Here is a video of me playing a worship tune from Australia's Hillsong United. The tune is very slow and I had a hard time trying to keep an even tempo -- so I downloaded a 'visual metronome' for my iPad which you can see in the left of the screen. It helped, but you can still hear/see that I wander off the beat, especially during the bridge. But, in spite of the fact I could not keep to the beat, I did discover that I find it easier to follow a visual metronome that an aural one.

I think the song needs a 16th beat undercurrent of some sort because it is a little slow and plodding. But here it is without any percussion at all:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNPK3Ba7jHg[/youtube]

Cheers,
Marty

Absolutly Bloody Marvelous. Full stop! Great sound on the Stick and the vocals were just right.
Great idea with that visual metronome, I'll have to give that a try.

Cheers,
Eric

Sting uses a visual metronome too for rehearsing the band but a different kind that simulates the movement of the normal metronome's arm so you can anticipate when the next beat is going to land. I want one of them puppies.

Marty

Truly beautiful rendition.

What kind of headset mic are you using?

Peter

Wow, Marty, you're getting better all the times.

PS: And your metronome is fun!

First - Nice voice. Really blends well with timer of your stick.

Second - I would not be concerned about a slight ebb and flow of the tempo. This adds the human element of music. Honestly, without the metronome blinking, I would not have noticed anything but a nicely performed piece.

Randy

Very nice, Marty. Wonderfully played and sung, with a very reverent sound and vibe.

What a great day to start my Sunday. Thank you for that song.

Are you using a harmonizer pedal?
I also want to know what mic you are using...

The visual metronome is a great find! If it wasn't showing I don't think it would have bothered me when you got off tempo since it's a very flowing song. But I was watching that thing the whole time... Maybe you can crop the video so it doesn't show...

Thank you for the song.

Wow, your music gets better with the visual metronome!
Hey - if you think sixteenths your fingers will tap down differently to imply that rhythm. For example; as for now your right hand is just chopping full chord triads on whole notes, but those fingers could actually go for a partial chicken walk here and there. Another idea would be to use a delay on the melody side to bounce whatever played in a rhythm. Or combine both.

Check out Flint Blade's currently uploaded video of Dylan's Lady Lay for a great example of how a tune will groove by the player thinking the underlying rhythmic grid without necessarily marking out every 16th or 8th beat with his playing. That performance is rock steady and yet he has some parts where he almost plays nothing! A trick to "think the rhythm" is to dance, or just imagine dancing, with what you are playing. Our bodies are organic metronomes by default, but you have to kick it off manually.

Lovely arrangement, Marty, your voice compliments what you are playing on the Stick perfectly. Don't worry about keeping strict time, we're not robots after all!
Keep posting, I love to hear you play and sing.

-Marc-