My First Drum Lesson.

baz

Silver Member
Hola dot comrades.

Long time no post.

A little over a year ago l was looking for some kind of spark to add a little levitra to my playing, and I found it through PA gear. I picked up an assortment of mikes, mixers, an effects module, assorted stands, cables etc. I am no where near proficient in it's use, but l am making a little headway up this new twist to my learning curve, and l am not unhappy with my progress..

Having a fully decked out jam space led to reconnecting with a fiend who I used to jam with back in the "open stage for the middle aged" acoustic country gospel jam days from years ago. Wendy, as she is called, is a phenomenal singer/guitar player, She has a great repertoire. and we share a very similar musical taste. We have been jamming together every other week since August. Dare l say, we are sounding pretty good. I have been singing, mostly harmony, but I do take the lead on some wrists and brushes tunes. I have also been recording our jam sessions on garage band, but like my sound mixing, my recording skills are sadly lacking. Once again, I see improvement, and l am not unhappy with my progress. That being said, I am still a ways away from posting anything on the "so that's what he sounds like" thread, but l am itchin to share.

At work, I have been trying to out the closet musicians, as I am always on the hunt for like minded grey pony tails who want to jam but need a place to do so. We have one guy in particular who has had some success as a singer songwriter, and it was he who led to another piece in my musical puzzle. Biff, as he is called proposed, then obtained the commitment from our company social club to host an evening program in the (choose entity here) has talent vein. the venue that was booked was the Dow Centre, which by weekend warrior wannabe standards, is the Fort Saskatchewan equivalent to Carnegie Hall. Professional sound reinforcement, my own monitor with the mix l wanted, Heaven.

I asked Wendy if she was willing to participate, she agreed, so it was time to try and see what missing pieces could be found, and hopefully incorporated with what would otherwise be drums, guitar, vocals, and poor attempts at harmony.

Once the plant wide call for talent was answered, I scanned through the replies list, and found the name of a guitar playing operator that I worked with a couple of years ago, back when l was in a different role. Drew, as he is called answered my e mail and was willing to explore a collaboration. We jammed, then Wendy joined us, and we gave birth to the Square Bales.

The talent show has come and gone, and for our six song set, we smoked. I do not brag about myself or my playing, but l was very proud of how tight we were. We were tight from note one to the last sustain, and our harmonies sounded like we had been playing together a lot longer than we have been. There are still a few missing pieces. For my Santa's wish list l want a bass player and keyboard player, either or both having expertise in sound reinforcing jiggery pokery. l am confident that they will find us.

So what does this have to do with your first drum lesson? Glad you asked. I have whined and complained on this site about how lame my drumming is, to the point that I had to do something about it. That first thing was recording our jam sessions. When l sit and drumsturbate, it always sounds the same and I find that discouraging. When I am jamming, l do not always hear myself in the mix over the kit itself, so I am somewhat self conscious, and timid about my playing. When l hear myself in playback, I hear myself in context, and regardless of the quality of the mix/recording, I have come to realize that a lot of the dull and boring works, and works well. Also, you can make the dull and boring less and less dull and boring by hearing what you do right, and what does not work, In context to the song. This has led to what has probably been my greatest leap forward in my musical progression, and l am really jazzed about it.

The dull and boring is actually a pretty good foundation, and within my limited arsenal, playback has helped me to display a little more creativity, and the confidence to take some chances for a change.

So now, l have some direction. I have a new found enthusiasm for music, and for however long this one lasts, I am going to harvest all of the joy that this feeling is. I also need to take lessons, or guidance if you will so l can play the songs l want to play the way they should be played.

That led to today and my first ever drum lesson.

It went well.

Thank you for allowing me this indulgence.

Barry
 
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Two things:

1. Drumstrubate. That's gold.

2. The dull and boring: Somebody (I think it was Bo), pasted a scan of handwritten drum notation for what they had played at a recent gig. From memory, it was a combination of money beat and four on the floor that accounted for most of the gig.
 
Bo would be correct. The most simple drum beat, at least for simple gigs, is often the best one chosen.

If you're doing something where stretching out and reaching is okay, I say tear it up when the opportunity arises. Otherwise, "be cool" is my philosophy, anyway..less is nearly always going to be more. Laying something tasty or fresh will be more likely to catch peoples attention, then.
 
About my first lesson.

Before l signed up l met with the instructor to discuss my goals and objectives, but l was not quite sure what it was exactly that l wanted to learn. This was a few weeks prior to our stint at the talent show. It was the talent show that pointed me in the direction that l wanted my lessons to take.

Within my limited arsenal of chops, l have become a lot more comfortable playing what used to be my boring same old same old. Having a better handle on how it contributes to the song overall has really boosted my overall confidence behind the kit. ln wanting to move up to the next level l have to learn how to use that foundation and be able to transition in and out of the appropriate fills, pauses, changes,etc, rather than straight line everything as though l am nothing more than a human loop.

In my first lesson l played the instructor bits and pieces of some of our songs, as recorded in my jam room. l explained what l wanted to change, and asked how do l do so. The Instructor Shaun, as he is called and who l am sure is not much older than my l pod, broke a few things down, made some suggestions, and worked with me until l got it. This is going to be the direction that my instruction is going to take. This is going to be a bit of a learning curve for both of us as Shaun has been teaching beginners and l am the first old fart grey ponytail he has taken on. I told him that l do not want to learn to read and l do not want to sit and ratatat an afternoons worth of paradidles on a hockey puck. That might come later, but is not on the horizon at present.

I am really excited about drumming and music again. I know this euphoria could be short lived , as past experience has shown. Still, l don't want to treat this experience like Alberta weather, where when it's cold, we complain, then when it warms up, we complain that it is going to get cold again. I want to ride this high and build some momentum from it.

Thanks again.

Barry
 
If I may, I can understand the not wanting to do an afternoon's worth of parradiddles but i would rethink the not learning to read. It can be an invaluable skill plus when you get stuck on a rhythm figuring out how to write it down can be an invaluable aid to getting it right and remembering it.
 
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