My Improv 12-12

[svkelleher10]

I was bored one day and decided to record myself improvising. Dont expect much because most elements of my set are cheap.

Also there's no bridges between beats and fills so it's all really abrupt, and the fills don't really fit in with the beats that well. But whatever.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOpgpyoJY4I

[Mediocrefunkybeat]

Right. I can tell you're a reasonably new drummer; so I've got a few pointers for you.

Don't over-use the double bass. You can do it, which is something I can't, but it's to the detriment of the rest of your playing. As a result your hands are suffering slightly, you really need to soften up your hands and stop attacking the drums; you may damage your wrists in the long run. Try not to rush the big tom fills either, you're trying to fit in too many notes and losing relaxation as a result. Relaxation is the key to speed, not tension. Tension will cause injury, so I suggest you learn the Gladstone method and the Free Stroke as everybody should. Basically, the most efficient strokes are based upon rebound from the previous strokes, which means again having relaxed hands.

I'm no technique expert, mine is lacking but I'm usually at least fairly relaxed when I play.

Your ghost notes definitely need tightening as well, they're a little hit and miss. Again, relaxation and playing to the head, not at it will help this. Just tighten them up.

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/elvinjones912.html

This is a great example of a drummer developing power through relaxation. A true master, but with less than perfect technique, Steve Gadd is the same. If you want perfect technique, check out Jojo Mayer who is similarly excellent.

Musically, you're lacking dynamics, which is to say that your contrast isn't there, it's all an attempt at loud and fast drumming. This is something that you develop through years of musical sensitivity and I don't expect you to get it straight away. It's subtle, but even more important than power and speed. 'Loud' is relative, you're playing 'loud' to me all the time, but I don't know that because I've never heard your 'quiet'. That's because I don't tend to play as hard as you, but I can and I have. I really give my cymbals a good thrashing, but I also give them gentle strikes for all their subtleties and nuances.

Broaden your horizons. Nicholas Barker and Gene Hoglan are awesome drummers, as is Danny Carey (and Dave Lombardo as well, actually) and I'm guessing these guys are what you're largely listening to. Those guys are great within their genre, but they're also very open minded musicians who listen to a lot of other kinds of music. Danny Carey is a great fan of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, for example. So make sure you start listening to everything and anything.

Also your timing is a bit hit and miss as well, I'd advise playing along to records and playing to a metronome. I have a short attention span, so I prefer playing to records, but playing to a metronome is a very important skill you should develop. The idea is to improve your core relative time. I was recording a guy at college a few weeks ago to tape and because we weren't supposed to edit anything as part of the project, we had a lot of problems recording him because he couldn't keep in time. There's nothing wrong with feeling the time and pushing it and pulling it, time is flexible, but you must at least have the basic capacity to play with a metronome should it be required.

Obviously you know about the transitions between beats and fills, but you shouldn't view drumming as 'beats and fills' it's not like that at all. To me at least. It's as much music as every other instrument. I play a few other instruments (poorly) and there's less of a piecemeal cookie-cutter approach. Blend it all together, twist it around and start playing with other people to develop musical sensitivity.

I'm not ripping you apart, I'm not being nasty. I'm trying to be constructive and I would do the same to anybody else. If you read this far, I can assure you I was making the same mistakes as you are here (just I made them a LOT worse and didn't video myself) so I know for a fact where you're coming from. Believe me, if it wasn't for the guys at this forum being so honest and people refusing to play with me when I first started, I wouldn't have progressed to where I am now. That's not to say I'm brilliant or great or anything, merely competent probably at best, but I know exactly where you are right now and I want the path to be quicker and easier for you. Iron out those mistakes early on before you get caught out in the bad habits like I used to.

Any more questions, feel free to PM me.

Duncan

[svkelleher10]

Thanks for the tips by the way.

I've actually been drumming for 6 years but this video was really just to see how fast i could go. Apparently my timing and dynamics are horrible when i go for speed haha.

I sometimes drum to nick barker as you stated, but i'm not too big into the black metal scene. I usually just play along to whatever i'm liking at the time, if it seems fun to play, living cult of personality by living colour, Wolfmother, children of bodom, etc.

I'm more into the surf rock styles, because it's all i did for about the first year i played. But i find fun in funk styles too.

I just like to mess around and have fun with my drumming, nothing too serious.

[chris4355]

work on transitions between different beats.