View post (Timing)

View thread

PlatonicShred
Registered User
Joined: 01/27/07
Posts: 93
PlatonicShred
Registered User
Joined: 01/27/07
Posts: 93
03/30/2007 11:03 am
Well, I didn't mean necessarily that the timing of other musicians was bad. It's more like...hmmm...well, if you tap your foot to a song made by any band, chances are the tempo will not be even throughout the song. Not to say that the changes are that noticeable, but they are there...maybe a few beats per minute throughout an entire song.

A great example, I think at least, are the recordings made by Paco De Lucia, John Mclaughlin, and Al Di Meola in the late 70's-early 80's. De Lucia and Mclaughlin's sense of timing is spot-on, but they vary, it varies--they aren't married to 100-something bpm on-the-dot, whereas Al Di Meola, god love him because he's a fantastic guitarist, is more machine-like in his timing. On the dot and such. As a result, Paco and John's playing, to me, sounds a little less stiff and more inspired.

More an emphasis on the 'pocket' over the set bpm of the piece. An emphasis on where the other musicians around you are and are going. So, I think what you're describing is the same as what I'm talking about...

because in a jam situation all you have is a pocket :D to work off of.

Oh, and I hope it didn't come across as me saying 'never use a metronome.' I think it's absolutely necessary to use a metronome for vertical growth as a guitar player. Just sometimes you have to change things up a little, or at least I have to...to avoid a rut.
Back In Black isn't a song. It's a divine call that gets channeled through five righteous dudes every thousand years or so. That's why dragons and sea monsters don't exist anymore.