This lesson shows you how to work on your internal tempo recall by using songs that are really, really familiar
Working Out A Tempo
Trying to work out the speed of a song can be really tough if you haven’t yet memorised certain tempos. Luckily, there is a little hack you can use to recognise different speeds. Today we are going to look at how you can internalise specific speeds by relating them to songs you know well.
To do this, you will need a metronome and some recordings of your favourite songs.
The aim is to be able to successfully predict the tempo of a song by associating it with a tune you like. By memorising the tempo of a few songs, you will have a repertoire that you can refer to at any time.
Exercise #1: Think of a song you are familiar with that has a strong melody and visualise it in your head to locate the pulse. Tap the tempo out and check your timing using a recording of the song.
Exercise #2: Repeat the exercise above with different songs to give you a broader range of tempos to refer to.
why not post the notation and tab?
There’s no tab or notation for this one because there’s nothing to play on bass. It’s mental practice, not bass practice.
Mark,
There are many, free to download apps for PC, that will easily help you determine the tempo of your favourite song. You simply tap the space bar (or some other key) along with the beat of the song. The program will count the taps over time and determine the BPM. Not sure what’s available for mobile devices though. One such program is at tempotap.com. and there are lots of others.
Thanks for the lessons. I really enjoy your site.
Thanks for your guidance Mark. I really want to play bass with every rythem. Thanks