Things you have to "unlearn" and "relearn"

PorkPieGuy said:
After 20+ years of playing in churches, fighting with church sound guys, choir members, and praise team members, I'm having to "unlearn" playing quietly. I've grown overly-sensitive to volume which isn't a terribly bad thing, but every other drummer I watch is not terribly sensitive about volume, and it has been requested of me to play louder overall. Granted, I'm not talking about arms flailing around, but primarily just a solid commitment to a note. I feel like being really overly sensitive is something I need to "unlearn" a little bit and start laying into the notes a little more, and it's more challenging than I thought I'd be. Also, I'm terribly boring to watch IMO.

Have you had to unlearn something from your playing just so you can relearn it?
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My situation exactly. We had a good sound team in my church and our lead pastor (himself a musician) hated electronic drums (we don't need to go there right now, do we?) so all drums were 100% acoustic... volume was an issue. Occasionally nowadays our bass player tell me she can't hear my kick - and I am working on making that louder in my physical mix without pounding the rest of the kit. Occasionally I will mic the kick drum and run it through a bass amp - works VERY well. Great thread here, too!
 
Can't think of much other than I had to switch from traditional to matched grip a few years after I started out. Basically learned to play in a marching band so I guess it's not that uncommon. Otherwise, I have pretty much always been a rocker/metalhead, so I did not really need to re-learn things, basically just adding stuff into ny "arsenal of weapons", sort to say.. I have dipped my toes into some other genres over the years though, it takes some getting used to, playing softer and more added focus on groove.

I guess this whole topic becomes more relevant for me when I'm closing in on my 60's-70's and can't play the fast double bass and blast beats anymore 😄. Then it's time to re-learn, I guess...
 
My grip was all jacked up for my first year. Once I started lessons, I had to relearn how to hold the sticks so I wouldnt hurt myself. Apparently I was on the fast road to destroyed wrists.

Other than that, I've got nothing. I've been fairly lucky so far and havent had any major health issues or accidents that require relearning or restructuring.
 
I had to relearn almost everything. I was self taught or maybe the term is self habited and almost everything was wrong. I’ve had to work on breaking those habits and relearn correct technique. Everything from hand and foot technique to sitting and even setting up my drums, tuning, everything. Giving up the “safety” of a large setup was revelatory in flushing out some of those bad habits. Not saying big kits are bad, but for me they allowed me to hide and not grow where I needed to.

It was most of the reason I struggled with going smaller for so long. Technique was bad and creativity largely impacted by it. I kept a good beat which is what most wanted and kept me in bands solidly for a couple of decades at least, but growing beyond seemed impossible. In the last 4 years, my drumming has changed ten fold and I now also realized my suck factor. Sadly, I’m actually far less pleased with my drumming now then ever. I guess ignorance was bliss and something to be said about not knowing what I didn’t know.

Like anything, that lame excuse doesn’t make it right. Just makes you foolishly unaware. Drums have become a project since I discovered this and I spend tons more time analyzing everything than before where it was more like Animal screaming “beat drums”!
 
larryace said:
All my dealings with females
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Interesting! I did this too and it really paid off, depending on one's definition of success.

I don't think that the topic will get much traction in a drum forum but it's a fascinating subject. I hope that you're in a good place these days.
 
Push pull stroke said:
There’s good and bad country, just like there’s good and bad in every genre. Surely there’s some you’ve enjoyed, even if it only because it was a crossover hit. What about “The Gambler”?
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Or Devil Went Down to Georgia? I'd love to hear it as a metal song. Convert the train beat into double kick and play everything on speed picked distorted guitars.
 
1 hit wonder said:
A couple guys tell me Country is a good way to pay the bills right now.
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yeah...I did not do it for that reason. I mostly do it b/c I like the guys I play with and i needed to add that style of playing to my toolbox. Playing for money hs never been a reason to do music for me. Then it becomes a job. Even when we were pursuing a record contract when I was younger, I didn't care about the money, I wanted to be able to say that I had reached certain pinnacles of performing. The possibility of tons of money was a cool side effect, but not the main goal...
 
