practice pad not translating to real playing?

stellar

Junior Member
Hi, new to the forum. I made an account to post this question. I saw the other thread where the OP didn't have the same "feel" between the pad and the snare.... my question is somewhat different. I have been practicing finger technique and moeller technique and have gotten okay at at. (still not great but I am doing it). When I try to apply it to the drumset I can't seem to make it work. I play mostly punk and metal...meaning I hit hard. I wanted to make finger technique or moeller technique mostly on the hats/ride to get the speed up without getting too tired on long songs :). and of course to burn up fills. when I try to switch from single hits to finger technique its just awkward....for one all of my coordination falls apart but I know thats just a matter of putting in a couple hours of effort. but even faking it for a short while...i can't get the same sound as single hits. It's a real bummer because I have already put in a lot of hours on the pad trying to do this. I guess I am just looking for some advice from someone who is better than I am and who can do this... am I on the right track? or do I just screw it and play single hits all day?? or what..... I can get by playing everything I need to, I just was trying to do it more...effortlessly. Thanks...
 
Most finger techniques that I'm familiar with won't do much for volume. Finger techniques just don't generate the same power that arms and wrists do.

Also the drum set has so many different types of surfaces where the pad only has one. Probably the best thing to do to get around to these things translating a little better to your music is to make some exercises for yourself applying the finger and moeller techniques across these surfaces. Maybe consider working on those techniques on the ride and hi hat surfaces instead of the pad for instance.

Some of it will be very hard to get to work, moeller pumping motion on the 16in floor tom for instance is probably a no go unless you're Jojo :D
 
I don't know what you mean by "single hits" versus something else. One thing I can tell you though is to avoid hitting hard, especially if you're wanting to play fast.

The goal should be to play loose strokes with high velocity, not strokes with a lot of inertia (hitting hard backed by too much muscle tension).

Example: John Bonham play big, but not hard. That's why he grooved so hard and didn't break things.
 
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