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Who plays with perfect time at every moment??

M

Music_for_life

Aug 6, 2010
627
9
#1
I am having this concern, I play in time to most music but isometimes I know when I was a litlle bit behind the beat or ahead and I feel it, I realize it at the moment and know I shouldnt sat there in the beat at those parts..., I am trying to achive perfection.
Does this happen to you, or some here play perfect all the time.??
 
#4
Certainly not me. :p

Our trio had a little wake up call recently when we listened to some tracks we recorded during a recent concert...





...we rush...a lot! :eek: I mean, in jazz you're supposed to play on the "front side" of the beat, but this was pretty ridiculous!

We spent the last rehearsal with a metronome blasting through our keyboardist's amp. It was a very enlightening (and even somewhat fruitful) exercise. I'm certainly using a metronome a lot more when I practice!

My drummer sits in with the local symphony for some concerts. The guy really does have some chops...as does my keyboardist. But--we have our own problems with the pulse.

Practicing with a metronome is a good thing. Practicing with a metronome with your band can be really interesting too.

Just don't get too mercenary about it. There's a Spyro Gyra recording someplace that starts with repeated 8th notes on mallet percussion--then the drummer comes in and you realize: "hey...the mallet percussionist was dragging a bit!"

Guess what I'm trying to say is that it's harder than you'd think. Yes, work on tempo, but don't forsake keeping in a groove with your drummer while you're chasing that elusive perfection! ;)
 
#5
Nobody is a human metronome....but some people are pretty close! ;)

Great music can, and often does, deviate from metronomic time a bit. Listen to "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire, and compare the tempos at the beginning and end of the track.

But, IMHO, the music isn't great if the musicians are unaware of their tempo fluctuations. I'm a big advocate of metronome practice, which I firmly believe to be the cure for this.
 
#11
"One of my drummers from a band way back in the day. He could play anything. Can't remember any song that he wasn't right on, rehearsal or gig. Like a human metronome. We were lucky."

I've played with one of those drummers too. Absolutely incredible, but they are very rare, and in extreme demand. Actually, it's that way with any instrument...the better the timing, the better the musician. I've played with a lot of great guitar players over the years. 2 of the 3 best ones were drummers first;the other one is just a freak of nature who has naturally great timing. His son is the same way.
 
#19
Listen to any isolated bass track. Even in studio, with metronomes and tracks to record over, everyone makes timing mistakes. God knows I make them often enough. The key is making sure that a mistake is not big. Little things will go by unnoticed forever. Big things are remembered forever.

But seriously, Just don't sweat it, bro. Only Jesus and Chuck Norris can play perfectly.
 

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