Understanding Why We Speed Up the Tempo

[jdogric12]

Well said Nick.

[squirefan01]

Thanks for the insight. I am working on getting some extra practice with the rythm section of this band, to make sure we can work better together.

[8mileshigher]

Hey, a postscript on this one from a few months back. Recall the Badfinger song "No Matter What" prompted this subject and several members of several bands indicated that they too, had speeding up problems themselves with this particular tune.

Well, our amateur band is working on recording a cover of this tune and our drummer put Badfinger's original version up aginst the equipment, to get Badfinger's exact tempo for comparison. Turn's out (according to the drum machine) they (Badfinger) are at 112.0 BPM (Beats Per Minute), on most of the song, while our own studio track was recorded at 110 BPM's. However, it was interesting to find out that even Badfinger themselves' had trouble (variances). When they come in and out of their breaks, their timing was WAY off. Some sections they were on and others they were off. So then our drummer cued up our recent live rehearsal we did of "No Matter What" and we were playing it live at 116.0 BPM's. Not to far off. Comparativly, 120.0 BPM's is a normal/standard tempo for many rock songs.

I found it interesting that the original artist's encountered tempo problems of their own, with this song too.
Regards - Rich F.

[morrow]

I've found playing with a metronome highly over rated .


..... I've never found one that can keep up with me .

[whojamfan]

Slight tempo changes are what gives music its "human" feel, this is why drum machine demos may be rock solid, but sterile as a eunich. Your rhythm section has to be able to play off of each other, as they hold down the groove. To quote Joe Strummer of the Clash, "You're only as good as your drummer". I would add next that you need a bass player who can lock in with your drummer. Guitars can be, and have been for many, sloppy and the vocals ok, but the band can sound great if the rhythm section is locked in, but the best guitar and vocals will sound like **** if the rhythm section is off.

[jdogric12]

Look for a "Money" thread in this topic...

[steverok]

It's like Phil Collins once said ... "you can have a bad band with a good drummer, and it will still sound good".

[blue330]

Almost all guitar players rush, and almost all drum fills rush even if the rest of the drum performance is steady, but the most shocking discovery I made about all this was how some singers are way ahead of where they ought to be, like, all the time! One guy I've worked with is almost always 35 milliseconds out front, so that must just sound right to him. But I can slide his voice back and instantly the whole band sounds like they've got a better groove. Mainly, it just needs to sound good. To me, it's a good thing that that next part of Back in Black gets faster... Being all hung up over some invariable BPM seems wrong for most music aside from, you know, disco! At the same time, there's no doubt that our brains like steadiness and groove, but groove is more sophisticated that just machine-like accuracy. I am reminded here of an old New Yorker cartoon of people happily dancing in a big club and onstage is some kind of Victorian steam engine going "psssh- CLACK!"...

People who make home recordings to a click track are usually doing themselves a favor, though. I think that's just about the only way for drummers to learn how to not speed up their fills. The sound of a drummer trying to get back to the click after a rushed fill is worse than than just letting things speed up, for sure.

Of course, to some extent, rushing and singing sharp at strategic points = The Sound of Rock! The quantized and re-tuned commercial rock (and country is even worse about fixing everything) of recent years is a most unfortunate development!