RockBand

Some friends are talking more about RockBand and looking forward to the new release of Rockband 2. I've been considering more lately finally hooking up the system to the game. I got the midi controller, now I need to order a board and do some soldering.

I'm a little afraid that I'll spend my time working on the game when I could be working on the instrument. But I also think it might help me learn songs more quickly. And there are a large list of songs in the game.

I think worst case I can learn to play the song without watching the lights, that would be the ultimate test to see whether I'm learning it or not.

The other thing is the frustrating part of playing the song exactly like it was recorded. That's not always the point of the drums. There is some improvisation, but then again maybe that's a cop out.

I definitely would like to learn a lot of the songs in either game. Playing with a virtual band could give me that motivation... I'm halfway there...

Looking Back and Progress

I haven't blogged for awhile so it was interesting to read my last blog on learning my first Hastings song. While I'm still a bit frustrated and I don't have all the song down yet, it IS amazing how it was tough to get that first groove to now, it's almost effortless. It's like my other instruments or like many things in life. You practice and practice and what at first seems to difficult to conguer eventually becomes second nature or almost automatic.

In track riding at first things come at you so fast. Keith Code put it in the concept of having a $1 worth of attention and at first you give 1 thing $.5 another thing $.25 and so on. Eventually all those things become almost automatic and afterwhile you have change to spare.

As for drumming. Again, I think I rushed learning a song. I went back to the Rock Drumming lessons and worked on the Intermediate book. I've made it about half way through and I've learned a couple more concepts that make playing the song easier. I'm progressing, of course, it would be nice if it was instantaneous but then everyone would do it... :)

I've been having a lot of fun playing and practicing. I probably practice more than I should. But even last night was super cool. I got to some hi-hat sequences and tom beats. The tom beats are great. I think the rest of the Intermediate lessons are going to be really cool. The Advanced book that comes next should be even more cool!

Summer of Live Music

I can honestly say that I've seen more live music this summer than ever before in my life. Ever since I've gotten back into music and drums I've been trying to make time to go see live performances for ideas and inspiration.

It's amazing how much there is out there to learn and I have no idea how it all works. Everything from how a song is created to playing it live. I'm so inexperienced. How do you decide the grooves, I'm guessing it's just a matter of experience, drawing from that and inspirations of other drummers and sounds. And there is so much to playing it live...

I saw Rush and STP at Summerfest. Both were great concerts. Surprisingly, I liked Rush even more than STP. I hadn't listened to Rush in years and years. The sound was great, the songs were great, and the performance was great.

That leads me to sound... Wow, what a difference that makes in performances. I've seen some bands live that sound great, others that sound simply ruined the performance. How sad when the drummer worked so hard, I could see the licks, yet you couldn't hear them or the mix was just way off. So much to learn.

Besides the big headliners I watched at least twenty other bands at Summerfest. Everything from the Zydico exerience to thrash speed metal and plain unintelligible screaming. :) Are you ready for the silver pants??? Candlebox was awesome, probably my favorite. And to believe I didn't have any of their CDs. I went and purchased their new one and the best of and have been listening to it continuously.

I was talking to the guys at Guitar Center and found out they were playing live that night. I went, and it was great. The venue has an open jam once a week where a variety of bands play 3 or so songs each. It's great. I went again last night and just loved the small group. It would seem like a great place to test your band. Hopefully some day...

Another only-three-hours-of-sleep night and I'm off tonight after work to see Blues Traveller, Collective Soul and Live. And I'm loving it!

Still Plugging Away.... Rock Drumming System

I'm still working at it. For father's day I asked for the Rock Drumming System which is a set of books and DVDs. I made my way through the beginner book. I just about finished it when I started looking at the Play Along DVD.

I started working on the first song. The kit contains a bunch of songs by the Hastings. They're good songs. I've been struggling with the first song though. Even though there is a DVD, it's hard to learn the grooves. The sheet music isn't complete, just a few staffs suggesting what to play during the chorus, bridge, etc.

I had to sound out the grooves by reading the sheet music. They weren 't easy grooves. It took me sometime to figure out this groove. I'm still not sure I have the counting down.

Then after a few nights working on the groove playing it at speed along with the track is tough. I've been frustrated a bit.

But I'm happy to say that tonight it started to click. It does seem that I can only take in so much at one time. I need to practice and then walk away for awhile. When I come back later or the next day it seems to have sunk in and I can play it better.

Someone said awhile ago on vdrums that one of the most important things about playing with a band is listening. I kind of get it now. After playing this stuff over an over again, and now playing with the song a bit, it's starting to click. I here where I should be in the music, and I'm getting better.

