Update: My drummer speeds up during every song. Found an App!

fastonebaz · May 2019

It's annoying and despite discussing it never improves. It's not practical to play to click or set a metronome to each string.

Has anyone heard of an app that detects tempo through thr mic and displays thre real time tempo so I can get thr drummer to use this and monitor keeping us on track?

poopot · May 2019

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/find-musicians-with-bandfriend/id510681565?mt=8

lukedlb · May 2019

poopot said:

https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/find-musicians-with-bandfriend/id510681565?mt=8

Brilliant!

Cirrus · May 2019

You can't go easy on drummers. Give an inch and they'll take a Keith Moon style tom fill. Shoot him. Shoot him in his stupid face until he's dead. He won't speed up then.

ICBM · May 2019

Tell him you'll tell the groupie that drummers are amazing in bed because they always speed up towards the end. Unless he fancies the groupie, in which case tell him that she prefers slow and steady.

fastonebaz · May 2019

Cirrus said:

You can't go easy on drummers. Give an inch and they'll take a Keith Moon style tom fill. Shoot him. Shoot him in his stupid face until he's dead. He won't speed up then.

I can't promise to follow this advice to the letter but I'll give it some thought.

PhilW1 · May 2019

How many drummers does it take to change a lightbulb?
1& a2 & ,,,,sorry
1,2,3 1,shit sorry
1& a 23 &. A4 sorry
123456788,,sorry

andy1839 · May 2019

I had the opposite, one that slowed down.
Started everything great but after the first verse slowed down so much it was laughable.

Tried hard to get him to keep time including a click track, but he couldn't deal with it.

We got rid.

(The decision to kick him was also based on the fact he became a massive racist seemingly overnight.)

Winny_Pooh · May 2019

Have rehearsals to a click in the PA , that way everyone internalises the tempo. It's annoying as hell but if everyone stops and restarts when you're ahead and it's obvious that he's messing up, then it may help.

mudslide73 · May 2019

It's that thing of them not practising enough at home due to practical reasons. We're brought up playing along to things so we're more aware of it. He just needs to play to a click when he's practising - like us playing scales over a metronome.

Our drummer slows down a bit but you can gee him up a bit by speeding up yourself.

JAYJO · May 2019

Fine him £60 each time....if he still persists send him on a speed awareness course... failing that cellotape him to the starter motor of the van.

Fuengi · May 2019

Can you rig up some sort of explosive which blows if he falls below a certain BPM? Think the movie Speed, but percussion based.

Lebarque · May 2019

That drives me crazy too. The phrase 'you had one job' springs to mind. Drummers that start the same song at different speeds at every gig are real good fun too.

Funkfingers · May 2019

fastonebaz said:

Has anyone heard of an app that detects tempo through the mic and displays the real time tempo so I can get the drummer to use this and monitor keeping us on track?

This idea will not succeed. The tempo monitor read out will inform the drummer of what he is CURRENTLY playing rather than the tempo at which he SHOULD be playing.

Electronic timing aids can be accurate to microscopic divisions of a second. This is of no help if the human drummer is incapable of latching on and sticking to the intended tempo.

Older 'boarders may recall a MIDI Clock device that Peavey produced in the Eighties. It sensed what the acoustic drums were doing and sent tempo information to any sequencers involved in creating the backing band instrumentation. (Imagine, if you will, Eliminator era ZZ Top.)

andy1839 said:
Tried hard to get him to keep time including a click track but he couldn't deal with it. We got rid.

This is the second most humane solution.

Cirrus said:

You can't go easy on drummers. Give an inch and they'll take a Keith Moon style tom fill. Shoot him. Shoot him in his stupid face until he's dead. He won't speed up then.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few."

trolley · May 2019

Join My Band;)

Modulus_Amps · May 2019

is his timing just that bad or is he playing with feel and following the rest of the band and really you are all speeding up together?

Danny1969 · May 2019

I made a light metronome rather than a click ... it flashes in the set BPM and the drummer can use that. Very effective for speeds upto 140 or so

steamabacus · May 2019

Maybe this would help him?

https://drummersonly.co.uk/product/soundbrenner-pulse-smart-vibrating-metronome/

If he still can't keep in time, try attaching it direct to the mains for extra 'zap'.

PolarityMan · May 2019

If its a consistent speed up in certain parts to add energy or excitement then thats fair enough, if its dropping a beat in a 2 bar fill and coming in early for beat 1 and then telling everyone its a speed up to add excitement or energy then he can fucking fuck off.

koneguitarist · May 2019

Check your bassist as well, its not always the drummer.
Listen to a recording or better still post up a vid of band where he is speeding up. sometimes it can be just an issue with what he is hearing in mix.

fastonebaz · May 2019

Funkfingers said:

fastonebaz said:

Has anyone heard of an app that detects tempo through the mic and displays the real time tempo so I can get the drummer to use this and monitor keeping us on track?
This idea will not succeed. The tempo monitor read out will inform the drummer of what he is CURRENTLY playing rather than the tempo at which he SHOULD be playing.

No, it exactly and precisely will help. There's no problem starting a song. He'll take a look, notice it's 96bpm, then half way through take another look and notice it's 110 and slow down a bit. That's exactly what I'm looking for.

