Experienced drummer needs more experienced advice.

BonzotheDog

Junior Member
Hey guys,

I'm not new to this forum, but i have just registered because I am in a bit of pickle and a lot of you guys are sure to understand, and will help me to understand my issue.

I've been drumming for about 8 years now; started off playing along to songs and air drumming to Bonham and Grohl. I always had this vision of myself on stage wowing the crowds with my passion and flare, and the thought of it made me feel alive, and eventually ended up with this drummer persona before i had even touched a stage, but i was progressing fast and am a quick learner.

Around about a year and a half ago I had the opportunity to jam on stage and I jumped at it, and admittedly I was a little nervous but eventually I was jamming in front of 100+ and i felt and played awesome - made lots of friends.

Then I started joining bands, and I relished at the chance to show them what i was made of, and every band I jumped to told me that I was the best drummer they had ever played with, but lately I've become too flakey and picky with which people(depending on their style and skill) I'll play with.

The point is I always wanted to gig properly, and when i actually did start to late last year, I was a nervous wreck and considered quitting, and after quite a few, i still can be and i just don't know why - I'm quite outgoinh, though, i can be fairly pessimistic.

I played a gig 2 nights ago playing easy covers that everyone knows in front uni students. Easy enough, but as soon ad i got on stage, i could feel my head suddenly swelling and feeling extremely hot. Plus every song was like i was playing on the edge of a cliff, and one slip would ruin me. I also felt really aware of how I might have been percieved, as if i may have looked bored or robotic due to my fear of not perfo4ming to my best.

I need help with this guys, i just want to let loose and be the drummer i was fuckin born to be!
 
Last edited:
The more you play, the easier it becomes, whether it's jamming with various musicians, or playing in front of crowds. Just keep at it until it becomes more comfortable to you. That doesn't mean you're on auto-pilot and snoozing your way through gigs, it just means that applying yourself in a band situation becomes easier with practice... as with just about anything. Once you're comfortable, playing becomes less about fear and analysis, and more about enjoying playing.

As for picking and choosing your situations, be careful about turning down stuff especially as you're just beginning to get known. If you're too choosy right from the start, your reputation will get around and people will begin choosing not to use you. Musicians with attitudes - or too tight of a personal musical agenda - don't usually get much work. As the late, L.A. studio great Tommy Tedesco said regarding taking work, "don't say no until you can't say yes."

Wise words that have kept me full time drummer.

Bermuda
 
Thanks for your poignyant advice, mate. I did always think it would take just doing it more often, but the thing I can't understand is why I had far easier time jamming live than i do gigging.

Another thing is, i don't get any where to practice any more. I practice either mentally, tapping on things, practicing with a band occassionally, or gigs, but i want to be able to do it every day like you guys because i feel like my skills are peaking lately and thats terrifying for me.

I'd love to be able to play really fast double stroke ghost notes under a beat - i just want more groove.

One other thing i must ask is when im playing live i always get massive urges to take risks and play fills and beats ive never tried before, but i know that playing for the music is most important as well, so i dont usually tempt fate as much.

How can i get away with providing a solid groove but throwing some flare in there too?
 
Quote....One other thing i must ask is when im playing live i always get massive urges to take risks and play fills and beats ive never tried before, but i know that playing for the music is most important as well, so i dont usually tempt fate as much.

I would say this the worst time to "throw things in there" Only through practice and repetition are the fills going to sound proper. I would save the experimenting for practice. Flare is one thing but I would use the flare on the things I already know.
 
I would say this the worst time to "throw things in there" Only through practice and repetition are the fills going to sound proper. I would save the experimenting for practice. Flare is one thing but I would use the flare on the things I already know.

So how did Bonham get away with it all the time? And i do usually take risks, but its the fear of blowing it if they fail i want to eradicate.
 
How can i get away with providing a solid groove but throwing some flare in there too?

Sometimes you just restrain yourself in the name of musicianship. Being a great drummer is all well and good, but being a great musician is far more important.

If you find that you must play with flair whether it works with the music or not, maybe you need to form your own band where you can call the shots, and the other members can't criticize you for what you play. Of course, booking gigs where the audience doesn't mind your flair is another matter.

Generations, and gear, and musical styles & production have changed a lot during the rock era (which is almost 60 years old!) but one concept has stayed the same for most of those styles: less is more.

You don't have to agree with it, but if you want to be a working drummer, you have to embrace it anyway.

Bermuda
 
Hey i get what you're saying, but what i meant was improvising a fill where one was before, not overdoing it, lol.

And yes, less is definitely more.
 
So how did Bonham get away with it all the time? And i do usually take risks, but its the fear of blowing it if they fail i want to eradicate.

He didn't.i saw Zep live more than a few times,and have emassed a couple of live bootleg tapes of the band.I can tell you that there were sometimes that he went for it,and missed.Not horribly,but not as perfect as his studio playing.The same can be said of lots of drummers/musicians.Youtube is replete with name drummers,making mistakes,including the great Buddy Rich.

