30/1/2019 Developing Timing and Feel: Rhythmic Studies for Bass Players – No Treble

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Developing Timing and Feel: Rhythmic Studies

for Bass Players
by Damian Erskine Wednesday, January 8th, 2014

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Photo by fensterbme

Q: My question is about timing. I realize that the

choice of notes make a line hip, but the rhythm
and the timing make the groove! How do you
practice timing, Damian?
A: Truer words have never been spoken! It’s all about the groove and time-feel (fancy
words for “pocket”).

Here are some goals for developing your timing and groove:

1. Have masterful control over all subdivisions When working with subdivisions,
approach it by dealing with groupings of 2 and 3 (triplets of all types, 8th notes,
16ths, and so on). This is because most any of the more complex rhythms can be
turned into a pair of groupings of 2 and 3.

2. Have complete control over each subdivision. For example: achieve the ability to play
an isolated 2nd note of an 8th note triplet or an isolated 4th note of a 16th note
pattern, with as much authority as the downbeat. Internalize every subdivision so that
I can feel every pulse. This helps you to give rests their due respect. I nd that most
students tend to cut rests short when playing trickier subdivisions. I interpret this to
mean that they are still guessing to a certain degree and do not yet have every pulse
internalized.

Here’s my approach to practicing this:

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30/1/2019 Developing Timing and Feel: Rhythmic Studies for Bass Players – No Treble

1. Focus on one of the subdivisions at a time, with a metronome (ultimately covering a

wide range of tempos).

2. Practice without harmony until you’re feeling it.

3. Play that rhythm utilizing scaler patterns and/or arpeggios through chord changes
(using a jazz standard out of the Real Book).

4. Try and think of combinations of rhythms that you nd uncomfortable and focus on
those (sometimes you might have to whip out some manuscript paper and think of
arbitrary patterns and groupings of rhythms to try out).

Below are links to few examples of rhythmic study. These focus on only 8th notes, 16th
notes and 8th note triplets, but you can take these examples and apply most any rhythmic
device that you can imagine.

It gets trickiest when you start to try and play more complicated harmonic devices using
these rhythms (say 4-part arpeggios from the 3rd (3 5 7 9 of the chord scale) or from the
2nd (9 11 13 root from the chord scale). This is when you discover how internalized it
really is, because you are splitting your brain and forcing yourself to think hard about note
choice.

If you don’t have the rhythm internalized, then it all falls apart pretty quickly!

Note: much of what I presented here is very similar to another column written early last
year (Controlling Rhythm and Expressing it Musically). Never hurts to have a refresher,
plus it provided the opportunity to share these exercises:

16th Note Subdivision Exercises (PDF)

Subdivision Exercises (PDF)

Readers, what is your approach to developing

timing and groove? Tell us about it in the
comments!

Have a question for Damian Erskine? Send it to askdamian@notreble.com. Check out Damian’s instructional
books, Right Hand Drive and The Improviser’s Path.

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Related Topics: groove, practice, rhythm, technique

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Evgeny Nesterov

PDF link doesn’t work

January 8, 2014 Reply

Rob Morrison

link broken

January 8, 2014 Reply

Andrea Baggio

the two links link to the same pdf

January 8, 2014 Reply

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