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Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 6:32 am**

halo guys!

I've problem with tempo. it's hard for me to keep the tempo steady esspecially when I move from basic pattern to variation, and when I take a solo. I play in a acoustic band which consist of five players( bass, guitar, percussion and 2 vocals). mostly I play conga. my question is: how to build a steady tempo? what kind of exersice can help me to improve my tempo? I've already praticed with metronome, but I still have a problem to build a solid tempo.

does anyone have the same experience? I need your thought and some advice!

thanks guys!

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 9:36 am**

Hi Solo,

I am just a beginner and by no means I can keep the tempo stady and therefore I can tell you only how our TEACHER tries to help us percussion students with this problem. We do a lot of body percussion combined with SINGING syllabes. For me this works good and helps to embody the rhythmical structures.

Amber

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 10:19 am**

Hi!
I think an important thing is to practice with metronome. Take a shaker and do 8th notes with tempo 80, then 100, then 120. At least 5 minutes each, and try that every day. In that way you learn to shake really in time, and to build up a feeling for the right time.
Just do everything with metronome, rehearsing with the band as well. Take headphones so that only you as time-keeper can hear the click, in that way you can get sure that the other band members listen to you and play in time as well.
Tom

Edited By Thomas on 1150467807

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 11:31 am**

Solo,

Just starting to overcome this, and this has helped me. It's easy to "lose it" on the breaks, fills and solos. So first off, stay with the original beat and only go for them when you feeel "locked" and ready. Secondly, I realized the reason I was "losing" it was that when I came to a break/fill/solo my attention/listening suddenly shifted to what I was playing, rather than to my place IN the music. A listening adjustment was necessary and required listening practice -- a persistence of attention THROUGH the phrase I had to "feel" my place within the tempo. I'm getting better, but it takes utmost concentration. Try simplifying --for now-- your breaks/fills/solos so that they mesh with the tempo phrasing foundation that's been established. Remember, your most important instrument is your ear.

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 12:41 pm**

Hi all!

Steady tempo? I second CongaTick's reply, and others, though I think a metronome can help but is not vital. Practice and RELAX while playing and soloing. Practice and relax some more. I'm still working on it. I played along a lot with more experienced players from early on, and also with recordings. Playing along with a CD is more fun than with a metronome for me and the tempo is usually just as steady, so it's also helpful. I know many, many really fine players who have no access to metronomes and little access to recordings, and their tempo is rock solid. The more you do it, the better you get, it's that simple.
Hope this helps!

Yonatan

Edited By yoni on 1150463295

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 1:07 pm**

Alafia Abures Mi!
I hope that you are all extremely well and blessed my brothers and Sister!

This has always been a concern when begining to play with others, that is the challenge, learning to play in "concert" with one another. Everyone's recommendation has great merit on this post, once you learn to play the rythms, you then learn to "adapt" them to a live situation. Fortunately for most, we play with others who "read" music, I unfortunately don't, but that isn't the point. Those players that read, have the "road map" of what the song is, our job (for those of us who don't read), is to LISTEN very carefully, and count whenever possible,
1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & :I

Usually the breaks will fall within a countable measure, and traditionally you will be able to come in with the rest of the group. If you check out other congueros who, like myself, have been playing now for over 30 yrs., you'll notice a physical metronome going on. By this I mean, we keep time with our heads, gently moving it in time with the beat of the rythm, others tap their feet, and yet others who stand, will dance with the rythm. It's really quite interesting, but eventually you will develop your own metronome, but you must learn to count the rythm as you play, it will be the best 'LIVE' aid you will ever have my brother!

The other recommendation which is suggested by the brothers in this post so far, and which I TOTALLY agree with is..............LISTEN, listen to the rythms, to music, and not just the music that you play, but others as well. Fill your spirit with as much rythm and possibilities of rythm that you can, this will help you when you are given an opportunity to solo. Just listening to a rythm, think of the possible beats YOU could add to it, where you could place them within the spaces in the rythm. It's all fun once you really start to open up and listen to everything around you.

Many blessings Abure Mi!

Onile!

Edited By onile on 1150477832

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 1:48 pm**

I just went for another lesson with the guru on the mountain yesterday. Lately my big focus has been learning more varied rhythms, parts, and songs. I sort of threw out the meditative quality of playing the same part for hours. Well, Dave knew exactly what to do with me, so we sat down, did the warm-ups, and he had me play the tumbao to Bembe and Guaguanco. That's all we did for three hours, while he said a bunch of spiritual - Taoistic rap the whole time. He and I discovered tiny inconsistancies in my playing, and it gave me new focuses inward on the playing that's definitely going to help my timing,, and the sound.

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:24 pm**

Second everything said....

The tempo is something you have to internalize. This is easier said than done....When you play in ensemble is when you know if you could play or not...Seen a lot of people with potential but in keeping the tempo and playing in ensemble is where they fail.

This is something you are going to have to practice. The metronome is good but there is no "swing to it." Then, play with records that helped me a lot. Specially record that the dynamics in the songs change...Believe it or not that is when the tempo gets screw up...You get with the feeling of the song and the next thing you know the tempo has gone a notch...If the dynamic goes down, also the tempo could go wrong...

A recomendation I was given at the beginning is to play one notch a head...but careful because the tendency is to speed up....

