So, what advice do you guys have for a new drummer?

[Scott Powell]

Oh man i HATE a drummer with Accordion Timing. IMO nothing will ruin a band than a drummer with bad timing. The individual can practice the fancy shmancy stuff at home,and when they can pull it off without the timing going to shit THEN play it at the gigs. I have seen so many local bands that suck because the drummer is treying to cram 6 minutes of Fills into a 3 minute tune and cant keep time
More Phil Rudd and less Neal Peart!

 

[OGG]

Totally agree about recording and then watching/listening to those recordings. That is a great tool for isolating problem areas that you aren't aware of in the moment.

We took some vids of our last rehearsal, what I learned from watching those vids:

The drummer and the bass player are fantastic.

I suck, and move away from the microphone WAY too much while fidgeting around like Jim Croce on a caffeine bender.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Tapatalk 4

 

[Modern Saint]

Almost sounds like it was the first time she got to jam with a group of people. If so, she is just doing what all new people usually do - fill every gap in the music to show that they can do it!

 

[Jbird]

Almost sounds like it was the first time she got to jam with a group of people. If so, she is just doing what all new people usually do - fill every gap in the music to show that they can do it!

Yeah, this was her 1st time. She also just bought a 5-piece kit from craigslist, and told us she now thinks it's a kid's set, as the drums are smaller than my buddy Paul's kit that she was jamming on last night with us. Real drums, not 'toys', but smaller.

I'll bring up the metronome/click track to her next time, or to my friend that works with her, next time I see him. Makes sense. She had pretty decent timing when we got her to settle down and play a standard no-frills beat. The more complex stuff she's trying to do isn't like Peart-top-to-bottom drum rolls (she tried some of those too, sometimes with good timing), but more of hi-hat/snare rhythm stuff.

My opinion is she has potential, and the music/band scene always needs more drummers

 

[Modern Saint]

Yeah, this was her 1st time. She also just bought a 5-piece kit from craigslist, and told us she now thinks it's a kid's set, as the drums are smaller than my buddy Paul's kit that she was jamming on last night with us. Real drums, not 'toys', but smaller.

I suspected this. It is normal for all instrumentalist to throw everything in including the kitchen sink to say unconciously, yes I know what I am doing.

I'll bring up the metronome/click track to her next time, or to my friend that works with her, next time I see him. Makes sense. She had pretty decent timing when we got her to settle down and play a standard no-frills beat.

She may already be working with one, especially if she is taking lessons. My suggestion would be lessons. Not to be on the meanside but if she studies even for a short while with a good teaching drummer - (note good drummer!) she will develop great skills needed to be good drummer. If she doesn't study with a private teacher, she should go and take a college course in percussion. Rudiments and elementary elements is great for all instrumentalists.

The more complex stuff she's trying to do isn't like Peart-top-to-bottom drum rolls (she tried some of those too, sometimes with good timing), but more of hi-hat/snare rhythm stuff.

We all wanted to run before we can walk when we first started playing. Give a pair of sticks to anyone who hasn't played drums before and the first thing they will try to do is hit every drum in one swipe. Chances of them trying to play a drum beat is slim to none.

 

[frunobulax]

We'll have to agree to disagree on this.

here's the longer version of my two word truism.

the beginner drummer should be working on time keeping and groove. the beginner should stay within themselves in pursuit of time and groove. especially when playing with other musicians who are depending on that time and groove. that does not mean to never play a fill, but rather play one that is within ones capability without speeding up, slowing down, or dropping a beat.

as one practices more, one becomes more proficient at fills and maintaining time while doing so. the place to do this is on one's own, in the practice room, not the band environment.

not keeping time or groove is wasting the other band members valuable rehearsal time, and will result in the beginner drummer not being in a band much longer. which is not good, as playing with other musicians is going to help considerably in getting better at ones chosen instrument, in this case the drums.

as a bassist, i want/need the drummer to be rock steady with the beat. my own mantra is don't overplay. play what is needed. don't go over the cliff, dragging the band with you.

 

[Alex W]

the music/band scene always needs more drummers

That's one of the reasons I decided to pick up the drums a couple months ago. Everyone I know is a guitarist. I know 2 drummers and they both live out of state.

 

[eloydrummerboy]

Sorry, but I think that's bullshit.

Overplaying is what you learn from. I wouldn't tell a guitar player to never stray from first position strumming.
You don't know if something works if you're not allowed to try it.

The best advice imo is recording your practices. Nothing more effective than hearing back your mistakes.

This exactly. Just explain to her that it's fine to work on stuff during practice and try new ideas, but that when it comes time for a gig, the band as a whole decides what works and what doesn't, and some stuff may need simplified. And once you record a few takes and she hears how it sounds she'll possibly realize what she's doing wrong and work at fixing it (rushing a fill, timing issues on a complex beat, etc.) or she'll drop it until she's got it down.

Additionally, if you're playing mostly covers, it's easy enough to just say that you'd like them to be true to the original, so stick to what the record sounds like.

 

[eloydrummerboy]

She had pretty decent timing when we got her to settle down and play a standard no-frills beat. The more complex stuff she's trying to do isn't like Peart-top-to-bottom drum rolls (she tried some of those too, sometimes with good timing), but more of hi-hat/snare rhythm stuff.

If you and the band want to help her progress, you can try this: If you actually like the groove she's trying to do, but she's not quite pulling it off, knock the song back 10-20 bmp and run through it with her to help her out, then if she can do it at the slower tempo, go from there and slowly bring it back up to speed over the next couple practices.

