Listening to music that you can’t play well

Yes, i listen to all of virgil donati's material, do i like it? Yes, can i play it? Not a bloomin' chance! 😭😭😭😂😂😂
 
I listen to pretty much everything, and appreciate it all.

As far as playing and practicing goes, I prefer the simpler stuff so as to get time keeping and the laying down of notes out of the way in order to focus on the other things that challenge me more such as feel, swing, mixing myself at the throne, striking the cymbals properly et cetera. I'm pretty good at picking up patterns and laying down the notes, but that isn't what makes one sound like a pro. Hope that makes sense.

My bandmates push me by asking me to play songs that I haven't played before, so my chops improve steadily and predictably, but I'm really interested in sounding the part (like a pro) more than I am interested in becoming more proficient technically.

I love listening to the top guys like Gavin Harrison and Phil Collins back in his Brand X days, but they make me feel kinda bad too in that their playing is so far out of my reach. It's a strange feeling. I'm so close, yet so far away.
 
drummingman said:
Kind of a funny question, but do you enjoy listening to music and drumming that you find very hard to execute well? Meaning things that are technically above your skill level or even conceptually above your ability to fully understand it? Are you able to really enjoy the music and the drumming if you’re not able to emulate it accurately? Or is that a barrier for you being able to truly immerse yourself in the music as a listener?
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Er, absolutely YES!

I listen to lots of stuff by Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, The Pineapple Thief, King Crimson, etc...) amongst other, always fairly technical drummers, right back to Phil Collins with early Genesis...

The guy is a MONSTER player- always looking for something "unusual", rarely a "regular" rhythm or fill, & often in unusual meters (not always though- sometimes it's 4/4 but you might not recognise it).

If I had 1% of his chops, technical ability, immaculate timing & whatever else he has in his toolbox, I'd be delighted- but above all , he INSPIRES me every time I play to just get that little bit better.

I'm a big believer in NOT comparing myself to the greats; I know my limitations. However, my pub/bar audience who DON'T play drums have no idea that he's so much better than `I'll ever be. They just don't care, as long as the noise I make isn't too annoying & fits with the noise my bandmates are making.
:cool:
 
jda said:
@drummingman can't shouldn't be in your vocalalabriryatory.

at least do your best to understand it
not that you can actually physically have it instantly or ever.. work for you;
understand the mechanics of what it is you're hearing/ best you can..
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The understanding part wasn’t necessarily put forth from personal perspective. I just wanted that to be a part of the equation when considering the discussion.
 
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I gig classic rock but love all kinds of jazz -especially lately Brazilian jazz. I try to shed on it best I can - sometimes figuring out the tunes is baffling but I love trying to figure them out. Like this.
 
GSL said:
Er, absolutely YES!

I listen to lots of stuff by Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree, The Pineapple Thief, King Crimson, etc...) amongst other, always fairly technical drummers, right back to Phil Collins with early Genesis...

The guy is a MONSTER player- always looking for something "unusual", rarely a "regular" rhythm or fill, & often in unusual meters (not always though- sometimes it's 4/4 but you might not recognise it).

If I had 1% of his chops, technical ability, immaculate timing & whatever else he has in his toolbox, I'd be delighted- but above all , he INSPIRES me every time I play to just get that little bit better.

I'm a big believer in NOT comparing myself to the greats; I know my limitations. However, my pub/bar audience who DON'T play drums have no idea that he's so much better than `I'll ever be. They just don't care, as long as the noise I make isn't too annoying & fits with the noise my bandmates are making.
:cool:
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I was listening to a song, (I can't remember the name) but he is playing what seems to be a simple pattern, but then you try to follow along and struggle to find the one.... Then it hit me after listening to it again, he is playing four different patterns but he keeps them in 2 or 3 different rotations. So say he first plays them in order 1,2,3,4. then he would play 3.1.2.4, then 2.1.3.4, Then goes back to regular programming. Maybe that is what I would do from now on try to first see what the sequences are, then understanding what is actually being played in each... This wasn't the song I was talking about but it was also one that gave me trouble when trying to play along, because it sounds very easy but it is not.

 
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I would say that 40% of the music I listen to, I can't physically execute. I understand about 95% of the music I listen to from a theoretical, arranging and stylistic vein though, and understand what the players are doing.
 
Cmdr. Ross said:
I've been a Rush fan since 1985 and I'll be in the grave before I could accurately emulate any of Neil's parts.
But I can listen to them all day, every day.
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same...and, over 40+ years of playing along to them, I feel I can nail about 70% of one song - Subdivisions...but I have, and still do, give the rest of the catalog a good run for the money b/c it is fun.

