timing and sitting back on the beat

[nickp]

Morning all

I'm a neophyte gigging guitarist (aged 47.5) who has spent too much of his adult life either noodling in the bedroom or ignoring the guitar for vast years of a less than trouble free period of parenting and self employment.

now in a band and keeping up

timing is an issue - i'm rushing the beat, consistently, so the stuff I play sounds rushed and scrappy whereas technically it is a doddle to play. A good example would be Look Away by Big Country where i'm playing the lead.

has anyone got some advice, or some sort of practice routine(s) that I can do for a couple of weeks to help slow down and feel the space in the song for my bits.

thanks very muchly

nick

[BlindLemonAde]

Somebody once told me:

Breathe slowly, to reduce your heart rate.

Lean back. Literally, put your weight on your back foot, and arch your back. It's why it's called "laid back" rhythm...

Basically, don't hunch forwards in an "attack!" position, breathing rapidly with your heart pounding (all symptoms of nervous tension?) and expect to sound like Peter Green...

I struggle with this myself; I once watched Sean Baxter's ("Jazz Metal") bass player at the IGF - before each song, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, then played like a b*stard... so, meditation is the answer - relax!

[frankus]

another approach is to learn to play it faster than you need. Then play it at the speed it needs to be played at and you'll appreciate it for what it is, know you can exceed it but not want to.

another approach is the session drummers approach, walk around the room with a metronome playing at the speed you require and talk, walk do everything in time, after 30 minutes you're locked in

[erictheweary]

Somebody once told me:

Breathe slowly, to reduce your heart rate.

Lean back. Literally, put your weight on your back foot, and arch your back. It's why it's called "laid back" rhythm...

Basically, don't hunch forwards in an "attack!" position, breathing rapidly with your heart pounding (all symptoms of nervous tension?) and expect to sound like Peter Green...

I struggle with this myself; I once watched Sean Baxter's ("Jazz Metal") bass player at the IGF - before each song, he closed his eyes, took a deep breath, cleared his mind of distractions, then played like a b*stard... so, meditation is the answer - relax!

I remember stories about jaco pastorius that he basically couldn't play until he felt he had got rid of nervous energy by jogging or swimming.He gave a few lessons and would insist upon his students running with him first.

But then he was mad as a hatter.


I have a tendency to learn guitar parts as technical exercises ( well, not very technical in my case) so the timing goes to pot when I play them back with the band.So its good to remember to play along with the record/metronome.Its also about familiarity - knowing the part well enough that you can step outside of it and listen to what you are doing rather than watching your fingers.

[DLM]

I once watched Sean Baxter's ("Jazz Metal") bass player at the IGF

Terry Gregory. I saw him with Martin Taylor's Spirit of Django. He plays lefty, but with the strings still strung righty.

[musophilr]

Odd, that. I had some lessons with a chap whose playing is a fair bit funky but he understands jazz & blues really well. He told me I was sitting back on the beat, and "like most blues players" leaving each lick till the last millisecond, as in "how late can I get away with playing this". He tried for ages to get me to play on the beat and nearly namaged it. I said it feels like I'm playing ahead of the beat, and he said "You're still a bit behind"

[nickp]

I'll definately try the lean back approach and maybe the metronome thing as well. I know my own limitations (which are many and varied) so I do practice the various parts reasonably thoroughly so my fingers know where they are going coz otherwise i'm crap.

I think the metronome thing is an idea to try as well as probably just practicing more and more and more.

I just wondered whether there was a trick to it - maybe playing blues all the time if musophilr is to be believed!

Nick

[musophilr]

I think that sitting behind the beat may be just my own little foible. Perhaps yours is different.

However I can definitely recommend playing with a metronome or a drum box or something. Despite my foibles (which may be stylistic) I got far better at keeping rhythm when I started practicing with a metronome. That includes scales and arpeggios, not just set pieces.

[nickp]

my practicing is usually done hunched over the guitar playing along to the song via a little pandora with headphones etc. That gives me the crutch of the other guitar part whereas I really should migrate to the metronome probably so that I get the feel of playing my bit alone rather than copying the bloke on the track. Also will get me playing standing up which is another issue.

nick

[frankus]

I think that sitting behind the beat may be just my own little foible. Perhaps yours is different.

John Scofield plays behind the beat too. A teacher I had said if you listen to Sax players too, due to the wayt he note is generated they're often behind the beat.