The Rhythm Is Gonna Get You

This is an article that I recently wrote for a worship music conference magazine. It makes some good points, if you're a musician. If you're not, sorry. ~Dg

Gloria Estefan once sang “the rhythm is gonna get you”. And if you aren’t prepared, that’s exactly what it will do! I’m talking about musical time: rhythm and tempos. In music, I believe it is paramount. You can have amazing vocal or instrumental technique. You can have chops from here to Kansas, and be able to sing or play hundreds of fast scales, licks and patterns. You can even have great tone and a keen understanding of melodic and harmonic structure. But if you are playing out of time, none of that will matter.

When I began playing sessions in my 20’s with really good studio drummers, I began to realize that although I had good technique from classical and jazz studies (as well as thousands of hours logged in club bands), my timing was not yet very well developed. One pivotal moment came at a session when the drummer pointed out in front of everyone that I was the reason why the track sounded off. I was angry, but I quickly realized he was right. I could have either been a whiner and gained nothing, or swallowed my pride and started working on it. From that point on (thankfully, I wasn’t fired from that session!), I only wanted this drummers’ kick, snare and hi hat (along with my piano and the click track) in my mix. I became so intimately acquainted with his impeccable time that over eight years of playing with him, we would unknowingly play a lot of the same rhythmic patterns together, which made for some cool moments. I am forever grateful for the time I worked with him, and today he is among my best friends!

I heard a story once of a young aspiring guitar player who attended a Pat Metheny (famous jazz guitarist) clinic at Berklee School of Music in Boston. He was anxious to learn all kinds of amazing new chords and solo ideas up close from a master. To this person’s disappointment, Pat talked almost exclusively for over an hour about how important developing good time is in music, and that without it, anything you can play (or sing) is meaningless.

I have to agree 110%. We’ve all heard the players who sit down at a rehearsal and start blowing all their favorite fast licks to let everyone know how good they are. Then once a real tune is counted off, they are making mistakes - dragging, rushing, and generally messing up the whole thing. Or the drummer who continually starts dragging the tempo when going to the ride cymbal, or rushing through a tom fill. Of course, most keyboard players (my main instrument) are notorious for learning to play their instrument in a vacuum, creating their own unique sense of timing. This happens so often because the piano is the most self contained instrument for playing the rhythm, bass, and harmonic roles simultaneously. Pianists often play so much that it leaves little room for anyone else to fit in, and if it’s out of time (which it so often is), the song is soon lying in ruins.

In my 30’s, I was the keyboard player in Ricky Skaggs band for about a year. One of the best things I remember about playing in the band was what awesome time the drummer and bass player had. Many of the country rhythms we played were downright simple on the surface, but that is exactly what made them so difficult to play correctly. Every note, every chord, every detail had to have a purpose and be played with impeccable time. At the shows, I sat next to the bass player and drummer, and each night the three of us would lock in as tightly as possible, wordlessly challenging each other to dig in and play tighter and cleaner than the night before.



Everything you play, on whatever instrument it is, must have a purpose, and it must be played in correct time. Of course, playing different musical styles require learning unique “feels” (timing nuances). And sometimes you may even play something more rubato (without a steady beat). But the quickest way I know to make a group of good individual musicians sound like a mediocre band is to hear one of the members play with poor time. Yes, in the world of contemporary worship music (the most popular of which draws its musical influences primarily from the worlds of rock, pop and folk music), the rhythm will get you if you don’t get it first. Before you spend another dime on strings, sticks or samples, acquire a good quality metronome device that does subdivisions. Roland and Tama both make products that work beautifully. Then, don’t practice again without it. When learning a new song, get the tempo from the recording (a unit with a tap tempo feature is very helpful for this) and practice songs with the correct tempos. If you’re running scales or patterns, playing songs, whatever, keep it going as much as possible. Try slowing down a faster song first if it is difficult, and then slowly build up speed, but the key is to keep the tempo consistent. You will then begin to develop your “internal clock”. In other words, your sense of time will develop internally, and you’ll rely less and less on a metronome. Your team/band will sound better, and your music will communicate to others much more effectively.

