Monday Drum Day: Beating the Beat

avatar

Every month there is a collaboration on the Drumeo drumming school. I have done a fair few of these, but do not always get around to it. They tend to require a fair bit of practice to manage a decent performance of whatever song has been picked. This month it was We Got The Beat by The Go-Go's. In theory this is a fairly simple drum part, but the speed makes it challenging. There is a rapid bass drum part that I could manage at slower tempos, but not at full speed. I saw that other people had used the floor tom instead, so I opted for that method.

I wanted to play this on my Tama kit. Although I have had it a while I had not really played it at proper volume before. I have to wait until I am alone at home. We do not have close neighbours who might complain. Then I needed to be able to hear the backing track. I tried my AKG headphones, but they did not block enough outside noise. My Drumeo in-ears did a better job and I did not even need to have the track at full volume. I do have issues with the fit in my ears. Maybe mine are just an odd shape.

I had several attempts at the song and decided this one would have to do. It took me a little while to settle into the song. I used my Zoom H4 to record it. I will have to look at better options for microphones as the bass drum is hard to hear. It may just have too many cushions in it.

This was a real challenge for me, but fun. I hope that the next song is a little slower. Meanwhile I need to work on some other lessons.

Here is the band playing the song live. I really appreciate how hard drummers work now.

We have a fair few drummers on Hive now. They are welcome to use the community I created. I do not mind if they cross-post elsewhere.

Rock on!

The man behind: @tenkminnows: Helping good Hivers level up

@proofofbrian: A bot that checks for tag typos

#BritList: A monthly list of Hivers in the UK



0
0
0.000
16 comments
avatar

Dang that is a crazy bass part. I can't even imagine trying to do that with a pedal. Nice job!

0
0
0.000
avatar

My foot doesn't move that fast, but that may be down to technique. Something else to work on.

0
0
0.000
avatar

A serious effort there my man, and you've got the beat!

!BEER

0
0
0.000
avatar

Did you get out of step for a while? Great song, I loved the Go-Go's.

Nice to see you have real drums now, I spotted a set on a junk market yesterday, not as many cymbals as yours.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I may have slipped off the beat at times, but just keeping up was hard. I'm not used to playing so fast, so I need to practice.

The two types of kit are quite different. At least I can experience both. A lot of people just can't have acoustic drums at home.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I may have slipped off the beat at times

I thought so, wasn't sure if it was my ears. I will stick to the keys, it looks hard.

0
0
0.000
avatar

I commend your effort and strength. You are really dedicated to what you do

0
0
0.000
avatar

Nice one, good to have the real kit these days so much more fun!

0
0
0.000
avatar

I can see your effort
You’re giving it your best

0
0
0.000
avatar

The bass kick is something I always find miraculous when drummers keep doing a fast beat and even double kicks. How do they not get tired??? :) That floor tom idea was very good. I was wondering if it would help to use a thicker stick, like a soft mallet on it to make it give an even bigger bass sound? I don't know how it would sound honestly, just visually it look like it might make it more bassy :D

Good you did it though. I am slowly coming around to the idea of "perfection is the enemy of done" :)

With respect to your ear monitors, maybe you should go the Keith Moon route and stick multicolored tape around the monitor and your ear to keep it in place :)

Keep rocking, punk :D Respect!

0
0
0.000
avatar

I've not looked into double kick drum pedals yet. I get to see what other people have done for this song and there was a mix of some doing the original bass and others did the floor tom like me. My tom is smaller than usual, so may lack tone. I have some mallets that are good for cymbals.

I think some people put ear defenders over their in-ears, so I may look at that. I want to preserve my hearing and drums are just LOUD!

!BEER

0
0
0.000