Practicing with Metronome

[Indigo_blues]

hey guys,

Just wondering if any of you regularly practice with a metronome individually and as a band? Cause recently i attended a drum and bass workshop and it was emphasised very heavily by the drum and bass maestros that we must (with a capital M) practice with a metronome, whether individually on our own or together as a band. They said that this was like the single most important thing they could teach us, to keep solid time with the help of a metronome..

well we tried it out in our band practice last night for the first time and it was 'Wow! I didn't know our timing was so bad!!' We realised that the band inadvertently sped up during choruses and slowed down during the verses.. haha... just like what they said. The aim is to achieve solid consistent tempo in both verse and chorus so that the song would not sound 'swimmy'..

well, we managed to click with the metronome by the end of the practice but we were still abit not used to it. But i think it did help us see how inconsistent our timing was..

Does anyone else have any experience in this area? Care to share? thanks.

 

[shred5]

Practising with a metronome is highly benefecial bcos it helps U to keep a steady tempo and Recording engineers will hug U more often!!

 

[wraith]

Ya, but all that practice can render one bald. Its a very frustrating experience especially when you've been at it all day and you still cannot get the bassline in time with the metronome.

 

[TheBeast]

Yes...practising with metronome is just like a 'build-up' phase. Do not worry too much about the tempo....100 is just nice for beginners. :lol:

play around with the fretboard...using 8th, 16th notes.

 

[Indigo_blues]

yeah, we were concentrating so hard on keeping to the metronome! The keyboardist later said she was going mad! haha!

 

[TheBeast]

haha...dnt worry too much dude...

it just gonna take some time... :twisted:

 

[slapadelic]

a small tip i can give is to NOT listen to the metronome. If you listen to it, u are essentially waiting for the beat and thus will hardly be on time.

Instead... feel the tempo... and just play! when you don't hear the beat on the metro.. then u are on time. It is very fustrating yes... but once u get usd to it and play smoothly... fwoah!

 

[platypus]

i think you should hear it - but only "look out" the first beat of each bar. but at the end of the day you should be focusing more on your playing and not putting all your attention into the little ticktocks of the metronome.

 

[Indigo_blues]

anyone else practices in a band which uses a metronome?

 

[exin]

was it the Paul Baloche workshop that you attended?

 

[Indigo_blues]

yeah thats the one! You went?

 

[exin]

YUP! ... it was great ... hur hur .. but i was like half sick with fever during the workshop .. i didn't attend the night meetings after that ... i couldn't tahan anymore ...

 

[rottenramone]

..

best is to internalise the metronome inside you.

try to think of a bassline of ppl walking.

 

[Chang]

metronome is always impt for practice.

it makes ur playing steady and even.

for recording it's invaluable, cos if u can keep to a metronome, the band can record individually and it will click together like a jigsaw.

Editing is also easier as u dun have to re-record a whole track if there's just a minor mistake. Can always just re-record tt small part.

It's also allows splicing and re-arranging of the songs.

one method i use to keep to the metronome is to accent on the 1st beat of on every 4 beats. It requires more control and makes u focus on the playing. It's also helpful to use this method when it comes to odd time signatures like 5/4 9/8 etc.

Metronome, i din believe in it once. But now i do.

 

[Indigo_blues]

yeah one tip that Don Harris gave us on how to practice bass with the metronome was to set the metronome at 60bpm, then practice as if at 120bpm but using the metronome click on the backbeat, that is on the 2 and 4 beat. He said this forces you to play in time on the 1 and 3 beat.

 

[exin]

yeah one tip that Don Harris gave us on how to practice bass with the metronome was to set the metronome at 60bpm, then practice as if at 120bpm but using the metronome click on the backbeat, that is on the 2 and 4 beat. He said this forces you to play in time on the 1 and 3 beat.

yeah ... jazz bassist do that too .. the hi-hat foot pedal in jazz tunes are on the 2 and 4 .. .i was reading a book i have and the author recommended we force ourselves to practice against the 2 and 4 of a metronome .. of course at a slower speed .. like what Indigo has said .. it'll force you to play on the 1 and 3 beat to keep the groove and timing of the band ..

 

[zen1000]

According to Jeff Berlin the metronome is useless. Maybe for the more advanced bassists anyway. He was making a point about internal rhythm and how his 5 yr old son could clap to a nursery rhyme in perfect time. No metronome should replace that.

But its a good start so...

If it helps you then no harm using it right??

Godbless,
Clarence

 

[Freeko]

yeah ... jazz bassist do that too .. ..

could you explain it in a simpler way?? cause i dun really get it..

 

[Indigo_blues]

it means for example your practicing tempo is at 120bpm, so what you have to do is to set the metronome at 60bpm (half of 120), then let it tick away.. now you have to imagine the ticks are the 2nd and 4th beat of a normal 4/4 bar. This means the 1st and 3rd beat of the 4/4 bar is blank. This is where you will play your bass notes. Of course you can play on the 2nd and 4th beats also..

In other words, the metronome click is acting as the 'backbeat', (meaning the 2nd and the 4th beat) or the snare drum. This forces you to develop a better time sense and not be 'spoonfed' with the actual click on the 1 and 3 beat.

sry for long explanation.

 

[Freeko]

thanks for the explaination