Again, practice practice practice and it will become second nature...People ask me why I am so serious when I play and is because I have internalized the tempo and I am concentrated in what we are playing without losing the swing and "feeling the groove and noticing things...I do everything but relaxed...(Only you could do this when you feel really comfortable that includes your knowledge and skill of the instrument, the group and the song you are playing). Is like you are in a "relaxed state" where you can catch and feel anything...Breath while you are playing and be noticing things, use your feet at the beginning to keep, I've done that..and eventually you will see you will get..(Technique learned from one of my heroes Bruce Lee who thought that was the perfect state to be receptive). (By the way, lots of people say about smiling when playing but is hard when I am like that...Seen only a few good percussionists doing that most are in a serious and concentrated state. Tito Puente is one that comes to mind that smiled a lot and kept his tempo pretty good specially at later ages).

Lots of stuff?????? It shoud be something natural but it has to be learned and again internalized...You have to feel it... Once you get it you will see what easy is...Get with it...The record playing I recommend and internalize...Keep us posted

Saludos!

Edited By Raymond on 1150468130

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 2:52 pm**

Sometimes when a song completley breaks down for a couple of bars or more, if there is no guide it can be very difficult to come back in bang on time, maybe I will anticipate it too early... But in general I have rhythm and kind of always did.. Hard to explain but it's just there..

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 4:43 pm**

Charangaman,

What you say is true and that is that the "internalization" that I mention comes to play...Is second nature and confidence that works here...and that is after awhile...

I've played with so many people with good and bad habits and observe what they do specially those with bad habits to avoid it and the ones that screw up the tempo are those in a hesitation state not feeling insecure...It takes skills...Records have help me and yes, those breaks with silence and going back again to playing will tell you if you have internalized the tempo that like I mentioned needs to be practice so is kept all the time while playing...

Keeping the tempo is something of using somebody, and/or yourself, as a guide of what is the tempo..First you start with the counting of the leader to start the song. Then the rhythm section has to stick together and making sure what the groove should sound like based on what what counting...Be sure that good musicians will know if they are climbing a notch in the tempo and "look" for somebody in the rhythm section to go back...That's the dynamic..is going back and forth...Of course, sometimes the change of tempo cannot be avoided but the worst is when you are going at some speed and the rest is playing at something...You try to bring everybody to you but if not and the song allows it then you go with the flow...Again "we will find each other at the Coda" and then blame or say something at the end....Is fun isn't? Lots of things but not difficult once you internalize and know you are playing together not alone...

Saludos!

Edited By Raymond on 1150476643

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 5:23 pm**

Alafia Raymond!
What you say is sooooo on the money! Depending what instruments are being played, usually there is a tendenacy to speed up, or gravitate towards one of the instrument's groove. The danger here is that they too could be barely hanging on to the correct count/time signature. I used to play with a local Timbalero out here, and his favorite number was what he labeled as #38 on his chart, #38 was "RanKanKan", those of you that know this rythm, know that it's a challenging one. The Timbalero would count it off in one time signature, but before it was all over, the tendency was always to "speed" it up, sometimes, no matter what we tried, we would 'de-rail' all over the place. Laughing at ourselves, but all the time having fun.

I sometimes play with guitarists in a "trio" setting, and I'm afraid that they (the ones I work with, not every guitarist however), don't necessarily worry about the rythm. When they do a little melody that's around two bars long, they somehow extend one or several notes and I'm needing to compromise in order to make the tune sound like it's supposed to. It's like you say though Abure Raymond, once you internalize these rythms, you learn to pull it all off, without letting others watching, know that you had to change paddles in midstream so to speak.

La bendicion!

Onile!

Posted: **Fri Jun 16, 2006 8:26 pm**

Hi Raymond and all... Raymond, the point you made before about smiling interests me because I'm sometimes told the very same thing: "Why do you look so serious when you play?" Well, I don't feel serious. It's just that when I'm at my best I'm in a relaxed concentration where whatever expression there is comes out in my hands, not in my face. I do smile at times and can do other things at times while playing, but generally I'm a stone-face

Did a little video clip recently and felt the camera, so I looked right at it to try to get past my camera/recording shyness, and played okay but definitely not my best - which happens mainly when my face loses all expression and I think of nothing...

Posted: **Sat Jun 17, 2006 6:38 am**

halo all of you guys!

first of all, thanks for sharing your advices and experiences. and wow, thanks again for reply which is a lot and beyond my expectation. I've read the reply and I can litle bit understand, but I still have to work on it, and that's gonna need a lot of my attentionand my energy.

halo yoni. I'm agree with you. when playing, sometimes it's hard for me to relax and enjoy the whole element of the song. I think, that is one of my tempo's obstacle. you right. I'm gonna try to play relax.

once again. thanks guys. today I have a gig, I will direct pratice and try your advices. cu!

ade asmitha

Posted: **Sat Jun 17, 2006 10:10 am**

hi all

Keeping the tempo is hard indeed....

I personally never used a metronome. I just played, played and played more.

I do a lot of traditional african too and this helps a lot too since the polirythmy (spelling??) is huge there.

I gave years of classes and this helps to breakdown what you do.....

It is important to play and listen: Once you are locked, listen to the whole song from oustide, then focus on each instruments seperately, then you and so on.

You will reach a point where you can play, totally forget about what you play and keep the tempo.

My advice is to practice. It will come.

B

Posted: **Sat Jun 17, 2006 6:14 pm**

Yoni,

I pull faces when I play, not very attractive, I am told, so I chew gum to keep from gurning, and keep my face muscles relaxed and moving.
Works for me.
On timing, the toughest test is coming in from a fill, on the money.

Diceman

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how to keep the tempo steady