Drum Transitions

Viiins

Viiins

New Member
It almost seems like you are on the Highway, enjoying your ride, then realize you just missed your exit, or taking an exit right at the end with screeching tires.
Help, That is exactly how i feel when drumming and transitioning to to another part of a song. It has happened to me couple times but mostly when i am not playing along a metronome. How do you guys deal with this? Thanks!
 
Happens to me because I spend 90% of my life daydreaming about something other than what I'm supposed to be doing at the moment.

When it happens, I always think up some kind of fill that will suffice to slide me into the next section - and I strive hard to make it look like I fully intended to do it that way.

I.E., BLUFF!

GeeDeeEmm
 
Yeah, we've all been there. If it happens, body language is key obviously. If you don't act like you messed up badly, noone else really will.

But the obvious answer is practice. Practice so much that the live performance feels like a practice routine since you are so used to it. I also always used to make eye contact with the bassist for certain cues, etc. we talked about it during practice
 
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Paul_MovementDrumCo said:
Yeah, we've all been there. If it happens, body language is key obviously. If you don't actl ike you messed up badly, noone else realy wil.

But the obvious answer is practice. Practice so much that the live performance feels like a practice routine as well since you are so used to it. I always used to eye contact with the bassist for certain cues, etc.
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That's one of the problem, they all look forward and no eye coordination. I will have to go with what you say. thanks!
 
I say this as a teacher who regularly instructs bands: the drummer needs to do something. Not knowing when to play a certain part of the song, is the sort of thing that frustrates your band, and makes drummers lose gigs. If you really want to not get lost, in this band and others, read on.

Learn to count measures. Say "1" as you begin the first measure, then "2" as you begin the second, and so on. If you count in your head, you'll get lost, so count out loud. Count in groups of four measures, i.e. if there are supposed to be 8 measures, you would count 4, two times. Counting out loud like this is a learning tool, of course. The ultimate goal is to be able to "feel" these groups, but this will take a long time, depending on how often your band rehearses, and how many musical situations you're involved with. So, for the next few weeks --- Count. Out. Loud.

If there is not a set number of measures to be played, then you must listen for a musical cue from the other instruments: a riff, a phrase, a chord, etc. Have that musician face you, so that you can watch, with your eyes, the instrument being played. And, if there is no specific musical cue, then a physical cue becomes necessary: a head looking up, a fist in the air, etc.
 
brentcn said:
Learn to count measures. Say "1" as you begin the first measure, then "2" as you begin the second, and so on. If you count in your head, you'll get lost, so count out loud. Count in groups of four measures, i.e. if there are supposed to be 8 measures, you would count 4, two times. Counting out loud like this is a learning tool, of course. The ultimate goal is to be able to "feel" these groups, but this will take a long time, depending on how often your band rehearses, and how many musical situations you're involved with. So, for the next few weeks --- Count. Out. Loud.
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Wow. I can vouch for the “out loud” requirement. It works. This is something I’ve been doing most of my drumming life. I had no idea this was a method of some sort.

When our band plays Santana’s version of Black Magic Woman I always count—out loud—the last 8 bars. Every time. I’d be so screwed otherwise.
 
I don't know how you can instill a way to remember arrangements. Counting bars seems like the only way, but man does that sound like such a chore. I write my arrangements out with songs I have to play that I never heard before. An example is: intro/verse/chorus/bridge/solo/ending. I could write out how many bars each section has, and sometimes I do, but usually I do that part by melodic memory. I think I would freak out if I didn't have the arrangement memory I do. It must feel really scary not knowing what's coming up, I can't even imagine it. If that's the case, then I would think that the only way to get arrangements in my head is to write them out and memorize them by rote.
 
If I can’t hear the vocals clearly or the lead guitar is too “dirty” or distorted or the lead changes the part, making a longer or shorter solo, transition crap happens and creative fills take over.
 
When in doubt, I usually listen to who I think is the best player on the bandstand and cue from them. I don't like relying on anyone else at all though. I've had many times where I was the only one up there who knew where we were supposed to be.
 
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