Practicing vs. Rehearsing

Had another e-mail come in that I thought you guys would like to see...


Got a question!
I love the new material you always post. How do you (or more importantly how would I) go about balancing new practice material vs getting ready for the upcoming gig?

Love the beat displacement vid. I play hip hop and I never thought to do that. I am always looking for a different way to use the kick and snare since that is so important in that genre. Do you have the written music for that or is it in the book? If it's in the book don't bother, I am buying it here soon.

Thanks,
Jason
ps July 22nd you are at the NAMM in Nashville?



What's up Jason...

So sorry it took me a day or so to get back to you. I wanted to make sure I had enough time to fully answer your question...and a GREAT question it is!

I struggled with this so much while I was in college. I was playing in a ton of groups and going to school at the same time. It seemed like I was always having to learn new material for a gig as well as keep up with the ensembles I was in and my private lessons (I was taking from two separate teachers. Not only did I have to keep up with my drum set studies, I had to practice the vibes, marimba, and tons of auxiliary percussion). I actually found a few ways to have it all work to my advantage. I would learn what needed to be learned for the gig, keep up with my lesson studies, challenge myself in new ways, and make money with it all at the same time.

First things first...THE GIG IS THE MOST IMPORTANT!!! The whole reason we get into playing in the first place is so that we can take those skills and entertain (hopefully at least) people. To play with other musicians, to create...not to sit in our basement and hack out cool licks by ourselves (although I have just as much fun doing that). Whatever material has to be learned for the gig comes first. Period. If rehearsals with the group you're gigging with takes away from your practice time, that's just how it has to be. When you get onstage, you should know the songs backwards and forwards.

Now, that being said, I think you can do both at the same time. Practice for the gig as well as further your skills that is.

For a long time I separated what I practiced in my personal practice time from the gig material. I had the stuff I practiced and I had the stuff I played on the gig and never the two would meet. Thinking back it seems so stupid to do it that way. I just never thought to incorporate practicing for a gig into my practice sessions. The only reason we practice is to learn skills that will make us better on the gig. Your gigs and the material you learn should regularly mix with the material you have fun practicing.

It started while I was playing in NOLA. I was playing at least 5 hour shifts, sometimes 10 hours...6 days a week...now that's alot of playing! Needless to say, it was alot of the same material, and not overly challenging material might I add. I would practice for 2 or 3 hours before I went into the gig. It dawned on me one day that I had the perfect situation to try out alot of the stuff I had been practicing. I would take a fill idea I had been working on, or a groove idea, and I would look through our song list. I would find the best place to stick the fill in..."I'll play this fill going into the 3rd chorus of Jungle Boogie", or whatever. Or maybe it was a groove that I would stick into a solo section of a song. In other words, I was using the gig to apply the skills I was learning in my practice time. This is one way I made the most of my time.

The other one takes a bit more creative thought, but is alot more fun and has endless possibilities.

Take 3 or 4 songs that you'll be performing. They are now going to be put on the table to be dissected. First, find out what tempos they are played at. Write those down. Next, pick your regular warmup (if you have one...and if not, now's a great time to get one) or maybe just a section of a method book that you've been working on. Pick one of the tempos and instead of playing the exercise at the fastest tempo possible, play it at the tempo of that song. Make it groove and repeat it until it's perfect. I found that alot of the performance tempos I played at were slower than the tempos I was playing some exercises at. This allows you to work on the song indirectly. When you go to play that song, all of a sudden you'll have a ton of ideas start to spring into your head because you've been concentrating on that tempo all week.

Now that you've done that, pull the actual recording of the song out. Grab some headphones and have some fun! Put the song on repeat and play the exercise to the actual song. It doesn't have to make musical sense at the time, this is just practice. I've stumbled upon so many cool applications of things I had been studying just by randomly playing the exercise over a new song. "Oooh, I love the way that sits over that groove!", "Man, that sounds killer when I do that right before the bridge!".

We're just getting warmed up with this...

