So.. is playing quarter notes @ 180 bpm

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
... the same as playing triplets at @ 60 bpm [it would have a straight rather than swing feel]

I dont know why my brain goes out of gear when I switch on a metronome!
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
Sure seems like it would be... If I can ever do it I'll let you know.  :D
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
;D

Yep, should of said, I wasn't expecting to actually do such a thing  :)

What sort of bpm is everyone starting their triplets at as a matter of interest. I can't find a speed slow enough to play with although I am now managing to count to three so long as I'm not trying to hold a guitar at the same time  ;)
 

Blues_Man

Blues Newbie
rayuk i'll chime in here and say yiour not alone,
i'm having the devil of a time with them triplets,
i can do the 16th  slurs at 100+a little but
i'm lucky if i can pick them triplets at 40bpm,

i think the issue for me is the varied beat being different on each string/fret totally throws me off, i don't know what to try next :'(
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
I haven't even looked at the 16ths yet! :)

It just occured to me that playing triplets at 60bpm is really fast because it's the same as playing 1/4 notes at 180...

But I think you have put your finger on it, each string is a different beat. I hadn't thought of it in those terms, maybe that will help me Blues Man, I can try to look at it differently in some way if I have that in mind when I next try.
 

Blues_Man

Blues Newbie
not only different string for the beat
but varying frets from string to string with various beats

i go bonkers  :-?
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
I started at 60 for the 18th, Triplets and 16's. All using box one. When I change boxes it highlights which boxes I know the best (I can't play the 16's at that speed with other boxes).
One thing that helps me is that I emphasize the nothe that's on the beat. 1 e and a,   2 e and a,  3 e and a...
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Thanks Mike, that sounds good.. make a point of emphasising the beat on the whole number. That's where the foot taps, the head nods or whatever. Comes back to knowing the notes so well you don't have to think about position.

Work in progress.. I guess it always is  :)
 

Jon3b

Blues Newbie
Ray, if 60 b.p.m. is too fast, set it slower. Speed will come later, just be able to play it cleanly at the tempo you chose before you try to go faster. (my own smack-in-the-forehead revelation from Solo 1)
Think of a Waltz when you want triplets.
 
L

Lame_Pinkey

Guest
... the same as playing triplets at @ 60 bpm [it would have a straight rather than swing feel]

I dont know why my brain goes out of gear when I switch on a metronome!
If the metronome is @ 60 bpm & you are playing quarters that would be 240 notes per minute (60 x 4) if metronome is set @ 180 bpm that would be 720 notes per minute - good luck on that one !  ;D

LP
 

luckylarry

Student Of The Blues
I am happy to hear that I am not the onlu one struggling with these beats. With the metronome I can play triplets up to 70 bpm. With 16's I can only get to 56 bpm. I think I can hit 60 bpm with 16th's in the next 2 or 3 days. As this is my first week of retirment I have been able to play much more than when I was working. Damn, I forgot how sore the finger tips can get from playing. I thought that I was OK as I had callouses and played almost every day before I retired. Wrong! I am now building more callouses. :)
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
If the metronome is @ 60 bpm & you are playing quarters that would be 240 notes per minute (60 x 4) if metronome is set @ 180 bpm that would be 720 notes per minute - good luck on that one !   ;D

;D

Did I mention that I have a mental block about counting with the metronome?

Seriously can someone clarify this for me -

If the metronome is set at 60 bpm, it clicks once per second so then you play :-

1 whole note per second
2 half notes per second
3 triplets per second
4 quarter notes per second
8 eighth notes per second
&
16 sixteenth notes per second

Because if that's right... I'll never do it!
 
L

Lame_Pinkey

Guest
If the metronome is @ 60 bpm & you are playing quarters that would be 240 notes per minute (60 x 4) if metronome is set @ 180 bpm that would be 720 notes per minute - good luck on that one !   ;D

;D

Did I mention that I have a mental block about counting with the metronome?

Seriously can someone clarify this for me -

If the metronome is set at 60 bpm, it clicks once per second so then you play :-

1 whole note per second
2 half notes per second
3 triplets per second
4 quarter notes per second
8 eighth notes per second
&
16 sixteenth notes per second

Because if that's right... I'll never do it!
Ooh no,no,no ...no when you set the metronome you are setting it at quarter notes not whole notes.

LP
 

Jon3b

Blues Newbie
Yup, that would explain a lot.

For your bonus challenge, try switching from eighths to triplets to sixteenths during a run. ie: using box 1 pentatonic started at 1st fret in 1/8ths, start triplet-eighths at 5th fret, then 16ths at 9th fret.
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Guys... I feel such a dummy here (I'm usually fairly intelligent) but I'm just not getting it :(

If I set it at 60bpm, it clicks once a second.

What do I play at [or between] each click for 1/4  1/8  1/16 & triplets?


Damn... I hate not getting things! This should just be simple counting!
 

Chuck

Moderator (One of the Men in Black!)
Staff member
Ray for 1/4 notes, everytime you hear the beat, you play the note 1,2,3,4. For the 1/8th notes, 1 and, 2 and, 3 and, 4 and... You hear the the beat on the 1,2,3, 4. So, the first note starts with 1 then you hit the second note on the and so on. So the "and" falls between the Metronome beats.

For trips, 1 and a, 2 and a, 3and a, 4 and a....... You hit the first note on the 1, your second note is on the "and", the third note is on the "a".

So your 2nd and third notes fall between the Metronome beats.

Same for the 16ths with an extra note between the beats of the Metronome. 1 e and a, 2 e and a, 3 e and a, 4 e and a.

I hope that helps Wayne could probably explain it better.
 

Ray_UK

Blues Newbie
Thank you Chuck, that's a great explanation, I get it totally now, thank you  [smiley=beer.gif]

When I read it I don't know what was up with me not getting it, but I had tied myself up in knots with it somehow :)

Thanks again!
 

Blues_Man

Blues Newbie
my metronome has the option of setting the various notes you want to play, and give an audio click for each note to be played in addition to the louder accent on the beat,
in other words the metronome does the counting for you

so it can be very confusing for the ear having all these clicks and tics in your ear when your tying to time and count and play and process,

i'll also say that when your ear does hear it and you get in the groove it's a nice feeling..........

so my question is;

is it better to just set the metronome to sound only the beat and forget about sounding each note or not, what you all think or works?
 

Chuck

Moderator (One of the Men in Black!)
Staff member
One of the biggest things we are trying learn in the exercise is to internalize the beat. That's why it's so important to count out loud and to Tap your foot to Mark the time.

If I had a metronome counting out the trips and 16th's I'd probably get confused at this point.
 
Top