Advice with keeping time

I’ve been putting some work in recently with some blues improv over backing tracks.
Things aren’t going too badly so thought I’d try and play along with some blues artists mirror their lead work as it were.
Sounds far easier than it is.
I’m behind, ahead and all over the place.
And in my eagerness to try and keep in time, I keep messing up the licks.
It’s like the brain has too much to do.
It’s the first time I’ve ever tried this so hopefully I’ll improve but was wondering if anyone had any advice for this type of practice?

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The easiest way that I’ve been able to match timing is to slow recordings down to a point where I can follow along, then very slowly as I get better at it, speed it up to match the speed.

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Hi there,

It is great to hear you recognize the importance of playing in time. This is something I work on every day. It does not matter how advanced you are if you can’t play in time. That said, the teachers here probably have structured lessons to help. To start with, try ten minutes of percussive strums 1&2&3&4

Sorry…posted too quickly. Count out loud while you are strumming. tap your foot bob your head, really feel the music. Try a you tube drum loop at 60 BPM to start. it is more fun than a metronome. As step 2 try all 4 basic downstrums to the rhythm of the drum beat. stop if you get out of sync. this will take several tries before you get it. After that try various strumming patterns including old faithful. It can also help if you play your favorite song in the background and try to match the beat. For chords, try something you are comfortable with. Maybe G to C add a 9 back and forth-nothing fancy yet. I hope this helps. You can do it. I was lost less than a month ago and improving. It takes work but you can do it.

Jeff

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The biggest misunderstanding about improve is that it isn’t improve. if you have to think you’ll never keep up. improve is playing what you know very well, inside and out can play in your sleep. To music that you may or may not know.

The easiest way to get good at it is to play over songs you know very well using licks and phases you know very well and just let it flow. The best way to get good at it is to copy your favorite artists and play with them. Learn how they phase their playing and steal what ever you can and fit that into your playing. Then your style will start to come out.

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Thanks Jeff
I will take a look at that.
However it’s with the lead lines rather than rythmn where I seem to struggle.

Go with the flow.
:sunglasses:

Thanks Rick
I have been trying to play along with some lead lines from songs I know very well.
Just can’t seem to nail the timing.
I’m going to put the songs into my music speed changer and slow it right down as Alexey has suggested.

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Jason

Break it down into bite size chunks maybe just a few bars. Loop them and work on the timing and as you say slow it down. I some times take one or two bars at a time and add the subsequent bars one by one. For me its slow but effective against learning long pieces in one hot. But horses for courses.

Cheers

Toby
:sunglasses:

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Toby’s right small bites at a time. I usually learn the hardest parts first. I found out a long time ago if you learn a solo the way it’s played the easy parts are first then the solo builds. So the beginning is usualy easy so easy to learn the you get discouraged because the harder parts don’t come easily. Also if the hard parts are above your play grade you know what you need to work on.

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Thank you guys
I’m glad I’m not the only one who struggles with it.
It’s been getting me down a bit over the past few days.
Was beginning to think it might be the end of my journey :confused:
I think maybe I’m expecting a bit too much of myself.
:+1:

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Useful to know and makes sense. I am about to embark on some lessons for longer passages, that are obviously a collection of licks and phrases forming a solo. Again broken down phrases when taught but I will bear this in mind - practice what you can’t do not what you can do springs to mind.
:sunglasses:

A tool like Guitar Pro is really helpful with this kind of stuff. Control the speed, loop certain sections, and have a tab with rhythm on the screen at the same time.

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I actually use an app on my phone called Music speed changer.
It’s free and great for all the stuff you’ve mentioned.
Even slowing the songs down by 50% I was still struggling to keep time.
But after a few hours yesterday I think it’s coming together.
:smiley:

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Hi Strummer
I’ve tried to play along with blues artists and it is hard. They play instinctively with many variations of rhythm and timing. Try making up your own leads instead and practice your scales at the same time. If you can find the beats per minute of a song set your metronome at that speed and play to that. Otherwise it’s ‘feel’ you should try for, ‘If it sounds right, it is right’, as I think Justin has said. Good luck with your playing.
Enjoy

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Thanks Garry
Yes I think it depends on how well you know the composition.
Some of the blues solos are hard to work out if you can’t find a lesson.
I’m going to subscribe to Justin’s transcribing blues solos section to try and arm myself with the skill to work out stuff on my own.

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I think blues players don’t always play exactly “in time” in a mathematical sense their groove and musicianship is quite advanced. It’s probably really hard to get their timing exact and it probably can’t always be replicated in notation properly. Looking at something like guitar pro will help but guitar pros often sound robotic don’t they , they don’t have the subtle push and pull that human musicians have, and blues is a really organic music style

I’d probably just get backing tracks without the lead guitar and play it my way rather than exactly mirroring the lead guitar that’s recorded That said what you’re playing should still sound in time if you just play all over the beat it will sound wrong ( I was guilty of this when I started I thought I could just solo away with no reference to the beat!) - so I’d say look at Justin’s blues lessons and build it up slowly from there.

Do you have an awareness of different note lengths and rhythms etc? That will really help

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The thing with most guitarist with experience and especially Blues players is that they make it look so simple. It’s not 'til you have a go yourself that the complexity sets in. Enjoy the transcribing course, that’s not something I’ve tried yet.

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Actually great blues player have perfect timing. This is how they came play so freely and between the beats. With out perfect timing you can’t play a back beat or a push. Leading notes sound very out of place if not played in time with the music.
It may be hard to put these techniques in writing but they are in time with the music.

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Thanks , that’s a better way of explaining what I meant to say.

I don’t know if some really early blues is sometimes off beat isn’t it but it still sounds great it’s part of the sound. I suppose I mean if you put a click track to it they’d fall off the beat too