LOOKING FOR ADVICE WITH TEMPO ISSUE

Hi,
I've been having this problem since ever...
I am playing relaxed with a metronome, (doesn't matter the speed), feeling good with the groove, but when I play a break, doesn't matter if it is a difficult one or just four 16th notes on the snare, I lose my tempo, I speed up, and then, when the break is over I return to the 1 syncronized with the metronome, leaving a larger space between the 4 and the 1.
This doesn't happen if I am very focused on the metronome, so I would like to know if some of you could provide some advice/exercise to work on, so in the future I don't have to be so focused on the click and more focused on my drumming sound.

Thanks!!

(I am from Argentina, so my english is not very good, If you need more details to understand the problem feel free to ask for them)

supermacaco said:

Hi,
I've been having this problem since ever...
I am playing relaxed with a metronome, (doesn't matter the speed), feeling good with the groove, but when I play a break, doesn't matter if it is a difficult one or just four 16th notes on the snare, I lose my tempo, I speed up, and then, when the break is over I return to the 1 syncronized with the metronome, leaving a larger space between the 4 and the 1.
This doesn't happen if I am very focused on the metronome, so I would like to know if some of you could provide some advice/exercise to work on, so in the future I don't have to be so focused on the click and more focused on my drumming sound.

Thanks!!

(I am from Argentina, so my english is not very good, If you need more details to understand the problem feel free to ask for them)

Click to expand...

Some things to try:

1. Try breathing out when you play your fills. No joke.

2. Generally, work on playing AND singing (simultaneously) subdivisions of various lengths to a metronome at very slow tempos so you can learn to get a sense of the space between the notes.

3. Practice singing the fill over top of the metronome at the tempo you're playing. Sing it strictly in time and imagine yourself playing it - but don't actually play it. Get the fill to feel good when you sing it and then simply "sing" the fill with your hands.

4. Practice singing/playing the fill alone from very slow tempos all the way up to tempos that are faster than you need to play it so that you have control of it at any tempo. You may be falling into the trap of only being to execute the fill at one tempo.

supermacaco said:

(I am from Argentina, so my english is not very good, If you need more details to understand the problem feel free to ask for them)

Click to expand...

Che, I'm from Argentina, too. We're about...4 on the DW forums now. Anyway, follow the advice below, very solid stuff. Also, the english's good, at least that's coming out spot on, man.
And keep in mind that playing a fill is no different from playing a groove, you're basically playing sixteenth note fills as well when you add snare notes in the middle of your basic rock 8th note beats.


Saludos, Fox.

Boomka said:

Some things to try:

1. Try breathing out when you play your fills. No joke.

2. Generally, work on playing AND singing (simultaneously) subdivisions of various lengths to a metronome at very slow tempos so you can learn to get a sense of the space between the notes.

3. Practice singing the fill over top of the metronome at the tempo you're playing. Sing it strictly in time and imagine yourself playing it - but don't actually play it. Get the fill to feel good when you sing it and then simply "sing" the fill with your hands.

4. Practice singing/playing the fill alone from very slow tempos all the way up to tempos that are faster than you need to play it so that you have control of it at any tempo. You may be falling into the trap of only being to execute the fill at one tempo.

Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the advice. I liked the breathing thing, it is true, I stop my breathing when I have to play a fill!
I will work on those advices, if you think of something else to add to that list feel free to do it.
Thanks!

Fox622003 said:

Che, I'm from Argentina, too. We're about...4 on the DW forums now. Anyway, follow the advice below, very solid stuff. Also, the english's good, at least that's coming out spot on, man.
And keep in mind that playing a fill is no different from playing a groove, you're basically playing sixteenth note fills as well when you add snare notes in the middle of your basic rock 8th note beats.


Saludos, Fox.

Click to expand...