Bo Eder said:
Huh?

You should be listening to all kinds of music. It really helps to know how far musicians can go in the art of expression. Heck, I dabble on piano, yet listen to Glenn Gould playing Bach all the time. I aspire to be that good even if I know it’ll never happen. Same thing with listening to Miles Davis while I can probably only get close to 30% of a 17-year-old Tony Williams.

Listening to music that’s better than you helps to push your envelope. It shows me what’s possible and sooner or later I try to push into that realm. And at the same time, there’s no question I’m absolutely NAILING “Mustang Sally”, or “Green Onions”, or even “Black Dog”. Tune your radios to other stations often! (there’s a “show your age” statement, eh?)
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and like Bo is referencing here, I love the challenge of trying to figure out new stuff. It pushes my envelope. And sometimes I find that I am better at somethign than I thought, and that is pretty motivational
 
Things with intricate kick patterns trip me up, though I'm getting better at using those kinds of patterns in my own stuff. Still can't play these songs to save my life though lol. I did finally find a technique that makes it easier for me, so maybe this year I will get it.

Like this

Also that double kick sounding trick between the floor tom and kick. Can't keep it up that long.

Then there is all the tech death, prog, and a lot of odd time signature stuff. Well, most music really :ROFLMAO:
 
Jajeo said:
I gig classic rock but love all kinds of jazz -especially lately Brazilian jazz. I try to shed on it best I can - sometimes figuring out the tunes is baffling but I love trying to figure them out. Like this.
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These are Debora Gurgel (p), daughter Dani Gurgel (voc) they go "way back" from the beginnings of Youtube (probably you already noticed how many videos they have), the drummer is Thiago Rabello, excellent drummer, they are from Sao Paulo where is a huge musical movement, the biggest city in Latin America together with Mexico City, over 22 millions each!
 
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I can pull off " close enough" reggae convincingly . I respect the style when performed by the authentic players , understand the concept and signature licks but haven't found a compelling reason to learn how to tie my shoes differently .
 
ravenson said:
I can pull off " close enough" reggae convincingly . I respect the style when performed by the authentic players , understand the concept and signature licks but haven't found a compelling reason to learn how to tie my shoes differently .
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I'm not sure who you are replying to with that message, where it comes from... but for me the most desirable qualities of a performance are: beauty, freshness, musicality, excitement, creativity, etc. , authenticity (meaning by this how it is played in the place of origin, or folkloric), although it is not bad, it is definitely not among the main ones, at least for me...
 
Al Strange said:
Yes! Whether I understand it intellectually or can execute it physically seems to be irrelevant… :) (y)
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I agree. I love tons of music above my skill level...like The Partridge Family or The Monkees 😳...but seriously...i think most drummers have no issues with listening to players much better than themselves. I like trying to conquer tough pieces and feel pretty satisfied when I do. Also, just by trying one can usually learn something. And sometimes a song isn't as difficult as you thought. Then there are the songs that are just fugetaboutit so I just enjoy the piece and the musicianship.
 
drummingman said:
Kind of a funny question, but do you enjoy listening to music and drumming that you find very hard to execute well? Meaning things that are technically above your skill level or even conceptually above your ability to fully understand it? Are you able to really enjoy the music and the drumming if you’re not able to emulate it accurately? Or is that a barrier for you being able to truly immerse yourself in the music as a listener?
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LOL, i can't play Whiplash but i still love listening to it, so yes
 
Alex Sanguinetti said:
I'm not sure who you are replying to with that message, where it comes from... but for me the most desirable qualities of a performance are: beauty, freshness, musicality, excitement, creativity, etc. , authenticity (meaning by this how it is played in the place of origin, or folkloric), although it is not bad, it is definitely not among the main ones, at least for me...
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In my case it was an involvement with musicians right off the boat, so to speak , who were experts on the genre but knew little else . I was with them for over two years and gigged frequently . I learned a fair bit about the drumming and enough about the scene to give it a wide berth next time I encountered it . They assessed me with enough beauty,freshness,musicality,excitement and creativity to get me the gig in the first place and I can play the grooves for " Three Little Birds " , " Draw Your Brakes " and " Pressure Drop " forever .
 
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Years ago I remember having trouble with Bob Seger's "Hollywood Nights". I was like how does he do that? Then I read Don Brewer kinda said he was having the same issue with the song. So he asked David Teegarden of The Silver Bullet Band about it and Teegarden told him it's because they used 2 drummers (or maybe it was him playing 2 separate drum tracks). No wonder I couldn't play it!
 
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