Ok, so we've practiced that songs tempo until we're blue in the face. Now lets dissect the song. Take the groove that you play to that song. Pull out a book like Gary Chester's "New Breed". Go to the section of bass drum exercises. Keep the hi hat and snare the same as they are in the song and play the bass drum exercises over that. Now keep the hi hat and kick drum the same as they are in the song and play the bass drum exercises, but this time play them with your left hand on the snare instead of the kick drum. Now keep the snare and kick the same as in the song and play the exercises on the hi hat...or tom...or ride cymbal...or whatever...no rules here! Are you starting to see what I'm getting at with this?

Next, take 3 of the fills that happen during the song. Learn them as they are played on the recording. Then mess with them. Start them on beat two instead of 1. Just use the sticking for the fill and put every note on a different drum...Play the fill on the cymbals...play the fill between the left hand and the kick...again, it's a game, just have fun with it.

Grab some popcorn, I've got a story...

I picked the setlist out for my senior recital 6 months before it was to happen. Then, I went through each song and decided what concepts I wanted to explore. I took all 6 months and came at those grooves and concepts in every way possible. It was some of the most intense and rewarding practicing I've ever done. By the time I played my recital, I had a virtual encyclopedia of stickings, grooves, and ideas to pull from.

This is the way I approach it. When I do this, I'll get to the gig and what seemed like challenging music when I first looked at it was now quite simple. And I found I wasn't just "getting through" the gig anymore...I had endless ideas that I could try. And I knew they would all be in the pocket because I had been practicing those ideas to that song for weeks.

Another way...

Get out your practice log (and I know you have one)...decide on how long you have to practice that day and how long you have until the gig (i.e. a week? a month?). Spend half of your practice time working on the gig material, and the other half working on your own stuff. As long as you slot out a time frame, you should be able to learn it in plenty of time for the gig as well as expand your own stuff.

As far as the displacement vid...so glad it helped! And yes, that material is in the book. If you haven't checked these lessons out that I did as well, you should. I think you'll dig them too...

DRUM & BASS


MOVING A LINEAR PATTERN



And yes, I will absolutely be at NAMM...and you? If you're there, let's hook up!

Super Secret Drum Lesson: The Secret to Unbelievable Bass Drum Speed

I named it that because every time I would come across a lesson on bass drum speed online, it was lauded as some big secret. I'll let you in on the big secret...It's not. It just takes alot of hard work. Here's a lesson to help out. Let me know how it works out for ya!

Disappointment and Failure

I had something happen today that made me remember that feeling that I get every time I feel like I've failed. You know, that awful feeling in your gut when you know you just blew the audition...or the interview...or that first date...it doesn't have to be confined to music and drumming.

That worthless feeling.

Nothin' worse in my book. Not only did you not get the gig, or promotion, or whatever...now you get to deal with the overwhelming feeling that you're not worth the dirt you walk on everyday. That's tough to deal with...tough to deal with, but a valid emotion. I think to often we skip over it..."Just get over it", "You'll live to fight another day"...or cue any other cliche piece of crap that people will tell you just to get you out of the dumps. Fact of the matter...in your own eyes, you're a failure. And that sucks.

So what do you do? Well, I recommend relishing in the misery for at least a few minutes. Seriously. Let yourself fully embrace that feeling. Remembering what it feels like is what will push you to better places in the future.

I'm a big believer in destiny...fate...faith...whatever you like to refer to it as. I really do believe there is a "bigger" picture that we can't see. As hard as it is to swallow at the time...that position, or gig, or job...wasn't meant for you. If you would have been given the opportunity, you would have screwed it up...or at least not let the project live to its fullest. I've seen this play out time and time again in my life. So now I just accept it.

That doesn't make dealing with the disappointment of rejection any easier. That whole process sucks.

I will tell you that you'll wake up tomorrow and it'll look a little better. I'll also tell you that you're not near as horrible as you're making yourself out to be at that moment. And you should try again...and again...and again. Because that's the only thing that will separate you from the rest of the losers in the world. You only lose when you quit completely. Up until that point...that place where you quit...it's game on. I've never seen a team officially lose a game that's still being played.

Playing in Front of 120,000 People

I get to know some really great people through the lessons that I do online. Some really talented, passionate, and driven people. I love it. I met Matt the same way I meet alot of people nowadays...online (geez, I sound like a dating service). Matt plays for Chris Medina (formerly of American Idol), along with a few other groups. We've talked off and on about drums, lessons, etc...then I get this message that he's got the opportunity of a lifetime...check it out...

