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Who Sets the TEMPO
- Thread starter Daddy-R
- Start date
Time is everyone's job, period. Whoever counts the tune in is setting the tempo, but it is the entire band's job to keep it there. Not just the drummer.
Sure there is. If you notice the drummer speeding up, don't go with him. It is difficult but it can be done.
I totally agree with you. The drummer sets the fundamental of the song. Unfortunately, human beings are not digital machines and don't possess an inherent, precise "click track". You will need to make necessary adjustments occasionally in order to establish a cohesiveness. However, the longer you play with a drummer, the more you guys should start to "feel" each other. If and when this happens, it's a feeling like no other. You guys have then become ONE! And everyone else in the band benefits from it.
I only work with steady drummers, the rest are shown the door early. I still count in most of the songs because I just have a really good memory for such things. That's setting the tempo. Keeping the tempo is everyones responsibility. I play the blues and we mess with the tempo all the time, rushing adds tension, and urgency, dragging gives a lazy groove. Blues bands can't play with a click.
Who Sets the TEMPO
Doesn't the whole band do that in rehearsal?
In my experience one of the band will then count in on the gig, usually guided by a visible click.
Doesn't the whole band do that in rehearsal?
In my experience one of the band will then count in on the gig, usually guided by a visible click.
for my projects ... who ever is singing the song = picks the key , makes the arrangement including his preferred tempo .. then it's up to the drummer ( aka - time keeper ) ...
which , for me , is quite often me and my drum machine ..!!
which , for me , is quite often me and my drum machine ..!!
This is pretty much how it's been in most bands for me as well. But not every band has a good drummer who can feel the correct tempo for each song before it starts. As a singer, I have had quite a few experiences with drummers who would rush the count and then I find myself losing breath and phrasing things in a weird way because the tempo was rushed. So I won't play with drummers who do that, as a general rule, and if I have to for some reason, I will count off the songs that I sing.
It depends on the drummer. Some actually listen to what's going on and stay alert for visual cues, while others...not so much. Still, the loudest guy wins. Even if you don't go with him, chances are everybody else has already adjusted to the drummer's tempo.
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Everyone should be responsible for tempo. If you don't have an internal clock you need to develop one.
It depends on the genre of music who sets the tempo, the pulse, and the groove, but it's everyone's responsibility to keep time and not rush or drag.
Are you rushing time and speeding up? If you are, there isn't much your drummer can do about that. My advice - both of you get in the woodshed and break out the metronome, and see what happens.
Whoever counts in or plays the intro SETS the tempo.
The rhythm section KEEPS the tempo.
To change the speed of the song, the rhythm section must work as a team.
The rhythm section KEEPS the tempo.
To change the speed of the song, the rhythm section must work as a team.
Drummers responsibility!!!
I played with a bad drummer awhile ago with horrible meter! either dragging or speeding up! so frustrating!
Did you ever try to speed up or slow down a drummer while playing? its like running in thick mud, or quick sand. drummers with bad tempo SUCK, its the worst. literally an uphill battle! I've heard of A drummer using a metronome with a blinking light to help keep time, that might help. if set on the floor under the ride cymbalOR FLOOR TOM, where both of you can see it. anyway, I always thought the bass locked TO the drums, not the other way around!