The Rock Drumming System has helped me a lot. Although I thought I knew how to read music it wasn't until I forced myself to sit down and go through all the lessons that I learned it and got better at it. Now like a kindergartener, I kind sound out the words. :)

JoJo Mayer

Secret Weapons is a great DVD by JoJo Mayer. I had seen him in the Drummer Festival CD and found his teaching DVD. It's a great mix of tips, how to's and the physics behind it. I highly recommend it!

Still working...

I've been hitting the drums a lot lately, I'm still enjoying the heck out of it!

I was sitting in a meeting yesterday with the entire team, 15 or so people, and after a making a comment I found myself doing a drum roll with my pen and a crash on my water glass. I guess it's becoming second nature! :)

I still haven't rigged up something so I can record myself. I need to get that done.

I still need to adjust my left double pedal, it's a little lower than the right.

I've been working on a combination of things. I've been doing a few of the Thomas Lang exercises, playing a long with some Roland patterns and just getting a feel for things, feeling the groove. I did worry about not pushing myself or setting goals, just mashing around and having fun is good, but I want to progress. So the other day I started focusing on rudiments and freedrumlessons.com. I'm going to make my way through the Rock Drum lessons. I found one play-along-song that I just love and I've been listening to that over and over again.

Moddern Drummer Festival: 2005

I watched disc 1 over the weekend and it was awesome. I watched parts of it a couple times actually! :) Lots of great stuff. I hope to catch disc 2 today and disc 3 later this week.

I'm not looking to copy anyone and I understand being your own player and original. But I'm at the stage where I'm just learning the alphabet and a few words. I think as I learn more words from others I'll learn how to make my own or put them together. It's great stuff!

Thomas Lang's Creative Control

I got this DVD the other day and wow, I love his sound and style. I've just started on his first exercise and I can tell a difference already on the second day. My feet are a lot better, especially my left foot. I like his theory that your feet should be able to do anything your hands can do. His opening song "Dog" is awesome!

My lower back has been hurting a lot though. Using both feet at the same time requires you to balance on the throne and requires a lot of core strength. I think it's just a matter of building that corre strength.

I missed my practice yesterday because we had a friend in town but I'm anxious to get back at it tonight! I can't wait until I can do some of his other practice techniques and when I develop enough speed to do even the basic ones at his speed.

Music Clinic with Willy Porter

Over the weekend my son and I attended a music clinic with Willy Porter at Cascio music. I've been a fan of ever since I found some of his music. Unconditional is a great song.

I was amazed at all the sounds he was able to generate alone, by himself. It definitely brought back my yearnings to learn to play the guitar. But alas, I don't think it's for me.

It was interesting to hear how some songs progressed and tips on playing. My son was very interested, which is great. I'd rather he spent more time on music than just playing video games.

New Personal Monitor - Simmons DA200S

I've been wanting to get an amplifier for the drum set so that I don't always have to wear headphones and I can rock out especially when I have the house to myself.

I haven't had much luck hooking up the drums to the stereo. I'm currently getting quite a buzz, and not a good type of buzz when hooking up to the stereo. So I started looking at options for a personal monitor.

Uncle Bob's pushed a keyboard amp. Cascio the Roland PM10 or PM30 and Guitar Center the Simmons. I did a little research and found a lot of options out there from PA to Keyboard to PMs for drums. They all vary in price obviously.

It came to a point where I just wanted to try something and see what I thought. While I would like to have JBL Eon G2, that's not realistic with my budget. Since Guitar Center had a sale going and they told me I could return it within 30 days if I didn't like it, I figured I might as well give it a shot.

The DA200s was a little bigger than I expected. It's heavy, but I carried to the car by myself. I took it home and hooked it up. I would have liked a few more controls and I didn't get a manual. But it did sound pretty good. I thought I might have popped an ear drum at one point with a snare hit.

Overall I like it. It's nice not having headphones and being able to listen a little better. The downside is now I want stereo. Having it come from one side isn't that great. Behind or upfront would be good but that doesn't jive with my current drum location.

I still might give the stereo another try. I have some large tower speakers I might be able to find a spot for and they might actually be okay for bass.

Enter Sandman

I started working on Enter Sandman the other day. The song is a lot of fun and rocks. So it's a lot of fun. I don't think it's as tecnically dificult as the slower song Creep. But it is very busy in parts. I got some parts down pretty good. It's fun to see it come together.

I found the sheet music on the Web awhile ago. But it looks overly complicated. I don't really understand why it seems some sheet music uses one note position for the snare, while others use different positions. I ended up just playing around, using a combination of the sheet music, Rock Band tab and the Rock Band game itself.

