Drummer question...

R

RyanEmerson

New member
Alright, this isn't really a recording question, but whatever.

I'm a semi-accomplished guitar player to decided, after a few years of fooling around, to start a band of my own. We have two vocalists, a good bass player, but no drummer. All of the talented drummers I know either don't have enough time to commit, fool around too much, or are already in a band.

And if there's one thing I've learned in my extremely short musical career, it's that even more important that talent, it's important to have people who work great togther. So we've recruited a friend of mine who's only been playing for about 6-8 months.

Now he can keep a basic beat, and he can do simple runs, but they're slightly out of time, and going inbetween versus and choruses he tends to get sloppy with fills. What we've done is convinced him, somehwat, is to simply have two patterns, one for the verse, and one for the chorus, with no runs. It sounds okay, but he gets bored and frustrated. Also, whenever he messes up, unlike us, he completely stops and makes a big deal out of it.

Is this more of a phsychological thing, or is it simply experience?

My main question is, we have a gig coming up in about 8 or 9 weeks, and he needs to improve...quite a lot. How would he go about doing this? Practicing to a metronome? Doing the same thing over and over, or wearing headphones and copying different songs. Or is it something that only tiem can fix?

Thanks.
 
Well first of all, someone who gets bored eastily has no place in the drum world. Essential to drumming is the "Groove" it might take him a while to understand that but a drummer keeps the beat, thats what drums do. ya know?

Playing with a click always helps, my drummer had/has some timing issues. They really became apparent to me when we got into the studio and he struggled with the click. Much to my suprise the great drummer got BETTER, FAST. It was like he was just waiting for that part of it and he knew what to do when we got there. He is not the best studio drummer in the world but he's my hero!

Lastly, If you can get to some jam sessions, do it! Learning from other drummers will help in the psyco and the experience. Go to live shows and study stage ettiquette. You need a confident performer who will not stop when he messes up, but confidence gets better over experience. It kinda goes hand in hand.

Hope this helps
 
I don't really know, but it sounds like an ego thing to me. Drumming in a band is just creating time. That's basically it. Drummers that pick it up because they love the solos and making noise and showing off will get bored quite quickly with playing in a band.

Make him listen to some music that just uses basic beats. Do this to try to make him understand that, at his current level of expertise, he doesn't need to drive everything. You only need him to keep the beat for now. Listen to Like A Stone by Audioslave. ANYONE that has played for an hour with a drum set can play that song. No fills. Straight beat. Easy, and for their drummer, I'm sure it was quite boring. Find a few other songs like that and SHOW him that even good professional drummers have to just play the groove.

Once he understands that playing drums is all about timing and keeping the beat, 8 or 9 weeks should be PLENTY of time to whip him into shape if he's practicing the correct things. You will find, if you simplify, his screw-ups will become non-existant.

Now, if you are giving him 5-minute drum solos and such in the middle of songs, then yeah, he'll still f-up. He's only been playing for 8 months. :D
 
First I agree it is sometimes better to trade off some talent for a guy you can get along with. However, a drummers first prioity must be to keep the groove, even if that means not playing a fill.

A good drummer can get more joy from playing a solid groove than from a fancy fill. hat is part of musical maturity (which perhaps your drummer is lacking - in particular if he feels he must stop a song and make a fuss when he blows a fill). Cetainly playing fills and coming back on he beat if hard for a rookie drummer.

I think you have to clearly and candidly tell him what the band expects and what the music demands (a solid groove), even if that mean not taking fills. If he is unable or unwilling to achieve that - you have a choice to make.

While 8 or 9 weeks should be enough time for him to get his basic beats together, it may not be enough for him to get his mental act together (ie stopping and making a fuss, etc).

Good luck with this.
 
tell him to get a professional role model (for exaple terry bozzio, nicko mcbrian, any good drummer in a band)
if he watches them play listen to them thier bands he'll be inspired and gain great knowledge and skill
it worked great for me and i love doing it
goodluck
 
RyanEmerson said:
Also, whenever he messes up, unlike us, he completely stops and makes a big deal out of it.
/B]
Click to expand...


Rule #1 When Performing: No matter WHAT happens, DON'T STOP.

Flub a fill - keep the beat going some kinda way. DON'T STOP.

Some guy drops his pants and undies around his ankles, and flashes the girls in the front row because they questioned the size of his dong. DON'T STOP. And if you're singing - don't laugh.
 
ayyy-men...never, ever quit a beat. a drummer can even learn awesome fills by accident while messing up the beat he's supposed to play.

conversely, consider a nifty trick of the brain. if your drummer keeps messing up, don't keep practicing that tune until he gets it right--he might never. play it 1-3 more times, then move on.

the reason is, your brain NEVER stops chewing info. if you can't reasonably approximate a drumbeat or guitar part within 15-30 minutes, MOVE ON. it's easier, and more productive, to retry it the next day than it is to keep making the same mistakes until you want to smash something (expensive).

your brain never really goes to sleep. that's why my riveter grandpa could take naps on naked steel beams 30 stories off the ground. that's why it's better for a beginner to practice an instrument for 15-30 minutes a day, 2-3 times a day, than it is to practice for 8 hours daily. i wasted plenty of time learning that.

hope that helped...
 
(grabs stick bag and heads for the studio)

Thanks for reminding me, I'm a couple hours shy on this weeks practice schedule.

Later
 
He should work on playing with a click, that helped me tons especially if you want him in the studio. Secondly he should spend a lot of time listening to drummers who keep it basic and in the pocket. AC/DC back in black is a great example, an absolute must for him to study
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top