Problems Playing With Backings Options

[Fullmetal_Tmd]

Yeah, this happened to be something i've been confused about recently. Yes, i practice to a metronome (my comfortable speed is 138), so i'm used to hearing the usual stale metronome patterns. Now, i'll be practicing lessons to my metronome, and when i reach a decent speed, I try to play the lesson over one of the provided backing tracks.
THIS is where the problem lays. When i play over the backings, I get lost instantly, and my I screw everything up. Sometimes I'll play too fast, and finish before the backing, or I play parts slowly, and my mind gets scrambled and I lose track of everything. Sometimes I manage to play up to speed, but I would miss most of the notes in the process.

I don't get why this happens to me, because I can play along with some of my favorite songs beat for beat. Is there like, some secret technique to playing in sync with backings? I'd appreciate any help given

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[besip]

i'm got same problem somethime......actualy some backing are pretty good for practising if they have drums...bud whem we have backing without drums i'm lost....

i'm was also play faster somethime and somethime slower
i'm recomedet to try Muris Timing lesson{actualy i'm didn't play the lesson yet..but i'm will on future}
i'm not sure what kind of lesson u like..but take something easy where is backing with drums..i'm litle improve with Pavel heavy metal lesson 3 and also Liam Slayer beginer lesson have great backing.
whats can aslo help is training speed picking over beat i'm use for that the GST program and also great free tols like that http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/metronome.php

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This post has been edited by besip: Oct 7 2008, 05:02 AM

[Ramiro Delforte]

If the lesson is in GP you can change the tempo and play it over the MIDI, so in that way you can increase the tempo untill you can play it neat over the BT.
Other way is to get the score and read it with a metronome.
I think the problem could be that you get lost and don't fully understand the phrases so when you play it with the BT the timing is not precise.

I hope it was useful.

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[berko]

@Fullmetal-Tmd

you've written that its not a problem for u to play along with the songs you like. i would recommend the same for gmc lessons: learn the full lesson and if you are confident with all the parts, try to play it over the main video (not just the gp). so you get the impression of playing over a real song. if the backing is not so simple (e.g the chords or the bass lines dont help you figure out the exact part of the lesson that comes over them) play close attention to the main video for the rhythm changes, and how the backing fits the guitar part. If you are finished, check the backing on its own, and in your head play the guitar over it to see how it fits. The try to play it with the guitar. And then you are ready to ROCK!

Hope this stuff made sense.

Trust your ears and grab your axe

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[superize]

You have to practise playing to the backingtrack since it is much different then playing to a metronome.

When playing to a metrone you always have a beat to play after but that is not always the case in the BT. You have to try and play more often with backingtrack to get used to how you can count the beats on it.

When i am practising lesson here i use GP on excercises and i use BT when i play riffs and solos becasue that is what music is. I dont think people would be interested in hearing you play to a metronome click

so use the metronome or GP when doing excercises and the BT when playing riffs and solos.

Try to play with the BT every time you play and eventually you will learn it.

Hope this helps

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[Nemanja Filipovi...]

You should start practicing with slower tempos.Like play the scales from 60 bpm and go on from that.It is had to play slow and to be correct.But it is the best way to sync your 'inter' metronome,and i time you will not haw that rhythm problems.

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[Pedja Simovic]

Its interesting how backing track confuses you when you play.

When you practice with metronome you really learn every single phrase/lick/melody and rhythm (which is the most important thing really). So when backing track kicks in there is all these instruments overlapping trying to drag or pull you away from simple click. The key is to always keep count in your head, and play as much as possible with backing tracks!

Once you get into backing tracks, you will see that they are not really your enemy but they help you even more to play smoother.
For example, lets say you have a "weird" rhythm on your solo/melody/riff that you have to execute. Sometimes drums will actually mimic the exact same rhythm of the phrase! So my suggestion is to listen to drums a lot , that is first and most important step. Bass is also important. If you have straight rhythm in bass (quarter notes, eight notes, half notes, whole notes etc) this will help you to keep your count and know where downbeats are. Everything else (guitar piano vocals etc) is most likely syncopated rhythm (combination of down beat and up beat rhythm but mostly up beat ones!) and this is more likely to confuse you and drag you.

Drums by definition are syncopated and polyrhythmic type of instrument , but its main role is to keep time and for most styles of music that should be pretty easy to hear.

This should help you to play with backing tracks now.

Good luck !

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[Fran]

I suggest you learn GMC lessons playing along with the instructor on the main video, bit by bit. First lessons I learnt I didn't do that, and I got lost in the backing track when playing alone. From them on I learnt every lick playing along with the instructor, until I could play the whole thing along with the video.

Then switch to the BT, and you will do it just fine.

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[Muris Varajic]

Also try to set backing volume higher than your guitar signal,
listen more to the backing and not only to what you're playing,
might help a bit.

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[chast]

In my opinion it's also useful to get the rhythm under your feet.
What I mean is, that you should try to stomp with your feet while listening and playing a lesson/song whatever. It's also useful in improvisations
Actually I got that advice of an Al Di Meola video and I think he know what he is talking about

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[DeepRoots]

In my opinion it's also useful to get the rhythm under your feet.
What I mean is, that you should try to stomp with your feet while listening and playing a lesson/song whatever. It's also useful in improvisations
Actually I got that advice of an Al Di Meola video and I think he know what he is talking about

Totally agree- stomping your foot to the beat is an essential thing to learn for any kind of jamming or playing to a backing track. You won't have to stomp your foot at all times, but after enough practise tapping your foot in lots of situations you'll develop an internal sense of rhythm thats pretty much invaluable.

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[Ivan Milenkovic]

Lots of good advices given, I may add another one:

When you practice with backing the main thing to do is tap with your foot in the beat. You should always be aware where you are in a bar when playing, so analyzing note and pause duration is just as important as analyzing notes themselves.

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[Fullmetal_Tmd]

Ramiro: You mean like the note values? yeah, i admit, i sometimes just smash it all together in a panic, and that basically screws me up
Berko: what you said has helped me the most atm. its a simple solution, but one i didn't think about >_>
Pedja: thats a nice insight on backing tracks, its helping me understand them better
Muris: yes, that helps me focus better, thanks for the tips
Nemanja: thats something i kinda do. when i learn something new, i play it slowly first, and then once i memorize everything, then i practice at a comfortable speed. i might rush the process a little.
and about the foot tapping, i never would of thought something so simple would be so useful. its definitely something i'll do from now on

thanks everybody for the input, I'm starting to grasp the concept (finally), and it feels good to fix a flaw in your playing
also, i don't have Guitar Pro, i simply look at the videos and tabs and play them with the 'nome

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This post has been edited by Fullmetal_Tmd: Oct 8 2008, 05:59 AM

[Vasilije Vukmiro...]

Nothing special. Just relax.
The best advice I can give is to move your body, to swing it, you know.

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[Bogdan Radovic]

As said before tap the foot and try to feel the beat.Also concentrate on rhythm section of the backing track (drums and bass)..Also I would suggest playing a little with a rhythm machine instead of metronome from time to time, but make sure you select simple drum beats.If you don't have one , just download some simple drum beats, or a drum software.That way you will get used to a little different feeling than when playing with a solo metronome click..

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