I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Sun Jul 24, 2016 9:30 pm

I have a nice song idea and can play it on guitar but I don't know the tempo. I find it impossible to play to the click track, is there a way I can play the tune and able ton tells me what tempo it is, I tried to tap the tempo in and it came up 113 bpm but no drum loops fit this tempo if it is right. The warp and slave stuff I find confusing also. It's probably the time signature but how do I work that out?

yur2die4 · Post by **yur2die4** » Sun Jul 24, 2016 9:44 pm

Maybe think in terms of something larger than a beat division. Like how long a measure is, or how many measures are in a section of the guitar playing.

If you can break it down into smaller parts, it is easier to figure out how the context works.

If you have the guitar uploaded somewhere on its own, maybe someone here can help you figure out what is going on.

Also keep in mind that sometimes we add notes before the start of each measure for an idea. Then you would not want the first beat to align with the first note, but you'd want the first beat to align with the start of where the beginning of the first clear measure is.

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Sun Jul 24, 2016 9:49 pm

Thanks, I am shit at drums. I can't make the tune without the tempo, kind of stuck. Might just make it with no drums and put it on soundcloud and ask someone to have a look then, thanks again.

fishmonkey · Post by **fishmonkey** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 8:02 am

if you are playing without a click or some kind of beat track then there is unlikely to be a single tempo that fits anyway, unless you have uncannily good natural beat-keeping abilities.

so once you do establish the nominal tempo you may also need to warp the guitar to the tempo...

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 10:06 am

I think it might be the type of tune that does not need a beat, I will try and record it in session view and link it soon.

BobSubgenius · Post by **BobSubgenius** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 7:47 am

Try singing the guitar part along with the click. Or sing the guitar part while tapping the tempo in. That is much easier than actually playing it on your instrument since you don't have to worry about all the manual stuff.
You can also upload or send me a link to your guitar part, then I can tell you the tempo or if there is something "wrong" with the rhythm.

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:51 am

Ok Bob I will try and link it, but I can't sing lol. I need to do it in one take now as I can't chop it up because I don't know the tempo, I usually make drum and bass at 170 bpm, this is different for me. It will take hundreds of takes to get it down, I might just do 1 verse and chorus.

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 10:08 am

Here is my soundcloud and the stuff I usually make, I have a friend coming round today who can drum he might be able to help me, I will post it in this forum if I make any progress https://soundcloud.com/benomaly, thanks again:)

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 6:39 pm

Here is a link to download what we made today, my m8 Rich put some rough beats down using his midi keyboard, he said it's a weird beat to do but we are happy with the direction the tune is going. If I knew the tempo and time signature I might be able to clean it up a bit, work in progress https://we.tl/PztsaR8ErJ, thanks again:)

yur2die4 · Post by **yur2die4** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 8:05 pm

The lower note that starts each part is on the downbeat. Similar to how the drummer did.

You can set the tempo so that each first note of a measure hits that. The tempo would probably be a little fast.

But the actual beat you can use is a halftime beat.

I would open Live, turn on the metronome, and practice playing in a manner that that downbeat always hits at the same time as the downbeat signified in the metronome. Even take a few inbetween notes out once in a while to simplify it until you have the timing down, then put them back in as you play it more consistently.

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 8:22 pm

Thanks man, will get on it tomorrow, I thought it might be half time as I have a later progression in mind which almost takes into drum and bass, it might be around 85 to 95 bpm which is half time DnB. My m8 said it might be a 3/4 signature but he wants to try it on real drums to get the feel I am looking for, what started as a riff is becoming quite technical, for me anyway, lots of fun and hard work ahead:)

BobSubgenius · Post by **BobSubgenius** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:00 pm

Hey Ben, I listened to your clip. It is in 6/8 time. The default in Ableton is 4/4, that's probably why you can't play along with the metronome. You can change the time signature by clicking on it and typing in the new one. The time signature is in the top bar, left of the transport buttons.
The accents in 6/8 are usually on the 1st and the 4th beat (as in your guitar riff). That means that you generally "feel" 6/8 as two groups of three notes with an accent on the first note of each group.
So you have to count 1 2 3 4 5 6 You already play the accents correctly!
For practicing I would set the metronome to 70 BPM. That would be the tempo of the recording you sent. Note that 70 BPM will give you the accented notes (the 1 and the 4), not the 8th notes itself. I think that is easier for practicing how to play in time with the song.
So for practicing I would suggest:
1) Set metronome to 70 BPM
2) Count along with the click (1 2 3 4 5 6) and make sure 1 and 4 are together with the click.
3) Sing your guitar riff along with the click. The accented notes (in your riff the lowest and the highest note) fall together with the click.
4) Play it on guitar
5) Also try to play it super slow for once. If you can do that you can be sure you really have the rhythm and timing down.

For recording:
1) Set time signature in Live to 6/8
2) You can use the metronome but it will click in 8th notes now which is quite annoying (because very fast).
3) I would create a midi track with a percussion sound on it and program it to play on the 1st and 4th 8th note again.
Hope that helps!

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:14 pm

Cheers Bob, I will try all that, looking forward to it. I want to take my time on this track as I think it could be really cool and different. My m8 is in on the track now so it's gonna be my first proper collab too. We want to make a massive soundscape around the main riff, but we agreed just the bass and guitar sound good on their own. I made the first scratchy noise by rubbing my guitar against metal frame bed frame, lol.

Will post here when it's done!

Thanks again Bob

BobSubgenius · Post by **BobSubgenius** » Tue Jul 26, 2016 9:18 pm

You're welcome!

ben1111 · Post by **ben1111** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 7:35 pm

My friend can only come round next week sometime so I am working on another track similar but in dropped C tuning, I think I need to put the grid on triplets to match the 6/8 time signature?

I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?

Re: I play guitar and don't know what tempo it is?