"Hey man,

I wanted to drop u a line and say thanks for all you do. The lessons, the inspiration, and even the time you took to write back to me with the valuable advice! Im not sure if you remember, but you gave me some confidence and just put a couple things in perspective about playing rock music. The past few months of watching and working on your lessons really helped me to not only improve, but motivate me as well. Tomorrow I'll be playing in Oslo in front of 100,000 people and I can't believe it myself. But before I start rambling, I just want to say thanks again, and any advice you like to throw my way I would totally appreciate it!"


Best regards,
Matt Sebby





Bro, I can't tell you how proud I am of you. That's awesome! What a gig...not many drummers have the opportunity to play to an audience like you will tomorrow. I'll tell you from experience...enjoy EVERY minute of that show. It's something you'll tell your kids about.

The fact that I've been able to motivate/inspire/teach you in any way is huge to me. I really do do this because I love it. No other reason.

And as far as advice on a gig like that...

1) Take a second before you play, set the nerves aside, and really appreciate what is happening. Those people are there to see you. And that's an awesome feeling. Don't let it slide by without acknowledging it.

2) Playing in front of 100k people or 100 people is the same...concentrate on the music, only do the things you know you can pull off confidently, and lay down the groove...that's what they came to hear.

3) Take pictures! Lol, seriously, it's a big deal and you'll want to remember it.

You made my night by letting me know that I've played a positive role in what you do. Keep it up, you've got greatness written all over you bro!

Let me know how it goes.

-Stephen T.


Seriously?! How many people do you know that get an opportunity like that? There wound up being over 120,000 people at the concert...simply a really cool experience for anyone. Check out the video of the show...








Matt recently came through town on tour and we got to catch up before their show at The Rutledge. Had a blast getting to hear about everything he's doing.

I post this simply to say...you can do anything you want in life. You can tour, you can play in front of hundreds of thousands of people, or you can decide to stay in your hometown and teach kids with a passion for the instrument. You just have to decide what your best life looks like and go after it.

As a sidenote...if any of you ever come through Nashville, please look me up. I'm always available to grab some food, hang out before the show, or whatever. I'm seriously your biggest fan. The success that I get to hear about you guys having just floors me.

Drum Lesson: Basic Beat Displacement

Another lesson from my book, Functioning In Time. Pick it up here.

How To Audition

I had a comment left on my Facebook page (btw, if you aren't my "friend", you're more than welcome to find me. I stress this all of the time, but I answer any and all comments, questions, emails, messages, smoke signals, letters, bird calls, and tweets. I love talking drums, teaching, and sharing the knowledge that I've stumbled upon due to the massive amount of mistakes I've made over my career...there were some successes, but I didn't learn near as much from those, LOL). The comment had to do with auditioning, how to prepare, how to handle nerves, what if I get rejected...you know, the usual plethora of emotions and anxieties we experience anytime we have to "prove ourselves" to other musicians. I thought it was a great discussion, so I'm posting it here. These are just my thoughts on the subject...feel free to add your own to the discussion...

Hi!
I have sort of an "Audition" in two weeks for a marching band here in Austria. It's a group of 12 men and women and they play at local festivals here in Carinthia.
My problem is- I don't know how to play stuff in traditional grip.. my rolls just sound terrible.. but when we are marching I need to play in traditional because of the snare hanging sideways... My other fear is that I will just fail miserably at the Audition... Have you got any tips? Please?
Greetings and thanks in advance,
Lucas






I absolutely have some tips bro. First of all, that's awesome that you're even thinking of auditioning! Seriously, an audition is stressful, nerve wracking, makes you doubt yourself, fun, hard work...and lots more all rolled into one. It takes alot of guts to put yourself under that kind of scrutiny. Here's a list of things to watch out for in general on auditions...

