I filmed a gig, it was ugly

Duck Tape

Platinum Member
I had my zoom q3 repaired the other week... I setup the camera and left it near my kit for a 4 hr gig.

What I saw when I watched it the next day was quite bad...

Mistakes all round. Singers out of tune, people forgetting parts, band speeding up, slowing down (sometimes my fault, sometimes not). The audience were having fun and I know that's the important thing but holy moly... it's just like the first time I ever filmed myself practising at home - I thought I was much better, I thought we were much better.

I wonder if I should just quit now, or show the video to someone or just press on in denial. I have had quite a few experienced musos tell me that it doesn't matter how well you play and that no one cares, I just can't see how you could be happy with that and I hope I don't become like them!
 
I would share it with the band and let everyone know how it went. If they find it important they will make corrections and you will all gain from it. You may preface the showing with your opinion and feel them out as to whether or not they care to see it.
 
1st up, it's probably less horrible to most people, even discerning musicians, than it is to you. Take it as a kick in the pants, get the band to view it warts 'n' all, & use it as an improvement tool.
 
All drumsets should come with audio recorders at least.

The fastest way to improve is to record yourself and listen back. It's 100x faster than practicing IMO.

Dre, the big positive in this.... if you get your drum parts sounding like you want them to, by listening, noticing, and correcting... it has a tremendous smoothing effect on the rest of the band. As the drummer goes, so goes the rest of the band.

Armed with some sobering footage, it's your responsibility, and your duty really, now that you know the score, to use this recording device to improve yourselves. And there is no better tool for the job than the recorder. It's THE ultimate tool for people who want to get better at playing live.

You at least have to improve yourself. I'd make copies of it and distribute it to each band member with instructions to listen and try and improve themselves for next time.

It's very telling that you stated that you thought the band was much better. That proves right there that what you think is going on, and what actually is going on, are 2 different things.

Which is why every musician needs to hear what they do, as others hear them. Believe me, I'm pretty sure we all start out with rose colored glasses on as far as how good we think we are, but the recording is the cold hard truth of daylight. Which is what you guys need to hear. This is what EVERY musician needs to hear.

That's what the recorder did for me, it allowed me to reconcile what I thought it felt like.... to how it actually went down. I did this before I was in bands, when I was heavily attending open mics. I firmly believe that the recorder, and my diligence with it, was the reason I got picked up by some of the top guys in my scene.

In the beginning there was a huge chasm. It took me about a year of listening back until I reached a point where what I thought was happening onstage, really was reflected in the recording. To the point where there was no difference, perception-wise. I mean I still made mistakes, but it felt the same playing them, as listening to the playback. That's the goal, no difference in perception. I graduated self improvement by portable recording 101 then. But I continue to record every gig and listen to it on the way home. Keeps it totally real. It's the truth, minus my perceptions.

Like if you were a brewmaster and you brewed beer...if you never actually tasted your final product, how would you know if you got it right or not?

Listening to the recording is like tasting the beer.
 
Last edited:
Ahh, the ole "mirror of truth" strikes again.

Watch the video again, grab a notepad. Write down everything you don't like (including the time). Same goes for other band members. Practice and fix it. Then do it all over again (record another show).
 
Recorder, recorder in the air,

Is our band hot, or are we just fair?
 
Ignorance is bliss!! I would discuss and share it with the other band members. Be prepared for ego and denial, some folks refuse to admit they made mistakes and don't feel the need to improve anything. If you have a meeting on it, let us know how it goes down.
 
Yes - one of the very best, if not THE best, ways to learn to play together well is to record/video your band playing. Just let the tape roll and have fun. You should definitely show this tape to your bandmates. Try not to be too hard on yourself. We all have room for improvement. If you love playing drums don't give up.

My experience has been this over the last 55 years or so: Firstly...I was just happy to have a pair of drum sticks and some cardboard boxes to play on....no kidding! Then I moved onto a real kit - 1965 - then a pro kit 1969. I played pro (within my species :) ) from 69-76 where I wanted to be the best drummer. I soon learnt that I was an average drummer no matter how much practicing I did. I quit playing a kit for 30 years....continued playing congas most of that time but not for money. about 10 years ago I bought another kit and I have never been happier with my drumming. Got my chops up and I'm having the time of my life playing.
My point is.....If you love drumming don't give it up because you're disappointed in how you or your bandmates play. Keep playing - have fun with it - and enjoy it for all your life.
 
