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Do you (can you) count 1, 2, 3, 4 per bar while playing?


tedmanzie
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[quote name='Mook' timestamp='1378802834' post='2204718']
This is the perfect excuse to post a Yolanda Charles link [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3Lszt2HPK8[/media]
[/quote]

this is exactly what i'm talking about!
trying to separate mind from hands.

i'd like to be able to yabber on while playing a bassline.

Edited by tedmanzie
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Guest bassman7755

[quote name='clauster' timestamp='1378811699' post='2204843'] I can if I have to. Athough I struggled with 7/4 for agaes until I realised that seven has two syllables [/quote]

The trick with odd meters (5, 7 etc) is to internalise the feel of them, you can do this by just practicing tapping your fingers on something and emphasizing every 5 or 7th beat respectively. Do this every day for a few minutes and within a week you wont need to consciously count.

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Another thing I do is have little phrases going on in my head to help me remember the rhythm.
For eg, with 'Gigantic' the helpful phrase is 'and one motorboat, and one motorboat'.
For Ace of Spades it's 'I'm an elephant and I'm a tiger' *

No idea why those particular phrases popped into my head - they just did.



(* I should point out I have never played Ace of Spades in public and am never likely to TBH. It's just too fast for me :lol: )

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Count while playing?! Christ no, I hope by the time I'm live and playing the song that I will know it and any nuances that my band or the band I'm playing with add to it, if I'm short notice then I'll not count but often stand further back and keep an eye on the drummer and follow his rhythms for most things. I used to count all the time but when I started to do backing vocals the whole counting thing has become an impossibility to me and my simple man brain!

It's corny but I like to just feel the groove and react to it?

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I count on three occasions:
1) when there's a complete musical pause within a song, I'll count the space before coming back in.
2) when a pattern repeats for long section, I won't count beats but I will count how many times I've gone through the riff to keep track.
3) when I have to pedal a note on a proggy part, I'll count along.

Thanks for posting that Yolanda video btw... well timed, as I'm just recently trying to get some backing vocals into my reportoire!

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Never consiously - just listen to what the drummer's up to and tap my foot/ bounce a bit if there's a big fill or a section with no drums in it. I've never given it a thought 'til now though!

Definitely in with the "get it or don't" crowd, it just kinda happens...

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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1378743288' post='2204067']
I am much more likely to deliberately count out rests , especially if there is no cue from the drummer . "Substitute" by The Who is a song that immidiately comes to mind where I would do that .
[/quote]
This. Ish.

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[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1378744740' post='2204108']
I don't count in standard timings. I just rely on the feel and/or the drummer! But we do a couple of numbers with odd timings (eg 7/8) and I do find myself consciously counting through those, at elast when we're learning the songs.
[/quote]

Times like these - Foo Fighters. If I don't count 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 1, 2..... I'm lost :lol:

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