Basic Punk Rhythm Guitar--Snare Feels Like Down Beat

Question

I'm a pretty good guitarist, and I can play some tricky rhythms (weird time signatures, syncopation, some of the easier djent stuff) but I've always had trouble when my drummer starts to play anything that sounds punk. I like punk music a lot so this confused me at first, but I realized that it's because whenever I hear bass-snare-bass-snare played that fast, I feel the snare is the down beat since it stands out so much and that screws me up.

I programmed some drums into my sequencer and tried practicing over that and slowly speeding it up until it gets to the point where I get the downbeat mixed up. I'm gonna keep working on that, but does anybody have any other advice on this? This is a fundamental issue in my playing and I'd like to fix it.

Answer 1

Actually, the fact that you've analyzed your playing to the point where you can describe where you're going wrong means you're halfway there, so good job so far.

Some additional practice suggestions:

• Try feeling macrobeats: instead of listening for a pulse on every beat, listen for every two beats, or every full measure--thus de-emphasizing the snare:beat relationship.
• Try changing your drum sequence to desensitize yourself to the snare sound and listen more for the bass drum sound. For example, instead of sequencing |:bass-snare-bass-snare:|, try |:bass-snare-snare-snare:|
• Try practicing 16th note syncopations in a completely different context. Since punk music uses that 8th note rhythm pattern at a very fast tempo, when you are lining up with the snare, you are phasing yourself by an 8th note. In slower music, i.e. half tempo, that would be the same as phasing by a 16th note. So, I would suggest approaching that concept intentionally, so you get used to what it feels like to play long strings of syncopated 16th notes. You can do this in many ways--I might improvise over chord changes, or alter the rhythm of a standard tune, or just play scales. Specifically, you could set yourself up with a metronome that plays distinct downbeats and upbeats at about q = 80, and then practice your scales on even 8th notes, syncopated by a 16th note in either direction, switching phase on your way up or down the scale, playing equal-length dotted 8th notes... Essentially, my suggestion would be to practice your familiarity with different rhythmic permutations so you are used to hearing emphases on odd parts of the beat.

Answer 2

One idea might be to just play your guitar solo and focus on emphasizing the upbeat. "dana NANA dana NANA" sort of idea. It may be easier to keep track of where you are that way and not phase-shift over. And maybe count out loud at the same time, again emphasizing the upbeat: "one TWO three FOUR" or "one AND two AND" depending.

Another option is to invert the emphasis of a "normal" song. In addition to being pretty fun (IMO) it will let you directly compare the different emphases via something you're familiar with.

Answer 3

Have you tried eighth-note hits on the bass drum (bbS-bbS-) instead of quarter-notes (b-S-b-S-)? Sometimes a variation like that, either straight or swung, can be easier to lock into. I'd try to find some pattern you can lock into more easily, then set up your sequencer to alternate between the two.