Time

[Alexdrum75]

Ok guys,
I'm asking your opinions about my time playing.
Here http://www.roundcorner.it/Pagine/media.htm you can listen to some songs I played on.

I really need help at this point 'cause every friends of mine will tell me my time is fine but I'm not convinced at all.
So I'm looking forward a unbiased comment, especially negative-costructive...

[tak22thegoat]

Your time's fine. I've listened to somebody like you and your playing is very good!

[aydee]

Hey Alex, my comments are based, just on the cigar song:

You are splitting hairs. Your time, articulation, and control is very very good. .. as is your playing, like goat said.

If you insist on negative constructive, I would say ( based on the 1 song ), that you are playing a little on top of the beat. I would like to feel it pulse and groove with a touch more backbeat.

great job.. and by the way .. I think its great to be as introspective as you ( but thats just me,..I beat up on myself all the time... not sure if many here would agree : )

[Alexdrum75]

Hey Alex, my comments are based, just on the cigar song:

You are splitting hairs. Your time, articulation, and control is very very good. .. as is your playing, like goat said.

If you insist on negative constructive, I would say ( based on the 1 song ), that you are playing a little on top of the beat. I would like to feel it pulse and groove with a touch more backbeat.

great job.. and by the way .. I think its great to be as introspective as you ( but thats just me,..I beat up on myself all the time... not sure if many here would agree : )

Thanks folks!
I really appreciate constructive criticism. I can only but learn from that. No fishing for compliments here.

About the time: I've asked (by email) both Curt Bisquera, Gavin Harrison and Joel Rosemblat about the very same subject. However I've recived almost different comments/criticism from them, one of them (no pun intended) being that I play WAY behind the beat. Very valuable comments though, I thank them very much.

This is interesting, that is how sujective the time interpretation and feel is.

P.S.: probably I played the first song unconciously on top as a reaction of the fear of playing it behind.
I'm not in control yet of this aspect.

[Alexdrum75]

I just listened to cigar song, you sounded fine. If you want me to nit pick then I would say that there were parts that you could have driven more, but that's cos the music called for it, not the metronome. Don't get so worried about timing, you sound pretty solid to me and that was great drumming. Sometimes I reckon playing with a metronome can take away some of the groove as you're concentrating on the metronome rather than the music (ideally you wanna be able to do both).
As for time being the drummer's OWN responsibility as well as his OWN to keep the band grooving - that's a load of claptrap to me, the way I see it, if it was down the drummer himself to groove and play time, what's the point in the others? Like I said, music is about communication and interaction between musicians and if one members going to be responsible for things, then it might as well just be that member playing.
I'd rather hear a drummer who's really grooving and responding to the music, but might drag or speed up a tiny bit here and there, than one who's perfectly in time, but so worried about staying in time that they sound stiff.

I agree on practically everything.
The problem here where I live (Italy) is that chances of playing Country Music ain't great.
Practically they equals to zero.

You have just chosen the worst song we played (Cigar Song) as far as drumming solidity and drums sound is concerned :-))

However, thanks again.

[foursticks]

Haha, sorry, but that should say something about how solid your playing is!

[Alexdrum75]

Haha, sorry, but that should say something about how solid your playing is!

Thanks.

Anyone want to comment?
I need feedback.

[brittc89]

Sounds fine to me. Heres a suggestion though. Dont worry about it so much. Practice with a metrenome. Thats how you get dead on time, but if the whole time you are playing you are worried about am I rushing am I slowing down was this the tempo we started at youre going to be stiff and youre probably gonna sound worse to the average listener than someone with time that is not as steady. Practice with a click. Thats a completely unbiased opinion that will never lie to you. If you cant line up with it, then you need to work on that. Thats all there is to it. Plain and simple. CLICK click click click CLICK click click click...

[Alexdrum75]

Sounds fine to me. Heres a suggestion though. Dont worry about it so much. Practice with a metrenome. Thats how you get dead on time, but if the whole time you are playing you are worried about am I rushing am I slowing down was this the tempo we started at youre going to be stiff and youre probably gonna sound worse to the average listener than someone with time that is not as steady. Practice with a click. Thats a completely unbiased opinion that will never lie to you. If you cant line up with it, then you need to work on that. Thats all there is to it. Plain and simple. CLICK click click click CLICK click click click...

But the problem it's this: I've played the demos with a click, and while I was playing I was burying the click under my backbeats, but nevertheless I don't like the outcome, as you have heard.

[foursticks]

When you say 'burying the click with back beats' does that mean you couldn't hear the click when you were playing the backbeats? That's a sign of perfect timing! It's a scary thing, but when you can't hear the click at all (and you're playing with the right volume in proportion to it) then that usually means you're playing BANG on. Again, however, if it's a case that click to you volume ratio is resulting with you higher volume than the click, then try and get the levels sorted - headphones usually help.

[Alexdrum75]

When you say 'burying the click with back beats' does that mean you couldn't hear the click when you were playing the backbeats? That's a sign of perfect timing! It's a scary thing, but when you can't hear the click at all (and you're playing with the right volume in proportion to it) then that usually means you're playing BANG on. Again, however, if it's a case that click to you volume ratio is resulting with you higher volume than the click, then try and get the levels sorted - headphones usually help.

The click was louder than the drums in my headphones.
I couldn't hear the click most of the times, the rest of the times for sure I was not flamming against it.

But there's that sensation of driving the band with the "brakes" on. Maybe it's the type of figures I play that don't fit to the music, maybe the dynamics, maybe the intention: at this point I'm so much confused...