The Rock Band practice area is actually really nice in that you can pick various sections of the song and practice them at various speeds. Unfortunately there isn't a one-to-one correlation between what notes they show and the actual drum/cymbal to play--which makes it a little difficult. But it sure helped learning the song.

I need to try recording some of my playing. I know it's still not good, but I need to do it. If nothing else to show my progress over the next months or years. :)

I've had fun going off on a tangent and trying to learn a couple songs. I think I learned a lot of different things, trying to put it all together. But I need to get back to focusing on fundamentals and practice. I might alternate between practicing songs and fundamentals.

Creep Continued

I've been working a little more this weekend, when I wasn't enjoying the beautiful weather. A half hour here and there.

I've been having a lot off difficulty getting the bass pedal quick notes consistent. I looked at the pedal Saturday morning and made some adjustments. I noticed a day or two earlier that the sprint attachment on the beater has slipped a little, and that resulted in my pedal lower and the beater when at rest closer to the head.

I figured if I could adjust the beater back from the head a little, that would benefit a few things. One, the pedal felt too light. It didn't return fast enough. I figured if the beater started farther away from the head that traveling more distance cause the spring to stretch more and provide more resistance and a little more speddy return. Second, when I was making that adjustment I noticed the face of the drum could be adjusted a little to be farther away as well. I reduced the length of the supporting feet and that caused the bass pad to tilt a little more away from the pedal and beater.

Win-win. The changes gave me a lot better feel. I was able to get more resistance and after working on not burrying the beater I got a good feel where I could let the beater return each time and hit the notes a bit more consistently. It still has taken a lot of practice, but it's getting better.

I've found working with drums that it helps me to practice and then step away for awhile and come back. For me it just takes time. When I return, things seemed to have sunk in. The muscle memory is there or something, and what I was trying to learn I can usually do, at least better after a little break.

Of course, the bass pedal for me has always been hard. And this rhythm for this song and the quick notes take a bit of effort and I feel I have to develop my muscles a little more. But it's all getting there.

I've been continuing to play along with the music both with and without drums. I spent a little time recording the drums with the drum module and listening to them back. I need more practice with the rhythm, and the interdependence between the hi-hat hits and the bass pedal quick hits. This is no surprise, just need more practice.

It's been fun, but a little like work. I've been pushing myself to get this song done so that I can post it on a drum forum I visit. I'm afraid I'll get some poor feedback no matter how well I do for my first song. That has taken a little fun out of doing this, but I need to complete the cycle so I can continue to move on and keep learning.

Oh, I found a card for a music teacher here in town. It might be a nice less expensive alternative and maybe someone I could at least visit to make sure I'm not learning and bad habits.

Radiohead: Creep - My first song

I've decided to try and learn Creep as my first song. I plan to try and learn some of my favorite songs from the Rock Band game.
I searched for sheet music for the song but wasn't able to find any. I did find a note chart for the Rock Band game. That note chart shows the pads that are hit and the pedal, to play the song in the game. This is helpful, but needs to be translated to a real drum kit. In Rock Band you have four pads, in my kit I have 5 drums, a bass drum, 3 cymbals and hi hat each of which can be played in a variety of ways.


I printed out the note chart I found and listened to the song several times following along with the chart. I commented on the chart where different pads translated to different pieces on the kit. And I identified the basic rhythm of the song. The song has four beats per measure but those beats are split in half and even quarters in some places. The basic rhythm is 1 and 2 and a 3 and four and.

I've been practicing this song a little each night. Last night I was exhausted and didn't spend too much time on it but I am having a lot of difficulty being consistent with the bass pedal. Consistently getting the quick two beats has been tough. I think it would be easier if the spring was stronger, the beater doesnt' come back fast enough for me. But Steve Smith in his video says he has his set very light. I'm going to try my other pedal and then maybe tighten the spring and see if that helps. I learned a while ago in Rock Band that you had to develop you leg muscles and those quick beats have always been a problem for me.

I've also learned a lot working on this song. It's not an overly difficult song, and I didn't want to pick one that was too tough for my first song. But it does have a lot of different parts that make it a great learning experience for me. I certainly found that playing a long with a song with a drum track is a lot different than playing a long with one without. While I've learned the basic beats of the songs I'm terrible in the transitions. I still need work on the main groove. I need to incorporate the open hi-hat and cymbal crashes yet. There is still much to learn and practice. And while there is no deadline and I've found that some things just come with time, I'm anxious to get my first song under my belt. But there is still a lot of practice ahead of me to be smooth.

