Since drums are what may cause problems and needs the most work, I’ll be sticking to rehearsal methods that I have used previously. Usually, I’ll work in the live room as I’m able to play audio through the speakers at either side of the drum kit, which means I can either clearly hear a metronome at a speed I set or the original song to study it or play along.
Other rehearsal would take place at home but my hi-hat pedal is really stiff and I have to put my entire body weight on it for the sensor to pick up that I’ve put pressure on it, so I may be playing with open hi-hat despite knowing the original has the hi-hat closed the entire way through.
Learning dynamics are vital since I can’t practice that at home, so I will have to book drum room time at some point or use rooms when others aren’t.
I was inconsistent with following the metronome, the problem with this was that it was too slow and I was speeding up due to having getting up to speed in mind. Dynamically, I am very flat and clashy, especially with my hi-hat, so I need to focus on playing with more dynamic control.
From this I would say I have the drum beat down, but I need to work on repeating the beat and going into the start from the end of a bar. I also would like to play with more confidence, as the loudness of this kit made me feel intimidated and people kept interrupting all while I was struggling to make sound on the kit without nerves. I didn’t get over that fear fully in this recording, hence why it sounds shaky and like I was hesitating to play.
Confidence was a big issue in another way, as I was still feeling like I was getting nowhere and had no potential for developing as a drummer, despite being determined to get a good grade and project out of this and the kind words of encouragement Cody was giving me to keep me going. I thing just recording and documenting progress is the best thing I can do for this, as well as purposely trying to see the good points of my rehearsals instead of focusing on the bad. This is something that I have been getting better at lately.
In this rehearsal I look and sound stiff and mess up because of it at the start and end, combined with losing focus. My snare sounds dull at times because the angle at which my arm is at isn’t all that comfortable, so I could use some time to find a comfortable set-up.
I’m a bit early on some kicks, particularly from the end of a repetition into the beginning of a new one and with the awkward pauses where it’s kick snare hi-hat kick.
I’m super close to the bpm I want to be at, my technique so far has been bump it up by 3bpm every time I can completely and comfortably play four repetitions of the same thing. I sound like I’m struggling less to keep up which is great, I think this is how I can tell that my practice technique is working.
Considering I only started taking drums seriously in February and haven’t practiced much outside of college, I think this is really good progress both with the practical side and with my confidence.
I’m very close to speed here, I only need to be at 124 bpm but I might be happy at 121bpm. I sound like I’m playing more confidently, but not as consistently. I should stay at 121 bpm for now so that I can keep this speed at feel more comfortable repeating.
The 4th kick is quicker than I think, which is what is throwing me off. I should play slowly over this part and re-learn that to click, and then play it at 121 bpm again to get used to it at that speed if I need to go over it. I’m getting pretty good at playing alongside a metronome, it’s way more comfortable for me than playing freely, and though my timing isn’t perfect, I have time to go over rehearsals and perfect it as much as possible.
One of the biggest problems that I’m encountering a lot is that I can’t sit comfortably at a kit, which is true for this one. It would help if I had anything other than a creaky wooden stool and could move the kit about but unfortunately the connecting joints for the arms are a bit rusty as it’s a kit that was made in 2008 and abandoned for many years. In the final recording, I need to ensure I am sitting comfortably, everything is within reach and my arms are comfortably placed in a way that won’t make me ache or hurt or make it hard to play.
The frustration I have with myself when messing up is turning into disappointment and drive to do better instead of ‘I can’t do this, I’m not good enough’, which is great, as having a drive to do better is what will keep me going.
This last recorded rehearsal was, to me, just moreso about preparing for that pressure of being behind a drum kit recording and getting used to playing in front of the person that would be helping me record and giving me feedback and things to watch out for, being a drummer himself. I definitely feel more confident coming out of this rehearsal just based on the fact that I didn’t hesitate all that much and I was happy to express what I needed to do. Additionally, having the verse part looped was helpful to listen to how it would sound with not original track guitar because it would sound more natural.
Some main positives that I can state within this rehearsal was that I was playing confidently, I am focused and my accuracy with timing with another person and chemistry with other people while playing drums is good. Another thing is my dynamic control, which while limited for the time being, is within range for the song to sound natural.
Some areas of improvement were that I ideally need to play for longer and set myself targets for how many bars I can do and build it up, because sometimes my stamina is awful because of the way I do my kick. I’m using the toe-side of my foot to kick because I can put more power behind it, and it helps me focus because I can naturally let my leg fall and raise without having to put much power behind it opposed to having to push with power from my heel and lower leg through my foot, but in future I should practice the way that will keep me the most comfortable for longer and aim to be consistent both ways, then maybe eventually look at combining the two to imitate a double kick with high speed switching between heel and toe kick.