Bad drumming days

Same here.

In fact, I had one yesterday. From my perspective anyway... We played a gig in 105 degree heat. No shelter, no wind. That was my excuse for yesterday's performance; I'm not sure about the other times. The other members assured me I was fine though.

One interesting note about my good days vs. bad days is that I get the most complements when I think I stunk up the place. Weird...
 
One interesting note about my good days vs. bad days is that I get the most complements when I think I stunk up the place. Weird...

That's happened to me a lot too. I sometimes wonder if it's that happens when our ears are especially demanding and we try to live up to it. While we fail in our own eyes because we know where we fell short, to a listener that's just a few moments in a three-minute song and they revel in the rest of it.

I remember a gig where I did a bad blunder - missed a beat - and walked off stage feeling really bummed. I wanted to be professional and pros don't make those kinds of mistakes.

Our manager congratulated me on my playing after the gig and I asked him how he could say that when I made such a crap mistake. He said, "But the rest of it was spot on ... there were none of those little mistakes you usually make".

That suggests that I normally settled for second best but this time I was going for gold and apparently came close most of the time, apart from the stumble. I also suspect there is a kind of maniacal desperation about our playing on bad days and some people enjoy the intensity.
 
I sometimes have bad practicing days, when i sit down and play and i can't feel good doing it. On those days it takes a bit of inspiration, like listening to music or watching a drum lesson. Afterwards i feel the need to play, and it goes up from there. :)
 
Okay, you're due on stage in 30 minutes. The sound check is done. You're in the bar or backstage. You notice that you don't feel centred or grounded.

What do you do? What have you done? Did it work? Does it work every time?
 
Heck yes, you can't do this all the time and not have bad days. The best baseball players in the National League (which is the only league that matters) have bad days.

They're really something, this human body and human mind we've got. No matter what you do they'll let you down from time to time. Boy will they let you down.

You'll be sitting there wondering, "Where in the hell are my hands tonight?" But life goes on, somehow.
 
Nope. Never. I'm 100 percent on all the time. From the day I first picked up the sticks, I could play whatever I put my mind to.

I'm also a terrible liar...
 
When I was gigging 3-4 nights a week, I rarely had a bad night of playing. However, I was also trained to be so prepared that even on a bad day, you were head and shoulders above the rest anyway (I know, it sounds unreasonable, but when you're younger....)

When things weren't going about as planned, I would simply catch myself and play simpler - that's usually the key. I was playing to complicated anyway. Once I got back into the groove of things, everything else followed and it became a good night.

One does have to have a clear mind though. If there's some kind of other stress going on in your life, you can't guarantee you're giving 100% to what you're supposed to be doing.
 
One interesting note about my good days vs. bad days is that I get the most complements when I think I stunk up the place. Weird...

Wonder if this is because when you think you're having a bad day you tend to play what you then feel is "safe" and don't push the boundaries ie you're not overplaying - - - - just a thought!
 
Do any of you ever have bad drumming days
I definitely have bad days. Sometimes it's clearly attributable to something--like if you're sick, but the most frustrating instances are when you can't figure out what the heck is going on--there are just some days where it doesn't click, and you can't peg it to anything that is different than normal, other than the fact that you're having a harder time playing.

I agree with Bo on this--usually the best tactic when it starts happening is to play simpler and just try to relax--you don't want to stress yourself out more trying to do things that are too difficult at the moment, because that's just going to make it worse and you'll increase the chance of causing a trainwreck.

Sometimes things will start to click again if you do that, and you can go back to playing however you normally do. Sometimes you just have to keep it simpler for the whole gig and try to forget about it . . . it doesn't last, but if you worry about it after it's over, that can make it last longer.

It's just like a slump that athletes get into. You're not going to hit a home run every game. But you don't want to start worrying about it, or you might end up hitting a buck fifty for the season or something.
 
One interesting note about my good days vs. bad days is that I get the most complements when I think I stunk up the place. Weird...
That happens to many people, and it's happened to me often enough, too. Others' opinions of how you played--from the audience to your fellow band members, often do not match your own opinion.

Realizing that is one thing that can help you relax when it happens to you. You can feel that you're cacking all over the place, but other folks might think it sounds great (of course, you could feel you're having one of your best performances ever, too, and no one says anything different, which is just as frustrating, lol). The bottom line is to just not worry about it and soldier on.
 
Had one today, and a bit yesterday. The more I practice, the less "bad" they are, but sometimes I have these horrible days where nothing feels right. Then I usually just practice for 1-2 hours and do other stuff.
 
Don't mind me - just grave digging an old thread because I suddenly forgot how to do anything drum related.

Started with me trying to fine tune my drums a little better. NOPE. Screwed everything up and had to retune the notes/intervals/tension they were at before I messed with. Then that frustration translated into my playing. I just couldn't do it. Anything. Simple beats, simple fills...I was hitting rims, missing drums, missing cymbals. Inaccurate rhythms, slow hands, fingers not working.

And just last night everything was perfect. I didn't want to stop playing I was feeling so good. And so all of today I was looking forward to getting off work so I could continue on that feeling. NOPE.

Today is officially ruined.
 
Back at it - drumming again. Been rehearsing with a band for almost a year now. What has happened to me from time to time is a freezing up state where I know I just have to keep the groove and play simple, if I over reach and do too much I'm bound to screw up and overplay something that doesn't fit. On the other hand on good days I get the feeling that everything is lined up and coming along naturally, and that is enjoyable, then the little breaks and fills seem to fit. Getting more of those days with the band now that I've been at it again a while. Funny thing is this happens to me just practicing too, when it's just not coming together or very frustrating and as it's been said already, just part of being human. Accepting and pushing through the bad days is what makes the good ones that much sweeter.
 
I rarely feel adequate. Bad drumming days are the worst.

When I am truly off, it's usually because of lack of sleep. <6 hours sleep and it becomes a serious effect, <4 hours and often things that should be easy suddenly become difficult.

One thing I have found is that playing often (at least two hours per day) and exercising every single day keeps my overall playing and mindset more at ease. Ideas flow out more naturally. Also, it takes far less time to "warm up". Consistency and discipline, two of my least favorite things! lol
 
I've had really bad drumming days before where it feels like all my talent has dropped out the bottom of my brain and all I'm left with is the muscle memory in my arms. I'm not sure what causes it but it sucks, it's like someone pushes a reset button in my head. The good thing is that it almost never happens anymore and it's hard for me to have a bad day drumming on stage since I love it so much. It helps when I do make a mistake that I always make sure to have a few months of practice into each song with the band. That way the recovery time is minimal and the whole thing doesn't fall apart.
 
I'm sick with a nasty cold right know, I even took a sock day today. I decided to go down and practice. If you don't have to play sick ( which I Have ) Don't, its like punching yourself in the face on porpose. Other than that yes I've had bad days, we all do.
POLY!!! I have not seen you on here in a long time. Did you go away for a while?? Welcome back my friend.
 
Back
Top