Is this normal?

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antispatula

antispatula

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So I'm a musician (duh) I play and record and write everything myself. I sing, play elec/acoustic guitars, piano, bass, accordion, etc.

Today I borrowed a friends drumset. I tried laying down some drums.

I suck at drums.

I am having a sufficiently frustrating time keeping in decent tempo all the time.

Is this normal? Shouldn't I be able to keep in beat better than I am? I mean, I play a bunch of other instruments fine. Is the ability to keep in tempo something one is born with or something one must work on, even if he is expirienced with other instruments?

Thanks!
 
antispatula said:
I am having a sufficiently frustrating time keeping in decent tempo all the time.

Is this normal? Shouldn't I be able to keep in beat better than I am? I mean, I play a bunch of other instruments fine. Is the ability to keep in tempo something one is born with or something one must work on, even if he is expirienced with other instruments?
Click to expand...

Two words: click track. :)

Yes, it's normal. Drums don't sound instantaneously---you have to factor in stroke latency (which is different for different parts of the kit) and brain latency (which is different for different parts of your body). Also, the more you have going, the more likely you are to not anticipate the stroke early enough for it to sound on time, and suddenly you're behind. On easy passage, it is similarly easy to rush.

Basically, if I'm laying down a track, I run over it for the better part of a day one weekend to practice it, then run over it several times the next weekend to track it the first time, and I still end up going back and fixing spots.

I am not a drummer, but I play one on HR.com.
 
Though you may have natural rhythm (a prerequisite for drumming), it then takes the hand and foot coordination. Like dgatwood stated, there is physical latency that must be compensated in your mind.

The fist time I sat behind a drumset, I began playing. I'm not bragging, this is just my opinion builder. I was able to pick it up quickly because I'm a very visual learner. I'm mechanically inclined as well, so those factors built up that area of the mind. I had already been playing guitar in bands for 1-2 years before I ever touched a kit. I had, however, lots and lots of experience around drums. I had begun to "air drum" at home, along with the drummers in live performances, etc.
I could picture the movements in my mind and replicate them externally.
Of course, now after a few years, my natural rhythm is much sharper and my muscles have a "memory", which makes the basic movements of drumming very simple and easy. I don't even think really, unless I'm doing something new, showing off, etc.

In summary, some people have the building blocks to play drums, some do not. As long as you have rhythm and begin independently coordinating your limbs, it's just a matter of effort.

I've had guitarists, bassists, keyboardists, and singers sit down behind my kit and attempt to play. I'd say out of 10 musicians (that don't suck), 3-4 of them can play something that translates in to "beats". Maybe all over the time scale, but can coordinate the movements.

I'd reccomend a click track when recording. Once you're used to a click track, it's a very valuable recording tool. Another thing to consider is purchasing a metronome that produces audible sounds when drumming. Tama makes a nice loud metro, but it's a bit steep for such a simple thing. There are also special headphones (usually isolating) that have a built in metronome. Practicing with a metro is VERY beneficial. Really helps clean up your strikes and such.

Good luck. ;)
 
I agree with everything Jayke and Dgat said. Your experience seems very normal. Like any other instrument, good drumming takes hours, days, months, years of practice to do well. I think it comes down to conditioning your brain and muscles to anticipate and execute the appropriate strokes. It's one thing to know what you're supposed to do -- quite a different thing to actually do it.

When I first started drumming about ten years ago, I couldn't understand how I could be so good at guitar (which I had been playing for over 15 years) and suck so bad at drums. I then realized how often I practice guitar -- every single day. I sit on the couch every day with my Les Paul in my hands and play (practice) for hours while I watch my favorite TV shows (primarily X-Files reruns). In contrast, I was practicing drums maybe once or twice a week for two hours on weekends. So, yes, it was normal for me to suck on drums when I wasn't putting in the time necessary to become good.

My suggestion is simply to practice every day -- even if you can play for only 10 minutes. Nothing beats daily practice. In my experience, 10 minutes every day is better than 2 hours once a week. Also, I agree that a click is a great tool. It will help you develop a built-in sense of timing/tempo. So, use it when you can. It's difficult at first, but will become second nature with practice.

Kevin
 
All good advice - and I for one second the use of a click track.

As a drummer (for about 40 years) who also plays keys, guitar, banjo, violin, harmonica, etc. I can attest that even with good rhythem, application of technique, muscle memory and all the other things already mentioned are a facter (for any instrument).

As a drummer, I have rock solid time - but each time I start to learn a new instrument, my timing sucks - until I start to learn the technique, and anticipated muscle actions required for each instrument.

When I first went from drums to guitar, my rhythem playing was all over the place. I would have thought that as a drummer, the simple act of moving my arm/wrist up and down (which in theory is not much different than playing a hi-hat groove) and keeping a soild rhythem would have been very easy - but it was not as easy as I would have expected.

Playing guitar involves different movement than drummming which is a different movement than an accordian, etc, If you are as commited to drumming as I suepct you are to guitar (or whatever) you will keep practising and you will see improvement.
 
it always astounds me how everyone thinks that playing drums is easy. even more so is the incredulity people express when they figure out that they can't do it worth a damn. i mean all it requires is hitting some things with sticks, right? drummers can't POSSIBLY have musical ability, right? i mean, that's why they're drummers, right? if they had musical ability they'd be guitarists, right? :rolleyes:

i've been playing drums for 25+ years now, and playing drums is, by far, much harder to play than guitar, piano, mandolin or any other instrument i play. it takes the most coordination and requires the most physical stamina/endurance. AND it requires the most proficiency and concentration......b/c the song doesn't fall apart if the guitarist misses a note or drops his pick--but see what happens if the drummer breaks a stick or lets the tempo lag just a tad.

besides, when's the last time you saw a guitar that required BOTH feet AND BOTH hands to work it?

and that's only what's required just to make semi-rhythmic noise on the drums. to really *play* you need touch and technique.......something that guitarists often assume is reserved solely for them.

and let's not forget that a large part of the art of playing drums isn't in the notes you play, but in the spaces around the notes. go listen to some Bonzo and you'll see what i mean. :D

the answer is simple and is the same for proficiency on any other instrument: practice. :p


cheers,
wade
 
mikeh said:
As a drummer, I have rock solid time - but each time I start to learn a new instrument, my timing sucks - until I start to learn the technique, and anticipated muscle actions required for each instrument.

When I first went from drums to guitar, my rhythem playing was all over the place.
Click to expand...
Thats wierd, when i started learning guitar i had played drums for about 5 - 6 yrs and my rhythem on the guitar has allways been good (about the only thing good about my playing)
 
I have had a kit in my studio for a little over a year now and can play some pretty basic stuff but I would not call myself a drummer. I think playing drums well is an art. Even if you can keep a beat there is still the ability to play balanced and musical. I know what I want to play and how I want it to sound and how I want it to feel but I am just not there yet. Not even close.
It's amazing how my kit sounds when real drummer plays it.
Drums are not easy and to play well, it takes lots of hours behind the kit.
 
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