Having fun jamming with the police...

[karmadharma]

Roxanne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgEbaS9j_pQ

Message in a bottle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogeeGjemJwA

constructive criticism always very appreciated, also any tricks you might have for counting the 3rd (first time around)/2nd (2nd time) verse entrance (the one on the ride) in Roxanne would be very appreciated, it's the one that gives me the most problems when playing with a record (live it's no problem, as the others fall in regardless where I come in)

[JRH7]

Great choice for a play along! It seems that you know the song pretty well but there are a few things I picked up on that you are most likely already aware of.

1. Watch your tempo. There seems to be some variation of tempo through out the song. I suggest counting if you are not already.

2. A little bit of flamming. Counting will help with this.

Overall some pretty good playing. If you are playing this live with a band, I suggest playing to a click when you guys practice together. This would be an easy song to speed up on during the chorus. Thats just my take but I am also a complete tempo freak because that is something that I try and work on a lot.

J.

[karmadharma]

I have to say that playing with a click seems to be a mixed bag for me, because it makes things a lot easier when it comes to the spot I am having issues with in Roxanne (having an off-tempo fill and having to come in off-tempo as well) but after a while I fear it might become too much of a crutch...

Anyways thanks for the comments, I really like drummers that can keep a solid tempo, so this is definitely an area I try to focus on a lot of the time (vs maybe working on chops, which I should also do more probably...)

[JRH7]

I wouldn't worry about the metronome becoming a crutch. I have been playing with one for about the past year during band rehearsal and practicing by myself. I have heard a pretty big difference in my timing when playing without the click. I notice it the most coming out of fills and playing with the band during a chorus. However, I don't want to mislead you because this is still work in progress for me and will continue to be for the next couple of years, it certainly doesn't happen over night. Remember you don't have to play with click the traditional way of placing the pulse on 1,2,3,4.Try placing the pulse on the "&s".Use the click as an additional instrument. Pretend it just another player in the band clapping their hands, hitting sticks together or even a keyboard making a beap. Also for self timing exercise slow the click down to 40 BPM and placing the pulse on the "e" or the "a" and practice playing basic rock beats. You will be really surprised how hard this is and realize how much space is between the pulse. Anyway those are just a few suggestions. Again the metronome will not become a crutch if you use it wisely. Just be patient because this can be extremely frustrating. Trust me, I just came up from doing a little click work and had to put down the sticks because my internal clock is not working today. Good luck.

J.

[karmadharma]

thanks for the comments, and I so agree on the 'internal clock' being off sometimes, I was trying to record roxanne the other day and man, I was coming in wrong every single time, I hung up the sticks in frustration and felt I should turn in my 'drummer' card for the 'likes to bang things with sticks off tempo' one...

[JRH7]

It's funny you say how having a bad practice makes you want to playing drums. I was telling my wife at dinner tonight that I had such a bad practice today it made me want to quit playing because I feel I suck so badly. I sometimes think playing drums is 70%Psychological.

J.

[karmadharma]

I don't think it's only the drums, my girlfriend plays the bassoon and if she has a really bad practice she'll say as well that she should stop playing since she sucks so much and yadda yadda yadda (basically same stuff I say when things are going badly).

I wonder if the various pro/session drummers ever have a 'bad' day, although I guess that at those levels 'bad' could just mean 'not as awesome as usual' as opposed to 'everybody can figure out you're having a horrible time' type of bad...

[tamadrummer132]

you did ok. Beats were fairly simple, but not so bad. A few tempo errors, moreso on roxanne.

My advice is really to analyze when you crash a cymbal. Because your playing on an electric kit, a small hit activates the big thing, so BE CAREFUL. You dont want a crash in the middle of a verse. Understand the sounds your working with, and move from there.

-dave