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Let's Practice with RMP-5
CLICK VOLUME
Use this control to adjust the metronome volume for comfortable practicing. Setting the metronome louder will
make it easier to distinguish, but it's best if you play accurately even with the metronome at a low volume. Ideally,
you want to avoid relying on the metronome; keep the rhythm yourself, and listen to the metronome to check that
your rhythm matches it. Think of the metronome as one of the members of the band you're playing in, and play
together with it.
What Does a Drummer Need?
Keep the rhythm, establish the groove, and create dynamics. These are the vital points for the drummer.
Keeping the rhythm means to continue playing at a fixed tempo. Groove means a rhythm that sounds good;
not simply consistent. Dynamics means to use changes in intensity to create expression in your performance.
Stable, lively, and expressive — easy to say, and hard to master. But the RMP-5 Rhythm Coach will help you
build your skill in these elements. For specific examples, take a look at the explanation of how you can use the
Coach function.
• Improving your ability to keep the rhythm
Since music is a "living" thing, there are situations in which musicality will require a tempo that can vary in a
flowing manner; still, a drummer must be able to produce a rock-steady rhythm. In spite of this, there are quite
a few drummers who have the problem of letting the tempo speed up after a fill-in, or of allowing the tempo to
shift when the rhythm pattern changes through the various sections of the song. If these are challenges that
you face, just keep reading!
• Feel the quarter notes powerfully deep in your chest
In order to keep the rhythm stable, it's important to feel the quarter notes in a solid way. There has to be a
metronome-like pulse that's somehow coming from the body of the drummer. When you're playing in a band
or playing along with a CD, you should try to produce that rhythm from yourself, rather than simply "riding on"
the rhythm you hear. Once you are firmly riding on the rhythm that's emanating from yourself, you'll be
generating a stable performance. Speaking concretely, one method is to count "one, two, three, four" while
you perform. Obviously this will depend on the time signature and speed of the song, but you should strive to
be able to count with the same feel regardless of whether you're playing a rhythm pattern or a fill-in. That
doesn't mean that you have to grimly keep reciting "one, two, three, four" all the way through the song —
which would be neither fun nor musical. Just find some way (such as by silently grunting "uh, uh, uh, uh") to
powerfully mark the quarter notes inside yourself. "Powerful" is important.
Next we're going to talk in detail about the Coach function that will help you in this type of practice.
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