Does anyone have any suggestions or tips/experience with the following that they might impart ?
how do you ensure that your songs are played at the right tempo at a gig?
I'm sure we can all get carried away with the buzz of gigging and start a song a tad quick - right? and I don't mean just drummers here.
Well its happened a lot during the last few gigs with my band...and it's not a matter of rehearsal as these are songs we've been gigging for 4 years now.
I've spoken to the other guys and feel like a nagging wife keep telling them before a song to keep the pace down..
are there any other fool proof methods out there?
Comments
I didn't program anything- I just had the tempi listed on a piece of paper and set it from song to song.
When I gig properly I turn the volume down on it and just use the flashing lights to get the tempo.
Today was a bit more informal so I let it be audible so everyone knew what the song's tempo would be.
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Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
I kinda miss the days when bands felt they could react to one another- those early Police records are amazing precisely because of the tempo changes.
Have a look at this graph of the tempo variation in 'So Lonely'.
I remember reading a 'making of' article for the Them Crooked Vultures album and it described how they didn't play to a click because all the guys could play as a group without requiring them.
My goals as a drummer are to be able to cue parts and keep a consistent tempo without being a slave to a click track.
I like using a Rhythm Watch because it is just a visual cue that I can, if need be, just ignore.
I got this idea from Rich Redmond, the Nashville session ace- he keeps the Rhythm Watch running for the whole song just to see how close his internal tempo is, rather than playing strictly to a click.
It allows him to move the tempo around based on what else is happening- to really listen to the other members and react- IMHO that is more important than having a delay be precisely in time.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
Live though, a 3 piece band can sound like a 7 piece with some clever samples and the right tempo. It can make a real difference, especially to your wallet
The worst thing is he wont even recognise he does it so recording to a click is just less hassle even if its only as an argument settler (and of course the fact that I can edit dodgy stuff back into time).
The tempo maps for my band's stuff have slight tempo bumps on many fills because that's what sounded better and then the steady tempo resumes after the fill. One of the choruses only sounded good with complete free push and pull, I just spaced the kicks more smoothly after.
This is why I like a printed click, you can mute it and automate it whenever necessary.
If this pic works, this is a map for one of our songs to take account for fills and different sections. It's a bit pointless without hearing the song, which isn't ready yet, but you get the idea
Beat Detective can usually fix this with edit smoothing.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
This used to really irritate me about our drummer who recently left. He was otherwise really good but just overstepped the mark with overly-long, over-elaborated fills which he couldn't keep up with. Fills everywhere. Man, it used to kill me. He was 22 and I'm not sure if this is something that fades with age. I know that when I was in my early twenties, I wanted to play all the time. If I didn't have a riff to play, I'd strum the chords. I think that it's only experience that teaches you that less is more and that you need to compliment the rest of the band as opposed to competing and mucking the whole thing up.
I actually dislike working in it most of the time- Logic is so much better for creating music, but for editing audio PT is unbeatable.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com
When I did an album with Darby Todd, for instance, I didn't time correct a single note because he was such an amazing drummer I just didn't need to.
Sure there were notes that didn't precisely align to the grid but the performances were so good that it wouldn't have made them sound better to have them conform.
Studio: https://www.voltperoctave.com
Music: https://www.euclideancircuits.com
Me: https://www.jamesrichmond.com