to pay attention to the tempo or the groove is lost. I'm starting the song at the right tempo, but you guys are speeding up." ***??? Now, I understand as bass player that I can push a little to get on top of the beat or put a different feel to it, but isn't the drummer ultimately responsible for the tempo and can't any good drummer pull it back in if he feels the band is pushing him to a faster tempo?
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Drummers who blame everyone else for tempo.
- Thread starter 3tsb
- Start date
sure, the drummer can pull the tempo back, but if no one else is listening, then it doesn't do much good.
Be happy that you have a drummer who is aware of tempo changes, for god's sake! 
EVERYBODY is responsible. Can`t blame the drummer for that one, unless his timing is really bad. Guitar players often think it is not their duty to keep the pulse... but in reality I find it REALLY hard to be tight with the drums, when guitars rush - especially while playing heavier, unison riffs.
I guess you'd have to know our drummer. He has a "never my fault" complex. We do the song "All Right Now" on occasion. The last time we did it, we came to the end of the solo. As you know that bass lick repeats over and over during the guitar solo. Well, it ends with the "big E". The keyboard player and I missed it. Our drummer "forgot" to do the drum roll leading up to the end of the solo. This is the only way I know that the end is coming up. I'm usually too into crowd concentrating on moving from one end of the neck to the other the whole time. He comes up to us later and goes "what happened there?" I said, "what happened to the drum roll to end the solo?" This is where he got me a little upset. "Well, I'm probably going to do something every time. Sometimes I'll do the roll and sometimes I won't. You'll just have to count it." The keyboard player and I both looked at each other and later we talked. "I'm going to do something different every time"????
I used to play with a drummer who knew the material "too" well. As a result, he would get bored and try to "fill" or toss in a rushed, roll or something,,,but come back a beat too late or too early. Either that or he would try to anticipate what I was going to do and throw the timing all to hell.
Im all for everyones time to shine, but I could never get this guy just to sit back and hold the beat true for an entire song.
I left the band.
Im all for everyones time to shine, but I could never get this guy just to sit back and hold the beat true for an entire song.
I left the band.
I'm of the opinion that it is everyone's job to keep time. Audio cues are nice, but they should be agreed upon openly if they are going to be depended upon. FWIW
...not drummer related, but I was once producing a project for a singer/songwriter who blamed the metronome for her timing being off.
I cut her loose and poached her guitarist.
Yeah, it is funny and sad at the same time. The other night our guitar player said "did that speed up at the end?". The drummer looked at his metronome that he uses to start the song and said "nope. 132." As if there was no way the tempo was different from when we started the song. Our guitar player was just trying to say in a diplomatic way. "THE F'ING SONG GOT FASTER!". But he just looked at me with a *** look on his face. It is funny sometimes. Our other issue with this guy is he pounds the crap out if his drums. 9 times out of 10, the sound guy will ask the drummer if he can pull back a little. Man! You should see the attitude our drummer gets. Usually the sound guy will say "I really don't care, but this is a small room and all I can hear is drums. I'm just telling you, I can't mix it well, cuz the drums are too loud."
The sole responsibility of a drummer is to maintain consistent tempo. You said it.
I used to work with a drummer who had no sense of tempo and couldn't feel a groove. We had one song in particular where my bassline sat right on top of the beat. He could never feel it, and would always try to match me. If I tried to move back on top, he'd keep matching me, then we'd be off to the races. If I didn't stay on top, it didn't have the same feel at all. I tried explaining it, don't match me- you stay in your groove, and I'll land right on the edge- gave it a cool feel when done right. I eventually had to fire him.
What? The drummer is responsible for knowing where he is, but you aren't? "Too into crowd concentrating"? Huh?!
I'm not saying I'm not responsible, but every time we've played the song, we've done it verbatim as Free recorded it. Now, if this one time he decides not (or forgets) to do the two measure drum roll which tells everyone else we're coming to the end of the solo. Now, for him to go "what happened???" is a little lame. Don't you think?
I also play the Free song in a band and would know where to come out of the solo even if there was no drummer.
