Improving your time keeping

[Matthijs Ament]

I always wonder why I can hear timing issues way better when I listen back to a recording then when it is happening on the instrument. Same goes for singing out of tune. My guess is that somehow the brain is in a different mode while playing. Also, emotions and rate of heartbeat are influences. But Jeff Berlin sends off a great positive fibe. Comforting ;-]

[john lamb]

I've been doing a lot of research on this (this thread is one line of exploration) but I've found the science is ready to explain why all of what people are saying works.

Time is not rooted in movement, movement is rooted in time. If the movements are off, the time is disrupted. Rhythm causes the brain to resonate, and this resonance drives what we feel as rhythm. The resonance is why we have a downbeat and a backbeat, and why we use the word swing to describe how the rhythm feels.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgRV4Jb0p7U

I also found interesting research suggesting why metronomes may not be the best way to practice for a couple reasons.

I used this research to write my new book, [url]A Matter of Time[/url], which *ahem* I just put on sale today for only $2.99. http://bit.ly/11rAlyi

[Julián Fernández]

I like his conviction...

[Old Pit Guy]

He sort of glossed over the section about using the metronome as a tool, which I would think is what a lot of guys do.

I was self-taught for many years before landing at PIT, and up until then, it wasn't so much that I rushed, but that I played everything too fast. Anxiety, excitement or whatever, my relation to time was not in a relaxed place. The guys in those early bands would thank me at some point for improving their playing because they could handle chord changes so much better after playing them at 2x normal speed.

Sitting down with a click and playing through all that right hand lead in syncopation, the Porcaro book, and then the Even In the Odds stuff, helped to center me and find a relaxed relation to time that I truly don't think I would have without working with a metronome. I needed some form of governor to calm my shit down. Everything about my playing dramatically changed after that experience. Becoming a slave to one isn't a good idea either, obviously.

[Christopher]

I agree with all that's been said here.

And just the act of trying to improve your time usually improves your time, no matter what the method. Burying the click, programing silent measures, programing off eighths. It all helps.

One of the best I've found is counting out loud. It's so rudimentary. But it works so well. And is often overlooked.

I also agree that too much emphasis is put on metronomically perfect time now. I remember seeing Chester Thompson at a clinic in the late eighties and he was asked about playing with a click. His response was, "when did metronomically perfect time become the be all end all in music?"

[john lamb]

I'm not entirely sure that the act of trying to improve your time helps. It depends on how you define it.

Someone who is honestly trying to improve their time will be thinking about it, processing it, etc. And thats good. Caring helps for sure.

However, in my experience some things really, truly helped tons, and others were not only mostly time wasters, but either they led me down an dead end, or I only did them because I was already on that dead end path.

I'd say 'what you think timekeeping entails' has a lot more to do with keeping time than any particular tool you use to practice. It sure did for me (see attatched photo).

[cjbdrm]

Improving my timekeeping has been an obsession for quite some time, so I have a lot of experience to draw from. I've played along with a metronome in every way imaginable, with music, sequencers, etc. The biggest improvement in my time was/is gained from playing without a click.

For instance, while driving to work I'll sing a melody in my head and try to keep steady time on the steering wheel...today was 'New York, New York'. Yesterday was 'In Your Eyes'. Day before was 'If You Don't Know Me By Now'...doesn't matter what the song is, you just need to be able to play along with yourself.

I pick something on the slower side to make it challenging. I listen to it to get the tempo and enough of the melody in my head to play along with myself. Hearing the meody and especially the words helps with the phrasing and space between the notes. I groove for awhile then listen back to the original to hear how much I sped up or slowed down. Then I try again.

The intense concentration and awareness and focus on keeping good time is what improves it, no matter how you work on it. For instance, every time I've played a pick up gig or subbed, my time has improved considerably. I've also played 5 nights a week to a click track. The pickup gig was more productive due to my increased concentration and awareness. The gig with the click made me lazy and dependent- it just wasn't the same.

If you want to improve your time with a click, definitely change things up so it makes you concentrate more. Play offbeats, 2 &4, etc. Play in 7 with the click on 3. That kind of stuff makes you concentrate more which is what makes you improve faster. Playing along with a 120bpm click can be fine too as long as you're not doing anything too monotonous. The one thing I would not recommend would be to put the metronome on a really slow tempo, like less than 35bpm. Yes, it's harder, but not better. It will only frustrate you and does not provide enough feedback to gain anything from it.

[john lamb]

That kind of stuff makes you concentrate more which is what makes you improve faster.

The guy in the cartoon is 'concentrating' with all his might. It is actually why I put the cartoon there. There are lots of ways to concentrate. I certainly believe that what you mean by concentrating makes *you* play better. However, there are many ways to concentrate and they don't all do the same thing.

I would love to hear a description of when you are concentrating, what is it you are concentrating on, and how?


Regarding the slow click. I actually enjoy the super slow click. Sometimes I have to put it on 140 for a moment to get the pulse started, but once it is there, I find it useful in troubleshooting , well, I guess how I concentrate. If my mind wanders, it's gone. If I 'try', it's gone.

[cjbdrm]

I would love to hear a description of when you are concentrating, what is it you are concentrating on, and how? .

Well, if you have to ask...

Regarding the slow click. I actually enjoy the super slow click. Sometimes I have to put it on 140 for a moment to get the pulse started, but once it is there, I find it useful in troubleshooting , well, I guess how I concentrate. If my mind wanders, it's gone. If I 'try', it's gone.

Keep doing whatever works for you...

[john lamb]

I would love to hear a description of when you are concentrating, what is it you are concentrating on, and how? .

Well, if you have to ask...

"If you don't know what I'm talking about, I certainly won't tell you!"

You made a statement about how to improve your time, and I just asked a clarifying question. This is an internet forum, and inquiring minds want to know.

While I deeply appreciate your sarcasm, but there is an important issue here. All too often, someone's not understanding how to go about doing something is written off as a lack of talent for that task. Music is a great example, but buy no means the only one. J.R. Robinson, for example talks about how unlocking bass drum technique for him was the secret to good time. Imagine if he never unlocked that one.... he'd be a bar drummer somewhere. There are lots of drummers who have worked their tails off and *not* broken through.

Obviously, I have my own opinions and my own experience here. I really am curious as to what you mean by "concentrate".