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Thread: Tempo-playing live

  1. #1

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    Default Tempo-playing live

    I've been playing live for a very long time, practice with a click, practice, practice, gig, gig...yet every time I listen back to our show recordings, I have a few of our songs where I just speed up because I get so excited and into the music. I like to think there are songs where tempo changes by a hair are okay and sound pretty cool but I just can't not speed up when I'm excited.
    Besides the obvious - practice with a click, play live with a click (I'm not totally against this, I just don't like the structured feel of playing with a click live) do you all have a tendency to speed up when playing live? Thoughts? Word up!

  2. #2

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    I certainly do. I agree, it's the excitement. I'm usually well aware of it, but we have a guitar player that tends to run away with the tempo. It can be very hard to regain control in a live gig. If you slow down too fast, it's just as noticable. I concentrate on our bass player and try to stay tight with him.
    -Brian

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  3. #3

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    Yes I do and I too cannot stand it. I been debating trying a click as well but just a visual one. Nothing in my ear.
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  4. #4

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    Yup. Just be aware of it and try to relax.

  5. #5

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    Happens when our guitar players start their solos. The leads start to rush.

  6. #6

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    when I'm playing it feels great... when I relisten I'm always like oh lord I rushed so bad or I dragged... it's a never ending battle. All based on crowd and excitment

  7. #7

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    I don't think it happens to me.

  8. #8

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    Adrenaline. All human beings have it.

    all the best...

  9. #9

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    I have heard tempo changes of 10 BPM in popular music and it is not audible if they happen slowly.

    Often in professionally recorded music, the tempo is different in the chorus vs the verses (heh heh) because they were likely tracked at different times.

    When listening to live music, the only time I notice tempo changes is when the drummer rushes his fills (which happens way too often). The only reason I can hear it is because it happens so quickly. It also happen a lot when a player starts singing and tends to slow down.

    Happens when our guitar players start their solos. The leads start to rush.
    That's when the rhythm section has to stay steady, to help them out.

    I have been playing with backing tracks for a few years so I/we have no choice but to stay in tempo. I have become more keenly tuned into the track's tempo than the other players and they often rely on me to transmit the information.

  10. #10

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    I don't care who you are. Unless you've programmed a metronome for every song you play live and always use it, tempo changes will occur.

    I've been told I don't speed up or slow down but if "They" think I started a song too fast or too slow, I'll at least maintain the same meter throughout the song.

    As an example, I've watched a band on YouTube play the same song but at different shows (or recordings) and even they are not always at the same tempo. EEEEEEKKKK!!!

    Even my record albums (Yes, I mean vinyl) speed up or slow down depending on the day. No drugs, even.
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  11. #11

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    Quote Originally Posted by NewTricks View Post
    That's when the rhythm section has to stay steady, to help them out.
    That's what I've been told many times by guitar players and I respectfully disagree. Keeping in time is everyone's responsibility.

  12. #12

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    Quote Originally Posted by late8 View Post
    That's what I've been told many times by guitar players and I respectfully disagree. Keeping in time is everyone's responsibility.
    I'm so glad you said that! I often take the blame for tempo issues and then I'll put on a click at practice and the whole band is rushing me...I agree, it's everyone's responsibility!

  13. #13

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    Most players will rush here or there.
    Over the years, I have gained a fairly steady tempo.............hardly ever a rush or a drag.
    I can be guilty of starting a tempo a bit too fast, but speeding it up during the song rarely occurs anymore.
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  14. #14

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    If it feels kinda slow the tempo us probably spot on!

  15. #15

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    Wow - great points being made throughout this thread! Actually, I think we're all correct. Here's my approach, for what it's worth: practicing with a click is beneficial - it forces me to simplify, and focus on job one - good, steady time. That has created an overall improvement in my playing. I'm kind of hearing that click, even when it isn't there. My fills are simpler, and in better time. But, I prefer to perform without it. It's no sin for the music to breathe a little. We're not machines, as was pointed out earlier in the thread - and music ought to have moods and emotions!

    But, I've experienced a change in attitude, as well. I HAVE pointed out to my bandmates that timekeeping is everyone's job, and - bless their hearts - they get it. But I have also come to realize what it is that other musicians want (perhaps secretly) in a drummer. They want us to be the boss back there - the rock. They can move about the house a lot better, and express themselves more freely, when they know they're standing on a good, solid floor. We gotta take charge - they're happier when we do.

  16. #16

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    What frustrates me most is when I drag....and I know it.....but I can't seem to pick it back up. It usually only happens during fast songs, 3-1/2 or 4 hrs into the gig, near the end of the last set. I know I get tired and my muscles just say, "Nope, we're ready to go home".
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by Northern Redneck View Post
    If it feels kinda slow the tempo us probably spot on!
    /\ This. No doubt.

  18. #18

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    Deja Vu all over again. (Yogi Berra)

    Unless you are going to be 20-30 BPM over what you started at, i.e., 80BPM at the start, 110 BPM at the finish, I wouldn't sweat it.

