memorisng/remember drum parts

[kazuki]

hello guys,

recent i started encountering problems with memorising drums parts for longs songs, or songs that has lots of drum changes and crazy fills.

I beleive there are times when playing covers or studio work which requires high level of exact playing without improvisation, but are there are methods to memorise drum parts which are of high complexity (not difficultly, but like the fills or beats just keep changing and there just isnt much of a pattern to keep track)

OR is it just listening over and over and keep wacking(practice) untill it gets into you.

what i heard is that even dream theater dun play exactly everything, cause even they can memories exactly too? or is it really for the sake of improvisation.

thanks for all commments =)

 

[Schtauffen]

Hey there, I had the same problems as you in the past.
Let me share what I learnt from my drum mentor about this.

Firstly, you have to listen to the song itself before you even sit down and practice. If you don't know how the overall flow of the song & drumparts is like.

No point practicing on the drumset and end up going jamming with a blank mind. At least through listening, you will know how the whole song will be like.

After which, concentrate on figuring out each parts (verse, chorus, verse 2, etc.).

As for the complex patterns like fill-ins and stuff, just improvise according to your style, as long as it sounds close, its fine

If you can't figure out what is going on in the song, use Audacity or other audio software to adjust the song tempo down. Media player with the option to play the audio with a slower tempo works too. This allows you to hear note for note in the song.

Otherwise, look online (eg. Youtube) for live performance of the particular song, can be live from the band itself, or covers of other drummers (hopefully good ones), or source for the drum charts.

Hope I helped

 

[alvinthedrummer]

Hi,

The quickest way is of course to learn how to write out the parts. But learning by ear is of course every bit possible. That was how I learnt every single tune when I first started playing anyway. FOCUSED repeated listening is the only way. When listening, I usually find landmarks in the tune to help remind me that a change is occurring. It could be a bass guitar fill, guitar fill or distinctive vocal line etc...another thing is to sketch out a structure in your mind....for example....V1= how many bars, Pre-Chorus= how many bars etc...

This really comes with practice so don't give up....you'll have it in your head if u listen to it enough.

 

[Schtauffen]

...another thing is to sketch out a structure in your mind....for example....V1= how many bars, Pre-Chorus= how many bars etc...

Thats what I did too btw, it helps alot.

 

[kazuki]

thanks Schtauffen and alvin!

I used to write out my drum beats and fills in bars too, but thats the 1 and only time i went for studio recording and it demands ever note to be predetermine for the purpose of harmony.

Wrote in like blah blah beat repeated for how many meansure, followed by what ever fill in standard notation.

Currently the way i am memorising in like Schtauffen suggests, LISTENING, then determine verse, chorus etc as each section of the music are using acoompanied by a particular beat.

ACtually what that bother me the most are the fills, cause there isnt much of a fixed repeated or stucture to it. what i am ding now is only dead memorisation, and with some relations to the music playinga the moment.


But one think i found out about memorising drum beats that is really effective, is to memorise with the guitar/bass. As most of the time the rythm guitar or the bass plays the same rythm with the drum, its easier to visualise a melodic rythm, than a pure rythm like drum beats =)

 

[Composer of Requiems]

I just listen again and again on ipod when I'm walking, taking bus/train, doing other stuff..... after a while I just know the cues subconsciously.

 

[guitarlover]

I just listen again and again on ipod when I'm walking, taking bus/train, doing other stuff..... after a while I just know the cues subconsciously.

subconscious is the word..

mean even don't think you can play it....in that way it also helps you to play with more feeling...

listen to it 1000 times....hahaha..

 

[DrunkDrummer]

I just listen again and again on ipod when I'm walking, taking bus/train, doing other stuff..... after a while I just know the cues subconsciously.

Haha bro, exactly what I do... I listen to a song that I wanna play over and over again... I find it real catchy and decide to go home and drum the song. But hey, it's my first time, so my drum cover of the song is an epic fail.

But I do it again, and again, and again ... hahaha... now I can say I can drum that particular whole song without even needing the soundtrack.

Okay, I ramble abit, but my point is that thru listening, you will unknowingly start to memorize it yourself.

 

[Drumgroovy]

It's a lot easier to remember if it's your own composition, which is how Portnoy probably remembers all his parts.

When it comes to covers, I don't believe in playing exactly what is laid out for you... I prefer to have my own flavour, because I know I can never play exactly what is being played, so I don't bother. I just remember the groove and the feel of it.

It's a lot easier to remember the outline than what is actually being done in detail. If you're trying to memorise a fill, listen to it and get its feel. As long as it sounds almost the same, it's good enough. Which is the best thing about drumming... you can change it up a little and nobody will complain. Even the originals with my (former) band. I never play songs the same, ever.

 

[kazuki]

hey i strongly agree that listening helps a lot in the memorising part, even if u dun listen really attentive to the drum part, by listening a lot gradually let u know the structure of the song in your heart even if its a 30 mins song.