Learning Rock Band Songs

The songs in Rock Band are great and since I have access to the music with and without drums, I think that I'll concentrate on some of the songs in the game as the first song I'll try and learn. Rock Band organizes the songs in order of difficulty, and while those difficulties might not match the difficulty playing on a real kit, the song list should still be a good guide of songs to try and learn. I'm sure it will be no easy task.

FreeDrumLessons.com

I can't say enough good things about this Web site. It's awesome a group of people got together and built a Web site loaded with information and videos on everything from music theory to advanced drum techniques. The site has been a huge help in learning how to read drum music and playing the drums.

Without the site I certainly would have needed to take drum lessons. But combined with a couple DVDs I feel that I have a good basis of learning and most of what I need. Sure, there is no substitute for human interaction and direct critiques. I just didn't feel I could afford paying someone around $30 each week for a short lesson where they would give me the same things to work on. I feel a practice enough, and I have goals. But I wasn't sure the once-a-week lesson schedule was for me. Being able to watch videos of the lessons over-and-over again seems better in some aspects that trying to remember what the teacher said.

With that said, I did find a card in a posting for a local person who gives music lessons. I hope to contact him soon and see if he will agree to at least review my playing once a month or on some schedule. I don't want to learn bad habits so hopefully that might be a win-win for us both.

Score!!!!

Playing Rock Band is a lot of fun. I've been into music, playing various instruments, all my life, but with Rock Band it's never been this easy to sound this good. While the game can be challenging, it's not playing a real instrument or learning the actual music. I told myself if I was able to finish the game on hard and continue to have fun, that I would consider getting real drums and learn to play.


As I worked through the game I begin looking for a used set of electronic drums. Since my wife gets migraines, I didn't think a real drum set would be an option. So I checked out a few stores and did some research. Of course my wife saw the signs. Why would I want a real drum set? I'm not sure I have an adequate answer even now for that question. As I worked through the game learning new songs and playing a little each night I found I really enjoyed playing the game.


I found a used set of drums that were local and I went to see them. They were nice but several years old and a little dated when it came to the types of drums, pedals and cymbals used. I realized that I didn't need the best or newest equipment. But I had tried several models at various music stores and even with my very limited knowledge I could tell the difference between the different equipment.


While I was considering whether this older set was the one for me I came across a new ad. It was one of those ads that seemed to good to be true. The ad was for a top-of-the-line Roland kit at a very reasonable price. I e-mailed the seller for more information. I mostly discounted the ad because there have been several scams going around on Roland drums. People trying to sell drums they don't actually have or bait and switch.


I was surprised when I got an e-mail response with a phone number. I called the seller and we talked for some time. I had him verify the equipment models numbers to make sure we were talking about the same equipment, and it seemed legit. It turned out that a new member to their band had a change of heart and wasn't interested in playing and wanted to sell his new drums. The drums were reported to be in excellent shape and used just a few times.


The drums sounded incredible. It was the set I wanted but knew I couldn't afford. I asked him what his bottom line was and he came down a couple hundred dollars. It seemed too good of a deal to pass up. I told him I'd get back to him in an hour and let him know.


"Hey hunny, remember those drums..." My poor wife. We talked a little about it and it was a done deal. I called the seller up and made sure he would be home. My wife and I hit the road and drove two hours to a rural place in Illinois to see the drums.


Unbelievable. They were just as he described--an incredible beautiful like new Roland TD-20 black kit. And not just that, dual DW9000 bass drum pedals and behemoth DW Hi-Hat and snare stands. You have to feel these pedals and the stands to appreciate them. The pedals are smooth as butter and the stands are incredibly strong and massive looing. It was a dream set. One that I certainly wasn't qualified to have or deserved.


I plugged it in, verified the pads and cymbals worked, handed the guy the envelope, and began packing it up. I couldn't believe my luck. I felt genuinely humbled. It sounds funny, but with not even knowing how to play I appreciated the quality and craftsmanship that went into that kit. I hoped that someday I would be able to due it justice, to be able to play it with some authority.


It was a good day and I beamed the whole way home. My poor wife.

The Throne

One of the first things I found I needed to play drums was a good seat to sit on. In the drum world, the seat is called the throne. It's important to have a seat that is comfortable and can be adjusted to the right hight. The height is important so that you have the right leverage to work the food pedals. It's also important that the seat not move or roll.

We went to a local drum shop and my wife picked up a zebra printed Pork Pie. It's a great throne, heavy duty and comfortable. I backrest might have been nice, but this is a cool throne regardless.