    Crowd=adrenaline=getting a little quick on the draw. Happens to every band.

    I've heard it from The Stones to Fleetwood-Mac to Big Brother and the Holding Company who played out of tune so if you can't tune a guitar, why would you expect them to play in time.

    It's easier in rehearsals, and even in the studio. The is no adrenaline rush. Going out on stage, whether it's 100 people in a bar, or 10,000 people at a concert, the adrenaline is going to flow. Anybody who says it doesn't is full of it.

    Start at 80 BPM, finish at 85 BPM, nobody will notice, nor care. Start at 80, finish at 110. Well, then, you need to sit on a 'nome so there can be no doubt about the timing.

    Something I've said before: I have, in decades of playing, never seen anybody bring a 'nome to a club, bar, concert, whatever, and checked the timing of a band.

  19. #19

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    Quote Originally Posted by late8 View Post
    That's what I've been told many times by guitar players and I respectfully disagree. Keeping in time is everyone's responsibility.
    Of course it is but sometimes it falls one one member or members more than the others. A band is a team sport. When one player falters, the others pick him up.

    Often when a guitarist is playing a lead part, he is free forming a bit and needs a solid rhythm section to fall back into.

    It's no different than us recording with a click. We can play our parts close to tempo for the whole song but having the click always there for a reference means we can stay dead nuts on, at least at the top of the measures.
    Last edited by NewTricks; 06-30-2015 at 07:32 PM.

  20. #20

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    Here's an example of a classic track but to me it's obvious that the tempo is wonky. Just past .06 mark as soon as the opening lead starts. But I guess it works because everybody speeds up and slows down together. But their flirting with a train wreck.

  21. #21

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    Quote Originally Posted by rickthedrummer View Post
    Deja Vu all over again. (Yogi Berra)

    Unless you are going to be 20-30 BPM over what you started at, i.e., 80BPM at the start, 110 BPM at the finish, I wouldn't sweat it.

    Crowd=adrenaline=getting a little quick on the draw. Happens to every band.

    I've heard it from The Stones to Fleetwood-Mac to Big Brother and the Holding Company who played out of tune so if you can't tune a guitar, why would you expect them to play in time.

    It's easier in rehearsals, and even in the studio. The is no adrenaline rush. Going out on stage, whether it's 100 people in a bar, or 10,000 people at a concert, the adrenaline is going to flow. Anybody who says it doesn't is full of it.

    Start at 80 BPM, finish at 85 BPM, nobody will notice, nor care. Start at 80, finish at 110. Well, then, you need to sit on a 'nome so there can be no doubt about the timing.

    Something I've said before: I have, in decades of playing, never seen anybody bring a 'nome to a club, bar, concert, whatever, and checked the timing of a band.
    I agree with Rick and It doesn't bother me nor do I really ever notice if a few bpm's hover around the actual bpm.

    Recording technology was pretty primitive when all the early classics were being made. It would almost sound weird if Iggy Pop's stuff and other bands during those times didn't have it happen once in awhile. You hear about some bands today that cut and paste their whole records together. That's kind of lame imo
    Last edited by slinky; 07-01-2015 at 10:20 AM.
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  22. #22

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    It is something I noticed years ago. Watch and listen to a band that has recorded a hit song, and it seems that 99% of the time, it is played alot faster live than when it was recorded in studio. Kansas, Pink Floyd, Billy Joel are a few that come time mind. And I know there are many others.

    When I am playing, I concentrate on where I want the tempo to be, conscious of the fact the song will want to be faster than where it needs to be. In my mind, I almost have to be aware that if I am not careful, it will start too slow.

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  23. #23

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    I believe that almost every song should be sped up when played live - not too much of course, but sometimes a little energy in a live setting makes it better. it's okay to be slow/regular tempo on a record and have it be faster live. At least in my opinion

  24. #24

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    I have noticed when I listen to recordings of our gigs that we usually play at a faster tempo - sometimes so fast that it doesn't sound right. I don't mind if it's a little faster, I'm more concerned with keeping a consistent tempo throughout the song. I have noticed a tendency to sometimes speed up during certain parts of a song, a chorus , a fill or sometimes while I'm singing lead. I downloaded an app for my Nexus tablet called Tempo which was free, and I'm trying it out to see if it will improve my time on gigs. It's very simple, but it allows you to create sets and input the tempo for each song, and you can listen to a click or watch it visually, which I plan to do. It's especially useful to get the right speed at count off. I haven't used it yet on a gig, so we'll see how it goes.

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  25. #25

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    With band number 2, we are still in the "work-up" phase of our set-list...........the debut gig is in August.

    I noticed while working on the EAGLES song, IN THE CITY that the tempo is noticeably faster at the end of the song..............almost to the point of sounding amateurish.

    I think Henley is such an awkward drummer anyway............I can hardly stand to watch him play.............I tell myself he is rich because of his great voice.
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