Band Competition

[drummerchick435]

On May 12 I will have my very first band competition. I've never had to really compete in drumming. I'm so nervous. Any advice on how to wow the judges?...besides playing well?

[georgeman]

First of all....your last signiture was not stupid, it was funny.


and for the battle of the bands

um

just don't mess around between songs or before or after.
it just gives bad impression to the judges.

that's i i can think of right now

-george

[groovemaster_flex]

Just relax.
Have fun.
Stick with what you know instead of trying to wow judges with impressive tricks that you really can't do.
But yeah.
Have fun.
(Y)
And good luck :-)

[drummerchick435]

First of all....your last signiture was not stupid, it was funny.


and for the battle of the bands

um

just don't mess around between songs or before or after.
it just gives bad impression to the judges.

that's i i can think of right now

-george

Thanks. I'm much too self conscious about what I say and do.
(to know why see here:http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=21673)
^you don't have too though I'm not looking for sympathy.

[ledzepjb]

relax-have fun-play like you normaly play-dont do anything stupid like trying to do a stick trick that you know that you cant do but you want to just to impress the judges-do your thing

Good Luck!

[georgeman]

You should enjoy yourself too
um...i just got back from the grocery store and thought of some more

don't change ur set up

warm up

and

don't fall off ur stool

trust me personal experences for all of them.

-george

[tamadrummer132]

check your bass drum spikes before you start. you dont want your bass to run away from you!

also tighten all hardware wing nuts and stuff...


as far as playing goes, its nervous until bout 30 seconds after youy get into it. then you start to rock out.

I hate to say this, but your going to be nervous no matter what, but getting past the beginning is the hardest, after that all you gotta know is when you end.

[georgeman]

i don't wanna make u paranoid.
but more personal experences

little stuff to check before you leave


Check your sticks.

i only play a gig with "fresh" sticks

check you have everything
all wing nuts
meternome (if u use one)
snare stand
etc.

but ya
once u start u will loosten up

-george

[drummerchick435]

Nice stuff but this is a school concert band competition. My band will play a piece then I will play a solo.

[georgeman]

hmmmm....does the song lead in to the drumsolo like.idk if anyone will know this song but 9 and 1/2 months
or is it sepperate

if it is sepperate
just dont' start out to strong. like bang really hard.
Ease in
use the entire drum set
use something that can be used in ur music (i'm guessing rock)
but is totaly unuasual.
shakers, holding your crash and hitting it,(sounds like a funky metal sound) or using the legs of your floor tom as thoes griero things

but it's all just a sugestion. because my band plays like a jazz rock fusion type music so i can pull it off with that.

use phrasing, or the Q and A tequnic and don't make it too repative

YOU DON"T HAVE TO USE MY SUGESTIONS

-george

[Pete Stoltman]

Hey Drummerchick good luck in the competition. I guess you know what you will have to do for the band portion and I'm sure your director will have prepped everyone with any last minute info. Just do your best and play the parts the way you've rehearsed.
Now about the solo. Is this a snare solo or set? Is it from a written solo piece or is this an improvised solo? Sometimes solos come from an approved list and the adjudicators will have copies or be familiar with the solo. Assuming that you can play the notes without any problem I would suggest that you pay particular attention to dynamics, expression markings, and have the tempo locked in. Many times I've seen very capable people goof up because they got nervous and started at a tempo that is too fast for the more technicaly difficult parts of the solo. Get the correct tempo locked into your brain and be sure to feel the right speed before starting. If you get a couple seconds to warm up before starting use that time to calm yourself, and maybe play a couple phrases of the tough stuff just to get your hands comfortable. Hope that helps some.

[remnantdrummer]

also, don't slow down or speed up in your solo... keep it mostly the original groove with some pizzazz...

[drummerchick435]

Thanks everyone.
Pete: The solo is a snare solo and completely separate from the full band piece.

[texdrumr]

Make sure the equipment is absolutely to your liking. Make it just like practice, only with a little bit of an audience. Use a good weighted pair of sticks, but make sure it's not the first time you're using them! Make sure stand heights, dampening, even the drum is chosen by you. Don't change anything up at the last minute, but just dictate the situation to your terms - coming from someone who has bombed many an audition and even competition. Also, make sure that you can execute in practice... it's not going to all of a sudden come together magically come show time.

And most of all, have some fun. Relax. Smile for your audience. Ultimately that's what you're playing for: your personal enjoyment and their entertainment.

[drummerchick435]

Well today was the day and I didn't do well. I messed up about 5 measures out of 50 on a fairly simple piece. I had hard time keeping up with the accents and the notes on the off beat. I doubt I'll get a medal. This was a school band competition by the way.

[georgeman]

nerves will do that to u...i just messed up an important 2 mile race because i was so nervous.

-george

[Pete Stoltman]

What did you learn from your experience? What will you do differently next time?

[drummerchick435]

nerves will do that to u...i just messed up an important 2 mile race because i was so nervous.

-george

Yep. I was so nervous and I'm surprised I didn't drop my sticks! :)

What did you learn from your experience? What will you do differently next time?

I think I should have practiced it a little more. In all my years of school band I've always been able to not have to practice as much as everyone else. This was a real shock. Good thing this wasn't part of my normal band grade.

[gmrakich]

BOBs are a suckers game. Just have fun and enjoy playing infront of a group of peeps..

[drummerchick435]

BOBs are a suckers game. Just have fun and enjoy playing infront of a group of peeps..

This wasn't a Battle of the Bands it was a "solo and ensemble festival" for school bands.

[Pete Stoltman]

BOBs are a suckers game. Just have fun and enjoy playing infront of a group of peeps..

My friend, Drummerchick stated several times in preivous posts that this was a school band competition and described the format. Did you not get that?

