Human beings naturally keep time to the rhythms of music and, just as orchestras have a conductor, live bands also need to stay in time. Traditionally a drummer listens to a 'click-track' to set the pace of a band's tempo. However, Andrew Robertson, a Sound Engineer at Queen Mary University London, has been trying to unshackle a drummer from rigidly following a set beat by engineering software that can instead monitor and follow the drummer. With his software a band can trigger computer controlled samples and effects that are timed accurately to a drummers tempo. Placing tempo control in the hands (or sticks) of a drummer in this way allows them to slow things down or speed things up, as and when they choose. In theory, this produces more fluid and expressive performances -- and, ultimately, more interesting music. But how successful is this system at moderating tempo? And could a real drummer tell the difference between a tempo matched by a human or by the machine. This film is part of a project funded by the Royal Academy of Engineering to develop the on camera communication skills of engineers across the UK. The Ri is on Twitter: http://twitter.com/ri_science and Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/royalinstitution and Tumblr: http://ri-science.tumblr.com/ Our editorial policy: http://www.rigb.org/home/editorial-policy Subscribe for the latest science videos: http://bit.ly/RiNewsletter