Using metronome smarter way to develop time

Jeremy Bender

Platinum Member
I've been working on starting the metronome up and by the fourth click I'm hearing it on the up beat then start to verbally count out loud 1,2,3,4, while the click continues sounding on the up beat.
Then shut it off, turn it back on to hear the click on the 'e' or the 'a' then start to count the downbeats out loud again.
This is a fun challenge. Rob Brown explains it...

 
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I’ve played around with that. It’s a lot of fun.

Another trick I like is to set to metronome really low, like 30 bpm, and try to bury the click while clapping along WITHOUT subdividing the beat internally. So, no “1 e and ah” inside. Just feel the quarters and bury the click.
 
Experimenting with the click in different places is great because you are in essence playing aling with something and you can feel the pull instead of just following it, which is what can easy happen when it's always just on the beat. You internalize the subdivisions, which can be anyting.

This is the way to work your time with a metronome. For best results combine it with just playing by yourself and all the ways of counting also. That's when you can really focus in on your feel, but a bit of metronome practice lets you see your tendencies and used as in the video etc.. you train your ears as well.

Talking about Gary Chaffee's fat back exercises in that other thread. Try playing only the bass drum and the snare and have the click in different spots. Probably harder than you think.
 
There's a book called "Breakbeat Bible", a gorgeous book on its own, and it has click tracks recorded like this:
87039
87040

Many different weird combinations. Cool stuff.
 
Experimenting with the click in different places is great because you are in essence playing aling with something and you can feel the pull instead of just following it, which is what can easy happen when it's always just on the beat. You internalize the subdivisions, which can be anyting.

This is the way to work your time with a metronome. For best results combine it with just playing by yourself and all the ways of counting also.

This! It should come as instructions with every new metronome that's sold in the world no matter what instrument they study.
 
Practicing playing along with the click so it's on the "a" of every beat (1e&a2e&a3e&a4e&a) is a recent addition to my practice routine. I think it's very valuable. You can't get lazy with your phrasing doing this, it forces you to focus in a way that a click on the quarter note doesn't.
 
I wish bassists would practice with the metronome playing nothing but the backbeat. Life would be so much easier if bassists listened to the snare drum instead of the kick.
 
I just started mucking around with this too.

To start off I just set a timer and do 5 minutes at 70 bpm of each (1, e, + and a). Haven't tried triplets yet.

I'm hoping it will clean up all my timing in between the quarter note clicks, as I think I am confident at hitting those quarter notes but the notes in between tend to be a bit messy, which can be a good and bad thing. I had some minor concern that those notes in between are where all my "feel" comes from but I figure if I can deliberarly make it line up with a click then I'm sure I can deliberately swing it like I'm in the habit of doing.

I also want to check out a gap click one of these days.
 
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