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Hm,
When using a metronome that doesn't indicate first beat of the measure (or some other beat..), the
internal counting breaks every time when the routine breaks... to start the next attempt sooner.
It might be a bad habit?
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05-28-2023 01:13 AM
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Not entirely sure I understand what you're saying, but I don't think practising with the metronome not on beat one is a bad habit. If I'm practising a tune in 3/4 I'll only have the metronome click on beat two. Helps to tap your foot.
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I can practice to play accurately when needed. But for the longest time I've used to play without keeping
the meter all the time when using the metronome. Always used a metronome with a single click and never
cared to keep the metre running when a hiccup happened. I have a bad sense of the metre.. hence this
observation occurred when started to use the indicator on first beat.
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If the metronome is on 2 and 4 (for example), and you lose track of where the metronome is just because you’ve stopped playing (I assume that’s what you meant), then you need to work on your sense of time even more. It’s not a bad habit, it’s user error.
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Well, yes.
Originally Posted by grahambop
But I feel that since I've always used to reset the meter after a hiccup or something instead keeping
on counting (because of impatience), this habit is one of the culprit for not getting better sense of it.
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Are you playing a tune? Keep the form going in your head and jump back in like it’s going to happen when you perform. On stage the song just keeps moving and doesn’t care about your impatience or your hiccups. Originally Posted by emanresu
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No at the moment. Learning melodic minor and doing some basic stuff in it.
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There’s an Emily Remler video where she shows you how to count in and start playing to a metronome on beats 2 and 4, it might be on youtube somewhere.
There’s a knack to getting it right, like everything else you need to practise it a bit.
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Put it away for awhile. Play along with recordings for awhile and concentrate on your time.
Now and then return to the metronome and see how things progress.
Learning to read will also help your time. Play four crotchets to the bar, eight quavers...
Always tap with the foot.
Buy a pair of drum sticks (or brushes) and practice some beats, keeping the right foot tapping as the bass drum.
This can inculcate the four beats of 4/4 into your mind. Remember to count with toe down on 1234, and up on & (downbeats & upbeats): | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & |... Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up, Down, Up...
Jazz is often played as eight to the bar. Continuous motion. It takes effort to ensure that you're keeping time. Even old players have to keep this in mind to stay on track.
Playing alone develops bad habits. Find another musician for duets or a group for ensemble. They need you as well.
We all take shortcuts on our own, but others won't let us get away with it.
::Last edited by StringNavigator; 05-28-2023 at 07:18 PM.
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I was merely talking about the pitfall of using single-click metronome.
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What pitfall? I think having the metronome on 2 & 4 (or just on 2 for 3/4) is good for one's sense of rhythm. Originally Posted by emanresu
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The habit of resetting (restarting the count) the meter feel every time a routine fails. Originally Posted by James W
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That in a nutshell is what practising is about, no? Encountering pitfalls and overcoming them. Originally Posted by emanresu
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If I understand the OP, the issue is losing track of which beat the metronome is currently clicking.
Which might be viewed as the player's internal clock needing some development. I think the way to work on it is to slow things down and count carefully. After some period of time things will start to sound natural. I also think it's a good idea to get away from counting as soon as you can and replace it with singing (internally) drum licks with the correct time.
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Yeah a nice bridge to that might be having it click on just the first beat of the measure. That can be pretty tricky. I started doing that in college and realized pretty quick it was hard for me to wait for the measure to come around. So it does still give you beat one, but you have to be responsible for the rest of the time. Originally Posted by rpjazzguitar
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Thats user error though. Not the metronome. Originally Posted by emanresu
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Not even an error. A deliberate neglect of one of the most important aspect of music. Originally Posted by AllanAllen
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To lock onto the metronome on beats 2 and 4, you could try playing the melody of Autumn Leaves so that the very first note starts with the metronome click. Since the melody starts on beat 2, if you do it right you should be in step from the 4th note onwards.
One thing I sometimes do is to imagine I am hearing the metronome as a drummer playing the hi-hat, which is usually heard on beats 2 and 4. Listen out for that sound on a lot of jazz recordings until you get it memorised.
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When learning a normal tune, I'd not even think about doing it without minding the metre (and counting properly) and trying keeping
it ticking internally. That's not the issue. I meant doing technical stuff. All those arp/scale/chord combo routines - this
is where the impatience kicks in and the meter gets neglected to start faster when failed somehow or between changing something.
Also speedy tunes like "Yes and no" or even "Spain" when working on smaller bits of them. That actually can be
a good idea sometimes btw
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Since there is a ton of such practice to be done, there's a ton of metre neglection happening. That's the thing I feel bad about..
for noticing it so late.
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Ok well the golden rule is that you must learn to feel where the beats are at all times, whatever you are playing. You need to develop your ‘internal clock’ so you just feel it continuously.
I heard an Art Blakey interview where he said he is a drummer but not a timekeeper. He said in his band he expects everyone to know exactly where the beat is, they should not be listening to him (or each other) for it.
Good rhythm is really important I think. So it’s worth trying to include the rhythm/time element when doing your technical stuff or playing phrases you’re working on. Sounds obvious I guess but it’s easy to neglect it.Last edited by grahambop; 05-30-2023 at 06:32 AM.
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