YouTube will destroy drumming!

mrchattr

Gold Member
Hahahaha...my title is a bit of a stretch, and being sarcastic...but in part, it's true. I think that YouTube is an amazing resource. I have learned a ton from watching pros that I admire. I personally have never gotten into the "YouTube Drummers," the guys who post really amazing videos on YT, and are only known for that, but I know that a lot of forum members are into them, and have learned a lot from them, and I think that's great.

But I don't get why it seems like almost everyone out there feels the need to record themselves sucking at the drums, and then post it on YT. There are so many bad performances on YT, it boggles my mind. It's the kind of stuff that musicians used to be ashamed of...that's where the term woodshedding came from. People would go off to a secluded area to practice new ideas, so that no one could hear them perform them poorly. Only once they were performance-ready did the musician then come out and let people hear those ideas.

The worst part is that most of these bad videos get 5-star reviews with comments like, "OMG u R da BesTZ eva" and stuff like that. This honestly concerns me, because it means that there is a whole group of drummers right now who are playing poorly, using bad technique, and are more focused on being broadcast than they are in honing their skills, and they are getting props for it, which won't propel them to fix their mistakes, but will only convince them they are drum gods, when in fact, some of the playing is downright embarassing.

Why do people feel the need to broadcast themselves, even if it's not great? I don't get it.
 
Good point. This is getting back to what I have posted earlier and have seen others post. There is this whole notion amongst novice drummers that you don't need to practice and that there really is no difference between some whippersnapper with poor technique on youtube and a true pro. The fact that there are SO MANY of them who post their stuff on youtube is disturbing. What is even more disturbing is that, like you point out, people write in praise.

I hate to bring this up but I bet most of those whippersnappers will say "I have good feel," or "I don't play like a robot," etc. I bet that you couldn't find one of those whippersnappers who thinks he/she is an 'average' drummer.
 
I agree. Completely. The only times I've posted myself playing on YouTube I've been happy with what I posted - particularly the guitar video I have on there. I don't expect praise either, the videos I've put up have had both positive and negative feedback - a lot of it from members of this board and I genuinely appreciate that. YouTube is full of people with no actual knowledge of the subject matter - which is a shame but I don't see it as a threat, I just see it as irrelevant. Do you think that a YouTube rating really matters in real life?
 
Why do people feel the need to broadcast themselves, even if it's not great? I don't get it.

I mostly agree with your thought above but I found myself posting a very far from perfect recording of my band auditioning a singer last week. Why did I do this? After commenting on many posts in the "my playing" section of DW, I felt embarrassed that I hadn't had the balls to post my own efforts, so I posted the only recording I had. Ok, from an artistic reputation point of view, probably a bad idea, but I felt comfortable enough to take a punt on the DW forum.

Youtube is a different matter. No sense of community there. I agree with your observation that poor drummers getting praise is bad for them and also the expectations of the non muso listening punters. We may end up in the perverse position of being judged by the standards of the most praised drummers on Youtube. Yuk!
 
I mostly agree with your thought above but I found myself posting a very far from perfect recording of my band auditioning a singer last week. Why did I do this? !

Posting stuff of your band is an entirely different thing. A lot of venues will want you to have something on youtube of the band so that they can get an idea of what you sound like before booking, look at the setup etc.

I think what Mr. OP is referring to is the myriad of losers who sit in silence of the lambs basements and record themselves playing alone.
 
i completely agree. There is no shame anymore. A little shame used to keep egos in check. Now it's just a masturbatory show of "me me me, even if i stink stink stink". No one cares as long as they are getting attention.
 
Posting stuff of your band is an entirely different thing. A lot of venues will want you to have something on youtube of the band so that they can get an idea of what you sound like before booking, look at the setup etc.

I think what Mr. OP is referring to is the myriad of losers who sit in silence of the lambs basements and record themselves playing alone.

Agreed. BTW, I posted on the DW forum, not Youtube. I wouldn't dare post my semi lame recording on Youtube. Double agree on the basement thing. I haven't got the time (nor the inclination) to record solo stuff. I'm off making music with other musicians! Much more fun.
 
Sounds like a goldmine for drummers who do have talent and use proper technique in the form of less competition. All the crappy YouTube drummers will have swelled heads until reality sets in and they can't even survive an audition. So why should a drummer that actually does have something going be worried about crappy drummers getting rave reviews from uninformed viewers?
 
The worst part is that most of these bad videos get 5-star reviews with comments like, "OMG u R da BesTZ eva" and stuff like that.

I've always had a problem with people who leave comments like that. Those are generally the ones I write off as none sense. To me, if you can't actually take the time to leave a comment in simple and proper English (or whatever other language), you probably won't take the time to learn proper techniques to apply to drumming or any form of percussion for that matter.
 
I think what Mr. OP is referring to is the myriad of losers who sit in silence of the lambs basements and record themselves playing alone.

There are plenty of videos on Youtube of that kind. Mind you, they're both of guys who can't play very well and some who have oodles of chops.

I wouldn't say they're all losers, however. It takes some stones to broadcast one's playing, potentially to millions of people. While the physical execution may not be there for some of these players - YET - (they tend to be younger, with time to develop) the confidence to expose themselves to the world has its merits and uses. I do wish many of them would exercise a little more prudence and humility however. But the same goes for many guys with plenty of ability as well. Propped up by YouTube videos they can garner all kinds of acclaim without ever having to put themselves out there into the thick of real working musical settings. There are plenty of YouTube heros who play very well, but whose discographies and gig calanders hardly justify the reverence bestowed upon them or the credit they think they deserve.

