This is the MOST important thing to practice...
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- čas přidán 25. 01. 2022
- In this video, I share two simple but challenging exercises using a metronome to help you improve your sense of rhythm and internal clock. Improving your sense of timing is one of the most important things for bass players to work on as members of the rhythm section.
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Thanks for sharing. I've never heard of this metronome exercise before so I really enjoyed it. I definitely want to check out your course some time soon.
Awesome! Hope you find it helpful. You’ve got this ⚡️
Keep time, I can’t manage the keep to the loop!
Great exercises, I love the second method. I believe Carol Kaye said something similar about making the click feel like it’s grooving.
Yes I think you are right! She has shared this exercise I believe. It’s a classic.
@@philipconradmusic 😄
Great video and cool thumbnail.
The watch was very creative. 😂😂
🐒🎸
Hahah trying to think outside the box! Thanks for watching ⚡️
This advice is SO helpful, and I don’t even play Bass! I’ve been learning to play guitar for nearly 2 years. Everyone (including lots of popular courses) says to use a metronome, but nobody has ever really demonstrated how to do that in practice. I can definitely take these ideas and apply into into my guitar routine!
For the backbeat version in particular, there are metronome apps and other music related apps that let the user change the default metronome tones to a drum, bass, and even other instruments. Using a feature like that would help make a person feel like he’s playing along with another instrument while still accomplishing the ultimate goal of playing along to the beat.
I wish I could afford to buy a bass, but I have no income due to being homebound/ill/disabled since July 2019. I had a 2003 summer job accident just after finishing college. I used to work part time and mostly went for therapies and medical appointments for many years. I got very sick with three new issues in late 2018, and my moms who I had lived with passed away, so my circumstances changed drastically. I am always happy to explain more, but short of it is that I don’t even have SSI/SSDI money to spend despite being eligible due to red tape I’m caught in, and I may not see any such money for living expenses until 2023.
ANYWAY, I’m actually looking for a donated 24.75” electric guitar that doesn’t have a baseball bat neck because the one acoustic guitar I own isn’t really suitable for my disabilities and chronic pain, long story short. It used to be perfect when it was given to me by my mom before she died, but it became much harder to play after I became ill and needed a difficult lung biopsy surgery that led to further physical issues with my arm/hand. It’s a great guitar and got me this far, but I am risking injury by playing it - and I love guitar so much that I don’t want to put it down (but I may have to). It’s much harder to play chords, do bends, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs, and all the really expressive stuff on an acoustic guitar for the average person let alone someone with disabilities and chronic pain. It’s really been like physical, occupation, cognitive, and recreational therapies all rolled into one. Oh yeah, forgot to mention that I also have a Traumatic Brain Injury that makes learning new things extremely difficult. The fact that I’ve learned to play anything is amazing. I’ve figured it out somehow, and I’ve really made so much progress - and I play every day unless I’m way too sick.
I’ve tried reaching out to most major brands for nearly 1.5 years now. I only heard back from Gibson Foundation who said they would have loved to assist me, but they’ve been too swamped with pandemic donation requests (which is like why other brands didn’t reply). An electric with much thinner strings and the neck specs I need in order to be playable with my issues would make a HUGE difference because the acoustic guitar is causing me pretty severe pain and puts me at risk for getting injured. The action on my acoustic as low as it can go, the strings are the thinnest gauge the manufacturer recommends (11-52), etc. It really sucks because I’m homebound and can’t have visitors, so learning to play guitar has been a huge deal in my life and even my service dog loves it!
Anyway, I’m mentioning this because I always want to try bass too. I have a great knack for rhythm and I think I’d do very well despite the thicker strings and longer scale length because bass mostly involves fretting individual notes more than anything. The pain I experience on my guitar usually happens when I’m playing chords - it’s sometimes the cowboy chords, but power chords, fancy chords, etc. are usually what do me in after just a song or so (sometimes I can’t even get through an entire song). Of course there are some chords played with bass too, but it’s not always as much. Plus, bass lines can be more easily adapted from power chords to only playing the root note without worrying that it won’t be heard. That’s much harder to play on an acoustic guitar since it’s not as audible (assuming I’m playing rhythm), and you can’t alter other kinds of chords too much because it usually wrecks song melodies or alters them in a way that isn’t as pleasing to the ear.
