Looking for some advice and criticism

[MikeHawkZeeDrummer]

Heya guys i'm just into my 2nd week of practicing and I made a few videos from the first week, really looking for some advice and criticism. Feel free to be harsh I wont take anything the wrong way.

Appreciate it tons !
Planning to put up weekly videos to track my advancement, feel free to sub :D

Intro - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQRNIx6Ew2g
Paradiddlediddles - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nd0Y94CvxEM

[ahector]

It's awesome that you're recording yourself. You'll learn a lot from that.

Some thoughts:

1. Play with a metronome a lot
2. Practice things at a variety of tempos from extremely slow (like painfully slow... this especially will help you in timing and beat placement. This is really important to do, in my opinion) to very fast (I don't think you'll have any problems in this department... you seem interested in speed! :D)
3. When you practice, try to concentrate very intently on what you're playing and how it sounds. Try to identify mistakes as you play them.

For instance, if you record something, think it sounds good, and then you go watch the video and then say "hey, wait, that wasn't so good"... try to get yourself to the point where you notice while you're playing it

I don't know if you experience this, but I've noticed over the years that I've gotten a lot better at noticing my mistakes as they happen and I think that's helped me (and will continue to help me as I try to improve) a lot.


You asked about a double pedal... there are a lot of great ones out there. In my opinion, don't worry too much about it. Get a nice one that's in good shape and just practice like hell. I felt like when I was younger that my double pedal felt funny and that my double kick technique was being held back by my hardware. It wasn't.

Double pedals will always feel different from foot to foot, but my advice is to just play through it. Spend some time setting up spring tension that you like and all of that, but after that just play and play and play and get used to it.

I currently use a DW 9000 double pedal. I like it and I'd recommend it. I used to have an Iron Cobra. It was great, until the joint between the main pedal and the shaft broke on me. I honestly don't know if it's a fluke or not. I've heard of a lot of people that love Iron Cobras.

They are more expensive, but you might also want to look into Axis. A lot of people absolutely love those pedals.

But honestly unless your pedal is complete garbage, you can play fast and you can play accurate on any decent double pedal. 99% of it is your skill and your technique.

Anyways, you've got some speed and a good feel for what to play. In my opinion you need to work on your timing and your accuracy. As I said.... you gotta play with a metronome a lot to develop that. It's the fastest and most efficient way to get better in that department.

Good luck. Keep playing and you'll do great. It seems like you're driven and know what the right things to focus on are!

[MisterMixelpix]

Playing slowly is crrrrrrrrrucial. It's not that hard to keep mostly in time at high speeds if you've got the coordination. You're going too quickly for any huge variances in tempo. However, at drone/doom metal speeds if your brain isn't telling you JUST when to strike, it'll be instantly noticed.

[Tommycanuhearme]

May I suggest something? Work on your hands first, forget about the double pedal for now....oh and watch your language, there are children on here.

[MikeHawkZeeDrummer]

May I suggest something? Work on your hands first, forget about the double pedal for now....oh and watch your language, there are children on here.

Forgive me in future videos i will watch my mouth, with that one i made it before joining the forums but i totally see where your coming from, totally looks bad on my end.

I will focus on my hands more, im still trying to figure out flying fingers "using fingers for strokes" but i still cant fully do it without working the wrist a little unless im doing double strokes. I will put out there that i have a awkwardly proportioned hand haha.

Note : The reason i'm in somewhat of a rush is because i've been asked to join a band and we start practice in 42 days. They all have WAY more experience then me but im so dedicated to doing this. Would I benefit alot from getting an instructor ? im just half minded on it because i want one that can help me focus on the genre i will be playing and can help me really exceed in it...not someone that wants me to start all over from scratch, perhaps thats what i need but really im just too far in already and i REALLY REALLY want to be ready for this band, i mean these guys aint no scrubs if you catch my drift.

[MikeHawkZeeDrummer]

Playing slowly is crrrrrrrrrucial. It's not that hard to keep mostly in time at high speeds if you've got the coordination. You're going too quickly for any huge variances in tempo. However, at drone/doom metal speeds if your brain isn't telling you JUST when to strike, it'll be instantly noticed.

