I want to develop a simple program that takes a backing track and a corresponding tempo description file as input (for now, let’s consider only simple cases). The program would play the track while muting it at random moments, but still respecting the constraints of the Ultimate Groove Workout.
Let me give an example. I am currently trying to learn “Money” by Pink Floyd by playing along with a no-bass backing track. Although I have learned the main riff and most of the other sections, sometimes I feel “off” at random points, as if my sense of tempo is not quite right.
I already know—based on the tabs, but potentially also through estimation using an audio processing library—the BPM of the song and where the meter changes occur (from 7/4 to 4/4 or 6/4). Therefore, it should not be too difficult to define a file format describing the song’s tempo and meter changes to feed into my program.
My question is: is this a silly idea? I remember Josh mentioning during the course that real music does not always strictly follow the specified tempo, because musicians naturally tend to drag or rush slightly from time to time. I might be misremembering, and if so, I apologize!
That said, does it still make sense to apply the Groove Workout approach to “real” music?
I think it might be useful to try. It will help you see whether you are keeping the right tempo or not. It would work even better if you would record yourself playing, and use a DAW to compare your playing to the original music afterwards, so you would be able to see when/if you weren’t keeping the right tempo.
Probably after a few repetitions you wouldn’t need it anymore. So if you can and like coding it, why not? I don’t think it would do any harm.
The real life Beavis and Butt-Head. Shrapnel everywhere! Why go to a war zone when one can create one at home!
A work colleague once came from holidays with a very long stitched scar on her jaw. She had been at a garden barbecue party, people got drunk, and one of her friends had the brilliant idea of throwing an empty can of hairspray into the fire. She said everybody shouted her to stop, but it was too late. A large piece flew towards her face, and she said there was a lot of blood. The party ended in a hospital. Fortunately everyone was alive (that could have killed her, if it had hit her lower down in the throat).
