timing problem

[crue]

hey...i got a drumkit recently and started practising at home to songs, and its been a while since i jammed with my band. but today i broke the record and went and got a huge tongue lashing from my guitarist...

my timing went haywire and he says that i crash too much.
it wasnt so jia-lat before...
i've been playing with the band for about a year half already and we had a huge halt because of exams.

is there any form of practise you guys can recommend me to keep my timing and improve as drummer? i have a metronome at home as a gift but im not really sure how to put it to use lol.

i've tried reading the previous posts but certain words used to describe techniques, i have no idea about. im new to this because all i've been doing for the past year and a half was just to jam all the way and i've never attempted to improve my techniques by surfing the internet or reading books or watching vids.

cheers.

 

[mel80]

Practise your right hand highhat accents along to the metronome. It helps you keep time when you groove

 

[BebopIggy]

It is very easy to use the metronome. Set the time to a comforatable tempo, say quarter notes=80 beats per minute (bpm) at 4/4 time. This means that each beep from the metronome represents each quarter note.

Let's set the metronome to 100 bpm and play a simple rock groove with it:

Groove:

1 2 3 4

HH : xx xx xx xx
Snare: x x
BD : x x x x

Met : B b b b


Let's set the metronome at 100 bpm and play a single stroke roll (16th notes) with it:

1 2 3 4
Snare: xxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx

Met : B b b b

This is just 2 very simple example of how to use the metronome when you practice. Remember to treat it as your friend to help you in building a strong inner pulse so that your timing will not run. Never practice without a metronome!

Also, start learning things slowly. Speed will come eventually, don't rush it!

Get a teacher to show you the proper techniques of drumming, so that you will have a good foundation.

Hope that this help

 

[darkcrisp]

Practise your singles and doubles along with the metronome.

One useful exercise would be to:
- Keep your kick going on 1, 2, 3 and 4.
- Close your hi-hat with your left foot on 2 and 4.
- Single strokes starting with 1, 2, 3 and 4
(either by alternating the hands or using 1 hand to play all of that for like 8 counts, increasing that to 16 and so on)
- Double up. Meaning single strokes, played on 1 n 2 n 3 n 4 n.
- Double up again.

Of course this has to be done at a slow tempo first.
Use the metronome.
Keep it clean and even.
Keep it clean and even.

Same exercise with the double strokes.
Use your creativity to mix and match the singles and doubles.


Then lastly, practice your grooves, beats and fills to the metronome.
One important part to practise would be fills.

Practice a groove, and when you execute a fill, make sure it ends and lands nicely on the 1.
(Or the 2 if you're choosing to displace your beat slightly there and start the accent on a later count)

The key would be to make sure the beat stays nicely in the click.
And especially the fills and the transition from the fill back to the beat.

Hope this helps.

 

[daltonsim]

the left leg timing thing during playing helps alot i feel. in either of everyone's leg there will be a groove. it's there. especially for people who shake their legs whenever wherever. too bad mine's in my right leg. so i started practising with my left. it can be trained. it's good also when you're doing other patterns without the need of your hats and have an extra sound from the hats clicking (by tapping your left leg. Chad Smith's left leg is forever turned on.)

 

[TequilaSunrise]

Keeping time is essential. If counting beats with your main hand doesn't help much and you need more 'groove' in your playing, try these:

Head banging:

Head bang on the quarter notes (usually the bass and the snare), if you do this long enough and really keep to head banging strictly on the quarter notes, you'll be able to keep time (well, mostly) during moderate temp (130 - 160). I do this most of the time when listening to the metronome, because, without any music going on, it gets boring, and I need to entertain myself, so I take to head banging and seeing how fast I can go without my neck snapping. True story.

Quarter note accents:

Simple, listen to the metronome, and accent all quarternotes slightly so that while there won't be much difference in sound (instead of a 'TSSHH tss TSSHH tss), do something like a -tss- tss -tss- tss. Or if it's too tiring for you, do small accents on the bass or the snare. That way, it'll break the monotony of the tss tss tss tss, making it more obvious for you if you go out of tempo. That's assuming you do have a fairly solid sense of timing.

Heel tap / right and/or left foot:

I usually heel tap with my right foot, that means while keeping the ball of my foot on the pedal, I rock the heel up and down to the hi hat, that way, the general sense of timing is forced into my entire body, making me more away. Heel or foot tap on the left works when you're counting on the ride cymbal or crash or doing a tom fill in. It works just about the same as the heel tap on the right, except you can do it in anyway you want. I personally foot tap the quarter notes in slow songs with my ride, mostly because in slow songs, I tend to go out of tempo with my right foot for some reason, so I force my tempo on the left foot instead. But of course, I still keep a reasonably accurate time with my ride. They both sort of compliment each other.




Limitations:

There will come a point in time in your playing when you realise that you won't be able to employ either or all of the above mentioned. Simple because 1) You already KNOW time or 2) The song's going at 200bpm and if you headbang any further, you'll have to wear a neck brace or 3) Your left foot is already playing some complicated time pattern which is supposed to compliment your other... counting time thing.

 

[crue]

thanks so much guys, trying my best to carry out those steps!

appreciate it.

 

[blurred]

hey man, i know we all have diff ways of doing things. i find the head banging method and the keeping time with foot mehtod not too gd. here's my reason.
at tempos like 130 to 160 i find if u use ur body or ur leg to keep time-
1. u wldn't last an hour set
2. once ur body gets tired u tend to slow down withour realizing
just lock the tempo in ur mind, move if the music moves u and not just to keep time.
when doing fills or keeping time on the ride just play 2 and 4 on the hats, it'll get too tiring man to play quaters or 8ths. quaters is fine if ur doing maybe like a afro cuban thing where the hi hat keeps the down pulse but other than that i feel anything else is a waste of engergy.
i understand everyone has his own mthod of doing stuff but this is how i see it.