The Groove, and Warming Up for Fast Ones

The Groove

Bill writes:

I’ve looked all over your site to find information about developing a groove or flow but I can’t find it. I play with a group here and sometimes we have it, sometimes we don’t. What are some pointers when playing with others to develop this feeling? What are the roles of the different instruments such as banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bass that create this?

Bill,

This is a wonderful question, though tricky to put an answer into words.

Everyone has to feel the beat, and feel it the same way, so that when everyone hits it, there is a feeling of pulse. Needn’t be hard hitting, but well-linked, comfortable and confident. “Pulse” is a good word to think of. It’s not just about accuracy, but a confidence in expectation, and a vitality where things feel alive.

• Listening intently to each other is always good.
• If anyone is struggling, it can violate the groove enough to be disruptive. If you’re struggling, it’s hard to listen, and it doesn’t sound good.
• If anyone tends to rush or drag, they are well-advised to practice with a metronome or drum machine, and note at which spots they tend to rush or drag, and fix them.
• If your band records itself, sometimes problem spots can be reviewed, culprit(s) corrected, possibly decapitated. Diplomacy is recommended here.
• With Pro Tools or comparable software, individual tracks can be compared visually, to see who’s ahead, behind, or erratic.
• Focus on how the guitar is played. Punching root notes right on the beat helps! Whereas strumming up/down constantly can take up a lot of sonic space with little pulse. A good “thwock” from the mandolin offbeat chop can glue things together. The bass anchors the groove and might energize it with accents and well- timed extra notes.

Most of all, everyone needs to be concerned about group timing and the groove, listen to each other, and stay relaxed! Remember, part of “the groove” is a sense of fun and confidence.

Hope that helps, Pete

The Groove

Bill writes:

I’ve looked all over your site to find information about developing a groove or flow but I can’t find it. I play with a group here and sometimes we have it, sometimes we don’t. What are some pointers when playing with others to develop this feeling? What are the roles of the different instruments such as banjo, mandolin, guitar, and bass that create this?

Bill,

This is a wonderful question, though tricky to put an answer into words.

Everyone has to feel the beat, and feel it the same way, so that when everyone hits it, there is a feeling of pulse. Needn’t be hard hitting, but well-linked, comfortable and confident. “Pulse” is a good word to think of. It’s not just about accuracy, but a confidence in expectation, and a vitality where things feel alive.

• Listening intently to each other is always good.
• If anyone is struggling, it can violate the groove enough to be disruptive. If you’re struggling, it’s hard to listen, and it doesn’t sound good.
• If anyone tends to rush or drag, they are well-advised to practice with a metronome or drum machine, and note at which spots they tend to rush or drag, and fix them.
• If your band records itself, sometimes problem spots can be reviewed, culprit(s) corrected, possibly decapitated. Diplomacy is recommended here.
• With Pro Tools or comparable software, individual tracks can be compared visually, to see who’s ahead, behind, or erratic.
• Focus on how the guitar is played. Punching root notes right on the beat helps! Whereas strumming up/down constantly can take up a lot of sonic space with little pulse. A good “thwock” from the mandolin offbeat chop can glue things together. The bass anchors the groove and might energize it with accents and well- timed extra notes.

Most of all, everyone needs to be concerned about group timing and the groove, listen to each other, and stay relaxed! Remember, part of “the groove” is a sense of fun and confidence.

Hope that helps, Pete

Pat in Alabama writes:

I was wondering if you wouldn’t mind sharing some advice. It’s about warming up. I’m playing with a church bluegrass band in a “Bluegrass and Stained Glass” concert here in a few weeks. Most of the songs we’ll do are of a reasonable pace and fairly easy to play. But, we kick it off with All Prayed Up, which is a Vince Gill song and I start it going as fast as I can.

My question is: what do you do to warm up so that you’re ready to nail that first intro or break?

Pat,

If I have any influence on the set list, I never start with a fast song, as it’s harder to do those smoothly when the band is “all keyed up” after walking on stage. I recommend starting with one of your easier, catchier songs, and the whole band should work on finding the groove.

Some bands like to cluster together before going on and just play a 1 chord together in the rhythm of the first song of the set. They keep it going till it locks in and almost feels like a glide. A little while later they go on and play, and everything falls right together.

Many times before a show, I get off someplace by myself and work up speed, till it feels comfy to go at least as fast as I need to on stage. If I do that earlier in the day to loosen up, then redo it some more just before playing, it works.

The biggest performance of my life was playing Foggy Mt. Breakdown on the David Letterman show with Earl Scruggs in Steve Martin’s “Men With Banjos” group. That’s a fast tune and of course the job was to nail the thing on the first try. The goal was not merely to keep up the speed, but to sound good and smooth, and even look happy and relaxed as we did it.

Of course that’s a bit of a daunting situation. My approach was to make sure I was as warmed up as possible. After traveling a full day from Colorado to our hotel in midtown Manhattan, it was late at night, and I hadn’t played my banjo the whole day. I asked at the front desk where in the hotel I could play at this late hour. I was directed to an isolated spot, a small bar that wasn’t being used. I took my rhythm machine and headphones and got busy.

I made quite a racket that night, but no one heard it (“If a banjo makes a racket in a midtown Manhattan hotel, and no one hears it…”??). After about an hour of right hand wind sprints, it was feeling pretty easy to maintain 160 beats a minute, and I packed up and went up to bed. The effort was worth it. The next day I felt more and more confident as we rehearsed, and then headed to the theater.

Tonight Show Band leader Paul Shaffer was invited by Earl to play with us… on piano. In sound check, he did a great job keeping the beat clear, as we had no bass in our group. The groove got a boost thanks to Paul. Groove means confidence, yes!

Because the Letterman show set is kept at about 50 degrees (sweating on TV is not allowed), we had to leave the banjos just offstage for the whole show, to keep them at a consistent temperature (to avoid tuning issues). When it was time to play, there was no warming up. Letterman introduced us, Earl hit the first pinch and we were off. 160 beats/minute is right around 11 notes a second. But…hey, we were Men With Banjos (Who Know How to Use Them), and it all went well. Another victory for the undersung Banjo! —Pete