Its all part of it.Its what you do with it when it happens,that matters most.Have a plan B,and make a gracefull recovery.Like Bermuda said too,sometimes less is more,and restraint is whats required.Thats true,especially for guys who make a living as a studio drummer,where groove,serving the artist and producer are way more important,that how many notes you can play to the bar.

Take a breath,relax,and just keep practicing.Play with as many people as you can,in front of an audience,and in a studio.Plenty of pros get stage fright.Find something that helps you through it,and make it work .

Steve B
 
I know the feeling. I'm not good when I'm on the spot and have to perform. My limbs stop working properly, my timing and control goes out the window etc. Even when I gigged regularly I never got comfortable with playing for audiences, not the way I am when in a studio.

I think for me the problem was being bullied and abused in my teens for a prolonged period. The judgementalism is always with me and comes out in situations where I could be judged. So I never had the kind of confidence I see in others all the time, even taking into account the way people can mask self-consciousness.

There was no doubt some way of looking within that would have sorted me out, but I never found it. It's annoying because all I want to do is make my ears happy and can't see why the opinions of drunken barflies would matter to me at all ...
 
Every "jam" is practice. Every "rehearsal" is practice. Every "gig" is practice, too (you just have an audience). So you just need to "fill in the blanks" ... whatever days you have off .... you need to practice .... that can be on a practice pad (and a kick pedal/practice pad combo helps, a lot) ... that can be on a practice pad kit .... or an e-kit ... or an acoustic kit with mutes/muffle pads. Whatever you can afford. And whatever your living situation will tolerate.​
Sometimes you just restrain yourself in the name of musicianship. Being a great drummer is all well and good, but being a great musician is far more important.
Hit right on the nail. I've been drumming since age 10 ... and I'm a "young" 55. I ain't no great drummer. If I was, it would probably be my day job. But I've always managed to be in bands, for the better part of 45 years. And the two biggest compliments I get, is when someone says "finally, a drummer who knows how to groove" and "Harry, as long as I've known you, you never overplay". Pulling off Neil Peart riffs is cool, but Neil's already got that gig. And that style doesn't work, in a 12 bar blues band. Whipping out a Tony Williams fill ... awesome stuff, but it ain't gonna fit in a Creedence Clearwater song. Or a ZZ Top cover. So ... timing is everything ... in more ways than one.​
If you're locked into one band, play what needs to be played, for that style of music. If you're constantly jamming with different people, and different music types, then you have to be a cameleon, of sorts. Wear your rocker suit one day ... your jazzer suit another.​
As far as the stage "butterflies", the more you gig, the better it gets. I think we all, basically, want a little of that ... anyways .... that's the rush. Stage fright bad. Getting pumped up good.​
 
I only joined this forum recently, suffering pretty much the same problem as you and looking for answers.

That sounds like my (drumming) life story you've just described. Except I didn't go out jamming before I joined a band but - drawing an analogy with your experience - I auditioned for a few bands, and was - strangely - very confident at auditions. They all asked me back, but then at the second or third rehearsal I was a wreck of nerves, it got worse, and I left them all after a few get togethers.

Like you I joined a band (again, really good audition and they seemed thrilled to have me) stuck with them a few months and gigged a bit last year, but the crippling nerves kicked in and I left them too.

This struck a chord with me:

"I also felt really aware of how I might have been percieved" and "I'd love to be able to play really fast double stroke ghost notes under a beat - i just want more groove"

That does sound a bit like the self doubt I suffered. Sounds like you feel more is expected of you than you're able to give? I mean - jamming, no-one has any expectations of you do they? But then as things progress and you get to gigging, you become more and more aware of your limitations - whether they're real or just in your head.

"i feel like my skills are peaking lately and thats terrifying for me"

If you can't practice regularly now, and (as you say) can be pessimistic, perhaps you just don't match up to your own expectations of yourself? I wonder if you're generally lacking in self confidence, or whether you can actually identify something in/some aspect of your playing which you're not happy with? If that's the case, can't you find a studio where you can hire a kit and get some practice in, or take some lessons?

Just throwing ideas in. This might all be a load of tosh, in which case ignore it!
 
Dudes can I just pass on one of the best bits of advice, ever? It was given to me in a different professional context but just the same it applies to anything you do for a living.

"Amateurs practice until they get it right. Professionals practice until they can't possibly get it wrong".
 
So how did Bonham get away with it all the time? And i do usually take risks, but its the fear of blowing it if they fail i want to eradicate.

He didn't. Read up on his pre Zepp background. He had the ability to trainwreck songs when he was younger and still honing his craft. That part is no secret, it's documented in just about every book I've ever read about him. That's not to say he was always "bad" or always playing inappropriately, but he could certainly stumble and fall when trying something new....and consequently brought the rest of the band down with him on occasion, when he over reached.
 
Back
Top