Trouble keeping the same rhythm for an entire song 😞

[Mbroady]

Originally Posted by Chas007

No I have not used a metronome yet. I have tried one, but it seems to make the playing boring, or maybe its just me. I can get the rhythm going but can't seem to keep it going for the whole song through my clunky chord changes. Yes, I have a lot of problems. I may have to take up drinking again. At least then I'll think I sound good 🙂.

Seriously though, thinking about my lack of rhythm got me to wondering are there any of you that can play but can't dance? Because being able to play good rhythm guitar seems like you should be able to dance also.

Hey chas007

Praticing with Metronome is a rabbit whole that often frustrates players of all styles and levels. And opinions about them are as vast as there are players.

So take my opinion with a grain of salt

I Don't play with a Metronome, but i practice with one.
What I mean is if I'm learning or writing a song I won't even think about using a Metronome. But I might set aside a time to take the song and break it down into quarter notes or practice scales a quarter note at a time.. then 8th notes , 16th notes etc. Learn to crawl before u walk, then learn to walk before u run.

Most music is played before or after the beat. This is called playing in the pocket. Funk has a different pocket then rock, or folk music. But before u can play in the pocket with a Metronome u need to know what it feels like to be.....robotic. being robotic with music is a vibe killer but practicing 1/4, 1/8, 1/6 notes and eventually.moving on to dotted and syncopated notes will eventually (possibly years) allow u to play better and in the pocket with a Metronome.

On a side note.I almost never play or record with a click track, but I will SOMETIMES use a grove track that has the right pocket.. But after years of Metronome practice I can play with out one for 6 - 12 measures (on a good day) before may tempo drift.

Hope this helps

[KevWind]

Originally Posted by warfrat73

Shortcuts frequently aren't... use a metronome.

Yep a wise old horse trainer once said "The faster you want it, the slower you go"

use a metronome no matter how "boring it seems" and set it slow enough that your clunky changes can be accommodated

[difalkner]

Playing in our church praise band we always thought we kept pretty good rhythm and timing. Until, that is, we began using click tracks with IEM's.

We very quickly realized we were following our Worship Pastor and his freedom to vary the timing but it was ad hoc, not planned, and the result was that not everyone picked up on the tempo change as quickly as needed. I could frequently feel us slowing down on certain songs but as the only acoustic player there was very little I could do to get us back on pace.

When we began playing with the click track it forced us to be much tighter as a band and group such that now when we occasionally go without the track we are far better than we were prior to that little help aid. We're also much better now as a group at picking up tempo changes if we aren't using the click track.

[Aspiring]

I've been working through this heavily over the past year.

Using metronomes that have variable sounds for different beats (particularly beat 1) and then different techniques have helped a ton.

Forcing myself to play with a metronome has been a big help.



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