"Geff Crawford" wrote
> Lyle Lofgren wrote:
>> On Feb 18, 1:35 pm, wm...@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
wrote:
>>> ... I have
>>> noticed that if I try to "match" the beat, especially with the better
>>> fiddlers, that the tune will speed up before too long. I think most
>>> lead players that want to drive the song will play slightly ahead of
>>> the beat, which implies that the beat is indeed the guitar. (if there
>>> is no bass) I think that this dynamic is what makes the sound
>>> "real". If you are playing rhythm, you have to let the fiddler go
>>> and hope he only stays a little ahead of you. Hope this makes sence.
>>
>> What you say matches my experience. Have you ever run across a case
>> where the fiddler slows down? I wonder if the original poster was
>> playing with someone who was taking downers?
>
> ...I think the guitar needs to hold a
> steady tempo while the fiddle pushes the beat, though not every beat by
> any means. Occasionally it would be the actual syncopated pu****ng that
> could be written as a sixteenth note tying across the bar line into the
> next measure, but most of the time it couldn't be written. It would be
> that slightly perceptible push that turns a listening tune into a
dancing
> tune...
I've been in many sessions in which every tune finished at a significantly
slower (sometimes faster) tempo than it started. Not necessarily because
the
fiddler slowed down (or vice versa), but because of perceptual differences
and divergent expectations between all of the players.
To me it's like a group jogging along a trail in thick fog with the
fiddler
in front. There is no pace car with cruise control (a metronome) or other
external reference. Individual preferences for the ideal speed for the
terrain (tune) must necessarily adjust if the group is to stay together.
If
the fiddler senses everyone getting too close and tries to pull ahead,
some
may recognize that and hold a steady pace. If they try to close the gap,
everyone speeds up. If they expect more space and keep dropping back,
everyone slows down. Some drop out, get lost, crash and burn or whatever.
Rough trails (complex tunes) aggravate this problem unless folks know
their
ground well. Big groups are harder to manage. The occasional stumble
causes
fewer problems for folks who know how their partners usually recover.
In a live session no single instrument or player is "the beat" (except
maybe
a deaf bass player). Unless no one is listening, the collective tempo will
inevitably drift until a common understanding of where everyone should be
in
relation to the others develops.
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