I HIT TO HARD

drummingman

Gold Member
When I play live that is. At band practice I hit just fine. But I guess its the fact that I cant hear all that well live mixed with adrenaline that makes me start bashing.

The bad thing is that hitting so hard effects my technique in a negative way and keeps my playing from being as smooth as it normally is. This whole issue has been on going for me.
 
You gotta learn how to relax.

I know that one of the reasons why I hit so hard when playing live is because I'm afraid that my drums are not projecting over the amps from the guitar and the bass. This happens both when my kit is mic"d and when its not mic"d.

I do really try super hard to stay relaxed when I play live. For the most part I'm good but adrenaline really does take over sometimes. A lot of the times when I come off stage people comment about how relaxed I actually look when I play. When watching footage of myself the funny thing is I don't feel as relaxed as I look when I'm playing haha! But for the most part I feel pretty good.
 
Don't know what to tell you then. If you're mic'ed, I'm assuming you have monitors and you can hear yourself? If you're still not getting enough 'you', then there's something wrong with you, eh?

Maybe it's ok, if you really playing too hard, then you'd be breaking heads and sticks all the time, right? If that's not happening, then maybe you're good.
 
Thanks Bill. Great lesson.

I studied with Dom Famularo for about 2 years once a month in the mid 2000"s. We worked on a lot of free stroke and moeller stroke things. So I really think I know what you mean by playing big not hard.

When I do play to hard I can tell that Im fighting the natural principes of rebound. I feel that when I play to hard. I then try to check myself and start playing lighter and not so hard. This always helps. But it's a continual fight to keep it up cause the energy and volume just get to me and I start bashing again. So it's a constant fight back and forth during a live performance for me. Its like if I play to light I'm not really into the music but my technique is great. And if I play too hard I'm very much into the music but my technique and playing suffers. Its very catch 22 at times.
 
When I play live that is. At band practice I hit just fine. But I guess its the fact that I cant hear all that well live mixed with adrenaline that makes me start bashing.

The bad thing is that hitting so hard effects my technique in a negative way and keeps my playing from being as smooth as it normally is. This whole issue has been on going for me.

I hit too hard also because, 1) I'm a clumsy brute and 2) I switched to an E kit.

When I play an A kit, I just aim for the outer edges of the heads and it cuts the Dbs by 50% or more.
 
It's great that you're cognizant of being too aggressive. That said, if you know you play too loud, then stop doing so. Work on playing more relaxed and at a manageable volume level on your own time, away from a band, then bring that technique into the group. If they can't hear you once you start doing so, tell them to turn down.
 
Any issue like this is all in your head. You're hamstringing yourself. Forget about if you are projecting or not. You don't want to stick out anyway. You need to stop thinking when you play and try and feel instead.

Seems like you are thinking about just the drums instead of the larger issue of the entire band or the song.

Props for identifying the problem. You can't address something until you identify it.

Meditate and picture yourself so serene behind the drums. Keep doing that and after a while it will feel like it's raining candy. (A Philippe-ism)

Find your happy place and clear your head. No thoughts allowed.
 
Let me put a different spin on it. When you hit "too hard" you are affecting the performance of your entire band. You are changing the dynamics that the other members are used to. You rehearse a certain way and then perform another. Ding,ding,ding,ding is the bell ringing yet? You rehearse to perfect your act, so my suggestion is to hit harder at practice, or play the way you practice when it's a show. Figure out what your act is, practice it, and then duplicate it on stage.
 
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Here's an Idea.Those squarish looking things that the guitar players plug into,have a volume knob,that conviently goes from 1 to 10.Avail yourself of the cleverly designed feature,and turn the volume DOWN.Acoustic drums,by themselves are inherently loud,and can damage your hearing,if you don't use ear protection.If the band is THAT loud that you can't hear yourself....your TOO loud.Just my 2 cents.

Steve B
 
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