Rhythm training

To answer my own question - this is a pretty good starting point.



I never realised how rusty my rhythm and counting were!

Just clapping through a page of these a nights is working wonders :)
 
You could also get a hold of some books for drummers. We use Dante Agustine at school I think it is...
 
Took me the best part of an hour to nail the triplet stuff up to a decent tempo last night.

I could really feel the benefit though when I had a quick play on the bass afterwards :)
 
i have ed friedlands bass rhythm book...

however, it got to the point where i got lazy programming drum machines so i did the next best thing:

play with a band.
 
Confused :?:

I play in bands, does that mean I don't need to practice my rhythm????

:roll:

:)
 
No, but it means you're already practising your rhythm becuase youre playing and having to keep in with other people.

x
 
You can play in a band and still have sh1te timing.

Even in a signed band.

Manic Street Preachers drummer anyone? ;)
 
bassoctopus said:
You can play in a band and still have sh1te timing.

Even in a signed band.

Manic Street Preachers drummer anyone? ;)
Click to expand...

you can practice with a metronome or a drum machine and still have crap timing.

the point is... you have to make it a goal to improve your rhythm no matter what the method is. when i play with my band, i make it a point to be tight with the drummer, as much as the drummer makes it a point to be tight with me....

i find the method more effective because lets face it - its very rare to find a drummer who can make a groove breath and still play as tight as a metronome. also, if you the bassist have that metronome tight timing, its rare that you guys get good PA systems to hear each other, so the timing is still usually based on the drummer... if your drummer has bad time, you help by making him sound good, not insist on your metronome-perfect timing because that usually spells disaster when you are playing live.

and lastly, playing with a band is more fun especially if you are friends and you interact with each other.

theres an article somewhere in the warwick website that talks about "bio timing" ... its a good read.

-*-

and one more thing: we all know a lot of major label signed bands are crappy instrument players ... most of them are there just because of a trend. i wouldnt use a whole bunch of them as a yardstick for my bass playing.
 
Indianerdaniel said:
You could also get a hold of some books for drummers. We use Dante Agustine at school I think it is...
Click to expand...

They make us study drums for a semester at my school...
 
I play in a band, make good music (IMO) , am pretty tight and play with a great drummer. I've played in bands since 1986



All that doesn't make my initial question less relevent and of use to many here.

You can improve timing and understanding of rhyhms with a metronome and practice - away from the band. Playing with a drummer is the most important thing you can do as a bass player, but it doesn't mean that's all you should do if you want to improve...

Incx - For some reason you seem to have made the assumption that I am a bedroom bass player, I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. After 20+ years of playing I have decided that I could really improve by working on certain aspects of my playing.

:)
 
bassoctopus said:
I play in a band, make good music (IMO) , am pretty tight and play with a great drummer. I've played in bands since 1986



All that doesn't make my initial question less relevent and of use to many here.

You can improve timing and understanding of rhyhms with a metronome and practice - away from the band. Playing with a drummer is the most important thing you can do as a bass player, but it doesn't mean that's all you should do if you want to improve...

Incx - For some reason you seem to have made the assumption that I am a bedroom bass player, I can assure you that nothing could be further from the truth. After 20+ years of playing I have decided that I could really improve by working on certain aspects of my playing.

:)
Click to expand...

no assumptions made man... honestly...

the only reason why i play with a band instead of other rhythm methods is because i got tired and bored programming drum machine according to ed friedland's bass grooves book...

i just said what i said because you commented that "you can still have bad timing even if you play in a band" .. which of course is very much true, but then again so is the other side of the coin; you can still have bad timing playing along to a metronome when the time comes for you to play with other ppl.

that theory has been discussed in the warwick article entitled "bio timing" ... or something like that... i really forgot the exact title.


im not even saying your question is irrelevant ... after all, timing and groove is something no one can be 100% consistent and perfect with.

-*-

well, just to add methods (for the sake of the thread):

i read an article saying that a good groove practice involves tapping along to a song you know... and when you reach the chorus, you mute the song and still tap along ... after a few seconds, you turn up the song again and if your tapping is still in time, it means you have a strong groove. if not, then you work on it till you nail it.

my comment on that however is: you just have to make sure the song itself has a consistent timing... what if it speeds up in the chorus? i guess it would be normal for one to lose the 'tap' timing. maybe another way is to tap along to the 2nd verse after the first chorus... just make sure its a studio version cause most of the time, things get pretty crazy with live versions.
 
IncX said:
when i play with my band, i make it a point to be tight with the drummer, as much as the drummer makes it a point to be tight with me....
Click to expand...

I'd have to agree here, even to the extent that me and my drummer practise regularly together as just the two of us, helps us and the band gel more on stage.
 
I think the only downside to playing in a band is that with regular rehearsals and gigs and learning new stuff, you don't always have the time/energy/willpower to practise technical stuff away from the band... so full marks to Bassoctopus for making the effort. Any sort of determined and disciplined practise has got to be good.

Regarding bassists and drummers: when Lynyrd Skynyrd had just got together and rehearsing, Ronnie Van Zant was rather a hard taskmaster... they would often rehearse for 12-14 hours in a day. Then when they'd finished and ready for a beer, he'd say to the bassist and drummer: "you've got to carry on all night!"... that's the spirit!
 
saxonbass said:
I think the only downside to playing in a band is that with regular rehearsals and gigs and learning new stuff, you don't always have the time/energy/willpower to practise technical stuff away from the band... so full marks to Bassoctopus for making the effort. Any sort of determined and disciplined practise has got to be good.
Click to expand...

Actually, the reason I'm getting into this is because my band don't rehearse much at the moment. Guitarist is working in London, singer in Glasgow and me and the drummer in Newcastle!!!

Good Skynard story :cool:
 
Lynyrd Skynyrd defined my formative years (which were probably a bit later than most people's formative years)... I was VERY upset when they had their plane crash!
 
saxonbass said:
Regarding bassists and drummers: when Lynyrd Skynyrd had just got together and rehearsing, Ronnie Van Zant was rather a hard taskmaster... they would often rehearse for 12-14 hours in a day. Then when they'd finished and ready for a beer, he'd say to the bassist and drummer: "you've got to carry on all night!"... that's the spirit!
Click to expand...

That's a great story and one I need to relate to my drummer, who has perhaps the worst sense of timing of any otherwise accomplished drummer I've ever heard! Worse, I am relatively new to playing bass, but was myself a formally trained drummer and played for over fifteen years very seriously, so his timing challenges just jump out at me - it's enough to make you nuts! We play very fast, aggressive music, so timing is so critical to keeping it all tight...yet every other fill, I'm chasing him to get back on track...drummers...yeeeeesh :roll: :wink:
 
one tip if you play in a band, when the bass drum is hit, you pluck
 
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