Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why is it hard to keep rhythm when playing alone?
- Thread starter Jay boogs
- Start date
It's hard if you haven't developed consistent internal time keeping yet. Which means keep practicing, we've all been there.
Your internal clock is just not up to speed yet. Try tapping a foot consistently as u play
lighten the touch on your RH (if right-handed). that helped me immensely!
Drummers are typically subdividing as part of the drum pattern they play. Bassists aren't. Foot tapping helps a lot.
At age 33 I started taking bass lessons for the very time..............after years of playing by ear.
My very first lesson with a professional bassist and college music instructor................."Buy a metronome!' This was a requirement for me as a student.
Whether if I was practicing scales, triads, bass lines..........."Use a metronome!" Once I learned an exercise............increase the speed rate and do it again and again, faster, faster.
So, why it is..............Why is it hard to keep rhythm when playing alone?
It is because you/we need a drummer or a metronome to keep time!
Invalid Link Removed
My very first lesson with a professional bassist and college music instructor................."Buy a metronome!' This was a requirement for me as a student.
Whether if I was practicing scales, triads, bass lines..........."Use a metronome!" Once I learned an exercise............increase the speed rate and do it again and again, faster, faster.
So, why it is..............Why is it hard to keep rhythm when playing alone?
It is because you/we need a drummer or a metronome to keep time!
Invalid Link Removed
I would say this make sense because most bass parts are meant to fit the timing of the drums and percussion
i was a constant hammer on the strings and for quick passages and fills this aggressive style would throw off my rhythm. just ease up a little until you can get that same bite on the strings, but deliver a much cleaner note.
i simply practice my scales from slow to fast. the faster i play, the lighter my attack. i'm not sure if this is your problem, but my rhythm has improved greatly.
it is just easier and more natural for some folks .. ?!
the better your internal metronome gets , the more you'll dislike most drummers .. !! ha
maybe practice with a very simple drum beat ... it's more interesting than the 'click' of a metronome ... record yourself if you can , you'll teach yourself quite a bit .. !
the better your internal metronome gets , the more you'll dislike most drummers .. !! ha
maybe practice with a very simple drum beat ... it's more interesting than the 'click' of a metronome ... record yourself if you can , you'll teach yourself quite a bit .. !
Play w a metronome, tap your foot, chew gum, and take time to DANCE to music.
Your heart is beating and you are breathing-> you are already keeping time!
Your heart is beating and you are breathing-> you are already keeping time!
Formal music education will hammer your timing into you. Weird chamber music will keep you on your toes.
I was in this band once, and in the original "jam for soloing," i'd get the nod and everybody else would stop playing and stare at me. It was elementary school, mrs blaileen, The Wall, and Statler and Waldorf all rolled into one. Exposed bass still terrifies me as much as reciting times tables in front of the class.
But, i've been drumming about 6 months less than i've been playing bass. Never got good enough at it to much matter, but having a solid 1 2 3 4 pulse and being able to drop in a son or rhumba clave at will into the internal rhythm machine was worth it. And yet, some nights i can't get into a definitive shuffle vs swing without the drummer or keyboard player doing it first. Tonal recall, rhythmic recall. Textural. Cure for that seemed to be to play a loop for hours (and hours) until running out of both variations and ways to ruin grooves. Planned practice with error correcting makes perfect.
I also find a mirror is less brutal than a gopro when it comes to working on metal faces and "dancing." Short memory spans are a good thing.
But, i've been drumming about 6 months less than i've been playing bass. Never got good enough at it to much matter, but having a solid 1 2 3 4 pulse and being able to drop in a son or rhumba clave at will into the internal rhythm machine was worth it. And yet, some nights i can't get into a definitive shuffle vs swing without the drummer or keyboard player doing it first. Tonal recall, rhythmic recall. Textural. Cure for that seemed to be to play a loop for hours (and hours) until running out of both variations and ways to ruin grooves. Planned practice with error correcting makes perfect.
I also find a mirror is less brutal than a gopro when it comes to working on metal faces and "dancing." Short memory spans are a good thing.
I have had problems with pushing the beat, especially earlier in my playing days when I didn't get to play with drummers as much. I saw this off-the-wall advice online somewhere, can't recall where ... it was a teacher who said something to the effect of "This is going to sound really weird ... but get one of those old-fashioned ticking alarm clocks and keep it by your bed when you sleep. The constant ticking works its way into your subconscious and jump starts your internal clock. Practice with a metronome too, of course, and play with drummers as often as you can ... but try this weird trick and see if it helps."
I did, and after about three days, my time was so much better. The next session I had the opportunity to do, the producer raved about my time. This may not work for you (I've had friends who said they tried it and all the clock did was make it impossible for them to sleep, lol), but worth a shot perhaps.
In fact, as I haven't been getting to play with drummers much over the last year or so, but am about to start up again, I'm going to dig out my old ticky clock and go through this process again, lol.
Best of luck to you!
I did, and after about three days, my time was so much better. The next session I had the opportunity to do, the producer raved about my time. This may not work for you (I've had friends who said they tried it and all the clock did was make it impossible for them to sleep, lol), but worth a shot perhaps.
In fact, as I haven't been getting to play with drummers much over the last year or so, but am about to start up again, I'm going to dig out my old ticky clock and go through this process again, lol.
Best of luck to you!
I think some people have a very good sense of rhythm naturally built in,
some don't and never will(these become lead guitar players),
but most can train themselves into it...a metronome or drum loops app should help a lot...even just playing along with a tune.
Like everything else, start simple and slow, and build it up.
As James Brown said, it's all about 'The One'. get that right and it'll all fall into place eventually.
some don't and never will(these become lead guitar players),
but most can train themselves into it...a metronome or drum loops app should help a lot...even just playing along with a tune.
Like everything else, start simple and slow, and build it up.
As James Brown said, it's all about 'The One'. get that right and it'll all fall into place eventually.
Helps your sense of time if you tap your foot along anytime you're listening to music, radio, CDs or whatever. Not just while you're practicing your playing.
Jack Casady once said, "If you wanna learn to play bass you need to learn how to dance". Seriously, Jack said that and I took his advice and it really did help across the board. Internal clock. Getting people to get up off their a$$, etc. Obviously, I'm not talking about the mope-a-dope shoegazer way you see people dancing these days but something that has a groove (the deeper the better) and that swings will take you far IMHE. Besides, you can ask pretty girls to show you how to dance. Ya' never now where that can lead...
