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Time!

  • Writer: Charley Sabatino
    Charley Sabatino
  • Oct 10
  • 2 min read

On this installment of @yamahamusicusa #silentbass and @laklandbasses Friday, we continue the series on "Fundamentals. Today, "time". Understand this goes WAY beyond being able to follow a drummer or a click. It is about knowing and being able to quantify rhythm so that you can manipulate it at will and on the fly. Time also encompasses more than just metronomic time. It includes things like "laying back", playing "ahead of the beat", etc. These concepts can be difficult to understand, but are very important skills. In an interview, George Clinton referred to the "one" as a trough, whereby the beat can be hit in more than one "place" and still be on time. Ok, as usual how? The method is two fold. First, basic rhythm study. Get a book on rhythms..there are several. PM me for suggestions. Play the rhythms SLOWLY. The key is to understand them...know them. Use a metronome at like 50 BPM. (If ur against metronomes, then don't use one. Im not getting into that debate.) I have done this work for decades..so have my students. It can be tedious, but the benefits apply themselves. The next part is more qualitative. First, listen to music that is determined to be "behind", "on" and "ahead" of the beat (e.g. funk, straight ahead rock or new wave and ska). Try to follow them. Feel the way the groove differs. You can also find versions of the same song that have been performed in different genres (e.g. Tainted Love, Gloria Jones, Soft Cell and Marilyn Manson). See how each one lands "on the beat". Play each of them. Play with others and try to play the same song behind, on and ahead. You will be amazed at how different they can be. You will learn when players that are "in sync", they feel time together. The group becomes a living breathing unit feeling the ebb and flow of the groove. Lastly you can also explore other areas like swing, shuffle and Latin grooves. The list is endless. The goal is to keep going! Next week, more fundamentals. As always, I invite your insights. #yamahamusicusa #makewaves #pirastro #glasserny #laklandbasses #sitstrings #tsunamicables #philjonesbass #uptonbassstringinstrumentcompany #basslessons  #remotelessons #www.charleysabatino.com 

 
 
 

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