I Chronicles 25 tells us all about David’s musicians in his army. In verse 7 we are told, “Along with their relatives—all of them trained and skilled in music for the Lord - they numbered 288.” I guarantee you that if 288 musicians were not trained and skilled in keeping good time, the cacophony would have been excruciating! It would be good for us all to keep that in mind when we are playing music with a group of maybe 4 or 5 at a time.

American Idol Ideology

Tonight is the penultimate night for the 6th (?) season of American Idol. Blake Lewis, from my hometown of Bothell, WA is one of the two finalists. My 2 oldest sons are good friends with Blake, having worked with him at the Outback Steakhouse. They say he has always been a genuinely great guy. Two of my nieces were on the front page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer on the day Blake made his big return to Seattle. Being two of his super fans, they were at the parade at Westlake Mall 2 hours early, and were photographed just after Blake shook their hands on the front line. So, of course, we all really want Blake to win. Or do we? It seems like the best talents in the land have always been biggest losers early in their careers. Losing before winning always seems to give an entertainer more of an edge, more to live up to. Take a look some time at the list of famous singers and entertainers who were not first on Star Search, American Idol, or any other silly talent competition show. These programs are created for one reason only - to sell advertising time. The judging is subjective, the voting is suspect, but the fact that Ford SUV's, lite beer and Diet Coke continue to sell is undeniable.

So if Blake doesn't win, I'll probably be happier. Because he can avoid the obvious, and go down his own path. Those with the most attention at the beginning are not always the big winners in the end. For example, what has Kelly Clarkson done for us lately? I rest my case...

Intro: Hi there. I just finished my first blog a few minutes ago. And then I deleted it by accident. Which proves I am a newbie to blogging. (I thought it was very clever and well written, but, what do I know...) Anyway, it was all about how important correct spelling is to me. I'm not pleased that I deleted it, but I'll try to recapture some of the better stuff. Dg

I've never thought much of blogging. I've always thought it was a dumb waste of time. I've also never really been into journaling. It simply reminds me too much of homework, probably because it's on paper. I feel compelled to use good penmanship, to space and create margins well, and to use paragraphs correctly. Then only to turn it in to some teacher waiting to criticize me with a C-. Typing on a computer, I only feel the need to spell correctly. And spelling matters very much to me.

To my own discredit, I frequently become very judgemental of people who misspell words. Especially easy ones. Like words that should have been mastered in the fifth grade. I can't think of a good example right now, but I will most certainly receive some email tomorrow with one or two carelessly spelled words. And I will scowl and resist the urge to correct them with a red font and then hit 'reply to all'. I just find it distressing that more people don't care more about the English language. I believe it relates directly to reading, or the lack thereof. Or from reading nothing but garbage and watching TV news. But I am regularly disturbed by how many words are spelled incorrectly in print, on signs, and in general public view. In the city where I live, there is an apartment complex called "The Pines". But that's not what the sign says. It reads, "The Pine's". Technically, not misspelled. But the gross misuse of the apostrophe on a 10' high carved wooden sign prompts in me the desire to sneak over there at 2 am and spray paint across it "I paid thousand's for this sign - I am an idiot. Signed, the owner." (Note the apostrophe - pretty funny, eh?) Two things keep me from attempting that. One, the police station is directly across the street. Two, the owner probably wouldn't care about the mistake, nor do I think he/she would even get the sarcasm. Perfectly good commentary wasted, and I'm left sitting in a cell with some guy who tried to hold up a 7-11 in South Everett with a squirt gun.

Anyway, that's probably enough for now. I promise that my future posts will try to tackle more interesting subjects. Like music, government leadership, religion, food & wine, ferry boat rides across Elliott Bay, etc. (Probably mostly music though.) Perhaps my blogging will fall on deaf ears, if it is read at all. The truth is, I think my lovely, talented and inspiring wife is simply tired of listening to my incessant preaching about these things, so I want to give her a break. And, just maybe, it will make me a safer driver on the #!$%&*$%! Washington state freeways. Dg