Drummerchick, I'm glad that you went ahead and competed. In reality you are your own competition in this type of situation. The goal should be to see how well you can perform and then judge your own performance. You have been able to draw some conclusions from your experience. That's great and I'm sure it will help you become a better musician in the long run. No matter how confident a person is in their own ability the pressure cooker of a competitive situation can make you come unglued. I've seen this happen with some excellent adult rudimental drummers just as easily as high school students. Practice until you think you can't make any mistakes and then practice some more. Glad you were honest about your disapointment in your results and are willing to take something positive from what can be a disheartening experience. Keep up the good work. It will happen if you have the belief that you will succeed and then put in the work to realize your goals.

[drummerchick435]

My friend, Drummerchick stated several times in preivous posts that this was a school band competition and described the format. Did you not get that?

Drummerchick, I'm glad that you went ahead and competed. In reality you are your own competition in this type of situation. The goal should be to see how well you can perform and then judge your own performance. You have been able to draw some conclusions from your experience. That's great and I'm sure it will help you become a better musician in the long run. No matter how confident a person is in their own ability the pressure cooker of a competitive situation can make you come unglued. I've seen this happen with some excellent adult rudimental drummers just as easily as high school students. Practice until you think you can't make any mistakes and then practice some more. Glad you were honest about your disapointment in your results and are willing to take something positive from what can be a disheartening experience. Keep up the good work. It will happen if you have the belief that you will succeed and then put in the work to realize your goals.

Thanks ,Pete, my friend! Yes I was really nervous...that also came as shock because I'm usually never or little nervous.

[drummerchick435]

Well today was the day and I didn't do well. I messed up about 5 measures out of 50 on a fairly simple piece. I had hard time keeping up with the accents and the notes on the off beat. I doubt I'll get a medal. This was a school band competition by the way.

I didn't do so bad after all! I got a "superior" or level 1 rating! I got my results back today.

[ECVail]

Was this the first time you played in front of an audience? My first time was in high school. The choir director knew I played drums (my private school didn't have a band program) and he asked me to sit in - with just a set of roto-toms - on the choir's rendition of "Lean on Me." I had one rehearsal with the choir and the director told me to give an 8 count and then the choir would start, and me with them. On the night of the performance, with all of the school, parents and teachers in attendance, I started on 4. Doh! Had to stop as the choir guy was waving frantically at me and start again.

While I am by no means a good drummer, I play out 4 or 5 times a month in local bars/clubs, etc. Doesn't matter if there are 20 people there or 1000 - I get nervous every time. Thing is, I have come to love that feeling. The nerves boost up your adrenaline and that energy shot tends to (for me) clarify what I'm supposed to be doing.

Harness your nerves - turn it into focus. The only caveat with that is don't let that nervous energy affect time. I found out that I was starting way too fast when I was more nervous and absolutely train-wrecking our "sound check" tunes.

Playing drums (any instrument for that matter) is a constant learning process. Mistakes happen. Beats get dropped, sticks go flying and the world continues to turn. Enjoy the journey! I bet you wouldn't miss those 5 measures again.

[ECVail]

Congratulations!!!

(20 characters)

I didn't do so bad after all! I got a "superior" or level 1 rating! I got my results back today.

[brittc89]

I didn't do so bad after all! I got a "superior" or level 1 rating! I got my results back today.

Nice work. Ive done a solo and ensemble fest before and it was nerve racking because im not really a "snare drum" player per say. Congratulations on the 1.

[caprisun3484]

congrats on the 1!11
i got a 1 on my drum set solo also but what piece did you play

[Pete Stoltman]

Hey Drummerchick, nice going. Sometimes we are our own harshest critics. However, don't let the good rating result in complacency. Keep striving for improvement. You know what things you weren't happy with in the solo. Keep working on the things that were a problem for you. Often I see people work on a piece for a specific situation (like the competition) and as soon as the event is over they never revisit that piece. My advice would be to keep working on it until you feel you've mastered whatever issues you had. Then, when you encounter that problem area again you can breeze right through it. Congrats.

[drummerchick435]

congrats on the 1!11
i got a 1 on my drum set solo also but what piece did you play

Thanks! I just chose a random one out of an old snare book. It was called "Track South".

Hey Drummerchick, nice going. Sometimes we are our own harshest critics. However, don't let the good rating result in complacency. Keep striving for improvement. You know what things you weren't happy with in the solo. Keep working on the things that were a problem for you. Often I see people work on a piece for a specific situation (like the competition) and as soon as the event is over they never revisit that piece. My advice would be to keep working on it until you feel you've mastered whatever issues you had. Then, when you encounter that problem area again you can breeze right through it. Congrats.

I will work to correct it because a) I might have to play it at the end of year concert and b) I hate leaving a piece of music unfinished/ imperfect.

[Butch Axsmith]

What ever you do ' will be
just great''''''''''
Butch Axsmith

[Drummer Karl]

I didn't do so bad after all! I got a "superior" or level 1 rating! I got my results back today.

Conrats!!! Well done.
The most important thing is now to keep it up.
When gigging just never think about what you do and that you might make mistakes because if you think about your current drumming you will make mistakes - earlier or later.
Two days ago we had a gig (it was a competion, too with a very professional jury) in a town which was pretty far away and I was very nervous how the kit would be and how everything sounds in the end. When we strated the soundcheck I felt just good and in the end I just enjoyed it again. The audience and especially the drummer in the jury felt and saw my joy and told me.

So yeah, just play and enjoy. =)

That`s what it`s all about...

Karl

[xMrJeffx]

AWESOME!

Sounds like u had fun and did good but all that matters is u had fun!

I was in 3 Battle of the Bands and a Drum Off!

I sucked at the drum off but I had fun lol

cuz its fun hitting a ride cymbal with no stick lol

i lost it....

Jeff