DrummerCA35
Senior Member
I guess I haven't learned my lesson...that in a live performance, the tempo you THINK is right can be WAY too fast when listening back to the gig. Some of the songs I've counted off are too fast, some that the guitar player has started are too fast, and the ones the keyboard has started have been off the charts fast.
As a first step, I've got the guitar player and keyboard player's backing for to me start or count off EVERY song. That includes ones where the keys or guitar normally start the song, such as "Separate Ways", "Don't Stop", "Mary Jane's Last Dance", "What I Like about You", and so on. The best I can do is to count them off, as per my Tempo app, at the correct BPM, and then (I guess) do hi-hat quarter notes until the band comes in, if necessary. I will listen to the recordings after doing this at a gig, and then see if it needs to go further, such as playing to a click.
I have found that there can be a certain member that just can't/won't listen, and STILL rush.
Then there are songs like "Jump" where there is just keys in the middle doing the riff, and it can speed up THERE, unless I again set the temp, and do hi-hat clicks. And then I wonder, is that going to sound lame...doing hi-hat clicks so the keys don't kick if off again at the wrong tempo? Or, maybe something else would blend better, like 16ths?
About playing to a click...can any of you share how you do that if ONLY the drummer is playing to the click? At most performances, only the vocals are going through the PA. At a club/corporate with sound, I think all the instruments including drums are going through the PA. I guess the thing would be in-ear monitors that double as hearing protection? I assume this only works if every instrument is going through the board/PA?
What about when only the vox are going through the PA? How does one get the click and hearing protection at the same time?
Again, I'm going to start with starting things off at the right tempo and trying to stay with it. I do need hearing protection no matter what, and any future click would need to be incorporated into that.
Finally, I've been doing this a long time...I hope I'm not too old to fix this.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks
As a first step, I've got the guitar player and keyboard player's backing for to me start or count off EVERY song. That includes ones where the keys or guitar normally start the song, such as "Separate Ways", "Don't Stop", "Mary Jane's Last Dance", "What I Like about You", and so on. The best I can do is to count them off, as per my Tempo app, at the correct BPM, and then (I guess) do hi-hat quarter notes until the band comes in, if necessary. I will listen to the recordings after doing this at a gig, and then see if it needs to go further, such as playing to a click.
I have found that there can be a certain member that just can't/won't listen, and STILL rush.
Then there are songs like "Jump" where there is just keys in the middle doing the riff, and it can speed up THERE, unless I again set the temp, and do hi-hat clicks. And then I wonder, is that going to sound lame...doing hi-hat clicks so the keys don't kick if off again at the wrong tempo? Or, maybe something else would blend better, like 16ths?
About playing to a click...can any of you share how you do that if ONLY the drummer is playing to the click? At most performances, only the vocals are going through the PA. At a club/corporate with sound, I think all the instruments including drums are going through the PA. I guess the thing would be in-ear monitors that double as hearing protection? I assume this only works if every instrument is going through the board/PA?
What about when only the vox are going through the PA? How does one get the click and hearing protection at the same time?
Again, I'm going to start with starting things off at the right tempo and trying to stay with it. I do need hearing protection no matter what, and any future click would need to be incorporated into that.
Finally, I've been doing this a long time...I hope I'm not too old to fix this.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks