Finally got a decent video of my playing!

[king fail]

http://www.vimeo.com/2452796

This is a performance I did in the store cupboard of my school (sounds worse than it is lol). For those of you who do not know what a BTEC is, just think of it as a GCSE.

Alright.
I know my posture is appalling, my timing needs work, I was tense in places, and there were many mistakes, but I would like some constructive criticism and feedback please

ok, so the first piece is Back in The Day, a song I ripped from Steve Jordan's The Groove Is Here, and i'm just trying to replicate the Steve Jordan's playing. I didn't quite find the pocket, and it doesn't start too well

The Second tune is MUCH BETTER. It's Flat Beat by Mr.Oizo, which has no drums. For this I composed my own drum part, which is heavily influenced by the playing of Jojo Mayer.
When I say "heavily influenced" I mean, at least about 70% of the ideas in my playing were his, I just threw em together in context with some of my own.

This is not to showcase my originality or unique style; until I have developed my own style I can only do my best to emulate those who inspire me.

Please excuse the enormous teacher walking across the room in between the songs

OH and yeah, my hair isn't usually all over my face like that, but when I play, I tend to look down at my drums, so.... yeah

what do you think?

 

[mogul buster]

I like that 2nd beat..........very nice singles on the left hand.......very Mayer like. The whole feel of the "electric trance beat" is sweet with the acoustic drums..............you need Johnny Rabbs "Drumbal"...........that provides a killer sound for electronic beats.

 

[king fail]

thanks man, I know I looked really tense and it went a bit outta time but MAN that's hard!

yeah, i'm thinking of investing in a small splash to use for that )

 

[king fail]

I'm sorry about the double post, it won't happen again, but could I please get any more feedback?
any one like/dislike it?
how could I have improved it?
general tips/comments?
thanks.

 

[Drummer Karl]

Thanks for sharing!!
I really like how you express your ideas, the way you play. It has something relaxed definitly.

The shuffle had its parts when I thought it is happening. Though I can highly recommend looking at the shuffle in general. It has its musical benifits. Listen, listen, listen and play, play, play it.

In the second song there some timing problems, too. It sounded like you were very nervous or couldn`t hear the music. As I said above, I like the ideas, the way you play. You laid a nice beat down there, definitly JoJo-esque.
Besides the timing issues it sometimes sounded unstructured. Especially in this kind of electronic music the beat has to exist as a pure foundation, it has to be a tight groove...it`s important not to overplay it. Find its borders like a DJ would try to build it up and stops with adding textures at a certain point. Think about the climax, where it should be and how you`d climb on this mountain.

Again, learning by doing and listening.

These are just some points I thought I should cover. In general I`m impressed by your organic sound, even when playing elctronic music. That`s something great, not to sound like a machine!

Keep us posted!

Karl

 

[Steady Freddy]

I'm sorry about the double post, it won't happen again, but could I please get any more feedback?
any one like/dislike it?
how could I have improved it?
general tips/comments?
thanks.

I liked your left hand. You have some good chops. Your double stoke rolls were pretty good also.

OTOH, your time and feel sucked. Almost painful to listen to. You need to work with a metronome and get your time steady. If you can't groove you'll never be a good drummer.

I don't mean to be harsh, but you asked.

 

[king fail]

Thankyou for your comments Karl It's great to hear from you, and I really appreciate someone like yourself checking this out!

Indeed, in the first song It felt as if i was slipping in and out of a good feel, quite awkward.

I had 2 weeks to prepare, and there's no denying I was very nervous; this was pretty much my first solo performance, and i'm ashamed to admit that I've never been in a band, so I really have very little performing experience.

I will definitely be practicing more shuffle licks, I'm really interested in Mr.Purdie at the minute.
I'm definitely going to work towards getting the feel better locked down.

And Steady Freddy, thankyou too, I appreciate it!

It's strange; whenever I jam with a friend in a practice room at school, time is never an issue that needs work; but when it actually MATTERS, and I'm performing... well, it's a whole other story!

I'm not trying to make excuses or imply that it's a one off bad performance though, It clearly needs much work.

When I practice rudiments on my pad, I use a metronome around 90% of the time, but apparently, this has not had much benefit on my drumset playing!

I rarely practice on my set with a metronome, things need to change around here!

 

[Steady Freddy]

I rarely practice on my set with a metronome, things need to change around here!

I think that's the ticket. You hands seem to be well developed. Once you get your feet in sync you'll be well on your way.

It's a lot of work to get everything lined up.

Keep doing what you're doing. You'll get there.

Take care.

 

[king fail]

I think that's the ticket. You hands seem to be well developed. Once you get your feet in sync you'll be well on your way.

It's a lot of work to get everything lined up.

Keep doing what you're doing. You'll get there.

Take care.

Thanks Freddy, that's my new goal.

You too dude.

 

[dr.funkenstien]

Hey man, I think that video is great! I find it so awsome to see young drummers focusing on grooves and playing tastefully like that. Defanetly a good style you have going on. Nice sounding kit also by the way.

How long have you been playing? Keep up the good work.
Brendan Colameco
www.myspace.com/brendancolamecodrums

 

[king fail]

Hey man, I think that video is great! I find it so awsome to see young drummers focusing on grooves and playing tastefully like that. Defanetly a good style you have going on. Nice sounding kit also by the way.

How long have you been playing? Keep up the good work.
Brendan Colameco
www.myspace.com/brendancolamecodrums

Thankyou so much man!

It's so great to hear from you experienced guys who know what you're talking about, rather than the music teachers in my school who will literally clap for anything

Well, my interest in drums started about 5 years ago, I got my first set about 3 years ago, and I have been taking It seriously for about 2 years, meaning that I stopped hitting things and started trying to play a musical instrument. To put it in perspective; before I started taking it seriously, I had heard about these "rudiments" but did not know what a paradiddle was. I did not know the names of any drummers, and only got behind my kit about once every month.

sounds bad, I know.
But then again, I was only twelve when I got my first kit.
Nice sounding eh?
Well, the snares, hats, chopper (hidden) and o-zone are mine, but by god, the rest of the stuff is the most low end, ancient, beaten up gear possibly imaginable.
But I agree, for some reason I actually like the sound of that bass!