David's Tip of the Day: Tempo (Counting Songs In)

I'm at Steve Baker's Harmonica Masters Workshop on lunch break preparing for my concert tonight. The last thing I do is check tempos. The #1 mistake made by performers is to count the song in too fast or slow. If you count it in too fast then you're playing catch-up the entire song... causing more mistakes to happen if it's a technically challenging song to play. If you count too slowly, then the song lacks drive... it drags.

So, the answer...

Hear the song in your head first... then move your body... then tap your foot... then count the song in. Now check it with the original recording (if it's a cover song) or to the jam track you've bee practicing to. Was it the same? If not, make note to go fast or slower when you're on stage to compensate for your tendency to count a song too slow or fast.

Give this a try... it saves a lot of headaches on the bandstand.