AzHeat said:
I had to relearn almost everything. I was self taught or maybe the term is self habited and almost everything was wrong. I’ve had to work on breaking those habits and relearn correct technique. Everything from hand and foot technique to sitting and even setting up my drums, tuning, everything. Giving up the “safety” of a large setup was revelatory in flushing out some of those bad habits. Not saying big kits are bad, but for me they allowed me to hide and not grow where I needed to.

It was most of the reason I struggled with going smaller for so long. Technique was bad and creativity largely impacted by it. I kept a good beat which is what most wanted and kept me in bands solidly for a couple of decades at least, but growing beyond seemed impossible. In the last 4 years, my drumming has changed ten fold and I now also realized my suck factor. Sadly, I’m actually far less pleased with my drumming now then ever. I guess ignorance was bliss and something to be said about not knowing what I didn’t know.

Like anything, that lame excuse doesn’t make it right. Just makes you foolishly unaware. Drums have become a project since I discovered this and I spend tons more time analyzing everything than before where it was more like Animal screaming “beat drums”!
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dude....Self Habits....I will be stealing that!! Great way to think about it
 
Push pull stroke said:
There’s good and bad country, just like there’s good and bad in every genre. Surely there’s some you’ve enjoyed, even if it only because it was a crossover hit. What about “The Gambler”?
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yeah...I enjoy the older stuff...like the George Straight; Buck Owens, Hank 1....I really like all of the old car/hot rod based songs b/c it reminds me of when I used to hang with my uncles who were race car drivers in the 50's and 60's...they would have a lot of that music playing while working on cars. Stuff like "Highway Patrol" "455 Rocket" "Rocket 88" " Mercury blues"....the old truck driving songs bbring back some good memories as well

I still can't take any of the drinking/"woe is me"/ lost my girl and my pick up truck stuff. It is just too corny
 
I live off playing music. It isn't much money, obviously but it's what I love doing. You don't have to choose 1 or the other. :)

I'd like to make more money playing music. Country is fine. Worship would be fine. Right now the money comes from cover band, bar band stuff.
 
I had to unlearn over a decade of heel down (it's all I knew) and learn heel up. I hadn't played for many years though, so my heel down technique was all but gone anyway.
 
mikyok said:
Once I got into Moeller I had to relearn pretty much everything and start from the basics. I'd been self taught for for 15 years. Always keep an open mind when it comes to learning.

Playing off the bass drum head and how to play cymbals. The latter has saved me a small fortune down the years and didn't take long too get the hang of.

The basics was probably the main thing I've had to relearn. You do your studies and when your young you think you need to show off. In reality you go much further as a drummer if you keep things as simple as possible.
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I think someone told me from the get go to not let the beater stay on the head I don't know for sure I just know that I've always played with the beater off the head. It might have been because I probably couldn't reach the pedals sitting on a chair so I had no choice but to let the beater come off the head because I couldn't hold it down lol
 
I had to learn to like. All About That Bass.
I played a bit of bass backing a female singer, which are 2 things I still want to do. Playing things like Whipping Post more than made up for it. If it gets a following where I can make an income from it, I want to play it. I want to own it. A more accomplished musician called it being a band whore. Ok.
 
JoeVermont said:
My situation exactly. We had a good sound team in my church and our lead pastor (himself a musician) hated electronic drums (we don't need to go there right now, do we?) so all drums were 100% acoustic... volume was an issue. Occasionally nowadays our bass player tell me she can't hear my kick - and I am working on making that louder in my physical mix without pounding the rest of the kit. Occasionally I will mic the kick drum and run it through a bass amp - works VERY well. Great thread here, too!
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Different beaters and headcombos can make a difference in volume. I really like my wood Danmar it's pretty heavy and solid. I also have some trick aluminum beaters and they're very light weight but not so much volume.
 
Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX said:
yeah...I enjoy the older stuff...like the George Straight; Buck Owens, Hank 1....I really like all of the old car/hot rod based songs b/c it reminds me of when I used to hang with my uncles who were race car drivers in the 50's and 60's...they would have a lot of that music playing while working on cars. Stuff like "Highway Patrol" "455 Rocket" "Rocket 88" " Mercury blues"....the old truck driving songs bbring back some good memories as well

I still can't take any of the drinking/"woe is me"/ lost my girl and my pick up truck stuff. It is just too corny
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My playing a country band and a classic rock band my favorite country music is the nineties. Brook& Dunn Alan Jackson George Strait I love all that stuff.
 
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