Having difficulty keeping time on the banjo in the first lesson boil them cabbage down. Metronome set at 110. I’m assuming we’re playing eighth notes in each measure so if that’s true should I be counting one and two and three and four and… One and two and three and four and… If that’s right and the metronome is at 110 does that mean that each tick represents a quarter note? When trying to play it that way it doesn’t seem to match up with the mp3 set to 110.
Banjo timing help
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Sorry I can’t help with your question, but you’ll get your answer real quick here shortly I’m sure. Just wanted to welcome you to the community.
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Thank you. I appreciate it.
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If you’re just starting out, it might help to just make sure the first beat of each measure corresponds with a click of the metronome, since there are mostly eighth notes in that piece. Counting out loud also helps, count one, two, three, four, making sure the one always lands on a click. Hope this helps.
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Thank you for the response. that does help but what’s really tripping me up is when I try to play along with his mp3 track. Adding to the confusion I tried to sync up a metronome on my tablet to go along with the mp3 by tapping on it and the metronome said that was 55 beats per minute and not 110. I guess what I’m trying to figure out is how many beats per click on his slowest mp3 play along track. Sorry for the lengthy reply but I really feel hung up on this.
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If I’m understanding your question then with that slowest backing track at 110 it’s the quarter note that getting the beat. So if you’re counting every eighth note then you’re counting it correctly. Not sure if that helps or if that was even your question.
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The syncopated feel of this song makes counting it few weird at first. But if you look on the tab, most of the notes are in groups of two. The first note in each group of two is the down beat and what the metronome is clicking to. (1, 2, 3, 4). The second note of each pair of notes is the upbeat (and, and, etc.). So it sounds like you were counting it correctly.
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That’s what I was thinking and I thought I could at least sort of keep up but it didn’t match up right. Is it possible that he is doing four beats per click? If so… Man I have a whole lot of practicing to do. And thank you for trying to help me out with this. I really appreciate it.
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I wonder if it would be easier to not use the metronome and the mp3 at the same time? It’s only 2 beats per click. He’s strumming the single bass note on 1 and 3 and strumming the rest of the strings on 2 and 4. Maybe just try counting along with the guitar on the mp3 for a couple measures (1, 2, 3, 4) and then just count the eighth notes along with the mp3 for a couple measures (1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and) and then trying singing the melody along with it to get the feel. There’s been some songs where the slowest backing track is too fast at first and that’s when I get out the metronome to an even slower tempo. But even then every click should represent a quarter note.
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Sorry I meant 1 beat per click. 2 eighth notes per click.
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Many thanks. I’m going to try again when I get back to the banjo. I’m going to take your advice and try ditching the metronome for now and just use the guitar as the metronome. Hopefully that will help.
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I didn’t realize you were trying to sync the metronome with the mp3, I would second the recommendation to use only the backing track. I would use either the mp3 or the metronome, not both at the same time.
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Howdy Chad _
As a Beginner, I can honestly say “Been there, done that. Still working on getting it right.”
Since l I am basically a lazy person, the thought of trying to synch a metronome with the rhythm track, then start playing my banjo while taping my foot is just nuts.
I have found that working with the TEF files really helps with timing, and it is far simpler.
Then when I get comfortable with the timing, I can start using the backing tracks without too much clumsiness.
Good luck!
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I tried to open the TEF file earlier and it told me it couldn’t be opened. Doing all this from my phone and a tablet. I just assumed that the TEF was another form of tablature. I will definitely have to figure out how to get that opened. Thanks for the advice.
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Got the TEF file open. That is definitely going to be helpful. I was just assuming it was a different format for opening the tabs.
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Hey Chad! Welcome to the forum. Sorry I’m late to the party here. You’ve received some good advice. I was just about to recommend the TEF file. Glad to see you got it open. You can play around with the relative speed in the TEF to get it playing at the speed you want, and you can also turn on the metronome. At 100% speed, the metronome is beating at 120 bpm.
Also, you can turn the volume on the banjo module all the way down so you will only hear the guitar module (and the metronome if you turn it on) if that helps. Some folks say hearing the banjo module trips them up.
Looking forward to hearing about your progress!
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