When musicians want to get into the groove, they’re not just jamming along to the hit Madonna song from 1985; they’re diving deep into the spirit of whatever musical situation they’re in and making it feel as good as possible to not only them but to the people listening. There are so many meanings for the word and phrase, so what can you do to find your groove and the groove of the moment? Below are a few ideas that have proven very useful for me in finding my groove.
Practice
Yes, there is that word you’ve heard so many times. You’ve most likely also heard the phrase, “practice makes perfect.” But it’s not always what you practice — it’s how you practice that can make all the difference. So when it comes to groove, one fun way to practice is to find four patterns to play. Get a metronome or click track going. Also video or audio record yourself, so you can listen or watch back what you did. Pick a tempo that’s comfortable enough to play all the patterns, and then play each one four times through before changing to the next one. Don’t stop and start each pattern. Play each one into the next, and then repeat for at least two minutes. The goal is to let muscle memory take over, so you’re not just playing — you’re feeling. If the pocket is right, you’ll lose the click track sound. Listening and watching back to what you did is so very important. How did you play against the click track and how did you look? Relaxed, like you were having a good time, or stiff and stressed? Relaxed is way better for getting into the groove.
Start hearing the patterns
Most music, even difficult “outside” music, is made up of patterns that repeat, and it is a good thing to start recognizing those patterns. If you play a lot of pop/rock music, you should notice that certain chord changes or drum beats happen a lot. They’re nearly universal and almost always work. The length of sections in the majority of pop/rock songs are very similar. What this means as far as groove is concerned is that you can start thinking ahead in the song. It really works. You can know with confidence what is coming next in the song even if you don’t necessarily know the song all that well.
Think four bars ahead
Now that you have the muscle memory going strong and recognize frequently repeating music patterns, you can start thinking ahead in songs and mentally prepare for the coming fill or transition, so you never get caught by surprise. It’s freeing to be able to do this. I’m not saying it is easy to get to this point. You definitely have to put in the time and effort. But once it starts to happen, you’ll know, and playing will be so much fun!
You can get into the groove by finding a good routine and sticking to it, getting into the spirit of the situation, and thinking ahead. Once you find that freedom in playing music, there is nothing like it.