Is it cheating?

H

hvymtlmike

Senior Member
So I am learning new songs for a band. It is heavy metal and this is the first time I have really played this "fast". Some of the stuff is blazing fast so if I took the song, put it into my recording software and slowed the song down would that be cheating? It's still learning it by ear I just think it gives me a better chance of hearing every hit and nailing it perfect. Opinions wanted.
 
hvymtlmike said:
So I am learning new songs for a band. It is heavy metal and this is the first time I have really played this "fast". Some of the stuff is blazing fast so if I took the song, put it into my recording software and slowed the song down would that be cheating? It's still learning it by ear I just think it gives me a better chance of hearing every hit and nailing it perfect. Opinions wanted.
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To add, would it make me "less" of a drummer?
 
Of course not - slowing things down, writing them down, asking others about them and more are all legitimate ways to learn things.

You can't cheat, unless you sneak answers to a test or are in some kind of competition where people have to do things the hardest way possible.
 
Deathmetalconga said:
Of course not - slowing things down, writing them down, asking others about them and more are all legitimate ways to learn things.

You can't cheat, unless you sneak answers to a test or are in some kind of competition where people have to do things the hardest way possible.
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Ok so even in rehearsals i should be comfortable asking someone to slow a riff down so I can get the feel of it and write to it...it makes since I guess I just have this thought that the metal drummers all figure it out from the get go...
 
hvymtlmike said:
Ok so even in rehearsals i should be comfortable asking someone to slow a riff down so I can get the feel of it and write to it...it makes since I guess I just have this thought that the metal drummers all figure it out from the get go...
Click to expand...

Cheating is a weird word to use. It's only cheating if you don't end up playing the part yourself. Whatever method you use to learn the part and play it at the speed you want is a-OK.
 
When you take a drum lesson what does the instructor always tell you?
"Slow It Down" Isn't that what he says?
Everyone learns things at a slower speed at first.
 
There is no cheating. Football teams slow down tape to watch plays develope and it was mentioned before there is no cheating in learning. You should slow down all things to learn them until then, then add speed.
 
Completely makes sense and makes me feel a lot more confident I guess would be the word. Sometimes I don't know where I get the thought of inadequacies from.
 
Big names pros do that all the time if it's something complex.

In DrumHead Magazine, Mike Mangini, says he used software to slow down songs in preperation for his Dream Theater audition. I know I've read of other name drummers doing similar.

Heck, I've heard of name drummers hiring other people to transcribe the parts for them so they'd have charts for a session (although, usually, because they are busy with other projects).
 
It is NOT cheating.

I wish that this type of technology/software existed back when I was learning guitar.

Trying to pick out parts at regular speed from a cassette or LP is not fun.
:)
 
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