Hello everyone. When I practice I always use the metronome and try to be as steady as possible. I don’t know about the rest of the world (everyone appears to learn to play songs after two weeks … !) But given my lack of talent I am sure that I will need to continue to practice with the metronome forever, that’s sure. Now my question is: how to move past it when learning to perform? Of course you don’t have a metronome on stage, plus the tempo can vary across a song… How can I learn to play without a steady click? I know BB exercise of playing a groove with longer pauses of the metronome but, until now, I am not yet able to “generalize it”. Is the only answer to be patient and practice more? At this pace I am beginning to wonder how many decades it will take me to reach the point of being able to play with other people…
Hi, practice is usually the answer but in this case you also have the drums or some other percussion to guide you
You mentioned B2B so you might remember or will get to the lesson where Josh explains how to lock in with the drummer
I’m confident that you’ll internalize the beat of the metronome sooner than you think
I generally don’t practice with a metronome as I seem to have one built into my head. I have an Alesis SR18 drum machine that I use occasionally when I’m trying to nail a specific beat, but once I have the groove embedded in my brain, I practice without it.
There is one well known online bass instructor who admonishes against using a metronome, but I don’t recall who. I think the bottom line is to just lock in with the drummer as Josh teaches.
Jeff Berlin
Like already mentioned you can listen to the drums. You can also try tapping your foot.
I carry myself out of rhythm when I tap with the foot. It is too strong a temptation to tap each subdivision instead of only the beats…and I find myself drifting. Hopeless case, uh?
This requires the presence of a drummer but I am not in condition to find one being so much tempo-challenged!
YES! Thank you!
Such s strange notion… Straight up recommending against a metronome! I can understand practicing without (my question here…) But never using it would be counterproductive in my case!
It takes time and practice. Keep working at it and you’ll get it.
There is always some sort of steady “click”. Drums, whatever. The more the syncopation (eights/sixteenths) the harder it’s going to be without using some sort of beat generator during practice (metronome/drum machine). Not using one will only get you so far and will cause you to be sloppy. If you get into playing jazz or some other form where the beat drops out, well, your going to be lost.
@PamPurrs is the only superhuman on this site. Sorry, you are not.
Go look up Rich Brown The Brown’stone on YouTube. Do his 4-part metronome series. If you can do them without a metronome you don’t need a bear for practice. (Spoiler, you will fail)
Only one? Lol
Can anyone name one well known instructor that advocates not using a beat of some kind? Hmmmm…. Lol
Ah, most definitely not! But maybe I have other redeeming qualities. Still looking for what those are, but surely they are there…
I can’t practice without a drumbeat or my wife throws a chair at me.
The strange thing always about practicing with a drum beat for the past year or so is that I now listen to songs recorded in the 70’s (pre pro tools click track) and hear the tempo move around.
This awareness of the change in tempo is hopefully something to do with hundreds of hours of listening to a consistent tempo?
Lol I don’t think I’m the only person who can memorize a beat. I’m hardly superhuman… that would be @JoshFossgreen with his extraterrestrial fingers 
It’s not counterproductive. Think about songs with no beats at all. Like this one
https://youtu.be/UhreyWIyeQQ
"Empty your mind; be formless, shapeless like water. Be water, my friend.” Bruce Lee.
Hopefully or bands in the 70’s didn’t care much for consistent tempo 
I can memorize a beat …but I can’t olay it tight! So I can “fake it” but when I play it precisely (with a metronome, or playing along) I find that in reality I am often rushing or slowing or not subdividing evenly…
Fake it t’ill you make it! 
I think it happens to everyone drifting slightly in front or behind the beat. That’s why we are supposed to lock in with the drummer.
Even drummers experience this. I know some that use a click.