December 10, 2005 Playing along to CDs
Filed under » Drums, Snare Drums, Cymbals, Drum Hardware, Drum Accesories, Percussion, Music, Funk, Jazz, Rhythm, Aesthetics, Rock, CDs, MP3s — DF @ 7:49 pm Hi All You Drummmers & Percussionist out there,
It’s Mr.Funk here with some More Ideas>>> While I was TeaChing Yesterday, I had some thouGhts about Playing along to CDs oN Drum~Set or Congas & BonGoes>>>
It is MUCH Harder than it at first Seems!>>>
Let’s take the eXample of oNe of My Teenage Students trying to Play along to a Recent “Green Day” Single >>>
Tre Cool the Drummer in this Band has obviously put ALOT of Time & Energy into Designing & Creating His Part for this Particular Track >>> A LOT of ThouGht & Pain~staking Rehearsal Time will definately have gone into Creating this Detailed & Frankly Very Intelligent Piece of Drumming>>>
In a Big International Band such as this, Signed to a Major Label, oNe of the ProCesses New Material has to go throuGh BEFORE aN Album is Recorded is “ROUTINEING”>>>
This is a form of INTENSE Rehearsal of the Song’s FORM & ARRANGEMENT done by the Band (often with the help of their Record Producer) to “Iron Out” any problems in the Track, to OPTIMISE the Commercial Potential of any Track “Short~Listed” for the New CD>>>This can run to MANY DAYS of VERY HARD WORK for the Band in Question ( I know because I’ve been that Soldier & it’s a FULL~ON, Sweaty & EXHAUSTING experience!!!)>>>
As a result, the GLOSSY TRACK that Flows effortlessly out of Your Hi~Fi or MP3 Player has had MANY, MANY Hours of HARD GRAFT spent on it BEFORE it reaches Your EAGER Hands!>>>>
Therefore, when trying to Play like Your HERO, be AWARE of this fact & DON’T be too hard on Yourself if it takes You a While to get it >>>
The MOST IMPORTANT factor to Capture is the FEEL of the Piece >> Get the thing GROOVING & FLOWING, IN TIME before Worrying about EVERY Ghost Note & Fill!!>>> Believe Me, it Probably took the Drummer Him or Herself quite a while to get the Take EXACTLY how they wanted it!>>>
CDs are also, in the case of Most Modern Music, METRONOMICLY IN TIME & therefore VERY UNFORGIVING!!!
Try not to be Dis~Heartened by this!!>>> It doesn’t necessarily mean Your Playing isn’t good if You can’t play the Piece from Beginning to End >>> It just Means You’re trying to Play along with something which has been Fine~Tuned & Perfected for a LONG TIME!!!!!>>>
We are ALL so used to Hearing PERFECTED Music, that I think it’s hard sometimes to put Our own Skill as a Player into Perspective>>>
DO NOT be DISCOURAGED!!!>>> The thing to hold on to is Your LOVE of the Music & That WONDERFUL, EXCITING Feeling it gives You!!!>>> NEVER loose siGht of that!!!>>>
In Music, as far as I’m concerned, ENTHUSIASM IS EVERYTHING!!!>>> Keep hold of that & Music will ALWAYS stay FRESH & INSPIRING for You!!!>>>
PeAcE & BIG LoVe to the World of Drums for Now,
***< <<<< SiMoN the Daddy Funk >>>>>***
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just 1 additional thought … dont even attempt to play along with Greenday in an attemp to copy TreCool!! dont even think about it. u will, repeat WILL, stumble fall and eventually FAIL miserably!!!!!
i say this because i am currently watching Greenday perform on that magical box positioned in the corner of the room - i think they call it a television! just watching TreCool on stage is making me feel weak and incadequate lol - but dont be disheartened as Monsieur DF said. his riffs are simple(ish) but so effective but the 2 things that really blew me away were:
1. the incredible tempo of almost all Greenday’s songs at which TreCool plays, and
2. his simply INGENIOUS, MAGICAL, and damn right REDICULOUSLY OUTRAGEOUS fills!!
well i just thought i should let you know that it is ludicrous to even think about attempting such a cover song.
love and leave
louis
Comment by louis — December 18, 2005 @ 9:12 pm