Anyway, I could be wrong, but what do you think? Is it worth trying a bass at some point, or do you think it would be way too hard for someone with muscle weakness and some dexterity issues?
I really hope to try bass someday . . . but first I need help finding a company, retailer, and/or shop that’s willing to help me get started with the type of guitar I need, a decent amp (preferably a modeling one, but I’ll be happy with any working amp), and the accessories (like a strap, some picks, strings), and other things I’d need to care of my guitar/gear (like tools, cleaning kit, etc.). It doesn’t have to be an expensive guitar, just playable. I really love the 2020 Epiphone Modern Flamed in Carribean Blue. That would be like a dream to own, but something with similar neck specs that isn’t super heavy would be super appreciated.
I wouldn’t exactly say no if someone had a bass to donate lol, but I’m trying to work on the guitar thing first. I keep asking around in the hopes that someone with the right connections with brands/shops/retailers might see this and help me make it happen. Or maybe some individuals would have some gently used gear that fits the bill that they’d very kindly love to give a new home.
If anyone reading this has any connections, please reach out to me @MashaT22 on Twitter or Instagram - feel free to DM me.
I’d also love input on the question I asked regarding playing bass with my issues. I’m really curious if it’s doable.
Thanks for reading if you got this far! 🙏🏻😇
Hi there! Thanks for sharing. I’m sorry to hear you’ve had to deal with all this; can’t imagine.
I will say bass is a tough instrument physically. It does take some hand strength and forearm strength. I’ve dealt with my own injury and learned there are some ways to get around this, but at the end of the day it does take strength to play.
I don’t have the resources to help you find a bass unfortunately. But you are welcome here on this channel and I am so glad you said hello ⚡️
If you use the Tempo app you can turn off or silence the click played on each quarter note. I like to turn off Beats 1 and 3 and it makes the metronome groove! By turning off the click on different beats you achieve the same result without modifying the tempo on the metronome.
Well said. Thanks for sharing! ⚡️
Making the metronome groove is hard work. But a great exercise indeed. Good stuff. Thanks for sharing!
Agreed thanks Brent! ⚡️
Man I needed this like 10 years ago but well... never late to start learning. Thanks Phil
The time is always right to work on timing. Good luck Victor; you’ve got this! ⚡️
Thanks, Philip. Looking forward to giving this a try later on both guitar and bass.
Thanks Matt! Good luck ⚡️
I find timing to be an issue on the simplest of bass lines and not on busy ones. I think my concentration sometimes lapses.
Agreed! I think it has to do with subdivisions. More complex lines create more subdivisions which help us have more rhythmic precision. Simple lines can be tough because of all the space ⚡️
This is so helpful, 🙏 thank you!
Thanks Andrew! You’ve got this! ⚡️
Love stuff like this I can add to my practice routine. Thanks!
Thanks Ben!
1 thing for the jazz bass that i feel that often feels left out when people talk about them
people always talk about them as being brighter (they can be) but i personally think they sound warmer and softer but in its own way
a jazz bass (neck p-up only) has more of a soft warm tone thats smoother while i find that the p bass has a warm tone thats a bit more growly and harsh (in a good way)
Thanks for sharing! ⚡️
Right!! Alot of people think it's the drummers job! Great vid, thanks!!!
Thank you!! ⚡️
This video's great. It's definitely something I need to work on both on guitar and bass.
I hope you find it helpful! ⚡️
Great exercise Philip. I really need something like this. Cheers!
Thanks Judi! Hope you find it helpful ⚡️
Lifelong guitar player and kind of new to more seriously playing bass. I recognized a long time ago that I had a tendency to push the beat a little. I worked on it intently and it got better but I realize as a bass player I need to really work on my internal clock. This exercise is super helpful in that regard.
This comment brings up a great point: having good timing isn’t the same on each instrument. I am learning piano and my time is really poor on that instrument. I think so much of it is muscle memory. Practice and time. Thanks for sharing!
@@philipconradmusic So true! I'm 'primarily a lap steel guitarist these days and I have to really watch where I nail a note relative to the beat when sliding between notes or chords. Definitely different than playing on a fretted neck. Playing bass is a great for teaching intentional/focused listening. I started playing bass because I've always been an ear driven player and really suck at counting. I wanted to force myself to do that work. I suspect being a poor counter is partly an outcome of never having a teacher make me do the hard work LOL. My wife and other friends who have actual music training make clapping and counting the time look easy. I'm hoping to improve :).