I saw something called a Beat bug I think which sounded good but I reckon there must be an app that could do it.

Or maybe I need to write an app. Hmmm

steven70 · May 2019

Slip a couple of roofies in his cup a soup.

Seriously...does he admit he's doing it and want to change? Just stop the song and start again. And again...
Or you can make a note of the bpm for each track and have a simple drum machine in the PA for reference or chain a pair of phones on and make him play to a click

WiresDreamDisasters · May 2019

Click is the only answer.

Lebarque · May 2019

He'll take a look, notice it's 96bpm, then half way through take another look and notice it's 110 and slow down a bit.

You can lead a horse to water...

koneguitarist · May 2019

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Click is the only answer.

Disagree, drummers are not always the problem, I can make a drummer slow down or speed up if I want to.
Check first who he is following and can he hear them, 2nd, watch a video of yourself playing and listen where bassist plays his notes, on before or just after the beat. Who is dominant guy in band?

When we changed from one bassist to the next, despite bassist being far better, the rhythm was a struggle between drummer and bassist. It really upset the balance. Another drummer always slowed down, so we put a monitor with rhythm guitar up loud in the mix, never slowed down again.

Fuengi · May 2019

Danny1969 said:

I made a light metronome rather than a click ... it flashes in the set BPM and the drummer can use that. Very effective for speeds upto 140 or so

...after which point it presumably becomes a strobe?

steven70 · May 2019

koneguitarist said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Click is the only answer.

Disagree, drummers are not always the problem, I can make a drummer slow down or speed up if I want to.

This is actually very true, if a band is connected, the tempo becomes part of the whole.

I don't think it's the end of the world if the tempo drifts slightly (for example in longer instrumental breaks) as long as it comes together again when it needs to. Depends on the music I guess.

WiresDreamDisasters · May 2019

koneguitarist said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Click is the only answer.

Disagree, drummers are not always the problem, I can make a drummer slow down or speed up if I want to.
Check first who he is following and can he hear them, 2nd, watch a video of yourself playing and listen where bassist plays his notes, on before or just after the beat. Who is dominant guy in band?

When we changed from one bassist to the next, despite bassist being far better, the rhythm was a struggle between drummer and bassist. It really upset the balance. Another drummer always slowed down, so we put a monitor with rhythm guitar up loud in the mix, never slowed down again.

Everyone in the band should be following the drummer. The drummer should be the master clock. IMHO.

fastonebaz · May 2019

WiresDreamDisasters said:

koneguitarist said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Click is the only answer.

Disagree, drummers are not always the problem, I can make a drummer slow down or speed up if I want to.
Check first who he is following and can he hear them, 2nd, watch a video of yourself playing and listen where bassist plays his notes, on before or just after the beat. Who is dominant guy in band?

When we changed from one bassist to the next, despite bassist being far better, the rhythm was a struggle between drummer and bassist. It really upset the balance. Another drummer always slowed down, so we put a monitor with rhythm guitar up loud in the mix, never slowed down again.

Everyone in the band should be following the drummer. The drummer should be the master clock. IMHO.

Defo. Can't be any other way. The drummers prime job is to set and maintain the tempo.

ICBM · May 2019

fastonebaz said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Everyone in the band should be following the drummer. The drummer should be the master clock. IMHO.

Defo. Can't be any other way. The drummers prime job is to set and maintain the tempo.

Not sure I agree with that. A really good drummer doesn't just press go and set off like a clockwork toy, they listen to the rest of the band and work together to adjust the tempo if necessary.

WiresDreamDisasters · May 2019

ICBM said:

fastonebaz said:

WiresDreamDisasters said:

Everyone in the band should be following the drummer. The drummer should be the master clock. IMHO.

Defo. Can't be any other way. The drummers prime job is to set and maintain the tempo.

Not sure I agree with that. A really good drummer doesn't just press go and set off like a clockwork toy, they listen to the rest of the band and work together to adjust the tempo if necessary.

Well, I disagree with your disagreement

In one of our new songs our drummer goes from 105bpm to 160bpm for only 4 quarter notes and then back to 150bpm for the rest of the song.

I mapped this out based on about 10 different performances we did in the practice room. He was very consistent.

Consistency is the key. Using a click doesn't imply you never stray from the pulse, or change it altogether. It just implies that you're working on being consistent with your clocking.

It shouldn't be necessary to monitor the tempo on the fly in case of drastic changes. The drummer should know what the hell he is doing so that the rest of the band can follow.

A band shouldn't really be going up on stage to play Mustang Sally or whatever, and constantly starting or ending with different speeds. That just isn't professional. It's sloppy. This is completely different to having known and expected shifts in the time.

A band also shouldn't be held to ransom by it's worst performing member either.

I find musicians who are anti-clicks really aggravating. They love to pretend that if they did use a click, it would ruin their vibe, their jive, their groove, etc... it's bullshit. Complete bullshit. It's just an excuse to avoid work and remain as a sloppy musician.

Fundamentally, I have high expectations for this kind of thing. Musicians get better when they practice to a click.

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Update: My drummer speeds up during every song. Found an App!

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