Metronome Tip

[phdmerrill]

If you haven't already tried this, I highly recommend playing with the metronome click just on the 4 of the bar while improvising a tune. It's challenging, but it's a totally worthwhile challenge.

Half the difficulty of it is simply starting out, trying to orient your counting or mental rhythm so that the click is on the 4. You might waste a lot of time trying to turn that click into a pick-up note, ending up sliding back your harmonic rhythm to make the click fall on 1 on the subsequent bars.

To remedy this, I have two suggestions. First of all, you ought to be tapping your foot on the click (the 4) and on what will be the 2. Now if you can, make that click feel "up." For me, if I say "YIT-dahhhh, YIT-dahhhh, YIT-dahhhh, YIT-dahhhh," (with the "YIT's" on the click) the "dahhhh's" will feel like the chord change and the "YIT's" will feel like lead-ins.

If you can't get this to work, then do a count-in. With the clicks on the capitalized words, count, "FOUR one two three; FOUR one two three" until you've got your even quarter note pulse, then transition to: "FOUR one and a-two; AND a-one two three FOUR; (one)." It's a tricky gear shift, but if you really accent those "and's" and make sure the clicks foot-taps are falling where they're supposed to, you'll get the feel for it.

SIDE NOTE: To take this second suggestion to the next level, turn off the metronome, and try tapping your foot where the clicks would be, counting "One, and a-two, AND a-one, two, three FOUR."

Even once you've gotten the groove started, it's some tricky fun to keep track of it, making sure that click doesn't migrate too far from where its supposed to be. If you stumble out of rhythm, maybe just count and scat the groove until you're comfortable playing it.

Good luck.

[phdmerrill]

The natural next step of this exercise is to start playing with the click on the "and" of 4. But that I haven't tried yet.

[JakeAcci]

Yes! Some heavy hitters I know suggested this to me long ago and I use it, and similar approaches, in my practice frequently.

The metronome can be:

Any quarter note within the measure

Any quarter note within two measures (for example, beat 4 of every other measure)

etc

Any 8th note upbeat within a measure or two measures

A dotted note (this way the click is at a different point in the bar every measure)

Quite hard - the click is 5 8th notes tied together (or quarter, or half)

Having a metronome or drum machine that can go very slow (like below 30) obviously becomes a necessity for some of these.

Also - setting the metronome to be the second or third partial in a group of triplets...

I got the tip here for an iPhone metronome called "Tempo Advance" which is great for this stuff, not only can you do the above exercises easily with this app, but you can even combine them!

[JensL]

For timing practice I found it very useful to practice bebop themes with the metronome on the 2nd 8th note triplet.

I can highly recommend that exercise, I think I read that Ari Hoenig suggested it at a workshop. I'd suggest starting with a blues or a rhythm A-part it gets a bit frustrating at times.

Improvising with the metrome like that is easier, especially if you play a lot of triplets or 12/8 feel, but of course also useful.

Jens

[JonnyPac]

Mastering beat 4 and and of 4 is crucial. Good tip. So many syncopations, and anticipations work off of that part of a bar in 4/4 and it often gets overlooked and rushed by beginning players.