1. Identify any problem areas

You already told me your problem area. Double strokes and rolls in your left hand suck. Great! Now that you know what your problem is, you can go about methodically fixing it. Anytime I have an audition coming up, I try to find my weakest areas and work on them. Sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and write out a practice routine. How much time each day do you have to practice? Schedule your practice time just like you would school work or a job. Every minute should be accounted for in your day and any spare seconds should be devoted to practicing. Every last minute that you have scheduled to practice should be planned out, with additional topics to be practiced in case you have extra practice time. If you really want this gig, then take the audition that seriously. Treat every audition and gig like it's Wembley Stadium...like it's the most important thing in the world...because it is. Take your practice pad EVERYWHERE with you! You should be working on that left hand in your sleep. People should be begging you to stop playing diddles on your left hand. They should be petitioning the local authorities to have you banned in public places due to noise violations. You're a man on a mission! Act like it! (Ok, so maybe that's a bit overboard, but you get the idea!)

2. Try to find out what material you need to play ahead of time.

3. Go to any shows they have in the next couple of weeks. Let them know that you're not just wanting to play for the sake of playing drums. Let them know you're really interested in the group, that you really and truly like what they do. That goes a long way.

4. Whether you get the gig or not, it's worth it. I can't tell you how much improvement has come in my playing in the past due to audition preparation. And you know what? Every one of them gets easier. You'll find that you aren't as nervous at the next audition. Practice improves you...and so does practicing your auditioning skills. Unless you're Steve Gadd or Dave Weckl, people are going to want to hear you play before they make a decision on inviting you into their musical world. That's only fair.

Again, I can't tell you how stoked I am that you get this opportunity. If you get the gig, great! If you don't get it, great! Ask them what you can do to improve yourself...that way, if they have another audition down the road, you can come back and show them just how committed you are. There's a big chance that you could screw up...there's a big chance they won't like you...there's a big chance that you might embarrass yourself...SO WHAT! There's also a chance they might like you...that you'll blow them away...that they'll see potential. Don't judge your worth as a player and human being on the outcome of one audition.

Whew...I got a little long winded, sorry. It's just a great opportunity...you should definitely take advantage of it.

-Stephen

Email Question: Recording Yourself While Practicing

Dear Stephen,

My name is Nathan. I'm actually a student of your old teacher, Jeff Mills. He referred me to your website a few years ago and it's great! I had a question about practicing and recording: I've been working a lot out of Tommy Igoe's Groove Essentials and would really like to know what I sound like when I play. Not only that, but Jeff and Tommy both advise recording yourself when you play along. The problem is, I don't have anything to record myself with and have no idea what I should buy in order to do so. Got any advice for someone on a college student's budget?

Also, my little practice room has terrible sound quality. It's like all the sounds bounce around off of each other and it's just a giant sonic mess in there when I play. Do I need to invest in soundproofing or sound absorption? Any advice on that?

Thanks a whole lot for your time!

Best wishes,
Nathan Coumbe

What's up Nathan...

Thanks so much for the email bro! And if you're with Jeff, you're in GREAT hands. Such a talented guy!

Recording yourself...YESSSSSS!!!!! Lol, it's an absolute necessity. It doesn't have to be a perfect recording, just a simple recording. You can buy a camera like this one, http://www.theflip.com/en-us/Products/mino.aspx , or something similar and that will work. All you're wanting to do is capture the sounds, they don't have to actually be sonically great sounds. That being said, the Flips don't have that bad of sound for what they are. The added bonus of recording yourself with a camcorder would be that you can also SEE yourself play and correct any technique or posture issues. I used to have a mirror beside my kit so I could watch myself play and adjust as needed. If you have an iPhone, you could just use the video phone and record yourself. It doesn't have to be great, just needs to give you an idea of your playing and what you need to work on. I'm a big fan of just using whatever you already have that will get the job done (it's what I've done for years).

As far as the sound of your room...simple answer, yes. Here's a few links that will help out.

A before sound treatment and after of my studio. I only used the mic from the camera to capture the sound... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6PMchgv2C4 . I made all of the bass traps in my studio, and only used acoustical foam on one wall to cut down on my costs.

Here's a couple of blog posts I did on the topic...

http://drummeretc.blogspot.com/2011/02/discussion-on-improving-sound-of-room.html

http://drummeretc.blogspot.com/2010/06/difference-little-acoustic-treatment.html

Hope that helps bro! Let me know if you have other questions. Sorry it took me a hot minute to swing back at ya.

-S