Yeah, there's a lot of "wasting precious band rehersal time" here, but you guys have to probably take that as part of taking on a new drummer. You see potential, but she's still new. You will probably have to accept that a portion of each practice will be spent helping her out, bringing her up to speed for the next year or so. If that's worth it, awesome. If that's going to be an issue, you guys might want to look into an already "broken in" drummer.

Most people (like myself) have the luxury of working this stuff out as a teenager, in someone's garage, with band members who are equally as green on guitar and bass. You all suck and slowly, after a few years, you suck less and in the mean time nobody notices the growing pains too much. But trying to come into a band of experienced musicians, when you're new on your instrument, is always going to be tough.

Put yourself in her shoes. You start playing...I don't know... flute. And you join a band. How would you want them to approach you in the same situation?

 

[Alex W]

You start playing...I don't know... flute. And you join a band. How would you want them to approach you in the same situation?

 

[frunobulax]

This exactly. Just explain to her that it's fine to work on stuff during practice and try new ideas, but that when it comes time for a gig, the band as a whole decides what works and what doesn't, and some stuff may need simplified. And once you record a few takes and she hears how it sounds she'll possibly realize what she's doing wrong and work at fixing it (rushing a fill, timing issues on a complex beat, etc.) or she'll drop it until she's got it down.

Additionally, if you're playing mostly covers, it's easy enough to just say that you'd like them to be true to the original, so stick to what the record sounds like.

if by 'work on stuff' you mean learning rudimentary skills (beginner drummer) like playing fills that are outside ones abilities, then it's not fine to 'work on stuff' during band rehearsal. individual practice time is when those skills should be honed.

if the beginner drummer is losing the time or the beat by overplaying beyond their current skill level, that has to stop immediately at a band rehearsal. that's not helpful to the band, nor the drummer trying to learn the skill of playing in a band.

 

[Modern Saint]

if the beginner drummer is losing the time or the beat by overplaying beyond their current skill level, that has to stop immediately at a band rehearsal. that's not helpful to the band, nor the drummer trying to learn the skill of playing in a band.

That sounds more like a jam than a band rehearsal

But you are right given if it were a band situation!

From what @Jbird said it was a get together jam so all is good. Now if it turns into a project and the problem continues.....err umm.....

Who knows what the girl will say? She might say I enjoyed jamming but I don't want to be in a band....who knows...

 

[Jbird]

Yeah, it was pretty much a jam.

The bass player has played in a 'professional' prog metal band, he's pretty decent. Advanced beyond what me and the other guitar player played like back in the '80s.

We did a couple of jams where he had the drummer keep time with him, whatever he was doing, and then us two guitarists would follow along. She did ok on those but would eventually lose time, usually to a fill she would try. Like I said, I think she has the skills, just needs to practice/take lessons, etc.

 

[The Crusher]

Learn how to keep time before you try to learn how to flip your sticks and be flashy doing cool fills.

 

[Coralkong]

Quit.

 

[eloydrummerboy]

if by 'work on stuff' you mean learning rudimentary skills (beginner drummer) like playing fills that are outside ones abilities, then it's not fine to 'work on stuff' during band rehearsal. individual practice time is when those skills should be honed.

if the beginner drummer is losing the time or the beat by overplaying beyond their current skill level, that has to stop immediately at a band rehearsal. that's not helpful to the band, nor the drummer trying to learn the skill of playing in a band.

Try laying off the Buddy Rich System of Running a Band How-To books and realize there are many types of bands out there. Working with a band member and running through a tricky part over and over until they get it down, because you like it that way but they don't quite have it yet IS a valid way of running a band practice, and it's up to the band members to decide what is acceptable and what's not. There are a lot of things, on any instrument, but drums for certain, that you NEED the band playing along with you before you can really hear if it works or not. I can sit in my room "drumming up" (har har) the sickest drum beats known to man, get them perfect over weeks of practice, then bring them in and have them clash with everything else going on in the song. Or I can work that shit out live, with the band, maybe taking several takes to find something that works and getting it down.

Now, this version of practice is much more geared towards bands doing original work, where-as the "get your shit together and let's run through the set list once, top to bottom, no mistakes, and get home" approach works great for heavily gigging cover bands. My point is there are many different ways to run a practice, so don't have such a one-size-fits-all mentality about it. If they want to give her freedom to explore and grow during practice then there's nothing wrong with that. There is no one "right" way to run a band practice.

 

[eloydrummerboy]

I think a lot of guitarists forget that when woodshedding, you guys are actually playing the fucking song, lol. Try sitting behind a drumset and playing an AC/DC song without any music or queues. Yeah, not quite the same thing is it? Not very easy or rewarding either. It's really hard to hear how something is going to sound with a full band when you're sitting in your room pounding on atonal pieces of skin.

Some things need to be worked on during band practice. Sorry you guys have to strum the same riff more than once.

 

[eloydrummerboy]

Woo Hoo, I'm practicing up in this bitch. Watch out!!

 

[frunobulax]

eloy, i agree with you - to a point.

yes, rehearsal is for getting the music together. and if going over part repeatedly to get it right is needed, then that is what should be done.

but. if going through songs parts repeatedly so a beginner drummer can get up to speed on the basics - like keeping time - then that is not good. but it may work in a given band environment. but not a band environment i would find enjoyable.

i played the other night with a hobbyist drummer (drums are not his primary instrument). very basic drumming, no overplaying. but his time keeping was spot on. a good time was had by all.

 

[The Crusher]

I am a lead guitar player and singer, however, I have no problem getting behind a drum set any time anywhere and I can keep time and put in fills and ad lib and make it sound good. I played drums for about a year 30 years ago and used to play along with the music that we were going to play. It is even easier today as you can get the songs with everything, but the lead guitar or drums easily of the net.