Yeah I have definitly been focusing on this for my night practicing on the electric set, I have kind of a routine where i practice rudiments for the first 1 hour then basic double kick patterns at slow tempos for the next hour and so on and so forth for about 4-6 hours.

[MikeHawkZeeDrummer]

It's awesome that you're recording yourself. You'll learn a lot from that.

Some thoughts:

1. Play with a metronome a lot
2. Practice things at a variety of tempos from extremely slow (like painfully slow... this especially will help you in timing and beat placement. This is really important to do, in my opinion) to very fast (I don't think you'll have any problems in this department... you seem interested in speed! :D)
3. When you practice, try to concentrate very intently on what you're playing and how it sounds. Try to identify mistakes as you play them.

For instance, if you record something, think it sounds good, and then you go watch the video and then say "hey, wait, that wasn't so good"... try to get yourself to the point where you notice while you're playing it

I don't know if you experience this, but I've noticed over the years that I've gotten a lot better at noticing my mistakes as they happen and I think that's helped me (and will continue to help me as I try to improve) a lot.


You asked about a double pedal... there are a lot of great ones out there. In my opinion, don't worry too much about it. Get a nice one that's in good shape and just practice like hell. I felt like when I was younger that my double pedal felt funny and that my double kick technique was being held back by my hardware. It wasn't.

Double pedals will always feel different from foot to foot, but my advice is to just play through it. Spend some time setting up spring tension that you like and all of that, but after that just play and play and play and get used to it.

I currently use a DW 9000 double pedal. I like it and I'd recommend it. I used to have an Iron Cobra. It was great, until the joint between the main pedal and the shaft broke on me. I honestly don't know if it's a fluke or not. I've heard of a lot of people that love Iron Cobras.

They are more expensive, but you might also want to look into Axis. A lot of people absolutely love those pedals.

But honestly unless your pedal is complete garbage, you can play fast and you can play accurate on any decent double pedal. 99% of it is your skill and your technique.

Anyways, you've got some speed and a good feel for what to play. In my opinion you need to work on your timing and your accuracy. As I said.... you gotta play with a metronome a lot to develop that. It's the fastest and most efficient way to get better in that department.

Good luck. Keep playing and you'll do great. It seems like you're driven and know what the right things to focus on are!

Sadly I do not own a metronome BUT my electric set does have one built in so atleast when im practicing on the elec set i can work on my timing :D Will look into investing on one.

Haha yeah i'm pretty interested in speed BUT I also need to work on control cus i'd like to do creative fills and "breakdowns" that would be in a slower tempo. I do infact invest a good amount of time in practicing very slowly but I think I will putting a bit more into it. My hands dont have as much of a control problem as my feet, they just dont wanna stay at a slow bpm to save my life haha !

Ah yes i find myself constantly playing something and thinking it came out great then listening to it and being ever so disappointed haha, but now like you advised i will take it and learn from it so ty :D !

Well the reason I hate my double peddle so much is cause since i bought it i've played on a few chain drives and i play alotttt more smoother, plus i have alot of drummer friends and they seem to feel my pedal is pretty shitty as well ahha ! :D BUT with that being said I'm leaning twards either an axis or a eliminator...kinda caught mid minded over it, one thing im going to try is getting new mallets for my current one. Only because they have the old rounded ones on them "cloth" and i really like the hammer shaped ones along with the flatheaded ones. With that being said are mallets "one size fits all"? like can i just go out and buy a pair and toss them right on with no worries ? or do i hafta do a bit more research on this ?

Cant say i've tried a dw 9000, will try to go to a guitar center or two and see if there arent any out on the sets ^_^

YES YES that was my main worry, technique technique technique...Thing is I really cant learn them us well from watching videos, I should likely look into lessons i guess. I still cant manage to do flying fingers fully propper cus of the possitioning. I feel like my inner fingers are being pressed to closely t the sticks.

Appreciate it pal, totally feel the same way about my timing. I find myself stuttering and changing my mind mid stroke constantly, still havent figured out propper timing for fills etc so i often just toss them in lol.

Thanks again man you've been a HUGE help take care

[larryace]

A bit of critique here...Drumming can be likened to a recipe. Too much of any one ingredient tends to ruin the balance.

Too much cymbals for my ear, it's like 75% of the sound coming out.
But you're just starting out. There's always something to improve on. Rock on.