This live recording stuff can be very beneficial, while at the same time humiliating. I've related the story of recording a gig we did at a large event in a large auditorium and all of us were feeling very happy and giddy. And the gig felt great. But the recording came back and revealed that I had rushed the entire night. Dramatically! I was so frustrated that I wanted to quit. But, it taught me to pay wicked attention to tempo from that time forward. Now I watch videos of my band playing and I couldn't be more pleased with my tempo and performance in general. I agree with the others - play the video to the band, be light hearted about it, and correct the problems. You'll be glad you did.

GeeDeeEmm
 
I've been recording myself while practicing a couple times a week (I read somewhere that one should do this), and it's been entertaining in an embarrassing sort of way, but it's also helpful to see what I've done, when I end up doing something that works.

I was mostly hoping that the videos would be able to confirm if my dancing rhythm was crossing over into drums, but I realize now just how much drum rhythm depends on very precise timing. I think I started doing better once I started playing along with songs that don't have drums. It feels a bit like getting around a loophole, but drummers don't actually listen to other drummers when they drum (wouldn't that be stressful?), and I started having even more fun once I could be creative. The fact that I enjoy exploring those songs so much has kept my daily practice average at about 2 hours a day.

Also, I started practicing the money beat to Billy Jean, and it's a fun song to drum along with, but less fun when I watch myself afterwards. Like an idiot, I wasn't wearing headphones and I lost the beat several times.
 
I think easy, portable recording tools are the biggest boon to musical self-improvement there has ever been.

My experience mirrors Larry's almost exactly. It wasn't til I started recording that I realized what a chasm existed between what I experienced while playing and what really happened. It taught me how to listen, and that is the most important thing in being a musician, IMO.

Definitely share the tape, Dre, as others have said. I've seen quite a bit of your playin here over the years, and I've also seen how you tend to think the worst a lot of times. Forget the extremes of reaction, and just use it as a learning tool.

It occurs to me, too, that if the whole band listens, it may be a helpful gauge of each player's level of maturity and their mental approach.
 
I thought I was much better, I thought we were much better.

We use to record on audio tape all our rehearsals in a particular band I played, yes, it can be very frustrating when you listen back, even more so when you were all having fun and thinking you've nailed it, but the tape/recording do not lie. it's not just about mistakes, sloppiness and such, it's also help to validate musical choices from everyone involved.

I think it's a good thing really, it highlight which improvement needs to be worked on, it's preferable to know what the band sounds like than going gigging blindly and making fools of ourselves.

I think I started doing better once I started playing along with songs that don't have drums ... and I started having even more fun once I could be creative. The fact that I enjoy exploring those songs so much has kept my daily practice average at about 2 hours a day.

It's sound like what you need is to meet people at your level or above and being able to develop your creativity and having fun, fun is what is all about, you must enjoy yourself, it could also create the necessary balance between having fun and doing the less fun bit in drumming practice were you're learning technique and exercises, which is also very important.

Do you know anyone who would play music with you?
 
Best way to know how you really sound- record yourself. Best way to know what you need to work on- watch it.
 
Man.. i filmed myself a total of 1 time... It literally destroyed me for like 2 weeks.. wanted to sell my kit and just quit. But in all fairness it is just an honest eye.. and pointed out things that i never heard or saw myself doing.
 
Yea, it's embarrassing when you see yourself fail, when you thought you were killing it. Like someone telling you that you have bad breath.

But you don't want to walk around with stink breath, so it's a good thing when you consider the big picture.
 
I was playing in a church group years back and some of the singers were terrible. They wouldn't listen to any feedback so I thought I would make a recording of the service so they could hear how out of tune they were. I played the recording at the next rehearsal. Instead of comments about how they were singing, they wanted to know what was wrong with the recorder that it made the vocals sound so out out of tune. I gave up at that point.
 
I don't put any videos up... i think people could actually get worse just by watching me:)
 
Back
Top