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Why is it hard to keep rhythm when playing alone?

#21
Get a free app on your phone that does time on your phone. Free metronome I used to sleep with it on at one time. Put it on when you are driving and tap songs you play in your band (if any) to the metronome. It'll show you where you speed up. I can do it pretty consistently now -- keeping time. It took years though.
 
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#23
@And I ... I'm sure that's what he's doing this second, as he has more time to work on technique, timing, and, ahem... other things... just noticed he got voted 'off the island'. Probably part of his master plan.
 
#24
I agree with the suggestion on using a metronome. Another good way to develop your internal timing is to play along with songs on your computer. I have iTunes and will select a playlist and play along. I have several different genres and I practice to a different one each day. It really helps. Keep thumpin' and it will come together in time. Good luck. :bassist:
 
#30
Spidey2112 said:
OP banned... we are now giving suggestions to ourselves...

... I can't put it better than that.
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I'm not sure what he did, but surely it wasn't asking a question about timing? :) well, he can still read the answers...

Aside from other advice already here (metronome especially), what helped me get much better was vocalizing 16ths, even if barely audibly. I oftentimes actually do a "ts" sound to mimic a hi hat, and sometimes vocalize a full drum pattern. It's helpful to do this over a metronome (especially if you set it to half speed), where get a sense of filling the time between clicks.

Of course I don't do this with other people around, but it's now always there in my head. Or maybe my tongue is silently making sounds inside my mouth...
 
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#31
Nothing more disheartening than when a musician reaches a wall and gives up trying to climb over it

Sikamikanico, I do that too! always have. I either isolate a drum part vocally or in my head or another instrument or the entire song. Of course some might say that we could speed up or slow down if not using a drum machine or metronome but it has worked well for me for 40+ years

Still I think that if anyone else is looking at these posts because they may have timing issues that these have been all really good advice. And to try them all and see which one works for best.
 
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#33
I didn't say the suggestions were bad, for the 'OP', or anyone else... banned, or not, unsure whether the suggestions were actually helping OP... his/her actual intent may have been submerged, ever so slightly, below the actual thread.

... is there a doctor in the house?
 
#37
"Nothing more disheartening than when a musician reaches a wall and gives up trying to climb over it..."

Plenty of helping hands there, to offer support... if that's what the OP was looking for.
 
#38
How do you know you're not keeping time? That is your 'internal rhythm' telling you that your fingers are not talking to the rest of your mind/body. Relax and then put all your strength into playing exactly what you can hear in your mind.

Also, all the other advice given here is good.
 
#39
bass12 said:
Drummers are typically subdividing as part of the drum pattern they play. Bassists aren't. Foot tapping helps a lot.
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A tip a drummer gave me, a long time ago, was to feel an underlying pulse twice the actual rhythm of the line you're playing. Like, if you're playing quarter notes, feel the line in eighths; if playing eighths, feel sixteenths. I found that concept very helpful.
 
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#40
bassdude51 said:
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
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This is not true. A musician should never rely on others time keeping, especially bass players since we complement drummers rhythm.

Relying on others timing means you lack your own time which brings to certain big issues. Namely:


You will never get this if you don't develop a great internal clock. I could get further into this but I won't. Just remember that a good internal rhythm = 80% of being a good musician.
 
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