This may sound like I'm over simplifying things, but it's really the groove that matters. If the band is "in-sync" then a slight waver of tempo won't even be detected.

I love playing to a click track in the studio for several reasons. One reason is that when the bassist starts complaining that I'm dragging or rushing, I can have the engineer play the track back and see if it's actually true.

Example: In a recent session with an incredible bassist, we found that certain tunes were not grooving. This was funk based blues/rock, so the groove had to be right.

Upon listening back to a couple of takes, the bassist realized that he was rushing all over the place. We finally figured out that it was the fact that he was sitting only about 4 feet from me. His excitement was getting the best of him and he was playing slightly ahead of me.

We went back and recut the bass tracks without my playing live and it was like night and day. Normally, you'd never do this in the studio - You almost always want the drum and bass track to be laid down together. In this case, that just wasn't going to happen. This also gave the bassist an opportunity to try some things he normally wouldn't have. In the end, the final tracks were 110% better.

Another thing I like about the click is that I've been playing to click tracks forever (as well as loops, machines, etc...). I've learned to hear the click, but not be glued to it. By this I mean, I can play right on the click, but deviate from it when I want to. This lets a drum track breathe a bit and sound human.

Live playing is a whole different can of worms. If you have a good bassist, then you can usually make things work. If not... you're in for a very long night ;)

can you guys play the same groove (or phrase)

a) on the beat?

b) ahead of the beat?

c) behind the beat?

it's in my nature to play ahead of the beat and I'm trying to control the thing to the point were I can do a), b) or c) if I want. I was wondering which exercises you guys would recommend.

Thanks!

Yes. I can play "on", "in front of" or "behind"....but only if there is an anchor from which to deviate. That's just the thing...IF you are deviating, say, "behind" the pulse in order to establish a big pocket, then it's only going to work if the bassist is right on the time. If they all start following your "behind-ness" then things begin to degrade.

I have never liked click tracks in the studio...mostly due to the fact that I play straight-ahead jazz. However, the same rule applies to them as well. It is a "standard" for the tempo. As long as IT is there, then there isn't much that can be done to dispute where the tempo is supposed to be! But, remove it and, all of a sudden, you are out in the middle of the forest trying to survive by rubbing two sticks together! ;)

"Time" and "Groove" can be two separate things. Tunes can certainly groove and yet not be in perfect time and perfect time can also groove.

But, in the pursuit of more even time-playing, some ways are easier than other ways. The metronome, drum machine or click track can be "friend" or it can be "foe". I am friendly towards it in the contexts in which I practice, but it doesn't always pay to be right on the gig...if you know what I'm saying! ;)

Nevertheless, I still lean towards trying to attain the exactness of a machine -even when I'm not able to have one to play off of.

I guess it wasn't clear in my post but I meant in relation to a metronome click! Any thoughts/concepts/exercises on how to control that? It seems that I play "on" if I'm relaxed but if I'm anxious (will I play this two bars of kicks right?) I'll start to play "in front of"...

O-Lugs - Jazz is a different world. I would never play to a click with a jazz ensemble and it's unlikely that the great jazz drummers of the past/present would either.

I do mostly blues and rock. With blues, I really don't use a click unless the bassist is shaky. With rock, I almost always do, especially if there might be some sort of overdub later where a synth or sequenced part may be added.

And yes, you are absolutely right on with regards to the bassist having to remain ON the beat, while you lay back and create a pocket. A good player can do this and can even slop around a bit himself while keeping the time tight. If I'm playing with a less than choice bassist, I'll tend to stay on the beat myself so that bad things don't happen :)

To answer JCymbals questions - Yes, I can play on, ahead or behind as well and I use it all the time with my students to illustrate the different feels you can create by doing this.

As for exercises... I don't really have any for you. Just play to the click as often as possible and learn to be it's master, not it's slave. IMHO, playing that killer groove is a give and take deal. For example: Push the first part of the phrase ever so slightly, and then relax a bit on the second half - That creates a feel that breathes. Try reversing that - Relax then push.

Bottom line - Some of the best recorded music we've come to love, have tempo/feel/groove variations all over the place.

I also try to "be the machine", but thankfully I'm human, and I never quite make it ;)

Agreed!

Brazilian samba music is a great example of the push/pull feel, too. Burger KinMister T

P.S.,

I think the subdividing excercise is a great one for practicing time because it trains your ear to hear the feel of each subdivision and how easy it is to rush or drag at each subdivision's transition -like moving from threes to fours. I tend to always rush the first transitional stroke....but I'm working on it! ;)

if I'm incrementing the subdivision (3 to 4, 4 to 5, etc) I tend to rush but when I'm decrementing, (5 to 4, 4 to 3, etc) I tend to drag... Funny isn't it?