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HELP DRUMMER SPEEDS UP!

S

Snerek

Jan 12, 2007
354
0
#1
my band has found a good drummer but the only downside is that he speeds songs up like a mad man!

personally, i'm a metronome and drum machine freak.. i use groove books, rhythm books, drum n bass dvds....i swear by them and like to think i have really good time.

i want to get him to relax and groove with the tempos better and eliminate the rushing feel. should i just get him one on one and do some weekly metronome training? i have a rhythm books and drum rudiment books we can work through too that can help.

but what do you all recommend? ever been in a similar situation?? i feel as the bass player its my job to work on improving these timing issues.
 
#2
when he starts doing it, look at him and find a way to indicate the correct tempo. i usually bob my head in time or tap my foot. after doing this a few times, he should respond in some form. go from there.

of course, before this they need to know that you think they're a great drummer and you enjoy playing with them.

if they respond positively, then talk to them about it. reinforce the fact that they're a good drummer, then lead into having him practice with a metronome, yadda yadda.

if he refuses to use a metronome (which has happened to me before), tell him that while he may not enjoy it, the rest of the band loves a steady tempo and if he can't provide it, he may just be looking for a new band soon.

YMMV
 
#3
slap him! i've never found myself in quite that position (i've struggled more with guitarrists) but as you do state...he is a "good drummer". maybe you guys just need more time to mesh. sometimes playing with new people can cause unwanted tension or uncomfortable musical vibes. try and get to know each other a little better on a personal level and that will definitely translate into a better musical experience. you guys are the ones holding down the rhythm and groove so try and unite whether it be in rehearsal or outside of jamming.
 
#5
A drummer that speeds up a lot will drive me up a wall if they do it to every song...
How much is he speeding up? A lot of songs start at one tempo and end at another (at least the ones live people make) so 10 bpm isn't that big a deal.
If he *refuses* to work with a metronome, he's not a good drummer. Chops are only one part of the equation! Give me a drummer with good time any day. I'm also a percussionist, so I spent years playing with a metronome...because it was drilled into us in school (I still hear the Dr. Beat in my sleep....grrrr..) The natural tendency is to (usually) speed things up. Also, a lot of people want to play with their heartrate, and as you get into something your heartrate speeds up and viola, we're off to the races!
You'll have to decide if it's something you're willing to work with, and one on one under the guise of "jamming" is a good idea. You *could* phrase it as, "Hey man, I'm not sure if my tempo is steady. Let's jam to a click track so I can work on it"...put the blame on you. If he's got half a brain, he'll realize the problem is him after a jam session to a click :).
 
#6
Our drummer does this to a lesser degree. We play a lot of reggae and it ends up being closer to ska sometimes. It's annoying, we talk about it, it's improved. Just be cool and talk about it. I think he was insulted when I suggested a metronome for practice, but he is conscious of it now.
 
#8
OK,

I've posted this before but it is a SURE FIRE way of getting this under control.

Work out the correct tempos of all the songs.

Take a drum machine to reheasal, programmed with a 4 on the floor clap (not a click it will kill your ears), a clap on 1 & 2 and a clap on 3 & 4.

If poss set it up with a 4 on the floor count in in each case then 5 mins of a pattern as above.

So you program 3 simple songs.

Then play the set altering to the desired tempo for each song on the drum machine.

1st time through go with the 4 on the floor pattern.

2nd time just a clap on 1 & 3

3rd time (the killer) clap on 2 & 4.

If the band can keep up great. Turn the machine off a run the set again.

Do this every practice, eventually just run through once with the 2&4 pattern first will be fine.

Not only will the drummer HAVE to stay in time but everyone will magically lock right in, even when you take the machine away.

Any BS from anyone tell them be nice to begin with let them
make their own mind up - if they say it sucks its cos they cant do it. If they can do it they will notice the difference it makes!
 
#9
After finding a nice way to point this out as others have said...

You can work on playing on the back side of the beat to slow things down and bring him back into the pocket when he does speeed up. Many times you can drag him back into the pocket. Once he gets comfortable with the feel things should improve.

I am not sure how extreme this is based on your original post but I wouldn't consider dumping him or making a huge deal out of it as some have suggested. We all have weaknesses and helping each other get better is a big part of being a good musician.
 
#11
If he speeds up like a mad man, hes not good drummer. In fact a drummer with no sense of time is a bad drummer. When you have a drum kit amplified by a 10k+ watts PA, its realy bad when time is off.

It can be worked out during practices but be prepared to speed up during gigs...

Bass and drums have to be steady period, the guitars can do all they want and it will still sound good but not the other way around.
 
#13
peterpalmieri said:
After finding a nice way to point this out as others have said...

You can work on playing on the back side of the beat to slow things down and bring him back into the pocket when he does speeed up. Many times you can drag him back into the pocket. Once he gets comfortable with the feel things should improve.

I am not sure how extreme this is based on your original post but I wouldn't consider dumping him or making a huge deal out of it as some have suggested. We all have weaknesses and helping each other get better is a big part of being a good musician.
Click to expand...

Of course we all have weakness but a drummer who cant hold steady is like a guitar player doing the wrong chords. I used to have that problem with a drummer, i told him to lay off the fills and concentrate on the beat. Once hes got that nailed, he can start adding some flavors
 
#16
makaky said:
Of course we all have weakness but a drummer who cant hold steady is like a guitar player doing the wrong chords. I used to have that problem with a drummer, i told him to lay off the fills and concentrate on the beat. Once hes got that nailed, he can start adding some flavors
Click to expand...

All I'm saying is that there are many factors that may attribute to him speeding up, many times they can be addressed and fixed.

The biggest thing I've found in my experience is not being comfortable with the tunes or the genre in general.

Look it's not always fixable but he's not at that point yet.
 
#19
I'm an OLD guy with thousands of gigs and sessions behind me, and I can tell you one thing I've learned: Bandmates CANNOT (in 99% of cases) improve the performance/ability of ANY other musician in any band. Pride may be a sin, but NONE of us - playing ANY instrument - is totally down with being told by bandmates that play a DIFFERENT instrument, that we're not playing ours correctly.

It's a stone fact. Do your arm hairs not prickle when the guitarist tries to correct your bass playing? Don't you want to shove the mic up his presumptuous ass when the singer tells you you're not playing the part right? No drummer wants to hear from the bass player that his meter sucks. I've told many drummers this, (and WANTED to tell many more), but by then I'd learned: You can't improve a bandmates' performance. If you can't work with your drummer, tell your other bandmates and try to get them to agree to look for another guy.

On the other hand, if your drummer is basically pretty good and you get along great, then maybe a few more months of practice will kinda 'teach' you where he speeds up and slows down. For instance, I always KNOW that my drummer speeds up whenever he takes an occasional lead vocal, so I can anticipate that. It made life in my band a lot easier.
 
#20
Personally, I don't like changing the tempo during a song. So you need the drummer to recognize the correct tempo before starting the song.

Record practice or a show and play it back for him. Hearing it should make him realize the issue.
 

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