Precession after pauses problem

Genazvale

Genazvale

Junior Member
Ok, I can easily play grooves and fills if they go straight and after about 20 times I feel like get it very precise.

But I really struggle when there's a gap. I just can't feel when it ends, especially, when there's a subdivision syncopated note after the gap/pause.

I mean something like this (the first one 8th=triplets):

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Or this:

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I can play all excersizes in Syncopation with simple ostinato in feet at 130, but seems like this doesn't really help to feel gaps.

Any suggestions?
 
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For stuff like that I don't count in my head, but I will very often count with my left foot. Either actually closing hats or just off to the side if I don't want the sound. For closed hat parts I still use my left but I bounce just the back of my foot so I can keep them closed.

If you're just getting new music and are expected to perform right away, look over the sheet for areas like that, and then "figure them out" before you start. As you do this more, it will become more automatic.
 
yeah, I was thinking about counting and that it can help, but unfortunately, I didn't use to count when I play. I count when I learn, but once I understand how it goes I don't count anymore, just trying to feel and kinda "sing" the melody in my head (like tu-ka-ta-ka). Tried many times to start counting, but I unconsciously stop after a few bars as I'm trying to focus on the music...
 
I think you need to learn to read music better in general (I wonder if you can read accurately the second bar of the second example complete just played on snare) and will not have a problem.

Practicing the "Syncopation" book as you do might help but to me it is TOO basic kind of book. Try to go over more advanced SNARE reading books (I don´t mean rudimental, ´though you can do that, but you´ll get a bit sidetracked because they tend to be more focuss on rudimental technique than reading).

Best regards!
 
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Thanks, Alex! I don't have problems with reading at all. I can play about 10 different snare solos from Advanced Solos by Wilcoxon (like Paradiddle Jonnie, Rythmnaia and many others). Not really fast, at 80 bpm, but can.
BTW I had this problem from the beginning. I was really challenging for me to play something like this and, I think, it still is ? I never could get those two quarter notes (after pauses) in time.
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During awkward rests, I add a note and play it on an imaginary drum that floats in the air. That helps.

I like to plant the downbeats, so if a rest is on a downbeat I try to place it as accurately as I can. In my mind, that's an accented note. I'm not so fussy about the offbeat that's actually played.

Bob Moses wrote a book called Drum Wisdom that talked about "internal hearing". It's the notion that what you hear in your head isn't necessarily the same as what you or the band is playing. I find that helps when playing rests. I "hear" the rests as accented notes. (Another example would be trying to "hear" the melody of a song during a guitar solo, and playing along with that melody while pretty much ignoring the solo.)
 
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Damn, yeah! I swear this is the solution - to add a virtual note! ? And I remember I tried to do this at the beginning.
Cool! Thank you, TMe!
 
Another idea would be to sing these bars to a metronome before you play it. Unlike your drums, your voice can sing the correct length of a note and rest as written. Then in a second step, join in with your sticks, but keep singing. It might help to develope a feel for rests.
 
I add a breath, nod my head, etc., whatever helps me to 'punch in' at the right time. Same idea as the imaginary drum, but this works better for me as it's what I used first. I've seen plenty of people use imaginary drums, or deliberately miss hits to achieve the same effect - e.g., doing straight sixteenths on the hats but taking out the rested hits by hitting next to the hats.
 
Genazvale said:
I can play about 10 different snare solos from Advanced Solos by Wilcoxon (like Paradiddle Jonnie, Rythmnaia and many others). Not really fast, at 80 bpm, but can.

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If you read again my previous answer:

Alex Sanguinetti said:
Try to go over more advanced SNARE reading books (I don´t mean rudimental, ´though you can do that, but you´ll get a bit sidetracked because they tend to be more focuss on rudimental technique than reading).
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you´ll see that that book is EXACTLY what I didn´t recommend you for your problem, because the focus is on playing the rudiments more than reading itself. Wilcoxon´s books are not advanced reading wise also, and the whole rudimental thing IN GENERAL is pretty deprived of tied notes, syncopation, etc.

In any case if an eight note rest puts you off or a doted quarter you might sincerely reevaluate your statement about your level of reading:

Genazvale said:
Thanks, Alex! I don't have problems with reading at all.
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It´s OK, if you address the problem seriously it will be easy to solve it and move ahead in no time.

Good luck!
 
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A quick breath on the beat, or a ‘grunt’ in my throat on the beat, helps me to fill in the gaps.
I’m a brass player too, and when I had to play constant offbeats such as in a Sousa march, my teacher suggested saying ‘oom’ inside my throat on each beat, making an ‘oom-cha oom-cha’ pattern where the ‘cha’ was the note I was playing. It worked - our band stopped dragging the offbeats.
 
Yeah. Different reading material. Count and play in a tempo where you can flow. Increasing speed can be more challenging, but slowing down can be, too.

There's a pause(or rest) written in the notation and rest is a beter word as there's no pause in the music, just a bit of silence.

Issue is now identified, so construct a way to work on it and don't get distracted. Work on this one thing and you'll have it down in no time.
 
janviyat said:
But I really struggle when there's a gap. I just can't feel when it ends, especially, when there's a subdivision syncopated note after the gap/pause.
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Not being able to feel it seems different to me than not being able to play something.

The fix could be as simple as listening to songs which have this kind of pause/silence until you can easily follow what they are doing.
 
I like to slow it down and set the metronome to 8th note or 16th note subdivisions whenever I encounter these sort of problems, but then I find it more effective when you count along as well. You can hear each subdivided beat clearly, and the counting reinforces your understanding of where the particular note you are playing fall on.
 
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