James Lee Stanley

Last night my pal, John Batdorf and I did one of our combo solo/All Wood and Stones shows in Fallbrook, CA (www.johnbatdorfmusic.com  and www.allwoodandstones.com)   and as we hadn’t played together in a while, did a little warm up before the show. 

We talked about how some of the songs tend to rush and for us both to keep an eye on the tempo.   It brought to mind what an old musician friend of mine told me years ago, and of which I must continue to remind myself.   Tempo.   

He said, “remember James, you have plenty of time.”

What he meant by that is that you are rushing because you think you need to hurry up to get all that stuff in their in the allotted time.   You don’t.    If you remind yourself that there is plenty of time to play that lick, that turn around, whatever, you will find it easier to stay in the groove.

Groove is just a consistent tempo.   You deliver it and it feels good.  When you dance, you are just moving to the rhythm.  Try to make your hands do the dancing.  Just relax and dig it.    And if you feel yourself rushing, tell yourself that there’s plenty of time.   There is.

I also noticed that because I haven’t been practicing with the drum machine for a while, my time is beginning to float a little, so I am reminding both you and me to practice with a metronome of sorts.   And don’t put the songs in their most comfortable tempo.  Move them around.   Play the fast songs slow and the slow songs even slower.

And make them work at those tempos.   That’s what gives you the grasp of time.   While practicing songs at their proper tempo is valuable, much more happens to your sense of time when you put your songs in very different tempos than you are accustomed to when performing them.

You will see a vast improvement in your sense of time and your ability to lay in the groove after only a week of doing this kind of exercise.

I use a drum machine because when I sing and play I drown out a metronome, so use whatever you have to, but practice with a time keeper.   You will be amazed.