Rockband Drums: good practice?

Bryan77 said:
I like the fact that it gets younger kids into the drumming world but, it can also be discouraging for them. I'm only 13 but I've been studying music since before I could read and only started playing drums 1 1/2 years ago and I play at least 5-6 hours a day. I think rockband is a fun game but I don't think it should be a replacement of practice. Practice your rudiments just 20x each with metronome daily and it will make a dramatic difference in your playing. I think that's the best practice, rudiments.
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Practicing rudiments to a metronome is much better practice than playing rockband, no doubt.

I don't want people to think that I'm suggesting Rockband as a replacement for real pad practice, more like an enjoyable supplement.

By the way Bryan77, you write very well for a 13 year old. Just thought I'd point that out, haha.
 
Well...


I was over at my nephews' house last night, and got to play on his brand new(Christmas present) Guitar Hero - World Tour drum kit. My brother-in-law was on guitar and I handled the drums on Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer".

And I have to say, that it's harder than the real drums. Yes, I'm a rookie, as far as these video game drums go. This was the first time doing it, though I did score an 82% on the medium level. But, again, it's harder than it looks and that I thought it would be.

I'll just have to keep playing, though I hope it doesn't affect my "real" playing. Then again, I've been playing for 30+ years, so I don't think there's a chance of that.

Uhh...is there? :-|


;-)
 
rockband with a case or two of beer and a bunch of friends is fun, but...

good practice rockband is not.

rudiments are :)
 
I've not played it, but my close friend, who is a tremendous drummer, said it was helpful...sort of. It forces one to think out of the box, because one is not playing the actual drum beats, ie- there are missing notes, which forces the player to think differently than he/she would if playing the regular song with regular drums.
 
hwy145 said:
I've not played it, but my close friend, who is a tremendous drummer, said it was helpful...sort of. It forces one to think out of the box, because one is not playing the actual drum beats, ie- there are missing notes, which forces the player to think differently than he/she would if playing the regular song with regular drums.
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Wow...

That's the exact feeling I had after I was done playing. The first thing I said was, "This is really not like the actual drums."

And you hit the nail on the head...It DOES make you think(play) "outside the box".
 
Santa brought Rockband to our house this year. It surely has helped to increase my kids' (6- and 9-year olds) interest in drums and singing. Before Rockband, my son only had interest in playing one basic rock drum beat on the acoustic set, but I can see him developing an understanding and feel for new beats when playing Rockband. My daughter has been pretty shy before RB, but getting Rockband running has developed her interest in being the "leader" and lead vocalist.

If there was one thing, I wish I could censor some of the words for younger kids.

Other observations ... I'm lefty, so playing right-handed on Rockband gets me out of my normal comfort zone. Can't get the video and audio synching quite right yet - seems like the crash after the free-form fill is always late. Sight reading the tunes is also kind of neat as I don't do much of that. Gets me out of my normal mode of listening to jazz stuff at least.

Clearly RB is not like real drums, but if anything it is an interesting way to augment things at a basic level ... and it's fun!

Steve
 
Jonesy said:
Well yeah, I never said that the rockband drums are similar to playing drums; it leaves out the important parts like dynamics and total 4 way coordination. I mean that some parts of playing rockdrums are important in real drumming.
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I've played this game and must say that i was not impressed. I think the only good thing you get out of it is the basic 3 way coordination. all electronic drum heads obviously are nothing like acoustic drum heads, therefore your stroking wouldn't be properly devoloped on the toms. I think If a pro rock band drummer hopped on a kit ofr the first time, the skill level would be signifigantly low, haha and entertaining to watch. But as said before any practice is better then none at all. It's definitly good for getting the interest in the real thing also.
 
I have a friend that bought it for his kids. He said the drums were impossible. "Who can hit the two pads AND the foot pad at the same time? No one!" Not sure if he could handle watching me play a simple beat, may just make his head explode.

Having said that, I am a little scared about playing the game. My friends will think I can't play for real.

I tried guitar hero a year ago and people made fun of me because they think playing actual drums must translate into video game supremacy. Therefore, suck at GH = suck at real life.

Does anyone remember the memory game "Simon"? These games are kinda like that.
 
As someone who has never drummed before, I think that rockband was good for me because it helped me get some coordination between my hands and feet. I've been a music player since I was in the fifth grade, so I know about reading music and how it could never be exactly like playing real drums. I've only used it as a coordination tool! :)

And its also gotten me more interested in learning about drums.
 
I gotta say, I find it flabbergasting that no one has yet mentioned the RockBand Kick Pedal.

