Who Uses a Metronome on Stage?

[gjones]

I used to occasionally play with a young drummer, who would dep for our usual drummer, when he couldn't make it.

A couple of years ago he travelled over to Nashville, to try and make it as a session player. 

When he came back to Scotland, for a brief visit, he played a few gigs with us.

Although his timing was excellent, he insisted on using a click track, as a lot of the gigs he was doing in Nashville incorporated backing tracks and sequencers and he needed the practice.

 

 

Edited June 10, 2021 by gjones

[Manwithvan]

The ‘drummers from hell’ stories remind me of one guy we tried many years ago. He stared fixedly at my right arm (I was on rhythm guitard), and hit something only when I did.

He didn’t do count-ins of course.

btw OP I too have the same metronome, but unless tilted, it seems to swing slightly.

it could be me?

[Dankology]

On 09/06/2021 at 08:46, xgsjx said:

I’ve been working on a couple of songs with acoustic guitar players/singers & ask them to play to a click & then send me it. What gets me, is how do they manage to lose time with the click. Some they end up playing between the click (usually mid chorus), some lose/gain a beat & some just forget they had a click at all. 😂

Over lockdown we tried doing some online writing that involved playing to a click and sharing the files.

I found it incredibly difficult to keep time with a plain click but programming it as a simple bass drum and snare beat really helped. I'm sure a bit more practice would have helped too but it was a good workaround.

[xgsjx]

17 hours ago, neilp said:

You don't need it counted in at 129 or at 130, you need it counted in at the tempo you decided on at rehearsal. You don't even need to know what that tempo is in BPM, as long as you know how it feels. Counting in is no different than playing. If you use loops etc you might need a click. Otherwise keep the mechanical timekeeping out of it and learn to play the song at the right tempo, judged by how it feels. Metronomes are a practice tool.

Sorry, but I disagree. I used to have the same view, but a metronome can really tighten up the sound & reduce sloppiness. Even if it’s just the drummer who has the click, it makes a huge difference. 
You can always adjust the tempo on the fly if you feel it’s too fast/slow. 

[Lord Sausage]

Do you mean one of these?

[BillyBass]

Reading through this thread I have even more appreciation for our drummer.  He makes the odd mistake in rehearsal when he hasn’t learnt the song well but apart from that he is great. He doesn’t use a metronome at rehearsals but I sometimes see him counting.  For some songs with syncopated bass lines that I haven’t put into muscle memory I just keep an eye on his hands and feet.