How good a drummer would you say I was...

R

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... If I said I could play the Purdie shuffle and Funky Drummer with all the proper notes, dynamics, tempo and feel? Obviously not quite Purdie/Stubblefield quality but near enough.

Not expecting anyone to tell me I'm brilliant or anything like that, but after two years worth of drumming would this be an acceptable standard of playing? I'm genuinely curious because I have no, and haven't had any, official instruction.

Silly question to make a thread on, I know, but you might as well have a go.

Cheers.
 
That would be around Level 17 dungeon master........jk

Do you have any vids of yourself playing? That would make it easier.
 
That would be around Level 17 dungeon master........jk

Do you have any vids of yourself playing? That would make it easier.

Nah I can't put a video up at the moment.

You'll just have to take my word for it that I can play those grooves well. I'd only be cheating myself if I was lying!
 
???? Why? Because you are a drummer??

Can we help?

Bernhard

I just ain't got the equipment at the moment. All I wanted to know is what sort of skill level is expected after two years of playing so I chose those two famous grooves. I can play them pretty well, and properly (a lot of people play Funky Drummer incorrectly). Obviously there's more complicated stuff that I'm working on, but it's not refined enough to play on stage yet.
 
You'll just have to take my word for it that I can play those grooves well. I'd only be cheating myself if I was lying!


Without getting a video, the next best thing would be to transcribe what you're currently playing and getting those up. The funky drummer break is enormously intricate, and requires a high level of coordination and touch. If you're getting it down, then well done; i'd recommend getting hold of the proper transcriptions to make sure you're getting it right.
 
Well I'm playing the Funky Drummer well enough to know that Stubblefield didn't play constant 16ths. After he barked the hi-hat, he let the closing sound of it fill the gap and he got that slight swing in the groove. A lot of people seem to get this wrong, or play the barks in the wrong places or don't get the proper dynamics with that quick sSb (snare & bass). I hate that.

(Sorry, don't know how to transcribe).

Such a great groove though, maybe my favourite ever. It was quite difficult to learn, infact I've found a lot of inverted paradiddle-type stuff easier. The Purdie Shuffle was difficult too because erroneously I jumped straight into it having played nothing but 4/4 beats previously.
 
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A good measure of how good a musician is can be seen by looking at the calibre of other musicians who want to play with him/her. Get out play with others. The is the test of any mediocre/good/great/monster musician. If you don't want to play out then it's a moo point (moo: like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter. QUOTE-FRIENDS.)

Who is the best business man? The answer can be found in he who has the most money.

Who is the best drummer? It is he who everyone wants to play with!

I guess my point is that what you can or cannot play is not a true judge of how good you are. I've seen some videos on YouTube of guys playing Tom Sawyer note for note. They were hitting their drums at the right time, but, something was missing. You could tell that if they were playing with a live band they wouldn't be getting the job done.

Just get out and play! Nothing else matters.

Hope this helps 123!
 
A good measure of how good a musician is can be seen by looking at the calibre of other musicians who want to play with him/her. Get out play with others. The is the test of any mediocre/good/great/monster musician. If you don't want to play out then it's a moo point (moo: like a cow's opinion. It doesn't matter. QUOTE-FRIENDS.)

Who is the best business man? The answer can be found in he who has the most money.

Who is the best drummer? It is he who everyone wants to play with!

I guess my point is that what you can or cannot play is not a true judge of how good you are. I've seen some videos on YouTube of guys playing Tom Sawyer note for note. They were hitting their drums at the right time, but, something was missing. You could tell that if they were playing with a live band they wouldn't be getting the job done.

Just get out and play! Nothing else matters.

Hope this helps 123!

More of a bedroom soloist at this point (although I never really 'drum solo', I always have to lay down a groove). I used to jam about once a month with other musicians (not a lot I know) but haven't for about six months. I used to do okay, but since then I've significantly improved in all areas because I clamped right down on constructive practise, going from fifty minutes noodling every night to three or four hours on exercises and timing.

So I'm assuming I could play alright, but until I can drive again and get out there I'm just going to improve as best I can on my own.

But yeah I agree with anyone who says jamming is the best way to improve. It is, by far.
 
Plus there is no arbitrary measure of development. You should only compare yourself to yourself. If you focus on the music itself rather than how good you "should" be, it will take care of itself. It sounds to me like you're doing just fine, but without a video, there's nothing to evaluate.
 
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