Double Bass Speeding

[shwashwa]

Good discussion of a topic that will never be resolved. I'll add two things:

1) When I play with a drummer who rushes, I simplify. Busy is the enemy in a situation like that. Simple lines with simple time, and clarity above all. It doesn't fix it, but it mitigates it enough to get through the gig.

2) These days I never ask how much a gig pays. Instead, I ask, "Who's the drummer?" If it's a good drummer or no drummer and I like the person calling's playing, chances are I'll take the gig.

+1. Thank goodness I'm in the position where the music means more to me than the money for a typical jazz gig, unfortunately the drummer for me is often the deciding factor of whether I take the gig or not. I have been in this position many times with Rushing and dragging. in the end I don't think it's a battle that you can win. Drums just have much more volume and power than a bass does. In the case of dragging, it's just not good. Nothing sounds good, fighting it or going with it. With rushing, I think fighting it might sound worse than going with it. Going with it can be perceived as high-energy. Fighting it just sounds like a band that's not locked, however if you do want to fight it, try playing the same note on beats 1 and 2 and the same notes on beat 3 and 4, or just play in two. You can tell the drummer when you hear me playing in two that means I think it's Rushing

 

[Steven Ayres]

I should add that I also sing, and dragging or rushing screws up that performance much more than when I'm just playing bass. The right tempo is critical to the kind of expression I want to achieve, and the range of what works is much more narrow than when I'm soloing on guitar, for example. So it's not the sort of thing I can just let go when I'm fronting.

 

[Groove Doctor]

I’d tell the trumpeter he needs to talk to the drummer, not me. Not my circus, not my monkeys.

not my circus, not my monkeys - Wiktionary

Honestly the best speeder solution I've found is talking about it openly, discussing signals to watch for. Eye contact and body language are key.

Tell the guy "you're speeding up" and repeat it the next time, and tell him while he's doing it.

QFT.

 

[Drucifer]

QFT.

I had to look this one up, thanks for the compliment but I don't think my observation rises to the level of Quantum field theory - Wikipedia

 

[Pat Harris]

I do what I have to do in order to make the music feel the best that it can. The majority of the instances where this happens, it means yielding to somebody else's concept and placement of the groove. I don't have a problem with that. I also have the good fortune to get to work with many other musicians, including drummers, that have this same mentality and sense of musical awareness.

I think "good time" and being able to play "in time" are obviously important, but I'm the first one willing to sacrifice metronome precision if the groove feels good. Some of my favorite recordings in multiple genres have some serious elastic happening with the tempo.

 

[JRA]

i use 'audibles' during the playdown ---
drummer speeds = "relax!"
drummer drags = "pick it up!"


i'm pretty tolerant, but i'm also pretty direct with drummers who aren't paying attention or who aren't 'giving in' to the ensemble's version of time/tempo.

 

[Inky13]

Both drummers I work with tend to rush. One sometimes gets so ahead that the beat gets turned 180. Throwing out the anchor can help, but it’s a chore. As I like to play out front, it keeps me from playing the way I want. Sometimes I feel like I’m more the drummer than the actual drummer. It’s like they have a mind of their own or something.