So, I agree with you: I think many look too much to internet notoriety for credibility and emotional affirmation. And I agree with the general sentiment in this thread that the pursuit of electronic kudos tends to distract from the goal of playing meaningful music with other human beings. I think many people choose this route because it's actually easier than suffering the exposure to friends, peers and others who know us more personally than web denizens. It's much harder to play in a live venue and have to face up to all that direct - potentially negative - attention. It's also easier to talk/play into a microphone than to learn to create positive relationships with other musicians. These can't be turned off, turned down, or put on your Ignore List.
 
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Jon, my cut on it.

The revolution that is youtube, twitter, facebook, digital recorders, cameras et al is empowering the individual like never ever before, and that is the crux of it .

And he/she is expressing himself/herself like never before. And like all revolutions everyone wants to be on the bus. For every noteworthy piece of flotsam that one comes across, the is a mountain of trash around it.

Twitter is full of inane comments, Facebook full of badly taken photographs of drunk friends tossing up their lunch, status updates that are irrelevant to anyone except the poster. Its much the same with recording and uploading yourself.

Snap your fingers and you are on your TV screen, on your on your ipod, in the worlds living room! You dont have to be qualified to publish yourself.
I think secretly everyone has the same dream except earlier you couldnt do much about it. Or it was simply too expensive to record or film yourself.

Now you can.

...
 
But I don't get why it seems like almost everyone out there feels the need to record themselves sucking at the drums, and then post it on YT. There are so many bad performances on YT, it boggles my mind. It's the kind of stuff that musicians used to be ashamed of...that's where the term woodshedding came from.

It's not really a new phenomenon -- dilettantes are an old breed

and I don't mean it's necessarilly a bad thing -- sometimes it's a "guy with drums" more than "a [serious face on] drummer"

In some ways, we are maybe returning to an older model where much of music was made in the home by family members (with varying talent) -- the parlor guitar was called that for a reason and the piano used to be a fixture
and before that we had "chamber music"


In "It's the kind of stuff that musicians used to be ashamed of"

I think it's more the "musicians" than the "used to"

I mean at the same time we had woodshedding we also had the (stage) hook

"analog youtube" -- prop an acoustic guitar up against a keg! :D
 
/disagree with OP's point.

Music is about sharing. Playing with your friends, playing a club, recording an album, making a video, etc... are all abstractions of recording a YT video. The point is to get your playing outside your room and get feedback... of all kinds. And there is never anything wrong with that.

Or are we saying that only good musicians should be allowed to record/broadcast themselves and they must somehow get good while operating within a sphere of limited sharing?

YT will make for more good drummers in the long run because it increases access to good information. And it will also make for some popular jack asses with poor musical skills because it is a giant stage that some people just can't resist. I'll take the latter to get more of the former.
 
Jon, my cut on it.

The revolution that is youtube, twitter, facebook, digital recorders, cameras et al is empowering the individual like never ever before, and that is the crux of it .

Perhaps you've hit the nail on the head with "empowering the individual." These are many time used as solitary, almost solipsistic pursuits. Despite the seeming "publicity" of it, it engenders nothing truly public in the sense of communality. It's simply a lot of narcissistic I's gazing at themselves.
 
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/disagree with OP's point.

Music is about sharing. Playing with your friends, playing a club, recording an album, making a video, etc... are all abstractions of recording a YT video. The point is to get your playing outside your room and get feedback... of all kinds. And there is never anything wrong with that.

A very good point. You're right that we shouldn't close our minds to potential forms of expression and musical sharing. But don't you think there is something about the YT phenomenon that isn't so much about sharing, but of selfish display?
 
But don't you think there is something about the YT phenomenon that isn't so much about sharing, but of selfish display?

I think that's always been a part of the sharing process (we're talking puprpose there and that can be a melange of motives)

hell, ancient Rome had professional applauders and you could order a'la carte - this much for light applause, that much for a standing ovation, etc
 
The need for self expression is a basic human condition mapped into our DNA. The urge to paint in caves or sing and dance around the camp fires was always there

Its just that now its become ridiculously easy. I buy Boomka's point about something very narcissistic and strange about a lot of the stuff out there.

Well it takes all kinds... including those that wear overcoats and nothing underneath ; ) and they are on youtube too.
 
I have a student guilty of this. He loves to post his takes at Dragon Force songs. They are far from the work of David Macintosh but he is deffinitely proud of them. I suppose his ears aren't developed enough to tell the difference between his playing and Davids. His friends are certainly honest with their opinions though! I'll leave it to them to criticize his videos. I can just try to help him play the songs better!
 
Youtube is a great resource for ALL musicians, it is a great networking tool...and with that comes a wide range of possibilities. It works for unskilled shameless self promoters just as much as it works for the up and coming/established professionals out there. The playing field is leveled...you have to sort through so much crap to find some real talent. The way i see it, you can pretty much divide the youtube drummer phenomena into 2 categories:

1) real drummers who happen to have access to video cameras/recording equipment/ computers

2) people with cameras and computers who happen to play drums

That goes for any internet community of a particular interest...

About the narcissism/selfishness of the internet:
Nearly everything about the internet is selfish because its a reflection of the increasingly individualistic culture/society that has embraced it since the early 1990s.

nowadays I think its even more selfish to think that you DON'T need some sort of internet exposure to get anywhere with whatever path you choose.
 
Why do people feel the need to broadcast themselves, even if it's not great? I don't get it.

probably because they sincerely believe that they really are great. it's like those incredibly bad singers on american idol who are so completely astonished and taken aback when the judges tell them they're awful. there is always going to be a percentage of people who suck at whatever they do but in their mind think they're amazing. for them, youtube is the ultimate outlet because they can foist their performances on the world without having to procure a venue or sell any tickets or anything.
 
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