drummers and tempo

davylee

In cover bands
Our band has this problem.
I know other bands who have this problem
I'd say about 70/80% of live acts i see have this problem.
Drummer is playing to fast
Okay, i'm all for playing gigs 10/15% faster than the record.
I would imagine that's about right but when songs just start racing away what do you do??
I understand the main reason for this is adrenaline. As the night goes on, the crowd level rises, the blood starts pumping and then of we go, 100mph.
In my experience, it's not easy to tell drummers to slow down, they think there right.
How i know beyond doubt, that the tempo is too fast (besides just feeling it) is that i cannot get the lyrics out of my mouth.
Any help?
Drummer with a click track in his ear?
I know this is good for studio work but i here mixed reports about live performance.
Any help would be much appreciated.
nice one

DerKaiser

No, click track could not be used live, it would be way too confusing for your drummer, he needs to practice with a click/metronome, and I mean PRACTICE, like a minimum of 8 hours a week, tell him to always go 15 bpm slower than his gut

OK-Cancel-Apply

You could whip out a notepad and decide on a definite tempo for each song when practising and stick a metronome beside him (where he can see it).

davylee

DerKaiser wrote: »

No, click track could not be used live, it would be way too confusing for your drummer, he needs to practice with a click/metronome, and I mean PRACTICE, like a minimum of 8 hours a week, tell him to always go 15 bpm slower than his gut

Yeah kind of thought that. My worry would be even after all that practice, soon as the crowd starts getting a bit excited, the adrenaline will start to pump again and it's back to the drawing board.
I'm surprised i have seen no threads on this topic.
It seems like a huge problem in most bands i see

Seany

Have been through this before...

As you said, no harm playing songs a little faster live but if it reaches the point that the melody of the song is being rushed ..all of that practice counts for nothing.

Just talk to him and explain that you are having difficulty getting the words out playing live.

Drummers are responsible for timing and pace...besides everything else it is their principle function in the band and if your drummer doesn't accept that he/she is plain lazy.

I seen a guy at a gig before using an ipod at the start of everything song. While the others where tuning or just before the song was to start he picked up his ipod and counted the bpm for the next song (obviously all pre programmed). Looked a little strange at first but every song was rock solid and played at just the right tempo.

cymabal

In my experiance it's usually the singer that wants everything played twice as fast as the correct tempo. The guy wouldn't let me use a metronom to count it in.:mad:

23

I use a click while practicing and on stage. It's a lot of work and dicipline at the begining but it pay a lot on stage. I don't even hear it to be honest. Put a click in his ears.

DerKaiser

Once he practices like this he will develop a greater discipline, does he rushing halfway through songs? Or is he just starting them too fast, if so, you count in

evenflow

the only way to be 100% sure that the songs are played at the correct tempo is for the drummer to play to a click track, it CAN be done and very very easily too, takes a bit of getting used to if ur drummer hasnt played to one before but if he uses it in rehearsals too it wont take long to get used to it and it makes a huge difference at gigs.

briktop

any decent drummer would use a tama rythm watch or some such in head phones , and listen to each tempo before counting in the band .

all the good ones ive seen use one.

chin_grin

As a drummer I can tell you I've fallen in to this trap too (hangs head!). But the best thing to do or practice with would be a metronome.

Even if you wanted to jam out the full set a number of times before a gig, would help get you guys a lot tighter. Repetition is the key!

Also as a pressie (or a subtle hint) you could get him this,

http://www.amazon.com/Korg-MM1-In-Ear-Metronome/dp/B0002KZ8PU

Funk_Junkie20

as an experienced professional drummer my advice would be get rid of your drummer and get someone more experienced who knows what they're at

davylee

Funk_Junkie20 wrote: »

as an experienced professional drummer my advice would be get rid of your drummer and get someone more experienced who knows what they're at

Cause good drummers are so easy to come by;);)

I might ask him about using the click in practice first - then see how the gigs go
If that doest't do much then maybe start gigging with it as 23 was saying he does
i think that might be the way to go

Royale with Cheese

Had this problem before. Was worse though, the drummer just couldn't keep time at all.

He'd be fine on his own, playing beats and fills, once he played with a band though he had problems. Guitar + singing intro to the song, then the beat would kick in and the song would completely slow down. Tempo was a little all over the place, speeding up and slowing down sporadically.

Said it to him many times, but he just couldn't play properly. Had to get rid of him in the end, which pissed off some mutual friends. Anyway, replaced him with a very good drummer and things started to happen for us then. Really made a difference.

