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Beyond a metronome
Chiefbigeasy
New Orleans, LA✭✭✭ Dupont MDC 50; The Loar LH6, JWC Catania Swing; Ibanez AFC151-SRR Contemporary Archtop
Just musing on an idea to make my practice more enjoyable. Anyone ever use some version of a drum or rhythm machine/device? Unlike the crazy and complex gear that’s available for DJ’s and other electronic stuff, I thought it might be fun to have some sort of rhythm generator to play along with to sharpen my technique. I can do something of the sort with Band in a Box with the few gypsy and other swing styles included by muting all the instruments except the bass and drums.
Anybody try another approach?
Comments
I use iReal and leave only the bass track.
I see you have a few entries about ireal vs BinaB. How long did it take to get what you wanted in ireal pro? BinaB is still so gigantic and difficult to use.
iReal app is straightforward and easy. I almost never use the GJ style of accompaniment, it sounds bad. I usually pick a jazz medium or up tempo style and leave the bass which is ok for practice and I like to add vibes track too. There is a setting kinda like a mixer where you choose the instruments and the mix levels.
I recently got the BIAB specifically hoping I can use it's bass tracks to record decent demos but have yet to dive deep and figure things out.
Check out the Drum Genius app. Lots of drum beats to practice along to. Some are kinda GJ-ish.
Yes, this exactly.
Deep dive is exactly what's needed to even scratch the surface of Band in a Box. Yet, I did spend some time and figured out how to set up the BIAB server from my laptop to connect to my Ipad and Iphone and download some of my finished songs. You have nowhere the control or flexibility of the full version, but if you have settled on the version you like in the main program, you can send it to your phone or tablet. Additionally, it's got some very good samples of gypsy guitars in a couple of rhythm styles, which add to the other great instrument samples as part of the Real Band program BIAB comes with.
Bought the Ireal app, though, just because it is such a useful resource for charts, and I'm not disappointed. It has limited function as backing track generator, but it's better than a metronome, that's for sure.
In the final analysis, if you can get BIAB or update your own version, it's pretty much worth it. It's overkill for just making backing tracks to practice with, but it's quite the luxury.
Bonus: the Django-in-a-box is a great add-on to BIAB and it's an encyclopedia of Django tunes and charts. Great learning tool. Haven't been able to figure out the relationship between BIAB and it, however. There's some indication that BIAB grudgingly allows DIAB to work with it, and it does so seamlessly.
The Wrembel playalongs are panned with the guitar on one side and bass on the other. I will move the balance all the way and practice with just the bass. There's a little bleed through from one side to the other, but if I'm working on my rhythm I don't hear it.
Yes I totally forgot about that! Much better when a live person is playing the lines.
Wrembel's playalongs are fantastic, although I still have trouble getting to them on the web; site seems unreachable. (Got the site address?)
I did download a bunch of my favorites and have used them regularly. They're so good, I have considered using them as a backing track for a one-man session; have already done that at a party.
If you find some of them too fast (or slow), load them into Audiostretch. That program does a MUCH better job at changing speeds and still having the clip sound very good.