Physical limits of drummers?

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WeeWoo

New member
I am programming drums and don't know if this rhythm is humanly possible, I don't want it to sound robotic.

It's simply a continuous 16th note pattern at 190bpm on the toms for three measures.

each tom gets 4 hits:

aaaabbbbccccaaaabbbbcccc etc for three measures
 
If you're asking if it can be done by a real drummer, the answer is yes. Whether it will not sound robotic when you program it, is another thing altogether. Even the slowest fill can sound robotic if it's not programmed properly.
 
Yeah I was asking f it can be done by a real drummer, I figured if it's not physically possible then it would automatically sound robotic no matter what techniques I used to humanize it.
 
WeeWoo said:
Yeah I was asking f it can be done by a real drummer, I figured if it's not physically possible then it would automatically sound robotic no matter what techniques I used to humanize it.
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It's great that you took into account the fact that it might be possible or not. A lot of non-drumers ( I hope I'm not making an in-correct assumption in your case) do some pretty un-realistic things with drum machines.

Having answered your question about doing 16th note rolls at 190bpm, I have to add that most drummers probably wouldn't be able to do it, if they can't do a press roll or really fast single-stroke rolls. But it's not impossible, by any means.
 
Supercreep said:
16th note anythings at 190 bpm is pretty hardcore.
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Agreed. That's why I mentioned that, while possible, most drummers won't (can't?) do it. I practice my double strokes at 208bpm, so I know it can be done. But that's on a practice pad for one minute. It's not realistic to think most drummers can whip around 4 toms with 16th notes at that speed. It is pretty hardcore, and rare.
 
Seafroggys said:
er, snare drum? I played snare, tenor, and bass drum for field shows, but our 190 bpm show I was snare.

Actually, it was 180 I think, but more or less the same thing.
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No, the song. I assumed you were playing drums of some sort. I just can't imagine a marching band marching at 190 bpm. The band would be shuffling around the football field at 30 mph!
 
Cavaliers in 2002 did a song at 210 I believe.

180 seems to be kinda the higher limit for high school bands though, but sometimes they go into 190 for short bursts.

The winter drum show I marched that was 180 was Ballet Sacra I think was the name of the song, though for the life of me I can't remember the composer. Fairly popular recent American composer.
 
RAMI said:
It's great that you took into account the fact that it might be possible or not. A lot of non-drumers ( I hope I'm not making an in-correct assumption in your case) do some pretty un-realistic things with drum machines.
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Hey! I'm that guy, neat!
 
I'm not a great drummer by any means, but I think doing something like that is within the range of where a standard drummer's chops should be. I like to think that 200bpm is a standard target for single stroke roll, more for double (not buzz).

http://www.metronomeonline.com/

To clarify, 200bpm - play sixteenths; the metronome is a quarter note, or the final hits are equal to 800bpm. Then you should be able to go around the snare and any toms as you like.

I didn't do percussion in school but I have heard of 180bpm as a rudiment req (paradiddle, etc).

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As for the original post, hell, you could find a few drummers that could do that speed roll on a snare and a single tom at the same time if they used a rim click trick, so it is a perspective thing, but I think most drummers would agree that it's cool to hear someone asking a question like this, many having aversions to drum machines.
 
The549 said:
I'm not a great drummer by any means, but I think doing something like that is within the range of where a standard drummer's chops should be. I like to think that 200bpm is a standard target for single stroke roll, more for double (not buzz).

http://www.metronomeonline.com/

To clarify, 200bpm - play sixteenths; the metronome is a quarter note, or the final hits are equal to 800bpm. Then you should be able to go around the snare and any toms as you like.

I didn't do percussion in school but I have heard of 180bpm as a rudiment req (paradiddle, etc).

====

As for the original post, hell, you could find a few drummers that could do that speed roll on a snare and a single tom at the same time if they used a rim click trick, so it is a perspective thing, but I think most drummers would agree that it's cool to hear someone asking a question like this, many having aversions to drum machines.
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Hey The549 where in norcal are you?
 
playing 16th note diddles at 200 is fairly easy and a beginner can easily reach that "cleanly" within a couple of years. That's just playing 16th notes at 100 (which anybody can do) and throw in an extra hit with each hand.

Doing single stroke, on the other hand, well, I've been playing almost 10 years and I would have issues.
 
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