It is the worst part of the kit as it provides your foot with resistance when you try to play a bass drum note; significantly more resistance then playing a real kick pedal.
For this alone, I deem RockBand nothing more than a mildly enjoyable pastime, but the drums on GH World Tour look better; with the positioning of the cymbals and such.
As some others have mentioned, the lack of a designated hi hat pad makes playing annoying (well, for those of use who play cross-handed...eh, DMC? :)

It is probably something they will iron out in time and the realism aspect will improve with each edition...
Hell, in the Orient, they have full on Yamaha Electronic kits at arcades and junk (and have had for some time now)....cant be that far away from making something like that cost-effective for your average high-street shopper....

On a personal note : I find this whole "lets pretend to be able to do this, but not ACTUALLY be able to do it by playing videogame simulations" fashion rather annoying and disappointing.
 
But it is a powerful cultural force. The day is not far when real musical instruments will be branded as "Rockband" for those who want to make the leap into real instruments, and when real instruments will have some kind of functionality with the game. This is just the beginning and it will reshape the way all of us do music eventually.
 
It helps people who don't know how to play the drums on the coordination. My 12 year old cousin bought it last Christmas, and I have been playing with him off and on. And earlier, I attempted to teach him, because he wanted to learn. So he played on the medium level, and had the hi-hat, "snare", and bd down together. I was thinking, he's basically playing the real thing except it's way more simple, and more fun to them. So yeah, in a way the people who want to learn the drums, can practice on there.

The thing I like about it, is on the expert, pretty darn close to the real song, and how they play it. Like Hotel California on expert, It's almost exactly the same thing. It's pretty neat.

The thing I don't like about it, is you can't make your own fills on it. You have to do exactly what they show. It's what throws me off the most too when I play it. Maybe I just suck at it :p
 
Practicing Rock Band will make you good at Rock band.
Nuff' said.
 
in defense of rock band, i've seen non-drummer friends develop a big interest in drumming and progress really fast with that thing. they've gone from not being able to clap their hands to a song to being able to play semi-credible rock beats in fairly short time. i play it myself whenever i can and i think it's fun, but it's obviously nothing like real drumming. some of my non-drumming friends who play it all the time can kick my butt on it, but their technique is comical! i think it's a pretty good tool for developing timing and coordination and is definitely a good way to get people excited about drumming.
 
Yes, it is great practice! But only if done right....

As a drummer who is getting back into it after years, I can totally say that from my experience the RockBand game has had a profound effect on my ability. But first, let me get a few of the usual arguments
out of the way.

1. It is no substitute for a competent teacher.
2. It does not teach the fundamentals of grip, posture, etc...
3. It does not chart the songs 100% true to form.
4. Yes, it does swap some colors (that really bugs me)
5. All double bass songs only have the right foot charted (according to Harmonix)

That being said, playing the game rekindled my love of drums. I stopped playing for years (life gets in the way) and it only took 10 minutes with this game and I literally ran out to buy an Xbox and the game. I then went and found a teacher also and started taking lessons again. How often do drummers who are not in bands (etc) get asked at a party or just asked "Hey, bring out your drums and play for us!" Usually, unless you are in a band, your wife/parents/friends don't really want to sit around and hear you bang. The game gives you the ability to jam, just like to a Hal Leonard book (which isn't 100% accurate either, lets face it, every drummer will play a song a tad different every time unless they are in a studio or doing session work). But, unlike play-along books, the game gives you incentive to keep practicing by rewarding you (if you don't think that works I don't know what to tell you).

Here is how I use the game: I take my drum instructor's lessons and apply them to the songs in the game after warming up with rudiments (etc). I try and incorporate rudiments into the fills, and use rudiments while playing (like a 2 stroke ruff, etc) where appropriate.

Can someone learn to play without an instructor just using a game? I highly doubt it, granted there are prodigies, but they are few and far between. If you are a good drummer and you find the game annoying because of the charting try this:

1. Turn on No Fail mode
2. Turn on Performance mode (this takes the rolling chart away).
3. Queue up a song or two
4. Play!!!! Who cares about the score!

You don't even have to use the game drum controller, or be hooked up to the game. The drum line will dissappear form the song, so, it will be just you playing what you want. Now, for $100 I challenge anyone to find me a book that contains such a diverse collection of drum music from basic to professional skill levels that has the drum tracks removed so you can play along!! There are over 500 songs, a Hal Leonard play along book will run you about $1 per song, if he charted every song in the game, the CD would cost you over $1,000 bucks! You get a ton of songs out of the gate for 10 times less than that, I think that is a fair deal. To many drummers get hung up on the scoring, who cares! Just use performance mode and no fail mode and play your acoustic or electronic kit alongside the game, you will know when you mess up and you can play any chart you want and stick any fill where you want. The drum track will not be heard in the song at all.
 
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