Counting

Robb H

Blues Newbie
Joining the club. I got to where I was counting the first four licks fairly smoothly, but Sitting Easy Blues is a real challenge for me. Hardest is when, for example, the lick in bar two slides into the first beat of bar three so there's no distinct pause between bars. Going from four-and-uh-ONE-and-uh without a pause is messing me up mentally for some reason.

Clearly the solution is Moar Praktuss. I'll be Sitting Easy on this one for a while. :Beer:
Well I'm certainly no expert and it seems strange for me to give advice, but if that 4+uh to 1+uh is messing with you, you might try listening to the recording, either of Sitting Easy or any song actually, without your guitar and just counting through the whole thing. Gets you used to going 4 to 1 repeatedly and gives you the feel. I'm on Hideaway now and still find myself counting out the first several bars but then playing without counting. Hmm.
 

MarkDyson

Blues Hound Wannabe
Well I'm certainly no expert and it seems strange for me to give advice, but if that 4+uh to 1+uh is messing with you, you might try listening to the recording, either of Sitting Easy or any song actually, without your guitar and just counting through the whole thing. Gets you used to going 4 to 1 repeatedly and gives you the feel. I'm on Hideaway now and still find myself counting out the first several bars but then playing without counting. Hmm.

Yeah, that's good advice. In general, just internalizing the feel so the transition from one bar to the next flows naturally. I'm not doing myself any mental favors trying to compartmentalize every bar into its own entity like I've been doing.

Today the licks seem to flow more easily than they have been. Time wounds all heels. :Beer:
 

MGood1

Blues Newbie
With things the way they are I've decided to go back also. Counting is somewhat of a problem when playing. I write in the count above the notation then play it very slowly several times to get a feel for the tempo. I then listen to CD several times then start playing along. I can play along and keep up with CD but without counting.The other problem is playing from memory, can play along well when looking at tabs but mess up from memory. Gonna move on, have full chords down and second licks and starting full out blues. Will practice everything from beginning daily until I can get it from memory but at 69 might take a while.
 

Flash72

Blues Newbie
I just signed up yesterday and was having issues with counting on the Sitting Easy Blues so was glad to find this post so I know I'm not alone and its just something I need to keep practicing at.

Just curious is this sort of counting always something you have to keep going in the back of your head or is it just while you are learning songs and once you get a feel for the timing you should just be able to play it without actually counting?
 

tommytubetone

Great Lakes
I just signed up yesterday and was having issues with counting on the Sitting Easy Blues so was glad to find this post so I know I'm not alone and its just something I need to keep practicing at.

Just curious is this sort of counting always something you have to keep going in the back of your head or is it just while you are learning songs and once you get a feel for the timing you should just be able to play it without actually counting?
When learning new material, you'll always have to count, and you'll know when (and if) you don't need to anymore. Even as you progress, there are certain things you will need to count out, so you might as well get used to it. I'm learning a lick from Otis Rush in Solos of the Masters that I'll always have to count out. Best of luck!
 

ChrisGSP

Blues Journeyman
I just signed up yesterday and was having issues with counting on the Sitting Easy Blues so was glad to find this post so I know I'm not alone and its just something I need to keep practicing at.

Just curious is this sort of counting always something you have to keep going in the back of your head or is it just while you are learning songs and once you get a feel for the timing you should just be able to play it without actually counting?

Matthew, I've been reading music for more than sixty years, and I STILL count it out the first (second, third,,,,,) time that I see a new piece, until I'm satisfied that I've got a feel for it, then I start looking at the actual notes. People like Lord (Yehudi) Menuhin and Isaac Stern could play "from sight", but they were actual geniuses - we mere mortals need to take it slow and steady.
 

Flash72

Blues Newbie
Cool thats good to know, thanks. I just noticed there is an Ultimate Counting Workshop so starting on the exercises in there which should help me get the hang of it.
 
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