5 months later... (Eye in the Sky)

[frank0072]

Yesterday I recorded Eye in the Sky by Alan Parsons Project for the second time. The first time I recorded it in the summer, and since it´s almost winter it´s time to see what a few seasons can bring.

I play the drums for one year and 3 months now. I would like to know what you think. Help me improve my skills :-).
Btw, I am always very tensed when I record myself, so that might show. "In real life" I am more relaxed behind the kit.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DIECi_ONi0


First version:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEQ_PImXW0Q&feature=related

Please comment

[aydee]

Nice playing, Frank. A lot more confident now, from the 1st video. : )

You've got a real good groove. I would suggest practising with a metronome, because when you do variations, you tend to fall off tempo, a bit.
But great process, bud...keep it up.

[shuffle]

Hi Frank

Thanks for posting those two versions. Quite interesting to see your progress 5 months apart like that. Nice work.

It seems that you’ve adopted this song. I think it is a very good choice. There are a few things I might suggest, since it is a song I know pretty well:

1) You’re inserting 16th note bass drums hits here and there in the groove. From what I recall, these aren’t in the original version, and actually don’t fit in my opinion. You chould keep these for another song, and just follow the bass groove.

2) There are a few different short rolls on the “and” of beat 4 (or right on beat 4 in one occurrence) in the original song. It is not clear to me how you execute these in your version, but the pattern which is mostly used in the song is rr ll R (the last “R” being the cymbal crash.)

3) The hi-hat has an accented part in the verses and in the guitar solo, with some 16th note additions. This part should be done one-handed in my opinion (and only ine the verses and bridge). Slow it down on a metronome if required, and then gradually work it up to the song tempo.

4) I don’t know if your playing is soft on purpose for noise-neighbor issues, but you’ll need to hit the drums with more authority if you want to obtain a good overall sound/dynamic from the kit.

[frank0072]

Thanks for the comments :-).

@ Aydee: Thanks man :-). I was nervous, so that explains most of my flaws. But still you are right :)

@ Shuffle:
- The 16th notes on the bassdrum are something that I practice constantly, but it doesn't fit very well in the song. Because I wanted to show my progress and I couldn't play those notes before I put them in I think.
- I am not very sure what you mean by those 'short rolls' in the song, and I have to admit that I never really sat down to listen to the original drumming. I might do that and try to play an ´exact´ copy of the song, if my skill permits that.
- I think I might be able to play those 16th notes on the hi-hats with one hand for the verses, I just never tried. Why do you think it's better to play them with one hand by the way?
- I thought my playing was a lot more 'dominant' and 'confidant' compared to the first version. And yes, my neigbor showed up at my door yesterday yelling and screaming about me playing two minutes to long. So, I try to keep the volume down.

Again, thanks for the comments.

This is another song I didn't want to upload first, because of the mistakes, but I did it anyway..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YVslAc6UUA (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YVslAc6UUA)

[frank0072]

There must be more drummers out here who would like to say something about my playing.. ?