Backbeater Usage

Backbeater Deluxe includes the phone mount as shown here (phone not included).

By Chaun Horton

Editor’s note: Chaun Horton is an experienced drummer who is reporting on getting familiar with the drum tempo monitor Backbeater.

After spending some more time with the Backbeater, I found it to be very useful during my warm-up routine for helping me get in the groove. I appreciate the headphone splitter, as it allows me to use my own headphones and the Backbeater sensor at the same time. 

There are four different metronome sounds to choose from. Having these different options is very important since the click is constantly ticking in your ear for a long period of time. Having a good sound that does not fatigue your ears is vital. 

In my latest practice session I played a couple of different grooves to see how consistently I could stay playing ahead, on top, and behind the click. Each time, the “beat timing indicator” showed me exactly where my time was sitting. This was helpful as it kept me mindful of the time as I approached and exited a drum fill. As drummers, we can have a tendency to change speed when we approach a drum fill, this can consequently cause us to miss our mark — which is for all intents and purposes the one. When we slow down approaching a drum fill, it drastically breaks the momentum of the groove. I call this the “speed bump effect.” 

Here is how I go about it; I play until I can find a groove I can settle into, creating a four bar loop or however many bars the phrase of the groove ends up being. As I am looping the groove I place a drum fill at the end of the phrase. I also do the same thing while playing ahead, on top, and behind Backbeater.

Essentially I am using the metronome as a guideline. I want my playing to feel organic and not mechanical. As I am alternating between playing ahead, on top, and behind the metronome, I am able to utilize time more freely. For example, I can play slightly behind the tempo giving the verse of a song a calm and relaxed feeling — or I can slightly push the tempo giving the song the lift it needs to build into the last big chorus. All the while, I am still staying in time. Backbeater gives instant data that allows this control.

I am excited to continue to use the Backbeater, and I will use it to focus in on perfecting my time. I believe it to be a great time management tool.