Is that a flip top amp I see? Hmmm.
Yes! Here it is in action: czcams.com/video/-zoVb4cfQRQ/video.html
The 2 and 4 exercise has been a fun way to practice (picked it up off of Dan from That Pedal Show). What I love about it is I swing harder than I would with it on the 1 and 3 or straight quarters.
Well said! I love this exercise.
I enjoyed this
Thanks Janice! Glad you enjoyed it ⚡️
Awesome as always man. How do you know if you're an intermediate bass player?
Thanks Robert. I’m not sure, I think I need to think about that one. Probably you have the fundamental technique down and some basic theory and you can play on stage with a band and do a solid job with a bit of rehearsal? Hard to quantify.
Great exercises!! I'll definitely be trying this out tonight!
Awesome! I hope you find them helpful ⚡️
That’s a unique perspective, Phil! I have never seen an exercise where you slow the bpms down like that. 6 string exercises always just have you build tempo faster lol. Everyone wants to shred. This will be really useful for my rhythm playing 👍🏻
How you find it helpful. Good luck dude! ⚡️
Drum machines > Metronomes
Thanks for sharing James. I think they are both helpful for different reasons. I like to practice with both ⚡️
Man does not build nate smith timing using drum machines alone
Good stuff! Scott’s Bass Lessons put out a similar video not too long ago but I think yours is more comprehensive and doesn’t have a special “bass trainer app” which is really just a metronome that you’re trying to get us to download
I didn’t see it, but glad you found this one helpful!
Hi Philip, I have been playing guitar for many years. I just started to get serious about playing bass. I am enjoying your bass course and hope I can stick with it. The one thing that is a distraction to my practice sessions is my bass sounding like it's always going out of tune. I'm playing a 70's Squier P-Bass (made in Japan). I've had it for years. The notes I play always sound like they are a tad off; either sharp or flat. I'm constantly playing with the tuning keys and it's frustrating. I think it's the way I am fingering the notes. Working on trying to get a clean, consistent sound.
Thanks for putting together the bass course. BTW this video on timing is really great. I think I'll get a lot out of it.
Try looking into the set up of your bass. Set neck relief to .010" - .014". Use a capo on fret 1, press down on fret q15. Measure at fret 8 with a feeler gauge . Set string height yo 5/32" - 6/32" measured at the 15th fret between the fret sand the bottom of the string.
Hi Markey! I have an intonation video on the way that may help. Stay tuned!
I definitely need to put this in my routine. It really ruins the feel of a song when you're off by just a little bit.
I hope you find it helpful!
What level player is your bass course for? I need something to get me past this intermediary hump, don't really want to go back over beginner stuff yet again(I've been working on bass for a few years now).
Hi there! There is some beginner stuff. But also lots of intermediate and some advanced. Here’s a link to a more thorough breakdown of the course:
czcams.com/video/p24oMbezYpc/video.html
@@philipconradmusic this actually sounds right up my alley but before I get started I want to get in a good practice schedule for both bass and guitar, see I went whole hog trying to learn guitar this past year(hours of practice a day) and didn't barely pick up the bass, but think I'm ready now seeing I got theory down pretty well and can find my way around so much better. Anyway I'll get started soon thanks for the free videos.
Great idea! I’ve done something similar except I don’t change the beat and double the tempo. Are you counting quarter notes in your head?
Yes quarter notes or eighth notes, just depends. Hope you find it helpful! ⚡️
Just curious on your thoughts on how to work on note placement along with time. Ahead, behind, and right on the beat. Thanks your videos are awesome!
This is a great topic and deserves it’s own video! Would love to share more; stay tuned ⚡️
Have you ever used a metronome live (in the band members headset). I've thought about using this but I want to hear what you have to say. 🤘
The only time I have done it is in churches. I really don’t like it, but also recognize the value it has for a weaker band or if you are running a bunch of tracks (which I also don’t like). Sometimes a necessary evil I guess 🤷♂️
Great lesson Phillip.
A non music question, is that the Iliad or the Odyssey on the book shelf behind your left shoulder?
Thanks Alex! The Iliad