Re: was blues, now behind the beat

["Bob Maglinte" <bbqbob917@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

- ----- Original Message -----
From: <alciere@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, April 04, 2003 8:13 AM
Subject: re: was blues, now behind the beat


>
> How does one practice playing behind the beat?
>
> Rainbow Jimmy

Hi Jimmy,
A drummer many years ago told me that he learned how to do it with  his
metronome. Now remember, each time the metronome clicks, it's dead right on
TOP of the beat, and you can set up instead of clicking on EVERY beat, set
it up to click on 2 and 4, and in many popular genres of music, including
blues, this is where the snare drum hits. By eliminating the 1 and the 3,
it's easier to hear behind the beat because leaving those 2  beats out
allows just enough quiet space to do it. Once you get more comfortable with
this, set it back to click on every beat, and once you get the hang of
behind the beat, you'll find that behind the beat tempos may be faster than
you ordinarily would've thought. You're not dragging, but in reality,
playing in parrellel time. Many people who brag saying blues is easy to
play, they're usually the ones who don't really play it particularly well,
because they haven't taken the time necessary to learn feel and hoiw the
groove is played. To get the idea, get yourself a copy of Ben E. King's
original "Stand By Me," and then A/B it with Mickey Gilley's country version
of it, using the metronome with it. Most people will usually think the
original is slower, but how wrong they are. The original Ben E. King version
is played BEHIND the beat, Mickey Gilley's is actually AHEAD of the beat.
What does this mean? Mickey's is actually SLOWER in tempo than the original,
because by playing ahead of the beat, you give the illusion of being FASTER
than the actual tempo, and Ben E. King's original is just the opposite.
Whenever I work with musicians that are usually Rock musicians, I usually
call the tempos SLOWER because most rockers will tend to play dead up off
the 1 and often WAY ahead of the beat, so every thing is rushed and
frenetic, and doing that forces you to play MANY more notes. If you listen
to where the 2 and the 4 is, and phrase off 2 and 4, it's easier to learn
how to play behind the beat, as off 1 and 3 makes it extremely difficult to
do so. Listen to recordings of black music very carefully, both to vocals
AND solos, and  listen to where the snare hits, and you will see it easily.
By playing more off 2 and 4, the weak beats of a 4 beat measure, gives more
tension, wheras 1 and 3 are the strongest in a 4 beat measure, the "in your
face" beat. In black music, when you hit off 1 too much, it loses alot in a
solo after 2nd chorus, wheras if you play a longer solo, doing it more off
the 2 and the 4, when you do it 1, it will then be much more powerful, but
don't make the mistake most white musicians make when playing black music of
staying off the 1 too long or wind be so much in the face that it loses its
meaning entirely.

I hope this helps.

Sincerely,
Barbeque Bob Maglinte
Boston, MA