Ah, Positive Jams

Pimento

Senior Member
I know most of you dont dig what my band or myself does but i have a positive story to share among the band mate horror stories, so if we could leave the negativity about my abilities and music thatd be great.

My band had recently played our first live show, we have a 6 song set that lasts about 45 mins or so. Its all original material that we worked hard on, and we have been getting steady streams of compliments from people who were at the show, people who heard about it, and locals who have checked out our youtube stuff.

Lately weve taken that energy and really put it to work creating new songs, and its going awesome, i have put my hand back into lyrics writing, and get a LOT of support from my band, friendly suggestions .etc.

As far as my drumming is concerned, i have been feeling a bit stale, one jam in particular i stopped after a certain section in a song that i had tweaked quite a bit, because something felt off. I had the guitarist play the riff a few times, adjusted accordingly and went along with the song.....nobody said anything good or bad. When the song was done we took a break, and i told the guys that i felt i was being really repetitive, and i needed some feedback to help me come up with parts.

Their response: "Dude, you always play basic repetitive stuff the first few times we hear the song, we decided a while ago just to let you roll with it, because some songs need just a solid beat behind it, and if it needs more than that, we know that youll work it out at home and next jam youll come up with something that really completes the song, if somethings way out, well say something, but you havent let us down yet"

Just a little tid bit that made me appreciate finding a good group of guys to play with.
 
i told the guys that i felt i was being really repetitive, and i needed some feedback to help me come up with parts.

Their response: "
some songs need just a solid beat behind it,
"

Just a little tid bit that made me appreciate finding a good group of guys to play with.
I think the other band guys have the answer to the creative frustration you sometimes feel. I chimed in on your playing thread, & pointed out the need for pulse & groove. By it's very nature, it's repetitive. The listener couldn't care less about the mechanics of operating an instrument, but they do respond to pulse, melody, & they zero in on hooks. All of these things have a repetitive aspect to them, & that's to be celebrated, not avoided.

I didn't put out, nor did I pick up a negative vibe in your playing thread. Just other players saying it how they see it. I think it's great that you have the support of great bandmates. That's so important in any creative partnership. Apart from the practicalities of making progress, it just makes you feel so damn good about the experience. Congratulations on finding a bunch of guys that suit you, there's not many that achieve that, & certainly way better than churning out drum covers in your bedroom.
 
Their response: "Dude, you always play basic repetitive stuff the first few times we hear the song, we decided a while ago just to let you roll with it, because some songs need just a solid beat behind it, and if it needs more than that, we know that youll work it out at home and next jam youll come up with something that really completes the song, if somethings way out, well say something, but you havent let us down yet"

Good stuff. You're in a band who have their heads screwed on right. Articulate too.

See the Steve Gadd quote I provided in post #2 of this thread: http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=83519

The quote is from a very old book I have called Making Music, a compilation of essays put together by George Marin that includes advice from some of the most renowned musicians, engineers and producers in the biz at the time.
 
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