Rock Band: Upgraded Bass Pedal

One of the weekpoints of the Rock Band drums is the bass pedal. The original bass pedal is plastic and was hard for me to hit quick notes, besides I didn't think it gave a somewhat realistic feedback as a regular bass drum.


Wanting to get a little closer to real drums I decided to get a real bass pedal. I picked up a DW 7000 pedal and a Gibralter practice pad. With a little wiring I had a real feeling bass drum.



While this didn't make the game a whole lot easier it did make it a little more realistic.

My Wife Blames Rock Band

A few friends of mine got me into gaming on the XBox 360. I used to game when I was younger and my son has been into games with several different systems over the past years. But the 360 is a little different with XBox Live.

XBox Live allows you to play along with friends over the Internet. You're able to play with or against them and talk to them with microphones while you play. It's actually a lot of fun. A few friends I used to do trackdays with, get together once a week and we race cars at various racetracks around the world with a game called Forza 2. The realism in the game is incredible. The bumps, ripples, camber of the tracks are all there. I've turned a lot of laps at Road America, and racing it with Forza 2 is close to being there.

So when a new game called Rock Band was released I was interested. I had played a little of Guitar Hero with my son. Guitar Hero is a game where you play a virtual guitar with buttons instead of strings. You still have to strum the guitar, and while it can be difficult, because it uses buttons instead of strings, it's obviously very different than playing a real guitar.

Rock Band was actually created by the same people who created Guitar Hero but this game included a guitar, a microphone, and drums. I bought it for my son and I for Christmas, I was tempted to open it early but I waited. We played together a lot. Part of the reason I got the game was so we could play more together and it was fun.

Guitar Hero and Rock Band are a lot of fun. With little effort or practice you're able to get on the stage and seem to create the music of your favorite bands. On the easiest level you play only a few of the notes, so when you hit one note, the system might play 4. So it's easy but still seems like you're creating this incredible sounding music you've listened to on the radio. It's a lot of fun. There are of course, more difficult levels, medium, hard and expert. On the expert level you play almost all of the notes in the music, so it's a lot closer to the real thing.

I concentrated on the drums while my son rocked the guitar. The drums in Rock Band consist of 4 different pads and a foot pedal for the bass drum. While it was challenging, I had a lot of fun. I started out on Medium and worked my way through the songs. The game is very good in that it has you progress through a virtual tour at cities around the world, but the songs progress in difficulty from easy to hard. So while the first songs might be easy, you'll find your limits of playing along the way. Maybe you'll struggle with syncopated bass drum beats, or drum rolls, or other aspects. But through practice of the song you'll eventually do well enough to continue to the next gig and new songs.

Youtube video showing Rock Band drums

Playing drums can be a lot harder than it seems. If it were simply keeping a beat, it wouldn't be too difficult. 1, 2, 3, 4. But playing drums reminds me of martial arts where you need to learn dexterity, independent movements and controls of your limbs. Playing drums is like rubbing your tummy, patting your head and tying your shoes all at the same time. Well, maybe not tying your shoes but you get my meaning.

As I made my way through the game I finished it on Medium level. That was an accomplishment for the drums. I got together with a few friends one night to play Rock Band together. It was a blast. Of course I played drums most of the time and I did good. It was a lot of fun to play together, even if it was a game and we weren't actually playing music. I was designated the official drummer.

I moved on to Hard which was more difficult. I worked nightly on songs until I could complete them. Some songs I could get through without even practicing, some were much more difficult where I would have to practice various parts in order to complete them. In Rock Band to complete a song you need to do it with a certain degree of accuracy. As I worked nightly and continued to have fun I told myself if I kept this up, continued to have fun and completed the game on Hard or Expert I would consider getting a real set of drums.
I made it through the game on Hard and while it took a lot of work and practice I had a lot of fun. I began looking for a real drum set and managed an incredible score!

4th Grade Band

I remember 4th grade band. At the beginning of the year we were asked to write down the three instruments we were interested in playing. My first pick was drums. So of course I ended up playing trombone the next 4 years. I did good, I was first chair in band in two different schools, but I don't remember being passionate about playing the trombone.

Welcome!

Welcome to my drumming blog. My name is Jack and I'm taking on a new hobby. As with most of my hobbies, I can get a bit obsessed at times, but I like being passionate about things.

I created this blog so that I could keep track of my progress while I struggle to learn a new instrument--the drums. I've played several instruments throughout the years but I'm hoping I found one that I can excel at.

I hope to make regular posts discussing my trials and tribulations. How and what I'm practicing. What songs I'm working on. I even hope to post audio files of me and my drums.

So feel free to follow along and comment. Obviously keep in mind I don't proport to be an expert but just a someone working on a new found passion.