Frustrated by lack of consistency

A

AnthonyScott

Junior Member
I decided to record myself playing to a track I thought I knew well. When I listened back I noticed various hiccups or glitches in my playing. Things I didn't really notice before recording. Given how many times I have played this song I feel I should be playing it near perfect and consistent.
How can I remedy this besides not recording myself?
 
Congrats on discovering a great way to critique your playing. Listening back can be pretty surprising - sometimes good, sometimes not good... But you’re on your way to get to another level. Identify which parts you don’t like of the song, slow them down and play that part over and over again. Record yourself playing it really slowly and check for consistency.

Always record yourself if you can - listening back is great training for your ear.
 
AnthonyScott said:
...
How can I remedy this besides not recording myself? ...
Click to expand...

Well, you *should* record audio and video of what you are doing - nothing replaces that. But "besides not recording" yourself - i'd say always use a metronome and learn to use your ears to hear what you are doing. I like mirrors too, tri-fold, to see all angles. 3 full length door mirrors and a metronome are relatively cheap.
 
I notice you have already received very good advice on this by other members. I also use the ideas they have given you. One thing i have been doing just lately has really improved my playing and consistency in general. I revisited 'stick control,' by george lawrence stone. i recommend practicing ex 1 - 13 for a few weeks at least before moving on. No accents. start slow using metronome. move up 10 bpm at a time at first. Dont move up until you are completely comfortable and as smooth as humanly possible. I've been playing over thirty years and this still helps to improve my consistency at a fundamental level... Hope this helps.
 
I would say recording yourself is absolutely the best thing you can do - use a good DAW that will give you a visualisation of the tempo (or if you're recording along with a backing track you can then see how well your hits line up with the peaks on the other recording).

Apart from that, I would simply suggest find a metronome that gives you a lot of flexibility with setting up various patterns - try and get a copy of Weird Metronome if you have Windows, otherwise I have a metronome on Android called The Metronome by Soundbrenner which is extremely flexible and free.

Practice beats to an 8th note click instead of 1/4 notes.

Practice simultaneous hits between your limbs - flat flams with your hands, make sure every hit lines up perfectly. Throw the metronome in and make sure your hits are consistent with every metronome click as well.
 
Anthony, I am in a similar place. Having never really taken the time to listen to recordings of my playing (beyond a general sense of timing and feel), I have recently started putting a critical ear to myself.

Number one issue for me is inconsistent hits on the snare drum. Just off enough where it sounds like a different drum because I am not paying enough attention to where on the head I am hitting and the intensity from hit to hit. As someone mentioned this goes back to stick control. Now I realize that time focused on just the hands would be more beneficial to me than practicing on the full kit for an hour. Ideally I should do "all of the above" but that is not always easy to fond time for.

Second thing I discovered was that my bass drum is too busy. All those cute doubles and triples really muddy up to bottom end and would be better if used sparingly. So rather than letting my foot just "float" through a tune I am intentionally thinking about every stroke-where, when, buried, bounced, feathered... Again,ntaking the time to just workout the right foot technique being more helpful than banging away for two hours with the headphones on.

I know this is real basic stuff for the majority if players here, but for me the realization of the value of it came only after hearing just how sloppy I actually sounded.

Great thread idea....
 
Thanks for the ideas.
The frustrating part for me is that I will be playing fine for a while and then I will have a flub. Maybe a missed placed note or even playing something I didn't intend to play. So, like I said, no consistency in the inconsistencies... if that makes sense.
 
As everyone else pointed out, +1 to keep recording yourself and analyzing what's happening afterwards. Sometimes it's really hard to judge stuff real time.

After recording, it's important to pinpoint where the fluctuations happen so you can identify what you should be practicing (It could be you don't have that groove as down as you though, or maybe problems with that one fill, etc, etc, etc). Also it's important to check your "mental state" from time to time when playing. It might be that inconsistencies happen because you mind is wondering around or you simply are not sure what to play next and are just winging it.

Make sure to mean what you play!
 
I never knew what I REALLY sounded like until I started recording. Before then I always had a false idea of my time and feel. Listening to yourself gives you a different perspective and focus. I find it very widespread with all musicians- they don't realize, or know how to listen accurately to what they actually sound like because they are caught up in their own part and trying to pull it off. Once you learn to listen to everything that's going on like an audience member as you're playing, it's like the blinders come off.
 
AnthonyScott said:
I decided to record myself playing to a track I thought I knew well. When I listened back I noticed various hiccups or glitches in my playing. Things I didn't really notice before recording. Given how many times I have played this song I feel I should be playing it near perfect and consistent.
How can I remedy this besides not recording myself?
Click to expand...

Welcome to 'being a musician'.
This is what it is like, for the rest of your life.
Learn to get used to it, or find something else to do. :)

I'm only slightly joking here- as you get better you won't stop analysing, at least I didn't.
Embrace it.
You just get pickier about increasingly minor issues.

