Problem with dragging while playing uptempo

[The Jazzworm]

hi folks!

I have one serious problem: When playing uptempo comping without drums or metronome I have the tendency do drag very much (I slow down until I'm in a tempo I'm really comfortable with). What could I do to loose this tendency and work on my problem?

Does anybody know any practice tips or things to practice to get more stable with my timing?

metronome settings also recommended !

kind regards and thank you very much for every answer !

[randalljazz]

i think you already know. always practice with the metronome...it will become your best friend. set a comfortable tempo for the work you are doing. don't worry about speeding up--get rock solid, and swing against the clicks.

play with others if you can, especially those with good time.

[The Jazzworm]

thanks for your kind answer !
Yeah I must stick to the tempos I can play now and slowly work to get faster and faster. I'm not always practicing with metronome, but I will change that !

PLaying with people with good time seems also like a very good thing !

[Reg]

I'm a pro, have great time and I still use metronome or rhythm tracks...

[cjm]

Originally Posted by The Jazzworm

hi folks!

I have one serious problem: When playing uptempo comping without drums or metronome I have the tendency do drag very much (I slow down until I'm in a tempo I'm really comfortable with). What could I do to loose this tendency and work on my problem?

Does anybody know any practice tips or things to practice to get more stable with my timing?

metronome settings also recommended !

kind regards and thank you very much for every answer !

How about this?

Don't just comp. Do Freddy Green for 16 bars, comp on the bridge for 8, then go back to Freddy Green for the last 8. Then mix it up some.

The thing is, if there is no drummer, the soloist could use some percussive rhythm to help maintain tempo anyway.

And whether you're just jamming with friends; playing out, or; just working out the changes by yourself in the living room; getting that right hand and forearm working like the pitman on a steam locomotive helps turn you into a human metronome. There can be sort of an inertia that helps prevent speeding and slowing.

By mixing it up that way, I think you develop a better time sense and are better able to maintain a sense of where and when "one" should be when you're comping -- or even when laying out like you might do if some one wants to trade fours.

Do that enough, and I think you'll eventually get to where you can comp as much as you want where a four to the bar rhythm isn't really called for and without slowing down.

Along with playing rhythm, try humming, singing, scatting -- whether audibly or silently -- the melody while working through the tune. Sometimes the pie hole keeps time better than the hands.

[JakeAcci]

I struggle with this too, but I'd advocate the perspective that you need to become familiar with a specific tempo. Let's say Q note 260. You need to learn to hear 260 as 260, and not mistake it for 230 or 280. That has to be internalized. I think there's a lot you could do to internalize a tempo, a lot of it without your instrument.

Consider that if you have a metronome or drum track, the less information the metro or drum track gives you, the more work you have to do to maintain exact tempo.

Different people have different tempos they are comfortable with. If you are playing without bass and drums, I think it makes sense to try to become more comfortable with a variety of tempos - you might find that there are slower or medium tempos that are hard to maintain as well, because you naturally shift them to a tempo you are more comfortable with.