Duck Tape
Platinum Member
This stems from my 'buzz kill' thread. Bit of a long thread but it's one of those things that need detail.If that kills your buzz then click the back button!
I'm in a band with 2 perfectionist type characters who like to stop mid song to tell each other 'you played a wrong note' or to tell me 'use the ride in that part/play a beat more like the one that we've written on the midi file'.
They want to record a song as we practice and then sit and listen back to it straight away, or sit and listen to the original midi file. We only have about 2 hours practice each week and I'm surprised that they would want to sit and talk so much (this was a problem with a bass player in the rock band I left last year).
I know there are days where you're just not feeling it but they never show up to practice itching to jam, bust out a riff or a cool bass line, it's all pretty mechanical, and they don't seem to react to music as positively as other guys I play with.
By the end of practice the bassist always wants to get going in a hurry and I'm left thinking 'is that all you're willing to do?'
The icing on the cake - I want to go out and play some casual gigs to stay in touch with playing live but that's not a good idea because the bassist says we're not tight enough yet.
I've watched all of this happen and now I've hit a breaking point, voiced my opinion on all of these things and met a little opposition (from the bass player especially), which leads me to ask drummerworld the question - how should a band practice?
I think a band should play through songs in their entirety and repeatedly (until they're almost sick of hearing them), not get 30 seconds in and stop the other band members they missed the f#, I don't think that sort of disjointed practice will prepare you for live performances. And personally, I learn how to play something by playing it, not talking about it.
And what about all this 'constructive criticism' that couldn't wait until the end of the song? I think it's a real downer, it makes people feel constricted and they play like crap and look miserable like a school kid sent to the naughty chair. I think we all know when we've made a mistake and it raises a flag for the next time we play through. I'm a perfectionist too but I know when to shut up.
I'm sure you're all with me on allowing the drummer to write his own parts... a big reason I'm in any band is to have the freedom to express myself, and I don't like a guitarist telling me to play the beat he wrote in the midi file, or use the ride in that section. I think making those choices make me feel like part of the band and I shouldn't be deprived of them.
The discussion about these things was civil enough. But I'm feeling like I've been here before (in the last rock band) and wonder if it's the beginning of the end. I think the main reason I'm making this thread is to ask 'hey, am I crazy?'
Bloody bass players.
I'm in a band with 2 perfectionist type characters who like to stop mid song to tell each other 'you played a wrong note' or to tell me 'use the ride in that part/play a beat more like the one that we've written on the midi file'.
They want to record a song as we practice and then sit and listen back to it straight away, or sit and listen to the original midi file. We only have about 2 hours practice each week and I'm surprised that they would want to sit and talk so much (this was a problem with a bass player in the rock band I left last year).
I know there are days where you're just not feeling it but they never show up to practice itching to jam, bust out a riff or a cool bass line, it's all pretty mechanical, and they don't seem to react to music as positively as other guys I play with.
By the end of practice the bassist always wants to get going in a hurry and I'm left thinking 'is that all you're willing to do?'
The icing on the cake - I want to go out and play some casual gigs to stay in touch with playing live but that's not a good idea because the bassist says we're not tight enough yet.
I've watched all of this happen and now I've hit a breaking point, voiced my opinion on all of these things and met a little opposition (from the bass player especially), which leads me to ask drummerworld the question - how should a band practice?
I think a band should play through songs in their entirety and repeatedly (until they're almost sick of hearing them), not get 30 seconds in and stop the other band members they missed the f#, I don't think that sort of disjointed practice will prepare you for live performances. And personally, I learn how to play something by playing it, not talking about it.
And what about all this 'constructive criticism' that couldn't wait until the end of the song? I think it's a real downer, it makes people feel constricted and they play like crap and look miserable like a school kid sent to the naughty chair. I think we all know when we've made a mistake and it raises a flag for the next time we play through. I'm a perfectionist too but I know when to shut up.
I'm sure you're all with me on allowing the drummer to write his own parts... a big reason I'm in any band is to have the freedom to express myself, and I don't like a guitarist telling me to play the beat he wrote in the midi file, or use the ride in that section. I think making those choices make me feel like part of the band and I shouldn't be deprived of them.
The discussion about these things was civil enough. But I'm feeling like I've been here before (in the last rock band) and wonder if it's the beginning of the end. I think the main reason I'm making this thread is to ask 'hey, am I crazy?'
Bloody bass players.
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