Hopefully you do learn to put the analysis aside from time to time and enjoy the moment.
 
This is where, in my mind, the hobbyist mentality falls away and you start maturing into an artist. When you're a kid on the swim team, you're just there for the activity and the fun and your friends and stuff, but one day you start to understand how to improve the mechanics of your stroke, get that little bit more push, cut the surface just a little more efficiently, and bam, you're a serious athlete. Same story here.

The good news is, with practice all things are possible in music. I improved my time drastically by playing along to recordings; playing with folks whose time was also impeccable; and metronome, metronome, metronome. It paid off dividends big time this last recording session: two songs in less than three hours (including setup and miking), no drama, one of them in two takes.

You're going to make mistakes and flub things up at first. Be understanding of that, yet don't settle for "good enough". Keep at it. Go over things you have trouble with several times until the muscle memory sets in. Learn to focus on the click and not let your mind wander at all.

I fought against playing to a click for so long when I was younger; I wish I'd been more disciplined.
 
heres another thing i've found to be absolutely key when it comes to consistent drumming... find a groove that you consider to be too basic for your skill set. play it whilst recording yourself. If you are anything like i was when i started doing this you will find it sounds a lot worse than you thought it would... so now begin the work of finding the most basic things and recording yourself playing them. when you find even the most basic thing sounds disappointing get the metronome on nice and slow and drill that groove for days. then come back get it sounding perfect on the recording... then move on. hope this helps... this is the kind of work i've been doing for years. it never ends. you have to be honest with yourself to a crushing degree. it will pay off...
 
Yeah, that reminds me of something I tell other drummers all the time....Take the Back In Black Album by AC/DC....a lot of drummers, especially younger guys who haven't played for that long dismiss Phil Rudd's playing as dead simple and think of it as "drumming for dummies". 9 out of 10 of them just take it for granted that they can play those tunes with their eyes closed and one hand tied behind their back and make them sound exactly like Phil sounded- perfect time, rock solid feel, not a blemish, and the part they dont get or even realize is going on, playing with that laid back, slightly behind the beat feel without messing up the time or pulse of those songs. In reality, 9 out of 10 of them can't pull it off and it's that sort of thing that wouldn't make itself apparent to them until they recorded themselves and listened back to it.
 
Yes indeed. One day I decided to sort my playing out. I figured I would play a basic 8th note groove with 1 and 3 on the kick and a 2 and 4 backbeat. I recorded this to video for about a minute. To my horror it didn't sound anything like I thought it would. The balance of sound between the separate instruments (hi hat, snare, bass drum,) wasn't perfect. The quality of sound was nasty. I couldn't even produce the most basic of grooves to my satisfaction... it was time to take action... I thought ok can I play just 8th notes on the hi hat? Hmmm yes but I'm not completely satisfied.... it reminded me of something the great jazz pianist bill Evans said- 'it all depends on what you're satisfied with.' I wasn't happy. I believe this is the good work.... record yourself. Listen. Just 8th notes on the hi hat.... are you satisfied with how that sounds? Do you really sound good? If not. It's time to put the hours in on these very basic things. And the work pays huge dividends...
 
Recording your drumming is like giving truth serum to your ears.

The single best learning tool a drummer can use, in my opinion.
 
alparrott said:
This is where, in my mind, the hobbyist mentality falls away and you start maturing into an artist. When you're a kid on the swim team, you're just there for the activity and the fun and your friends and stuff, but one day you start to understand how to improve the mechanics of your stroke, get that little bit more push, cut the surface just a little more efficiently, and bam, you're a serious athlete. Same story here.
Click to expand...

Great comment! I had to hit control-P and print this one out. Now hanging in my jam room with a few other wise words spotted over the years. When feeling self doubt, just think about this!
 
Great comment about playing a basic beat or song and recording yourself. You would be surprised. I also used to swim and coach swimming and Al's comparison is spot on. If you get comfortable with the song you think you are right on it until you play back the recording. Eye and ear opening.
 
The hardest part for me, after the self-critique, is getting the guts up to share my playing with "real drummers"...

To allow someone with trained or more mature ears to tell me what they hear.
 
Mongrel said:
The hardest part for me, after the self-critique, is getting the guts up to share my playing with "real drummers"...

To allow someone with trained or more mature ears to tell me what they hear.
Click to expand...

One of the most endearing thing about this (and other) musician forums is that we're all in the same boat. In order to be great at something, there will be a period of being "not so great".

Take the part of the song that you suck at. Loop it. Put 30 mins into playing the loop. Post your progress, and kick back with a beer while other members pick you apart. The only courage you need is the courage to begin. After that.... After everyone knows you suck.. It's a lot easier.

Here's an example of me working on something, sucking, and figuring it out.
 
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