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Forum » Jazz Saxophone » Working on sense of time - Any ideas? by jazzm (2 posts) 20 years ago Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Does anybody have any good exercises for working on "time" - especially 6/8 and Afro-cuban bembe -besides using a metronome on 2 and 4 Reply To Post [Report Abuse] Report Abuse Web Address * Your Name Your Email Address Comment
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by m_moynihan1 (3 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? I've always found that the best way to improve your "sense" or "feel" for the music is through critical listening. The more you listen, the more you absorb the feeling of the music into your soul. Once you've listened to a certain type of music long enough, "time" isn't an issue any more because it comes naturally. If you wan't to work on your afro cuban feel, just pick up some albums- they are the ultimate teaching resource; not aebersolds, and not books. Reply To Post AIM by Hexaclon (90 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Try using it at 3/4 time and reading it before playing. Hope I helped. Reply To Post AIM by weinscott (11 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Find a recording in that meter and play along with it. You can also transcribe solos in that meter and learn them, paying special attention to the time feel. The journey of 1,000 miles begins with a single step Reply To Post by Spunky2sax75 (75 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? I`m sure this is just common sense to you and not much help, but; ALWAYS TAP YOUR FOOT. I have found that the best way to keep time for me is to tap my foot with the tempo at all times. Even marking time helps, if thats more comfortable. Also, when you are playing in a group, always watch a conductor or listen for similar parts or entrances that happen at the same time of your entrance. Hope this helped at least a little. Reply To Post by mr. freakjar (11 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? man...i find that tapping your foot can be detrimental to actually "feeling" the time. i think the only way to "work on time" (aside from using a metrnome on the largest subdivision ex: instead of 160 use 40), is to familiarize yourself as much as possible with that particualr genre and pay special attention to polyrythms. 3 over 4 is very common in latin and african music, so see how people are prashing triplets like 8th notes etc. once you're comfortable playing in 8ths and 3s just listen to as much of that kind of music as possible and really assimilate it into your vocabulary. Reply To Post AIM by golferguy675 (600 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? A technique I like to do to keep good time especially without a rythm section is to think what the drummer would do. like if you have an eigth rest, think of how the drummer would set that up. A snare hit, or high hat. Most of the problem with people when they get off time is counting rests, and if you can just try to imagine the drummer setting up an attack, it helps. Or at least it helps me. Also what spunky said, I know it's an elementary concept, but it really helps. Reply To Post by chiamac (586 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? start djing and beatmatching records... after a few years of that you WILL notice time and things speeding up or slowing down. however I alwase used to take cues from other parts of the band. It takes less thinking that way but it's prob why I suck at reading music... Reply To Post Yahoo! AIM by cyber75sax (33 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Okay... for one, this is an old thread. Two, use a metronome. I wish I could tell you another way to keep time, but you're going to have to suck it up and play with a stinkin' metronome. Just do it. You'll feel like a real musician within minutes. (-Edited for readability by Saxquest administration on 8/29/2004 5:12:50 PM) Reply To Post by wesmiller (55 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Personally I agree with Cyber75sax. Buy a Boss DB-66 Br. Beat with an AC adapter. Its expensive yet inexpendable. The problem you are having is fundamental. No way around it. Work with a metronome. Good luck. Reply To Post by [email protected] (18 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? DANCE! allow your body to move to whatever you're listening to and/or playing. allow yourself to feel different pulses within the beat. You will find yourself more deeply immersed in the music and hearing much more. Reply To Post by spida (12 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Try thinking as you are walking down the street, step '1-2-3' step '4-5-6' step '1-2-3-' step '4-5-6' etc... Assuming you haven't got a limp, you'll find the concept of triplets easier to judge by splitting it into an easier 2/4 timing (as 6/8 sometimes is). Remember, playing is not the only way to practice. Maybe not one for company ;) Reply To Post by Jack Cici (87 posts) 20 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? 3 word get a metronome Reply To Post by KCSaxGal (46 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? This is an old thread but I wanted to add something that hasn't been mentioned. Get out a piece of music and a recording of it and conduct it. Or I often just hear the music in my head and conduct to that. Practice a good down beat indication. It is especially good if you have a piece with time signature changes. Practice going from a 6/8 that is counted in 2, to a 6/8 counted in 6 . It also teaches you to listen to the other parts of the band. You can cue the other sections of the music as the come in to the piece. Reply To Post by mintyfreshjam (48 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? While it's not in the meter's that you're looking for, there is this great tool called a cd metronome. It's a recording of a drummer playing 4/4 time. It'll help you just internalize a pulse, giving you a better sense of time and that will directly affect your sense of time in the other meters. It can only be found at: www.paulcarman.com If you decide to use this, sing out rhythms while listening to a track, That will also help you internalize the pulse. Reply To Post by KCSaxGal (46 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Actually I have been looking for something like that. It's a little expensive though. Is it anything more than a drum machine recorded onto cd tracks? Reply To Post by golferguy675 (600 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Why settle for a drummer, when you can have a whole rythm section? by some Abersersold playalongs for 13 bucks. Even if you just want to listen to the rythm, and get a better feel for time, you've still got a whole book of songs to play with all of the different rythm sections. Reply To Post by mintyfreshjam (48 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? It's an actual drummer recorded onto a cd. Reply To Post by golferguy675 (600 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Yeah. ok. Well, it's an actual rythm section recorded onto the CD in the play alongs, they get some of the greatest people there are to come and just play rythm on the songs. Reply To Post by golferguy675 (600 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? In my opinion, they're both usless when practicing actual improv, just good to listen to. The actual drummer of actual rythm section can't respond to what you're playing, and you can't influence their playing. Where's the fun in that? Reply To Post by Hexaclon (90 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? I totaly agree!! It's like hard to develope a efective climax when the rythm section is like not interacting with the soloist. Reply To Post AIM by mintyfreshjam (48 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? I don't know about you, but I don' t have a spare drummer to pull out of my pocket everytime I want to improv. Reply To Post by mintyfreshjam (48 posts) 19 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? No. It's to tell you that one, I'm throwing out another tool that could be useful, and that two, you have to work with what you have. So no, I won't "shut up." Reply To Post by Mobile Band (27 posts) 13 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? Long distance clicks improve your stability of timing strongly. Little instabilities sum up, and you miss the click. Therefore you realize very fast, whether you hurry or slow down, and you learn to keep the tempo steadily. The other thing is playing with lots of time information, lets say steady 8ths as clicks. You learn to "melt" together with the clicks, get a good groove. swingjazz band berlin Reply To Post by Mobile Band (27 posts) 12 years ago Re: Working on sense of time - Any ideas? I found it helpful, to play over very slow and fast tempi. This stabilizes the other playing in other tempos. http://swing-jazz-berlin.de/ Reply To Post