my musical skill is limited to a couple years piano and band classes in middle school many years ago...

but I have always been a music fan and enjoy watching live performances especially - either in person or youtube

one thing I have noticed -- sometimes the band is playing a song quite a bit more 'uptempo'... almost like its sped up timing wise 20%...

what causes this ? is the band just amped up on the crowd energy ?

kinda related -- also -- in bands ... who drives the tempo? I would assume its the drummer but I could see an energized guitarist going nuts a bit and the drummer having to play faster to catch up ...

lastly -- in between songs sometimes you see the band members talking a bit. are there common concepts they are discussing regarding the performance?

for reference I am typically referring to rock music

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It could be as simple as a different arrangement for the song to keep them from getting bored.
They play the same show many times.

quote:

Originally posted by Sig209:
my musical skill is limited to a couple years piano and band classes in middle school many years ago...

but I have always been a music fan and enjoy watching live performances especially - either in person or youtube

one thing I have noticed -- sometimes the band is playing a song quite a bit more 'uptempo'... almost like its sped up timing wise 20%...

what causes this ? is the band just amped up on the crowd energy ?

kinda related -- also -- in bands ... who drives the tempo? I would assume its the drummer but I could see an energized guitarist going nuts a bit and the drummer having to play faster to catch up ...

lastly -- in between songs sometimes you see the band members talking a bit. are there common concepts they are discussing regarding the performance?

for reference I am typically referring to rock music

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Typically it's the drummer's job to keep tempo, though it can fall to the bassist in some cases. Why is tempo sometimes different live? Most of the time it's nervous adrenaline. Sometimes tempo is changed on purpose, maybe for time issues, or maybe the band prefers the song faster or slower than it was on the album.

Different arrangements, had a few lines to get jacked up before the show.. lots of options

When conversing it could be a solo transition, key change coming up, when and how to end the song, just having fun, someone screwed up and we as listeners didn’t notice but they did

I host a house concert each year, actually it’s this up coming weekend, majority of the musicians either haven’t played together or not very often so the talk amongst them self on what key the song is in, who to add a bit to it. Not all musicians can just play with others and be able to pick up the song easily and know when to and when not to add to it. Etc etc etc

I can't speak to playing in a band, but as a solo guitar player/singer at open mics, I can say nerves play a huge role! I have to consciously slow down and keep that in mind as I play.

This is based on my 40-50 year ago experience playing bass in a working rock band (just local, never any fame). The conventional wisdom, as I learned it, was that the bass player "drove" the beat, and it was the drummer's responsibility to hold it back. Much of the perceived quality of a band's performance seems to be associated with how well the bassist and the drummer "connect" in this fashion.

Of course, there are always additional factors. In our band, the lead guitar, who was by far the best musician of us all, always seemed to want to play songs faster. This did not make for a quality concert experience, but it was very lively, and it seemed to get him the girls.

With out knowing which bands you speak of,
I gotta wonder if any performance quality or quantity can be attributed to the amount of drugs ,booze or sleep
may enter in to the equation

In the bands that I have played in, the drummer is responsible for maintaining the tempo. He may start the song or someone else may start the song. I don't think we ever started a song at exactly the same tempo. It's easy to speed up a song as it gets louder and louder. A good group can maintain a tempo independent of volume. That can be hard to do.

What talked about between songs? In the groups I was in, it was about the girls, the beer and the girls. Generally it was not about the music other than to decide on the next song.

Insecurity often drives tempe. Just like a person who won't stop talking.

Chatting between songs? Simply chatting, or making an excuse for missing a chord, or asking which chord they played wrong every time on the 13th measure of the B part, or saying, "Check out the smooth elbows on that Karen", or commenting on how a particular member really hit it well ... etc etc etc

cool info -- thanks for the replies Gents --


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I took guitar lessons 50 years ago and recently started back up...except now I have an acoustic guitar, mandolin, bass guitar, two tremolo harmonicas, a mixing console and a Launchpad mini MK3.

If you're considering getting back in the saddle, I wholeheartedly encourage it. Just be advised it might end up being a whole lot more than you thought. I'm having an absolute blast figuring all these out!!

It reminds me of the drummer we had in our band.

How can you tell when a drummer knocks on your door?

it is a very common thing to play songs faster and livelier in a live setting than in a studio. most of it is just the energy of the setting. it can be nerves or whatever, but the great bands of all time also do it.

For instance, the studio version of Jumpin Jack Flash is about 138bpm. The Get Yer Yas Yas Out version is about the same but the Steel Wheels Live version is about 150bpm.

LZ's Heartbreaker studio version is 92bpm but the How the West Was Won version is at 107bpm.

Most rock bands are not playing with a click in the live setting so having the studio tempo on hand to try to match isn't typical. As a drummer, I consider the tempo to be my responsibility. And sometimes I want to play a song faster. Also, I'm better at tempo than everybody else in my band so if a song is started by another member, it could be off tempo and it is quite hard to correct tempo midsong.

Also... cocaine is a helluva drug.

quote:

Originally posted by Ogie:
How can you tell when a drummer knocks on your door?

How do you get the bass player off your front porch? *Pay him for the pizza*

What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend? *Homeless*