The importance of a good drummer cannot be understated. Maybe try your drummer with a click to see if he's any better, but if it's not working out then don't be afraid to give him the chop. I'm aware how difficult decent drummers are to come across though.

joeduggan

thats a good piece of advice there butty.as they say. PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT. well almost anyway.

joeduggan

i agree with u aboutasking the drummer to slow down. but u dont know him. i do. he would just sulk forever more.

joeduggan

chin_grin wrote: »

As a drummer I can tell you I've fallen in to this trap too (hangs head!). But the best thing to do or practice with would be a metronome.

Even if you wanted to jam out the full set a number of times before a gig, would help get you guys a lot tighter. Repetition is the key!

Also as a pressie (or a subtle hint) you could get him this,

http://www.amazon.com/Korg-MM1-In-Ear-Metronome/dp/B0002KZ8PU

at least u realised and u fixed it. u cant talk to most drummers.

gingj

davylee wrote: »

In cover bands
Our band has this problem.
I know other bands who have this problem
I'd say about 70/80% of live acts i see have this problem.
Drummer is playing to fast
Okay, i'm all for playing gigs 10/15% faster than the record.
I would imagine that's about right but when songs just start racing away what do you do??
I understand the main reason for this is adrenaline. As the night goes on, the crowd level rises, the blood starts pumping and then of we go, 100mph.
In my experience, it's not easy to tell drummers to slow down, they think there right.
How i know beyond doubt, that the tempo is too fast (besides just feeling it) is that i cannot get the lyrics out of my mouth.
Any help?
Drummer with a click track in his ear?
I know this is good for studio work but i here mixed reports about live performance.
Any help would be much appreciated.
nice one

Common one alright. Yea practice the songs with a click and the tempo's will soon embed in head. Also write in marker on their snare, 'Tempo'. They'll remember to keep an eye on it during gigs. Its not just drummers who can have this problem

davylee

gingj wrote: »

Common one alright. Yea practice the songs with a click and the tempo's will soon embed in head. Also write in marker on their snare, 'Tempo'. They'll remember to keep an eye on it during gigs. Its not just drummers who can have this problem

I thought a drummers primary roll is tempo

gingj

davylee wrote: »

I thought a drummers primary roll is tempo

You'd be suprised how many drummers out there can't keep a solid constant beat and at the right speed.

Stratocaster

I have played drums on the pub scene for a good while and also had a similar issue, best advice I can give is if your having issues with a particular song count it in yourself.

Its amazing the difference between how a guitar player would perceive a tempo compared to a drummer on the same song, its a fairly common occurrence due to this. I wouldn't stress to much over it and plenty of rehearsal should eliminate timing issues. Also best for the drummer to take some time alone to work on holding a steady tempo with a metronome or even along with a song on CD.

Using a click track during a live performance is a bit of a no no, as it takes away all the feel. The only time you should require a click is if you got some pre recorded stuff, backing tracks etc.

Des Claypool

jesus guys!

its not the drummers fault everyone in the band has control over the tempo of a song. practicing to a metranome is good but can be messy live i wouldn't recommend it. just practice your musicianship by changing tempo and dynamic in rehersal, this way if you feel a song is goin to fast catch everyones eye and emphasise the beats at the tempo you think it should be at for eveyone to realise, sounds messy but if you practice enough you should be able to communicate well with the rest of the band.
unless it is just a case of crap drummer, then chuck him!

irishthump

A good drummer SHOULD be able to play live with a click, it would solve this problem straight away.
Even if he does'nt want to play the whole song with the click, he could use a metronome to give him the correct tempo before starting the song. (Many metronomes/click machines have a flashing light for that very purpose.)

Either way the subject of the songs tempo has to be addressed... it's funny how you can perceive at a gig, a good rule of thumb is that if you think you are playing the song at the right tempo, then you will most likely find that it is faster then how you would play it in practice.

irishthump

Des Claypool wrote: »

jesus guys!

its not the drummers fault everyone in the band has control over the tempo of a song. practicing to a metranome is good but can be messy live i wouldn't recommend it.

Not quite true.
The drummer has responsibility for playing the CORRECT TEMPO FOR THE ENTIRE SONG. If he does this then he has done his job, he can't be held responsible for any other band members who can't/won't stay in time. However, every other band member has an obligation to stay in time with the drummers playing. It's so common for a guitarist who himself/herself has terrible timing and rythm to blame the drummer when he/she is the one who is all over the place!

irishthump

Funk_Junkie20 wrote: »

as an experienced professional drummer my advice would be get rid of your drummer and get someone more experienced who knows what they're at

You mean like you?

I see YOU'RE looking for a band.....