I never could play a measured tempo for more than 5 minutes

[solspirit]

How about you?

[beaubrummels]

I played with delays all through the 80's, so I could match a metronome all day long.

[Seashore]

Delay was my first "metronome" when I was a teenager. I've played to a click for years. Always when recording, unless I have to match somebody else's recording that has no click. Been practicing drums to a click daily over the past few weeks too.

If the question is about the longest single stretch I could play to a metronome without a break, it depends on the tempo and whether I'm doing anything fatiguing like tremolo picking. The longest single pieces I've played are just over 20 minutes. Sometimes I would play them back to back.

[El Dunco]

That’s very surprising. I can do it indefinitely and assumed everyone at a certain level could. Our drummer is one of those absolute freaks of nature who can play anything with absolute precision and feel without even breaking a sweat. He’s up there with the Lombardos and whatever Swedish death metal drummers you can think of that seem like they’re from another planet. It’s critical to be in lockstep with him. We’ve had him for 9 years now so there’s this almost telepathic musical shorthand we have between us. Live, he has me prominent in his monitor (including the vocals), bassist will have drums prominent in his monitor and so on. InFlames said something about being able to hear the FOH mix in ear.

That actually would be nice because so many stage mixes have sounded god-awful (I know it’s a drawback of being utilitarian) but later footage or soundboard was great. Is that ironic? The same sounds we create, we can’t enjoy as much as the people listening? I had kind of amnesia about one of our songs. My fiancée was listening to them and I thought “holy sh!t, who is this awesome, wild sounding band?” I asked her and realised as she was answering me it was one of OUR songs.

It dawned on me I experienced in microcosm what our music sounds like to a first time listener who hasn’t written, developed, recorded, mixed and mastered it and hearing it in all those forms and I’m a bit jealous!

[DankStar]

I usually start riffs too early (play in front of the beat) but on recordings I don’t fix it, I just chalk it up to a sense of urgency.

[El Dunco]

I usually start riffs too early (play in front of the beat) but on recordings I don’t fix it, I just chalk it up to a sense of urgency.

As in noticeably too early, like a flam or in a groovy way where you almost wouldn’t notice but if you zoom in on the waveform, it’s ahead by a little?

[DankStar]

As in noticeably too early, like a flam or in a groovy way where you almost wouldn’t notice but if you zoom in on the waveform, it’s ahead by a little?

It was pointed out to me when we recorded with an engineer known for making tight metal recordings. He was zoomed in to the waveforms, not really listening but fixing all of them. I don’t like “perfection” like that.

[Mincer]

I played with rhythmic delays and metronomes since I was like 9, so I can generally feel time really well. Many rock drummers drive me crazy with their fluctuating time.

[Inflames626]

I would get out a good old 9 volt powered metronome (they only went up to 220 bpm in those days) and...

1) Set to an easy tempo like 120 bpm. Play all subdivisions.
2) Set to a very slow tempo like 60 or even 40. Try and play all subdivisions.
3) Set to a very fast tempo like 160 bpm and above. Play all subdivisions with an emphasis on 16ths.
4) If you play a specific genre like funk or Latin, find a commonly used, syncopated motif and try that at various tempos.
5) To build speed and endurance, try to play at your very fastest for a short period. Usually I do 16 bars or so. Then try a slightly slower tempo for the length of a usual song, say 5 mins, to build endurance.

[Inflames626]

Something a lot of younger players who want to do metal can't do is feel a small subdivision within a big pocket.

They think songs are 300+ bpm because they get lost without a rapid click to hold their hand.

Essentially, they can't count 16th notes.

[Inflames626]

Also, the ability to gradually slow down and speed up tempos and stay in time with everyone else is overlooked.

Don't be that embarrassing guy who messes up the ritardando at the end.

The band is doing one of those long winded song endings with guitar wankery and drum fills.

I'm watching the drummer. She's watching me. Finally she hits the snare drum but I don't play anything to end the song. Everyone laughs.

It felt like a four way traffic stop. I was a gentleman waiting on the others to go. In doing so I missed my mark.

[Clint 55]

To have a good time feel, you have to be able to play in time. And if you don't ever practice to a metronome, drum track, or backing track, it's likely your time won't develop as well as it should.

I'll put on a drum track and practice a tune continuously for up to an hour. It also improves your time feel to play to all tempos. I practice from very slow 44 to somewhat fast 170.