Do Youtube Drum Covers Influence What/How You Play?

mmulcahy1

Platinum Member
I have been trying to learn some new songs as of late and thought I'd visit Youtube so I could "see" what other drummers are playing as opposed to just listening to the song.

I am really amazed at just how much I'm apparently missing while just listening to the music. While I definitely have the groove and the backbeat down, there are a lot of important nuances that get by me that I am not aware of.

This is definitely eroding my confidence as a drummer.

Is this an issue for any of you as well?
 
mmulcahy1 .. I wouldn't let Youtube be your be all end all. If it brings your confidence level down, get the heck out of there and do something that inspires you!

I post lessons all the time on Youtube. What appears to be a flawless performance is literally hours of practice and good editing. Don't be fooled by what a well edited video can look like .. what it actually took to get there may have taken a month for that drummer to achieve.

This is a good video to watch .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRNzTPNB3vE
 
mmulcahy1 .. I wouldn't let Youtube be your be all end all. If it brings your confidence level down, get the heck out of there and do something that inspires you!

I post lessons all the time on Youtube. What appears to be a flawless performance is literally hours of practice and good editing. Don't be fooled by what a well edited video can look like .. what it actually took to get there may have taken a month for that drummer to achieve.

This is a good video to watch .. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRNzTPNB3vE

Don't worry, Youtube is not my "be all, end all." I use it as a reference point for my playing. My point is that while I watch the playing in the video & listen to the song (I do sift through all the garbage to find those of high quality), I am seeing drummers play things I didn't realize were in the song - but am seeing/hearing for the first time.

It just leaves me thinking: "What else am I missing?"
 
I have been trying to learn some new songs as of late and thought I'd visit Youtube so I could "see" what other drummers are playing as opposed to just listening to the song.

I am really amazed at just how much I'm apparently missing while just listening to the music. While I definitely have the groove and the backbeat down, there are a lot of important nuances that get by me that I am not aware of.

This is definitely eroding my confidence as a drummer.

Is this an issue for any of you as well?

I see what you mean, but life's too short to contamplate your own shortcomings... Look at the bright side. Youtube allows you to steal those nuances and become a better drummer :)
 
It just leaves me thinking: "What else am I missing?"[/QUOTE]

Maybe you aren't missing anything. What to you want to be better at? Find a teacher or book or both and study that until you feel confident. Then find something else you want to get good at and do it again.
 
You should probably spend more time notating parts for yourself than looking at youtube to see how others are doing it. I'd say look to youtube covers once you've already studied it on your own.

The amount you can learn by notating stuff that inspires you is really hard to put into words. Go slow, listen for every note and figure out where it fits into the beat. Write it down and fully appreciate why everything is happening.
 
Youtube covers are good to watch if you're stuck on one part of the song where you can't understand the pattern, but I find it's better to look at the actual drummer playing the song. You'll be much better off looking at their technique and getting the feel of how they play rather than focusing on exactly what they're playing.

Just out of curiousity how much experience do you have playing with a full band? I've found that the more I play with other people the better I can pick out drum parts.
 
I get depressed watching some of these younger cats just killin' it!

But what is a big difference is that all of their videos are of them playing in their garage. All my videos are me playing on a stage at a gig. And getting paid. :D So there's that distinct difference that I must keep in mind.

Guys like Chris Paprota, Maison Guidry, Forrest Rice, etc... are all dudes that just melt my prefrontal cortex.

But the whole "drum cover" thing... it's cheap and instant gratification that seems to get a LOT of people started in the drum world...
 
Last edited:
I think it can be helpful for when you are stuck. But beware, some you tube drummers stick in parts or 'nuances' that are not there at all too. No getting down on yourself because its a journey. There is a place for everything.

I'd rather be having fun playing along with a real live band, skipping parts or dumming them down to my chops, than slaving over every youtube detail in my basement .....alone for hours playing with nobody.
 
They don't influence me. Part of it is I went through that whole linear gospel chops phase when I was 20 and I can't stand hearing cats just blow those particular chops. I don't even like the way that stuff sounds anymore, even though I can appreciate what goes into it.

But mostly I would rather hear a drummer playing with other musicians.
 
No.

No doubt there are some good players putting up videos, but there are also tons of bad drummers playing parts are aren't even close to the original part.

And as mentioned, some of these multi-camera videos are multiple takes, edited together to appear as one performance.

But overall, even with the good drummers who's videos are 100% legit, it doesn't much interest me.
 
Abso-LUTELY not! There's some fun stuff to be found, and occasionally some excellent technical playing, but there's nothing there that I can use in real life (that I don't already know.) Besides, there's just too much Self-indulgent-stick-wank™ (or downright unlistenable performances) to sift through before getting to the good stuff.

If you emulate what's on YouTube, you'll probably end up on YouTube.

Bermuda
 
I have a fair amount of videos on youtube, but its mostly of me learning a new groove or trying out new stuff. Not any covers or anything like that. Mostly to show my friends who don't get a chance to see my live, and also to show off a bit on Facebook. But it also helps me build a portfolio so I can show other musicians or bands that I want to jam with.

Its all single camera, so no edits. Usually I do about 4-5 takes and take the best one, keeps it honest.
 
If you emulate what's on YouTube, you'll probably end up on YouTube.

Bermuda

I'm in no way trying to emulate what's on Youtube - just using it for a resource.

It's kinda like how you "think" you know the lyrics to a song. You know, you've been singing it for like 30 years - you know it!

Then you come across the lyrics and you're like, "Holy Sh!t, those are the words?"

I just notice that when I watch some drummers, they're playing parts in the song that I wasn't aware of before I watched the video. I go back and listen to the song and yep, there it is. I hear it when I see it being played. How did I miss it when I was listening?
 
You should probably spend more time notating parts for yourself than looking at youtube to see how others are doing it. I'd say look to youtube covers once you've already studied it on your own.

The amount you can learn by notating stuff that inspires you is really hard to put into words. Go slow, listen for every note and figure out where it fits into the beat. Write it down and fully appreciate why everything is happening.

Inspiring words from Watso! I agree wholeheartedly, slowing down the playback speed and really digging into a well-crafted drum part is often a great exercise. Plus, there's nothing to lose from learning to play one or two parts note-for-note without any improvisation. I find it just another fun & educational way to play drums!

But the whole "drum cover" thing... it's cheap and instant gratification that seems to get a LOT of people started in the drum world...

Depends. There are a lot of drum covers of thoughtless, boring original parts that are designed to get views (not much wrong with the latter intent, IMO, but it is certainly not immediately artistically motivated). I approach it more as a skill & portfolio (as Seafroggys mentioned) building exercise, as well as a justification of labor – it's helpful to reframe this kind of stuff in the context of the life of a solo/self-determined ensemble percussionist. They're both primarily about performing other people's work to promote oneself, but they're also about interpreting an original part and adding one's own spin and hooks to it, interfacing with the composer. As a composer, that kind of conversation really revs me up, BUT this approach only works when the people doing the covers actually think critically about what they're playing... which many don't.

(My desires to build an audience for my own art, as well as share great music with people, also play into my drum cover motivations, to name some other factors.)
 
Back
Top