Hit like a girl

that1guy

Junior Member
First off, I am a male so don't be mislead by the subject heading. Anyways, been reading forums and searching google forever, and finally decided to join up somewhere and post! So I have been playing drums for a relatively short time- a little over a year. Learned on a crappy acoustic set and after a few months got a yamaha DTXplorer electronic kit. I recently decided to videotape myself playing, to try and learn what I am doing wrong/right. Bad idea! I really look like I am lacking interest and intensity. I think it is because I am concentrating so hard. I know that using more wrist than arm is necessary, but I use wrists almost exclusively! Tbh, I hit like a little girl even when I am putting forth the effort. Coud it be that with the dtxplorer, the pads are all much closer together than they would be on a real kit, which explains the lack of arm/body movement? Could it be that I am just not confident enough in my playing yet, and need time and practice to eventually become more animated? Or is it just that some people are naturally more animated and hit harder? The thing is, in my head I feel like i am doing just fine and feel loose, I just look boring. And I HAVE progressed considerably since I started playing. couldn't play a basic 4/4 when i started, let alone use my hands and feet at the same time! Now I can play many beats and styles of music- on a pretty basic level, of course. Thank you for reading my life story and I would SINCERELY appreciate any serious comments and suggestions!
Jake
 
Jake,
are you really concerned about looks, about the way you look when playing? Videotaping oneself is a good idea to judge correct posture, grips etc but looks might be a concern if you aim to play live.

Try to position the drum elements/pads farther away from each other, this will more resemble an acoustic kit and also make it easier to switch from an e- to an aKit.

We all hit differently. I'm the opposite of a hard hitter (also beginner, 1 year into drums). But I'm doing this consciously - the hits themselves might not be too weak, but I'm not forcing the sticks into the drums but stop applying power right before the sticks hit the... practice pad mostly. I love playing accents, and those accents need to be played with sufficient power to make them stand out. Do you practice accents? I guess so, so you should have a feel for harder hits. From the instructional videos I've seen, holding the sticks just as tight as necessary and not hitting the crap out of the drums is a good idea. In the beginning I was even dropping sticks a lot, but suddenly this got much better.

Learning the Moeller technique (not the full Moeller) helped me pulling the accents and the Moeller motion looks cool. Do you practice Moeller?

I think it's normal for beginners to look unimpressing when playing. In this stage one has to concentrate hard to practice/play so there's no 'headroom' for acting. If you see a concern in this regard, things should become better by themselves, with more practicing and thus, more confidence. Just don't worry and continue practicing.
 
Thank you! Yes, I do use accents, although it is harder to get a full range of effects when hitting rubber pads... And I am familiar with the Moeller method, I BELIEVE I am using it when I play 8th and 16th notes on the hihats.
 
I also drop the sticks alot! Mostly the right though, for some reason. Might just be that the pads are sooo bouncy...
 
Dropping the sticks is a good sign, don't worry.

You could also experiment with different sticks. I don't want to sound like endorsing products, but have several different Vic Firth sticks and very much like them to be coated. That finish prevents them from slipping. With my first stick I had quite some problems to keep my grip at the fulcrum point, the sticks tended to slip and I had way less overall control. That dropping problem disappeared about the time when I started using Vic Firths. With a bit more practice, I found that I need to buy more sticks because some feel too light while others feel too heavy. I'm constantly switching sticks to keep my hands busy (not only adjusting to one pair of sticks) - this 'trick' could help you also to acquire more grip precision.

EDIT
Sometimes I'm practicing in a room in front of the TV screen (turned off!). I am regularly shocked by the most boring reflections I see in that TV screen (functioning as a mirror) while I'm playing, thinking: Wow, that's fast/energetic! Haha. The same refers to when I'm playing the el. guitar. I'll do one or several videos in a few weeks from now (will be my first online videos ever) on a guitar forum site (some with the el., some with the ac. guitar) and I expect quite some discrepancy between what you see and what you hear (=I'm a pretty bad stage actor, haha - I don't care). Interestingly, when playing the ac. guitar (percussion style, influenced by Andy McKee), I tend to express myself far more intense than on the el. guitar (=100% boring). So playing in front of the TV (off), I am used to the way I look when playing.
 