I understand that some drummers doesnt play exactly as the original drummer when they do covers, but IMHO i think its important to follow as exact as possible WHEN COVERING, cause i think my purpose of covering a song in to learn what the drummer is doing, maybe new beats, new fills, why is he doing that and why i try to 'mimic'/learn what he does i find myself openning my drumming perspective more.

If i were to just play my stuff, it will just be throwing my usual favorite chops on a new song, in the end i dont really learn much.

Thats why whenever i do covers i always analysis the drumming and the song, like whether are the main beats of it and stuff, after a while i noticed certain drummers and their habits, and by learning bits and peices from each i think its really useful to my vocab =)

 

[Drumgroovy]

hey i strongly agree that listening helps a lot in the memorising part, even if u dun listen really attentive to the drum part, by listening a lot gradually let u know the structure of the song in your heart even if its a 30 mins song.

I understand that some drummers doesnt play exactly as the original drummer when they do covers, but IMHO i think its important to follow as exact as possible WHEN COVERING, cause i think my purpose of covering a song in to learn what the drummer is doing, maybe new beats, new fills, why is he doing that and why i try to 'mimic'/learn what he does i find myself openning my drumming perspective more.

If i were to just play my stuff, it will just be throwing my usual favorite chops on a new song, in the end i dont really learn much.

Thats why whenever i do covers i always analysis the drumming and the song, like whether are the main beats of it and stuff, after a while i noticed certain drummers and their habits, and by learning bits and peices from each i think its really useful to my vocab =)

I agree with you on that, especially when I'm covering a song from a band/artist who I've never covered before. Usually when I randomly hear a fill that I find is totally awesome, I just learn the technique behind it and not neccessarily the entire song. I suppose that most self-taught drummers do that, me included.

I guess I just got lazy. lol

 

[blurred]

writing a chart out really helps. with all the stops and accents. a chart like thos symphonic orchestras have. dun need to be too precise, just the general lay out of the tune. like a road map

 

[Girlpants]

Is there any software that I can remove all the other instruments and only hear the drums? Like erm, free software?

 

[kawerty]

erm,the best that always worked for me was to interpret the song and its drum style like a classical song and imrovise it slightly,whilst listening the the original song,and play it just to make sure its not that differ from the original one.

 

[Ang3L]

Haha bro, exactly what I do... I listen to a song that I wanna play over and over again... I find it real catchy and decide to go home and drum the song. But hey, it's my first time, so my drum cover of the song is an epic fail.

But I do it again, and again, and again ... hahaha... now I can say I can drum that particular whole song without even needing the soundtrack.

Okay, I ramble abit, but my point is that thru listening, you will unknowingly start to memorize it yourself.

Don't be too hard on youself, Bro..But hell, if you still can't then I suggest you give up & start playing sumthing else!!
Good luck!

 

[evident]

if you want to cover it exactly then just get someone to transcribe it and do it yourself. basically listen to it over and over again.

drumming shouldn't be about memorizing but feeling the groove. when you hear the song play. your mind should automatically tell you what groove to play without even thinking about it. get the groove right and improvise based on it.memorizing grooves (or licks) isn't gonna get your very far as an individual, maybe just a cover artist.

 

[evident]

Is there any software that I can remove all the other instruments and only hear the drums? Like erm, free software?

i think guitar pro has that function for the songs in it's database. but you won't be able to do it with just a regular sound file. it's like asking someone to pick out the colors in a painting.

 

[alvinthedrummer]

if you want to cover it exactly then just get someone to transcribe it and do it yourself. basically listen to it over and over again.

drumming shouldn't be about memorizing but feeling the groove. when you hear the song play. your mind should automatically tell you what groove to play without even thinking about it. get the groove right and improvise based on it.memorizing grooves (or licks) isn't gonna get your very far as an individual, maybe just a cover artist.

The first bit about repeated listening is extremely good! There is really no other way but listening to tracks and practice doing some transcribing.

However, I strongly disagree with the other advise. Memory is really a huge part of learning a piece. Knowing the form/structure of a piece is really important and that must be already be a part of your memory before you can perform it well. Most great drummers have extremely good memory, check out buddy rich!

As for memorizing grooves and learning licks.....that is the main key to having a great foundation for any beginner (even for older musicians like myself)! I don't know any greats today who didn't study in depth, grooves/licks of past recordings. And this is very true for any musician in fact, be it a learning saxophonist, pianist, guitarist etc....most of these would have transcribed numerous lines, solos of the past masters. Before being able to find yourself, you must first be able to understand the language in depth!

In reality, the learning should never really stop...I still try to listen to as many recordings as possible and occasionally still try to transcribe certain grooves or licks that might interest me....those I end up hating, I throw away but those that I end up liking, I would try to apply and then when I am thoroughly familiar with it, I will try to throw in some of my personal touch (such as note placements, shifting of accents, adding/subtracting ghost notes etc...) and morth them into mine own.

So yup, my advise is, transcribe, copy, memorize as much as possible now!!!