Using Metronome During Live Performances

[mondi99060451]

Do you think using metronome while playing live means the drummer's "metro" is weak?

Advantages?

Disadvantages?

I do this because mas groovey ang palo pag may kasabay akong metro.  Disadvantages lang, parang bawas yung freedom, hindi ako makatodo sa fills.  Pero kahit poste lang, importante naman yung groove di ba?

[mondi99060451]

hmmm... sa recording lang ata gumagamit ng click track ang mga drummers dito ah...

[drumster]

I've witnessed a number of notable professional drummers who use metronomes on gigs.

There's Jasper Grutas (Zelle) & Paul Benitez (former South Border)...  I've seen Gerd Banzon (Freestyle) tweak his metronome before every song, just to serve as a tempo guide...  I've also seen Mike Alba use a metronome live.  And I know Sir Jun Regalado and his sons also do the same thing occasionally.  Performing with a metronome doesn't always mean that a drummer's sense of tempo is weak.

For me, one advantage is it helps make the tempo more solid or more stable throughout the song.  In my band, we have some live songs where in we run a sequenced track to supplement our live performance.  And for me, that's the equivalent of playing along to a metronome.

Regarding its disadvantage/s, I think it's just a matter of getting used to it.  There are some drummers who are not comfortable or not used to playing along with a metronome/click.  Some even get intimidated by it.  But for me, like what I said, we just have to get used to it.  I treat it like an additional member of the band, and I interact with it, instead of playing against it.

[nikogulo]

i used to play with a metronome during gigs...hmm i should do it again...

[mondi99060451]

in the long run, do you think it's advisable to get used to playing with metronome or, I should not be too "dependable" in it?

[drumster]

I believe it's always good to have the ability to musically and effectively play with and without a metronome. 

[intake]

think of it as a..uhm...training wheels on a bike 

[zyncopado]

if i may....

When I was gigging in the Philippines as part of INTRoVOYS, MYST?RY and SKiN, I rarely used a metronome live.  There would be times when my band mates would give me a high five and tell me that we were "in the pocket".  There were nights na "deadma" lang.  There were many nights wherein I have been told na "na excite" na naman ako at "medyo bumilis na kaunti" ang kanta.  There were also times when I thought I did alright but after listening to myself on tape or after watching a video of myself behind the kit... i always ended up becoming frustrated because my tempo was off!

When I learned how to play drums, I embraced the metronome right away.  I would practice with it and I would record with it.  In spite of it, I never really used it LIVE.  My tempo was always consistent, as in consistently slow or consistently fast.  Wala kasi akong reference point as tempo.

When I auditioned for bands here in the US, I almost lost my confidence.  I would get rejected not because I couldn't groove or couldn't lay down the fill.  I would get rejected because I couldn't nail the right tempo.  Many times (and I do mean MANY), the vocalist would look behind his shoulder in frustration and then stop the band.  He would tell me to speed up my tempo or slow down because I wasn't nailing it.  In the end, I lost the gig.

I knew that I was guilty of not nailing the exact tempo but was not guilty of speeding up and slowing down.  I decided to buy a Tama Rhythm Watch.  Thank God for "tap tempo"!!!  On the next audition for an upcoming local band, I came in prepared with a tempo list of their songs PLUS an additional equipment on my drum arsenal... my metronome!  I got the gig!  The name of the band was Brush the Green (http://cdbaby.com/cd/brushthegreen).  Go check out how the recording came out.  Too bad we didn't go very far.

Anyway, the vocalist for Brush the Green had the same attitude as other singers.  He'd look above his shoulder and motion me to speed up or slow down.  Well, not in my house!!!!  I made it a point to play with the Rhythm Watch hanging above my head.  Hooked to my in-ear monitors, I had a clear register of the click.  The band, on the other hand, had a clear view of the LED display clicking in time to the tempo that the four of us had agreed to earlier before the song count off. 

In other words, the metronome became our objective tool to determine any given tempo tempo.  This saved me a lot of possible argument situations.  The use of a metronome in any situation also opened the doors to a multitude of session work. 

I still don't use the metronome 100% live but tempo junkies better beware because if they challenge me about nailing a tempo... they better own up to it.

 

[makLoy]

para sa 'kin Lang, nakakatakot gumamit ng metronome sa gigs...

you aLL know why..

[reycantong]

in my band, "ALL" of our songs have sequenced/pre recorded tracks/elements (slow and fast songs). our drummer has a click track/music mix in his earphones.

sa umpisa, mahirap talaga. may times na bumabaligtad yung time ng drummer against my sequence. pero sanayan lang din. our goal is to "hear what we want to hear". to hear all our elements live or in the studio. gusto namin makapal talaga live.

for me, walang disadvantage ang metronome during our live performances. actually our setup calls for it. 

[kimpoy19]

sa metronome, siguro ay depnde lang yan sa paggamit mo nun, kung hindi mo pa kayang gamitin during live, syempre wag muna. siguro make some practice na may kasabay na metronome. pro kung makagamit kana ayos na siya, para saakin using metronomes ay ay ibig sabihin ay weak ang tempo, siguro para mapractice ka lang din at maimprove mo pa. may mga tugtog kasi na sa recording ay mjo mabagal pero sa actual na mejo bumibilis. siguro ayun din yung advantage ng metronome, magagawa mo yung dating tempo at yung tempo na pinapangarap mo.

 kasi ako hindi pa nakakagamit nun. sa keyboard palang ako nakagamit. Hihi

[dudematters]

i think very important to.. para mas accurate ang timing 

[autoexec]

sa jamming na lang siguro nyo ng banda mo para maenhance mo yung timing mo, pero parang lame kasi pag pati sa live nakametronome ka pa rin..

[kimpoy19]

yap! parang hanggang sa live may sinusundan kaparin, so medyo hindi mo mailalabas yung feeling mo or emotions mo kapag may metronome.

[metalmuhlisha]

personally, playing with a metronome is all about preference and comfort. i think it's ok to use a metronome or not use one when playing since i don't think you're selling yourself short creativity-wise when you use it.

i don't usually use one since i don't feel comfortable drumming when there's something stuck in my ear and a wire is restricting my movements (can't move too much since the metronome might go places) and i don't want to damage my earphones with my acid-like sweat.

i like using a metronome occasionally at home though not only to keep tempo, but more importantly, time. sometimes, doing really long fills is fun, and the metro helps me know when and where the "one" is going to be. (eg. 1+2+...1)

@autoexec and kimpoy19
i know at least one situation where a metronome is needed: up dharma down's drummer supplements his setup with a drum machine during live gigs, and i'm thinking he also uses it for timekeeping. may mga kanta sila pag live na sobrang hirap kapain/bilangin kapag walang metro.

[LouieAzcona]

nakametronome ung drummer namin.

advantage: naka looper kasi ung guitarist namin... so kung may slight change sa tempo na nangyari... hindi makakasabay sa song ung stored na sounds sa looper ng guitarist namin... so kailangan din talaga namin ng metronome.

as a bassist, mas nasasarapan ako pumoste kapag constant ang tempo. chka parang mas nacocopya namin ung record namin kapag nakametronome.

disadvantages: naka ipod lang kasi ung click eh... so medyo may issue sa oras ng pagpapalit ng tempo everysong.

bukod dun. wala na...

for me, playing with metronome is more of an advantage. parang practice mo na din yan eh. dahil kapag nasanay ka ng may metronome sa GIG, wala ka nang problema pagdating sa recording. sisiw nalang sayo ang magrecord