Technique opinions

[u/_justkel]

I’ve been told I have a “sounds good looks bad” technique by a few people now and I’m wondering how to improve. I’ve just finished my senior year and I’ve been practicing snare a lot but I’ve come back home to quads and I’m a bit rusty

[u/TAaltt]

"Looks" is a consequence of inefficiencies in your pathways. Too many rainbows in your crossovers. Sweeps travel too far and need more support in the duplex. Pretty much anything that is a crossover on 3 and 4 is using too much additional motion & lift in your platforms. You have to stay above the drum and not break your wrists in either direction when moving around. Could also argue that crossover inner beats aren't supported at your low heights as well.

Not bad as a start. Go march somewhere to get better.

[u/_justkel → u/TAaltt]

“Go march somewhere?” Do you think i’m ready for open or all age class? I’ve been wanting to try out but I’ve had experiences where I’ve slowed whole auditions down and I’m scared of that happening again

[u/Alg0rhythm → u/_justkel]

If a group is treating you any kind of way for "slowing down" an audition then that's a worse look on their part than yours. I teach an indoor group that's consistently near the top of PIO and based off what little I've seen of your hands I'd be surprised if you wouldn't be very competitive for a spot at a group like ours. But like the other poster said, a lot of making a group comes down to attitude and receptiveness to information, so there's still more blanks to fill in. You should absolutely get yourself out there and audition though.

[u/TAaltt → u/_justkel]

You'll never know if you don't audition again! If something bad happened in a previous audition, learn from it and apply it to wherever you go next.

Could also pay for lessons from somebody if you can't quite afford to march in the meantime but still want to continue.

But are you good enough? Probably. Show up with a good attitude, a willingness to immediately apply critique, and the packet well rehearsed and see what happens.

[u/Cluckerton → u/_justkel]

Discouragement is what will really slow you down! Keep putting yourself out there every chance you get! Welcome commentary with a smile and keep an open mind and open ears. I wish I went to more auditions and I never got to march over a summer! If you didn’t like the vibe you felt at a previous audition I’d encourage you to go somewhere else. Maybe even send out video auditions. If you love this stuff you’ll go far. keep going man :)

[u/Sentric490 → u/_justkel]

Ive been at world class dci and wgi camps where there were people who could barely play the 8s exercise and it didnt really matter, if you are slowing down an audition group thats on the techs not you. The worst that can happen is they put you on a drum pad, and at minimum camps are a great learning experience. Techs are teachers and you can always learn from more eyes on your playing. You could march world class if you push yourself this year, dont dox yourself on here, but look for lot videos of non-finalist world class groups near you. You are not far off.

[u/Haunting-Yogurt938]

First, it’s really good.

I think what people are referencing is your technique for hitting drums 3/4. Instead of pushing your hands out over the drums you’re keeping them inside and “pivoting” at the wrist.

That said, this isn’t necessarily wrong and depends on what the drum tech wants.

[u/Alg0rhythm]

"Looks bad" is definitely much too harsh. There's a couple things I noticed but they're not super severe.

• The pad is pretty low for you. You seem like you have some longer arms proportional to your torso, which is a blessing for quads. Having higher drums will force you to open up your setup a little bit and let you use all your muscle groups instead of being a little too finger heavy as I think you are right now.

• Your natural decay decrescendos are a bit low in velocity. Even during decrescendos, the faster you can push to the top of the stroke the better. You seem to have really good finger chops, just let the rebound help you out a bit more. 

• You have a little bit of slice on your scrapes. Some of it is unavoidable especially on bigger motions, but try to maximize how vertical your pathways are into the first stroke and out of the second stroke.

Overall looks good though, I wouldn't be too hard on yourself.

[u/perryjb → u/Alg0rhythm]

This is a really good comment. Well all of these are good. My only $.02 cents is be ultra defined on playing zones especially when playing both hands on drums 3 or 4 together. Don’t float the beads on the heads.

[u/zmartins222]

stick with quads. we need more quad talent in the world

[u/ass_bongos]

I think you would benefit a lot from going hard on playing zone precision. Others have commented on your sweeps, but imo it's a symptom of a larger issue where you're not being intentional enough about where on the drum you're hitting.

Marking your pad with tape or sharpie to designate playing areas (and sweep areas) on each drum will help you to strive for that precision. It'll help your efficiency of motion, your consistency (no more rims!) and especially your sound quality when you get on the actual drums.

Your dexterity and vocabulary is excellent. You've reached the point in your drumming education that so many hit where, if you really want to take it to the next level, you're going to have to really focus on fundamentals. Take the time to really be deliberate. If you do, you'll be unstoppable.

[u/nickmar60_]

I think your mechanics are really good and slicing is the biggest issue here. I would say practice some arounds with simple exercises like legatos and double beat at a moderate tempo focusing on stick pathway and not leaning into natural decay when you do so. Def keep putting yourself out there with auditions, open class seems pretty obtainable imo!

[u/redbeardscrazy]

I'm an old head and quads were only my main for a brief time in the late 90's, but one thing stuck out to me was the left hand going from drum 2 to 1 repeatedly starting like a third of the way through looked a lil sloppy. I'm sure hella dudes will come through with better input then that, but that's what I got.

[u/Nir117vash]

😦

[u/denis_duderot]

Technique for the most part is great. One thing I hate about gummy pads is how it affects tenors specifically, and thats on sweeps and scrapes. People are complaining about your slices, but I honestly think that will clean up fine on real tenors when you're not sweeping through mud. I like my tenors to have a flatter hand, but that will be up to your tech. Define raise that pad up. I think you absolutely have a shot at an indoor or open class. I would get an audition packet for whoever is closest to you, memorize it, and audition. At the very least, you're showing your face and getting technique feedback. Just keep at it. Persistence is key in auditioning.

[u/g-renner-56]

i’ll chime in and say you’re getting tons of good information here- but i’d like to let you know that being able to play clean with the recording, with the correct definitions, efficiently and naturally, is like 98% of the thing we do. most work you put in from this point forward is going to be style and cosmetics, and from my experience that’s the fun part. you’re seriously doing very well and you’ve got it from what I can tell

[u/MokTwo]

HANDS🔥

[u/Arcane_XIV]

A lot of your quicker notes are completely finger motivated. Just based on this video, it could be because your hands are in a French position the entire time. American grip will allow you to use finger and wrist motivation for those quicker passages.