Drummergirl Posted May 18, 2001 Share Posted May 18, 2001 Hi all, When I am trying to figure out the drum beat to a specific song I have trouble hearing the bass drum. When it's in my CD player I crank up the bass and lower the treble and that seems to help somewhat. But when I have a Mp3 I can't do that. Does anyone have any sugguestions? Also, when I am listening to a song that is a little more complicated. I can hear the beat and hum it but can't play it. I am not talking about a basic beat like plying 8ths on the hi hat, snare on 2 and 4 with a bass drum melody. I am talking about something more complicated. Can anyone help? Thanks. Drummergirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted May 18, 2001 Share Posted May 18, 2001 This is one of the problems w/ MP3s - they lack fidelity. So buy the CD if you want to really hear what's going on. It can be good practice, but nailing ratamacues on bass drum really isn't neccessary anyway.... 99.999% of audiences are not listening to make sure you've duplicated every last 64th note or fretsqueak. It just has to 'feel' like the original when you are performing in a cover band. In other words, make damn sure the main pulse is right as far as tempo, beat, patterns, accents (all of which come thru loud & clear on MP3s) - but don't sweat the other stuff. JMO of course. Originally posted by Drummergirl: Hi all, When I am trying to figure out the drum beat to a specific song I have trouble hearing the bass drum. When it's in my CD player I crank up the bass and lower the treble and that seems to help somewhat. But when I have a Mp3 I can't do that. Does anyone have any sugguestions? Also, when I am listening to a song that is a little more complicated. I can hear the beat and hum it but can't play it. I am not talking about a basic beat like plying 8ths on the hi hat, snare on 2 and 4 with a bass drum melody. I am talking about something more complicated. Can anyone help? Thanks. Drummergirl I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felix stein Posted May 19, 2001 Share Posted May 19, 2001 DON'T buy the cd's unless u like the muzic Dgirl. When I played in a copy band I would get the jist of the song from the bass player and play my kick with him...of course I would add my own accents....9 outta 10 you will probably sound hipper than the produced cat IMHO and 9 outta 10 the cats in the band won't play the darn song exactly like the cd anyways. If I had to play Zepp or Rush I would get the cd, but hell, I was into them of course! L8R felix's band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwirk Posted May 19, 2001 Share Posted May 19, 2001 Originally posted by Drummergirl: Also, when I am listening to a song that is a little more complicated. I can hear the beat and hum it but can't play it. I am not talking about a basic beat like plying 8ths on the hi hat, snare on 2 and 4 with a bass drum melody. I am talking about something more complicated If you're talking about complicated like snare displacement, I usually listen for where the snare would be (2 and 4) and then listen to how the snare on the song compares to that. Is it anticipated? Is it late? If it's complicated with ghost notes, get the back beats and fill in the ghost notes later. If it's complicated in an altered time signature like 7/8, 5/4, 5/8, etc... break the beat down into smaller groupings of two or three. Example: The alternate time signature in Rush's Tom Sawyer would be 12-12-123 12-123-12. It's in 7/8 but it's more palatable because you've broken it down. Maybe that's more complicated than you were asking. http://www.musicplayer.com/ubb/smile.gif ~clockwirk~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrummerCafe Posted May 20, 2001 Share Posted May 20, 2001 Something I mention in all of my drum clinics is "if you can't say, you can't play it." If you have problems playing a particular beat or groove, check to make sure that you can say or sing it first. You mentioned that you can hum it ... which is GREAT!!! Now just try singing the groove using whatever syllables work for you for each instrument. An example would be "Boom" for the kick drum, "Bah" for the snare, "Tt" for the hi-hat. Use whatever works for you, but sing it out loud. Once you can sing the groove you've demonstrated the you've got it in your brain. Now get your muscles to move and react according to the sounds you make when you sing the groove. You'll find that with a little practice, you're now playing this complex groove. Many times people play things but they don't own it because they can't "say it" or "sing it". If you want to be able to play the same groove over and over again, accurately and consistent, you need to be able to verbalize it to yourself to make sure your brain has got it. The distance from your brain to your mouth is shorter than from your brain to your hands. If you can't get your mouth to do it, how can you expect to get your hands to do it?! LOL Good Luck! P.S. I've had hundreds of testimonials from former students and clinic attendees saying just how much this groove verbalization has helped them. ------------------ Bart Elliott http://bartelliott.com Drummer Cafe - community drum & percussion forum Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted May 24, 2001 Share Posted May 24, 2001 Hey, Drummergirl: Feel the music!!! There is a distinct difference between hearing a beat ... and feeling a beat. Most of the time, if you only replicate a beat ... you will not replicate the groove. If you feel the beat ... you will be more likely to replicate the feel of the groove. This is the most important aspect of your quest. I agree with Bart regarding singing the part. Of course, I feel that if you were born to be a drummer, this is something you do anyway. I am always walking a cadence or drumming at the table (much to my wife's chagrin). DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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