swing rhythm metronome training blues

A student recently commented on the challenges of tapping his feet in time and the difficulties of playing in precise time playing with a metronome. You might also benefit from my response... continue reading...

It's no secret that most of us have a tendency to rush. The most common reason for this in the blues is playing the upbeat eighth note too early in time, causing the following downbeat eighth note to be played early and the cycle continues until you notice it... usually three beats in where you swear that the dang metronome is slowing down!

Here's a great solution... continue reading...

One of the required tools in your practice room is a recorder... one that you can easily record with and quickly listen back to for immediate feedback. When listening back to your recording you're freed from the act of playing, allowing you to focus 100% on your performance... rhythm, technique, articulation, tone, etc. Listening intently to your rhythmic performance relative to the metronome will clarify where you're speeding up and slowing down so that you can adjust accordingly.

The time signature for blues is 4/4. The top number denotes how many beats per measure/bar and the bottom number denotes which rhythmic value receives the beat (in this case, the quarter note... 1/4). It's important we keep track of where each bar is. The emphasis of many licks starts on beat 1... many rhythmic patterns (such as chugging/chording) are one bar in length... and this is where chord change happens, which influences how we phrase. continue reading...

I know it sounds overly-simple to state this, but start by tapping your foot to the metronome before you play to the metronome. Tap your left... or your right... or even better, both, one after another.

If you tap your left (1), then right (2), then left (3) and then right (4) you're now effectively dividing the 4/4 timing of blues into its base duple meter. continue reading...

The first step of using a metronome is pretty simple, but many players forget it. Practicing is done best when done slowly. Start at a tempo that's slower than you think you need to practice... MUCH slower than the targeted tempo. Your goal will be to play the passage of music you're working on accurately at the slow tempo and then click the metronome one notch higher each practice. This is called the Metronome Method. continue reading...

The #1 challenge students are having with their LOA testing submissions is playing with a metronome... even the more advanced players. We "think" our timing is good until we play to with a metronome. Playing with a metronome trains us to make micro-adjustments every beat... tracking what we're playing and how it matches with other musicians... in this case a musician with perfect timing. So, if you're not already using the metronome as a daily practice tool, you're passing up an important training tool. Your tip today... use a metronome. More tips on how to use a metronome as the week goes on.

If you can't hear the click of the metronome, it means you're dead-center in time.

The rhythm most commonly use in Blues is that of swing-eighths... it's the foundation of our shuffles, swings and slow blues. It can be a challenge to feel the swinging rhythm, especially when studying a new passage of music... but of course we have technology to help us out. continue reading...