Hola Fox!
So you are from Buenos Aires! I am from Rosario, but actually living in Barcelona, Spain.
What's your name? Are you like a famous drummer!? jajaja, maybe I heard you play before!
Well, thanks for the comment and advice.
It is true what you say, that is no different from playing a groove, but it seems to me that it is some kind of psycological stuff, maybe I get nervous and don't realise, that is why I liked the breathing advice.
Gracias loco!
Un abrazo!

Any other comments or advices will be appreciated!

Another thing you may want to try is adding a beat of sixteenths at the end of your pattern. So instead of just playing 2 and 4 on the snare for your groove, play 2 and then 4e&a. This will give you a pick-up into your fill to help you start out the 4 beats of sixteenths evenly and at the correct tempo. As you start to become more comfortable with the tempo and are able to keep it steady, take out the 4 sixteenths in the groove and see how you're able to flow into the fill then.

Also, if you are using a metronome that can be set for other things than just your down beats, set it for 8th notes to go along with your hihat (assuming you are playing 8th notes). That way when you get to your fill every right hand hit will be with the click.

you might try playing fills that are just variations of the main groove. for example, if you're playing 8th notes on the hats, keep playing them through the fill while playing some syncopated variations with the snare and the bass drum. it's easier to keep the tempo steady with fills like that, and they sound good too.

Repetition, repetition, repetition. It's all about being strong enough to execute your fills in a relaxed manner. You must practice fill after fill, every four bars, slow and perfect, super slow and perfect, medium and perfect, as fast as you can until it starts to become unstable then back off a bit. Easy fills, complicated fills, slow fills, fast fills. Crash on 4, the + of 4, on 1, anywhere but 1.

For me it's about having the strength to execute what I want in time. You are using a metronome which is great. Breathing is also good advice. It will ultimately come down to how much you work at it. If it was easy it would not be as cool!

I practice what I believe is called a rhythmic pyramid everyday on the practice pad (with a metronome). Doing this everyday seams to help cement the feel of subdividing.

||: 1/4 | 1/8 | 1/16 | 1/32 | 1/32 | 1/16 | 1/8 | 1/4 :||

All single strokes, 4-5 min with right hand lead, 4-5 min with left lead. This is a simple one (i'm still new), it would be better to also include triplets, quintuplets, septuplets, etc. but I'm not ready for that yet.

I really appreciate all your advices.
I will work to solve this issue and keep you informed of which advice worked best for me!
Thanks again, and feel free to add any other advices!

Here's another, try keeping time with your left foot as you play the fill.

Hi guys. I am sorry to post, but I've been reading the forum tonight and I really want to help this guy.

The responses so far have been great. I really liked what Boomka had to say. Breathing is often overlooked. It is a shame because breathing can be used as a time keeping device. Breath in for a bar, exhale for a bar etc.

What I always do with student no matter the level, advanced or beginner, is slow everything down and place a metronome at 30 bpm playing 16th notes. This slow tempo allows one to take time to execute the pattern without rushing and helps develop a feel for how far apart the subdivisions actually are. Often it may seem they are too far apart and this leads to rushing. When in fact the real trick is realising how far apart the spaces actually are. There is no need to close this space. This becomes apparent when one becomes familiar with the space in time.

Later on one can then move the notes to suit the feel, e.g. swinging or angular. The first step is the identification of the space within a given tempo.

Thanks to everyone.
Right now I am working on the breathing advice and it feels good. It is very difficult to achieve if u didn't pay attention to that before, so I advice every one to try it, mostly if u are a beginner.
I'll keep you informed.
thanks!!!

How to incorporate breathing if I am already "singing" the subdivisions?

Another thing you might want to try is practicing rudiments (paradiddle, doudble paradiddle, flam paradidle etc.) with a metronome on various tempo's. This way you'll be focused on playing the 16th notes right.
Also, I think Fuo's tip is a very good one.

sciomako said:

How to incorporate breathing if I am already "singing" the subdivisions?

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Gooooood question.
Well, I believe that you don't have to be singing every note. If you have to breath you just don't sing the note that take place when you are breathing and then pronounce the rest of the notes while you exhale.
Thats how it works fine for me.