counting while you are playing(not practicing)

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
It depends. Some people do it as soon as they get a lick down. Some people never stop.
I don't have that issue. There are enough voices inside my head that someone is always willing to count while I play.
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Seriously, though.... when you nail a lick to the point where it is automatic, you may not consciously count it. For me, the only times I consciously count is when I'm learning a lick that might give me some difficulty repeating in the correct cadence, but I think it goes on in my background all the time, because if I'm just a tiny bit slow (or fast) on a lick, it's almost like someone turned up a metronome in my head, because I'll immediately know I missed it. My most common failure points are on quick bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs.
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
It depends. Some people do it as soon as they get a lick down. Some people never stop.
I don't have that issue. There are enough voices inside my head that someone is always willing to count while I play.
playing_cowbell.gif


Seriously, though.... when you nail a lick to the point where it is automatic, you may not consciously count it. For me, the only times I consciously count is when I'm learning a lick that might give me some difficulty repeating in the correct cadence, but I think it goes on in my background all the time, because if I'm just a tiny bit slow (or fast) on a lick, it's almost like someone turned up a metronome in my head, because I'll immediately know I missed it. My most common failure points are on quick bends, hammer-ons and pull-offs.


Yeah, I might describe the point where you aren't counting aloud any more as not counting, but being keenly aware of where you are time wise in a piece and KNOWING the instant you've played a note too long or too short. If you aren't at that point, you need to count aloud., and even if you are at that point it doesn't hurt to keep counting. (Hard to do when you are also singing).
 
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