playing in different timings

[karlplaysbass]

hi everyone i was just wondering if anyone had some cool execise for playing in timings like 3/4 5/4 6/4 and 7/4 cheers .

[toneknob]

Find some songs you like with the same time sig and play along.

Eg Pink Floyd, Money; Jethro Tull's Living In The Past etc etc

[dadofsix]

I've learned to do it solely because one of the drummers I play with (he's a friend) wouldn't know a 4/4 time or a 3/4 time or ANY type of "regular" beat if it came up to him and slapped him upside the head! lol It has certainly helped in my concentration, though. :-)

<><Peace

[stuckinthepod]

The exercise I employ when someone suggests anything other than a straight 4/4 is running.

[JamesBass]

I would suggest playing with a drummer and finding the pulse. That's more important than knowing exactly where each beat is.

I'd suggest listening to songs with those sort of signatures and clap along, try to find a pulse to lock in with and you'll see progress. Also metronome work! Lots of metronome work!

[Maude]

I'll admit I'm hopeless at knowing what timings are called but seem to have an ability to play in those timings without the difficulty that our various guitarists have, and they all know a lot more about theory than me.
For me it's all about feel rather than counting, that's not to say it's right, it just works for me.
I agree with above comment about playing along and finding that pulse, even accentuate that pulse to give a pronounced beat so help you clearly hear where it is, you brain will soon get used to hearing it and you won't have to accentuate it anymore.
Although not usually involving odd timings have a look at some videos of Bootsy or James Brown explaining 'The One' and then apply that to whatever your playing along with, again it might not be right but it works for me.

Red Hot Chilli Peppers 'Breaking the girl' is another good one to play along with, even air drum on your lap accentuating that beat if it helps.

[Lord Sausage]

Break it all down to three's and two's. I.e 5/4. Count/ feel as 1,2,3,1,2

[Cameronj279]

[quote name='Lord Sausage' timestamp='1423588590' post='2686728']
Break it all down to three's and two's. I.e 5/4. Count/ feel as 1,2,3,1,2
[/quote]

This is pretty much what I do. For each part find a way to count it that makes sense to you. Break it down to be as simple as possible and it'll all come with practice.

[Norris]

It's another good reason to brush up on your music theory

It's probably best to find a riff that fits the time signature or make one up. Then repeat it while you count the beats in the bar (more theory) - out loud if needs be. Keep it going until you are steady and "on top of" the beat. Unusual time signatures will always need concentration though

[scalpy]

Another plus one for breaking them into 2 and 3 beat groupings. What I found helped then was learning some rhythmic licks that fit 2s and 3s and then you can hear them in the drums and think of lines much more easily.

[stingrayPete1977]

Have you got a pocket sized metronome? I practice scales broken into different timings using one, arpeggiate 1-3-5 in 3/4 going up two octaves for example. Or 1-3-5-7-5-3 again in 3/4 across two bars and two octaves moving up R 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 as the start point.