It's like anything
practice slow.. slow the beat down and count. Out loud even
once you get it speed it up
1,2,3,4
1, and, 2, and 3, and 4, and
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a
I've been playing in 5/4 a bunch so its becoming pretty natural. My band seems to want to write in 11 or 13 these days which I tend to count more. especially when time signatures change every few bars.
Neil Peart said he always sings while playing
I actually hum while I play its really strange haha
When I try counting while playing a beat that isnt the standard basic 4/4 beat I get uncoordinated
Man, I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, but it really sounds like you guys just need to spend more time practicing. These things only come from practicing and learning to just feel it when 4/8/16 bars have passed.Well put it this way, how do drummers record drum tracks over guitar tracks?
I was told they give the drummer a post it note with the structure of the song, (4 bars verse then 8 bar chorus ect.) And they play along to the song and count while they play to know when to switch beats or do fills into the next phase.
Im asking because Im in a band and we're doing covers, so I need to know how to count things in without becoming uncoordinated to know when the chorus comes in or when to get back to the verse ect.
Man, I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, but it really sounds like you guys just need to spend more time practicing. These things only come from practicing and learning to just feel it when 4/8/16 bars have passed.
Yeah, you can count the whole way through, but typically there are enough cues along the way where, after a few run-thrus of the song, you'll just Know. Plus, you're playing covers - everyone should already have a pretty good grasp of the song's "roadmap" before you ever start rehearsing it. That's just the homework part of it. If you were doing originals where no one's heard the song yet, that would be one thing. But covers? Yeah, that's just everyone doing their homework.
If the band is putting the screws to you (as the drummer) to keep the count and hold them all together, then they aren't really holding up their end. It really falls on everyone to know where in the song they are and to hit the changes. It's a coordinated effort.