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So I'm working on my counting and found this.

I've got the hh part, and I'm having a heck of a time with the snare.

Any advice? Just slow it way down? Or listen over and over and over again until the timing is in my head vs counting it?

I've never had drum lessons, so if there is any little trick or tip one could give me, I would appreciate it.

Maybe I need to stop looking at the sheet music and just feel it...bc on the sheet music, the snare keeps advancing one count, and dang is it hard to get that. I normally pick things up quickly. I've got about 5 hours into just trying to get the snare and hh going at the same time.

And what is the counting called when you are 1-e-&-a-2-e-&-a? 16th? And everything faster than that, is not counted, it's just "played?"

**Edit, it is 16th, as noted by the double beams in the sheet music. Sometimes I'm not thinking.

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pcrecord Tue, 01/03/2017 - 13:13

Hey Brother,
It's hard to put in words and find the right words to help when you never heard the artist play.
Most said advice is : to learn to play something fast, start praticing very slow. at one point your it will become muscle memory and your won't think about it anymore..
The opposit is also true, if you want to play something intricate and slow, start on a fast tempo and slow down. You'll get better chance of being tight with those slow hits.. Counting subdivisions is also helpfull. If I play slow quaternotes rithme, I'll often tap eight notes with my feet on the floor or just pushing it slightly in the hihat foot stand.

Brother Junk, post: 446234, member: 49944 wrote: I've never had drum lessons, so if there is any little trick or tip one could give me, I would appreciate it.

Take some or find online training. I can't give advice without knowing your level.

Brother Junk, post: 446234, member: 49944 wrote: Maybe I need to stop looking at the sheet music and just feel it...

If it works and it's on time, go ahead, just play...

Brother Junk, post: 446234, member: 49944 wrote: are 1-e-&-a-2-e-&-a? 16th?

yes but I would simplify could every time it gets to fast to articulate. You can play 16th notes but count the 8th or even the quater notes only..
For exemple a 7/8 maybe counted like this
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
or
1 - 2 - 3 - and 1 - 2 - 3 and 1 etc..

Brother Junk, post: 446234, member: 49944 wrote: **Edit, it is 16th, as noted by the double beams in the sheet music. Sometimes I'm not thinking.

Yes

Brother Junk Tue, 01/03/2017 - 15:10

pcrecord, post: 446249, member: 46460 wrote: to learn to play something fast, start praticing very slow. at one point your it will become muscle memory and your won't think about it anymore..

That's mostly what I was hoping to hear. But I need to do it even slower than 60bpm. Even at 60, I just can't get it. I'll just keep practicing at say 40-50.

pcrecord, post: 446249, member: 46460 wrote: The opposit is also true, if you want to play something intricate and slow, start on a fast tempo and slow down. You'll get better chance of being tight with those slow hits..

This is perfect Marco, thank you. I have a hard time with slow beats. It seems like the slower it is, the less accurate I am...which is counterintuitive. I never thought to train the muscle memory in fast mode, and then transition to slow.

Right now, I have like a BPM sweet spot, from like 75-90-ish. Outside of that, I lose time when coming in and out of fills (I shouldn't even call it a fill, call it a 1 bar transition lol) Which is the thing I hate most about a drummer. A drummer who can't keep good time? Ugh! Why are you sitting on that throne?

If I had to choose between being ultra fancy, but another musician could pick up that I have poor timing, vs. being a simple drummer with good timing, I would take the latter.

pcrecord Wed, 01/04/2017 - 12:36

Brother Junk, post: 446252, member: 49944 wrote: I lose time when coming in and out of fills (I shouldn't even call it a fill, call it a 1 bar transition lol) Which is the thing I hate most about a drummer. A drummer who can't keep good time? Ugh! Why are you sitting on that throne?

This is a weakness most drummer suffer when they begin to play. I did have this problem for many years until I decided I had enough and played with a click every chances I got.
After a while I was able to have more stable tempos with whatever I tried to play. I'm far from a perfect drummer but I was able to sustain live gigs with a click tracks for many years.
Nowaday, I don't play as often as I wish. So I still have to concentrate on that aspect.

One small tips : when I play fills, I always keep the quaternotes going either with the bass drum or the hihat. It becomes an instant tempo reference (at least for me) ;)

Brother Junk, post: 446252, member: 49944 wrote: If I had to choose between being ultra fancy, but another musician could pick up that I have poor timing, vs. being a simple drummer with good timing, I would take the latter.

Less is more : this is the most mature way to achieve success ;)... I play what ever the song needs. Sometimes it's easy and even borring and other times it's more challenging, but the EGO must have no place in my playing in order to prioritise musicality.
Man I was on tour with a disco band for a few years, you need to be steady and make it simple if you want to make people dance ! ;)
On that show, I played with Martin Stevens (Love is in the air), Nancy Martinez (For tonight) and Patsy Gallant (a quebec talent). It was a great experience and I was the one to keep it all together because of the click of the sequence (all brass and keyboards was pre-recorded) and often, I was also giving the cue to the artists as to where to start to sing...
Ah those were the days !!! ;)

pcrecord Wed, 01/04/2017 - 12:40

pcrecord, post: 446298, member: 46460 wrote: This is a weakness most drummer suffer when they begin to play. I did have this problem for many years until I decided I had enough and played with a click every chance I got.
After a while I was able to have more stable tempo at what ever I tried to play. I'm far from a perfect drummer but I was able to sustain live gigs with a click tracks for many years.
Nowaday, I don't play as often as I wish. So I still have to concentrate on that aspect.

One small tips : when I play fills, I always keep the quaternotes going either with the bass drum or the hihat. It becomes an instant tempo reference (at least for me) ;)

Playing to a click

Less is more : this is the most mature way to achieve success ;)... I play what ever the song needs. Sometimes it's easy and even borring and other times it's more challenging, but the EGO must have no place in my playing in order to prioritise musicality.
Man I was on tour with a disco band for a few years, you need to be steady and make it simple if you want to make people dance ! ;)
On that show, I played with Martin Stevens (Love is in the air), Nancy Martinez (For tonight) and Patsy Gallant (a quebec talent). It was a great experience and I was the one to keep it all together because of the click of the sequence (all brass and keyboards was pre-recorded) and often, I was also giving the cue to the artists as to where to start to sing...
Ah those were the days !!! ;)

Man I should relax on the smileys ;)