Problems counting in songs in a band

[smarty_drummerboy]

Hello, I`ve been playing drums for about 10 years. I`ve done lots of session work, played with lots of bands. Never had a problem with my timing and can play no problem with a click. However the band I`m in now are getting close to being signed and the band keep bringing up the issue saying once I count a song in I start playing at a different speed. Has anyone else experienced this, got a solution? they`ve now made me paranoid and I still think it`s the guitarist.

 

[rufus4dagruv]

Have you tried rehearsing the songs with the entire band with the click? If not, do you record any rehearsals? Perhaps tried recording a rehearsal and clicking your sticks to count off the songs so that when you listen back, you can hear where you count it off and what tempo(s) the song(s) fall into if they're different. As you know from your session work, the tape doesn't lie. Good luck.

 

[eml]

I have the same problem. What you could do is to imagine the song before you start counting off and play the groove on your legs. That'll give you the quarter and 8th notes to count off with (assuming it's 4/4).

 

[drumsforlife]

Sometimes I experience this, and as annoyed with it as our guitarist got, we never really could fix it entirely - simply because we all had our own ideas on what the tempo should be. So what I did was, I got with my guitarist, and with my bassist, and we worked out a signal system. I told them if they could compromise on say the first 10 to 15 seconds of the song, I'd be willing to speed up or slow down as necessary. That way, we're all working together to achieve what we're after. It doesn't happen very often, but when it does, the guitarist, or the bassist will look over at me and either nod his head, or mouth the words: "speed up" or "slow it down a bit." If I still misunderstand, he'll come over to the kit and let me know what to do. As a drummer, you provide the backbone, but also as a drummer, you gotta play what the other guys in the band want to hear. It's not the end of the world if y'all start a song a few ticks too fast or too slow. If you don't know, then you don't know. That's why I have the signal system with my band. Work out a compromise, because the best music is a combination of all the players' ideas meshed into one, and you simply cannot achieve that without communication.

 

[40th]

I play the song in my head first and get the beat down...then I count it out loud so everyone knows whats going to happen. Get the song in your head first and think about how you would play it, how fast you would want it and bam! its there. oh yeah, counting out loud is helpful for everyone....no question about tempo...1 2 3 4 and your in.

help? no, maybe?

 

[rlrrll]

A click solves all those problems. Even with a click, I still get "The song felt slow tonight" from my bass player sometimes. I think it has to do with the adrenaline that we all feel on stage. You just wanna play faster, but that click doesn't lie!!

I'd sit down with the whole band and figure out what tempo each song should start at. Then you can use a Dr. Beat or some similar metronome to get the tempo before you count off each tune. At least you'll know where your starting from. Later, when the guitarist says that your starting to fast (trust me, he will!) you can point the your drum machine and show him exactly how fast you were playing.

 

[40th]

Dr. Beat rules. Thats what I use here at work. It never lies...and it doesnt usually make me feel good about my abilities? Its like telling me Im fat and laughing at me....

Guitarists....cant play with them, and you can shoot them, but damn some of them are soooo good!!!

 

[smarty_drummerboy]

I`m going with a click now to prac`s. They still argue over the speed of the songs.

 

[vincemie]

I`m going with a click now to prac`s. They still argue over the speed of the songs.

you need to sit down with you band mates and agree on a tempo, once its agreed upon then it is what it is, if they still complain tell them there's really nothing you can do about it because we all agreed to the tempo set on the click and the click dosent lie. if you need to further adjust then fine, further adjust. but if they keep telling you its off just take solace in the fact that its them and not you. thankfully all the bands i have been in trust me on this one and ive never had a problem with this. it sounds infuriating

 

[Alan_]

yeah clicks are great in that they really take a lot of that pressure off the drummer. they can be invaluable when working with players whose egos are too huge to admit that they might be the ones with the problem.