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I agree with Arky on this. Especially from a rock playing pov, I often look disinterested and like I'm tickling the drums, but the sound coming out doesn't echo that. Some of us have a great stick acceleration technique that takes animation out of the picture. That's a good thing from a dynamic control pov, but doesn't deliver the expected visual. I hit hard! I take my bass player's head off with the snare, but it doesn't look like it. If you're a young guy doing lots of promo video stuff, then it's something to concentrate on.
 
That's good to hear. Thanks so much for the response dudes! I don't do promos, nowhere near good enough yet. But yeah I think now I'm gonna grab a pair of those VF coated stix, good idea. I have tried the Zildian Anti-Vibes- they help a lot with those annoying rubber pads. I have been using the same hickory pro-marks with regular oval wood tips for over a year!
 
The VF are said to get slippery when sweating. I never had such problems and I do practice often/for hours. I do sweat but not my hands... makes sense? ;-) Just to make you aware of the slipping problem when sweating (seems to depend on the player).

There are also sticks with a coating in the grip region only. It doesn't have to be VF but I find them really good. Doesn't prevent me from buying more/different sticks in the future.
 
Interesting, what you said about the TV... makes me wonder, "WHY, THIS WHOLE TIME, HAVE I NOT BEEN PRACTICING IN FRONT OF A MIRROR AT SOME POINT???" Thanks for the revelation!
 
Generally playing with good technique is a visually appealing thing. Nobody, not even a non-drummer, enjoys watching a guy who doesn't look like he knows how to play his instrument correctly. On top of that, however, you need to get the rest of your body into it. Being tense will prevent your body from moving, but so will be 'neutral'. So, use the movement of your limbs to get your torso into it. Lean into your accents during a beat a bit, or bob your head a tad. Nothing extreme, just enough to translate what's being heard to something that can be seen.
 
When watching a drummer (or anyone for that matter) perform, observers are inclined to look at the face of the performer. They can see your body movements in their peripheral vision but humans are drawn to faces. So knowing this, what's happening on your face is more important than your arms. To a non drummer this is especially true. I'm guilty of looking very bored/half asleep as well so it's something I'm trying to work on, and I have bought one of these and attached it to one of my cymbal stands in the practice room:

bp_562912_wing_mirror.jpg


Also, you might not be playing your e-kit as hard as you would need to play an acoustic kit live, in which your arm movements would probably be bigger.
 
Practice long enough and hard enough and who knows......you too may end up looking as bored as this guy manages to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3FUA0Hj7fI

Charlie doesn't look the least bit bored. He looks around, and looks focused. He's not one for theatrics, but he still looks like he enjoys being on stage.

This guy on the other hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAPAvsSljp0

In general, the "boring drummer look" tends to come about when the drummer not only isn't animated, but he has a vacant look on his face (often in combination with constantly staring at his hihats). As was stated above, it doesn't matter much when you're just playing at home, but when you get on stage it often pays off to try and look interesting. For some people (like me), this involves pulling faces and going for the big movements, while others (like old Charlie there) simply look comfortable, at ease and focused. The main point is to somehow look like you actually want to be on stage and not at home watching TV.
 
Since plenty of girls know how to hit a drum and you don't, let's just say you hit like a you. Electric drums can make you lazy. Switch to a real drum set- you'll naturally have to play bigger to get the sound you're after. Practicing in front of a mirror and/or video recording yourself will help you work on making faces and adding unnecessary arm movement if you really want to do that.
 
Since plenty of girls know how to hit a drum and you don't, let's just say you hit like a you.

Very, very good. No sexism here please or we'll have to pin you down and make you watch Terri Lynne Carrington videos until you submit.
 
Came in here to ask a question, and this thread seems to be just about right to add to!

I'm a beginner ,around 3 months, playing an electric kit (session pro thing) and think i need to learn to hit like a girl! (thats a girl with really weak and feeble arms, could also be a man though, just to get round the sexism act!)
Basically, every year our local pub does a charity music festival thing. We have a manky old accoustic kit that we just set up without really worrying if it gets trashed as it stays in storage for the rest of the year.
Just set it up, and replaced the heads which were full of 'potholes' and thought i'd have a quick bash.
OMG......... how loud?! Am i smashing hell out of my electric kit or do you really have to hit an accoustic kit? Been a bass player for 15 years standing next to a drummer, but never really took much interest in how hard they were hitting the kit! If it try to play it gently, timing goes to pot as i think i'm sort of holding back.
 
That drummer must be on the wrong gig... But hey, he's simply feeling the music. And is a better actor than I am.
 
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