drummingman
Gold Member
As a drummer our main job is time keeping. The goal is to have perfect time all the time. That said I find it funny how in a lot of situations that the other members of the band forget that the time is also their responsibility.
I also think its funny how other band members perceptions can make them think that the drummer is speeding up or slowing down when we are not.
I would say my time is very solid 90 percent of the time. I am human so at times I do push or drag the tempo. But its usually not drastic.
In my band we have a lot of odd times in our songs. So we are not able to play with a click for every song when we practice because we dont have a drum machine to program the time sigs into for a click. So on those songs we play without a click. Its funny how often we get into tempo arguments on these songs. Admittedly there are nights at practice where my time is not perfect. But there are also times when Im sure my time is on and my guitar and bass player will disagree.
My guitar player admits he has awful time and its very rare that my bass player will admit that he is wrong on anything! I can also be very head strong. So the head butting can be tough at times. But we are really getting better at working out issues which is good.
Its funny cause I was just talking to another drummer the other day that told me he goes throung the same thing with his band.
So tonight at practice I said we should buy a drum machine and map out all the songs to a click and we should all wear headphones, not just me, with the click in them. That way when my time is on they will hear that in the click as well and cant say that Im off when Im not. And them having the click in their ears will make them realize that playing with good time is also their responsibility, not just mine.
I also think its funny how other band members perceptions can make them think that the drummer is speeding up or slowing down when we are not.
I would say my time is very solid 90 percent of the time. I am human so at times I do push or drag the tempo. But its usually not drastic.
In my band we have a lot of odd times in our songs. So we are not able to play with a click for every song when we practice because we dont have a drum machine to program the time sigs into for a click. So on those songs we play without a click. Its funny how often we get into tempo arguments on these songs. Admittedly there are nights at practice where my time is not perfect. But there are also times when Im sure my time is on and my guitar and bass player will disagree.
My guitar player admits he has awful time and its very rare that my bass player will admit that he is wrong on anything! I can also be very head strong. So the head butting can be tough at times. But we are really getting better at working out issues which is good.
Its funny cause I was just talking to another drummer the other day that told me he goes throung the same thing with his band.
So tonight at practice I said we should buy a drum machine and map out all the songs to a click and we should all wear headphones, not just me, with the click in them. That way when my time is on they will hear that in the click as well and cant say that Im off when Im not. And them having the click in their ears will make them realize that playing with good time is also their responsibility, not just mine.