Witterings
Silver Member
Don't know if anybody can think of best way to approach a situation I currently have but a band I'm playing in, the bass player is oblivious to time and keeps rushing absolutely everything. He's always a millisecond ahead of everyone else and speeds up with every transition from verse to chorus and chorus back to verse again.
I think he's trying to put too much in and do some great flash runs but as a result he knows it needs to be played fast and feels under pressure before he starts them thinking I'm not going to get all this in in time and so ends up playing every single run much too quickly and ahead of time as a result and is constantly bringing the tempo up.
It's getting to the stage that it's such hard work it's actually quite unpleasant to play to as it feels as though I'm was constantly fighting with his playing and trying to work out where he is in relation to me and my whole concentration is on that making it a tense
un-enjoyable experience as opposed to a relaxed enjoyable experience and as I play for pleasure as opposed to earnings it's turning what should be fun into really hard work.
He's a really lovely guy and as a band we all get on really well together and go out for beers etc after rehearsal and it's on my doorstep. The last thing I want to do is upset him / be too critical of playing but I feel like screaming at him haven't you realised you should be playing with the other memers of the band and have some awareness where they are but I think he's just oblivious.
When I was at school I used to play in lots of orchestras and it was constantly hammered into me that the conductors there for a reason and if you weren't in time with him got a complete bollocking so from a young age became aware of where others were and the importance of playing together.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not inafallable nor perfect and do start songs at the wrong tempo but if I'm playing a song too slow or too quick all I need is a nod or shake of the head to bring the tempo up or down accordingly and then we move together as a band but he just doesn't seem to hold back on any song ever and yet could be a great player if his timing was sorted.
I've mentioned it to the vocalist who's band it is and he agrees with me and I was hoping he may say something but sometimes his way of dealing with things is to stick his head in the sand and hope it goes away.
I think I'm also very aware of it as I've played with bass players where we've been abosolutely 100% locked in together which then totally reinforces what you're doing as opposed to pulling it apart at the seams and creates a great foundation.
If anybody has any idea how to deal with this tactfully and without creating an upset would be much appreciated, I don't just want to walk in and say - hey maybe you should listen to where the drums are occassionally and then maybe you could see if you could play a couple of your notes at approximately the same time as them but it's that bad it's what I really feel like saying.
Sorry a complete rant by me and I hope it doesn't come across as me just laying into him but I think it's an accumulation of weeks of feeling like it and eventually the bubble bursts. I've mentioned diplomatically time after we're playing songs too quick and speeding up during them and then everbody gives me this look of - well isn't it the drummers job to keep time - it's just got to that point of frustration that I could throw the towel in as I don't know quite how to resolve it and yet for the reasons mentioned and the fact they're a great bunch of guys I don't really want to give it up.
Any useful idea's and lessons in diplomacy much appreciated as I know sometimes I can be a bit of a bull in a China shop !!!
I think he's trying to put too much in and do some great flash runs but as a result he knows it needs to be played fast and feels under pressure before he starts them thinking I'm not going to get all this in in time and so ends up playing every single run much too quickly and ahead of time as a result and is constantly bringing the tempo up.
It's getting to the stage that it's such hard work it's actually quite unpleasant to play to as it feels as though I'm was constantly fighting with his playing and trying to work out where he is in relation to me and my whole concentration is on that making it a tense
un-enjoyable experience as opposed to a relaxed enjoyable experience and as I play for pleasure as opposed to earnings it's turning what should be fun into really hard work.
He's a really lovely guy and as a band we all get on really well together and go out for beers etc after rehearsal and it's on my doorstep. The last thing I want to do is upset him / be too critical of playing but I feel like screaming at him haven't you realised you should be playing with the other memers of the band and have some awareness where they are but I think he's just oblivious.
When I was at school I used to play in lots of orchestras and it was constantly hammered into me that the conductors there for a reason and if you weren't in time with him got a complete bollocking so from a young age became aware of where others were and the importance of playing together.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not inafallable nor perfect and do start songs at the wrong tempo but if I'm playing a song too slow or too quick all I need is a nod or shake of the head to bring the tempo up or down accordingly and then we move together as a band but he just doesn't seem to hold back on any song ever and yet could be a great player if his timing was sorted.
I've mentioned it to the vocalist who's band it is and he agrees with me and I was hoping he may say something but sometimes his way of dealing with things is to stick his head in the sand and hope it goes away.
I think I'm also very aware of it as I've played with bass players where we've been abosolutely 100% locked in together which then totally reinforces what you're doing as opposed to pulling it apart at the seams and creates a great foundation.
If anybody has any idea how to deal with this tactfully and without creating an upset would be much appreciated, I don't just want to walk in and say - hey maybe you should listen to where the drums are occassionally and then maybe you could see if you could play a couple of your notes at approximately the same time as them but it's that bad it's what I really feel like saying.
Sorry a complete rant by me and I hope it doesn't come across as me just laying into him but I think it's an accumulation of weeks of feeling like it and eventually the bubble bursts. I've mentioned diplomatically time after we're playing songs too quick and speeding up during them and then everbody gives me this look of - well isn't it the drummers job to keep time - it's just got to that point of frustration that I could throw the towel in as I don't know quite how to resolve it and yet for the reasons mentioned and the fact they're a great bunch of guys I don't really want to give it up.
Any useful idea's and lessons in diplomacy much appreciated as I know sometimes I can be a bit of a bull in a China shop !!!