INSTAGRAM / YOUTUBE DRUMMING CULTURE: LOVE IT? HATE IT? WHY?

[toddmc]

The other aspect I wish we had youtube when I was younger:

It sets a bar of where skills really are.

As a teen in the 80's, you listen to the radio, and ok, it was Bon Jovi, Guns and Roses, etc, and I'm all "ok, I can do that". Turn on MTV, and it's pretty much the same thing. OK, along comes Lars, I'd better learn some double bass. OK, got it.

And sure, you could get a cheap tape recorder and check yourself, but it was difficult to get much if any, real feedback on where you were as a player. And it was easy to think you were better than you were.

Sure, I was into Peart and knew about Weckl, Vinnie, Simon Phillips, etc, but they all seemed to be way out there, more of an exception than the rule.

If in 1988, you asked 50 drummers who are the top 20 current drummers in the world, sure, the order would be different, but all 50 would have a similar-ish list.

But now with YT, one can see there are a lot more highly, highly, highly skilled drummers out there. Competition is high. Just getting away with being to play the songs on the radio isn't going to cut it in the real world.

Now if you asked 50 drummers who are the top 20 current drummers in the world, the names on these lists would be all over the place. You might end up with 1000 different names if you complied them all.

Kids today have to practice more. They need to bring more talent. You want to know how you're doing? It's easy to make a video. It's super easy to check out 500 drummers at the same level as you and see where they are. Gut check time. If you need to practice more, there a ton of examples out there as to why you'd better practice more.

Not feeling it today? Here are a thousand more drummers on YT to motivate you.

If you think you really have your stuff together, a reality check is just a few mouse clicks away.

In 1988, I would have killed to have access to something like youtube.

Very well said and if you want a real kick in the guts, post a drum cover to this forum 😄

I mean this in the best possible way of course- someone who gets a million views/ likes or whatever from Youtube alone may just have a strong social media following while receiving positive feedback from this forum is a bit more "legitimate" I guess

 

[Cmdr. Ross]

Very well said and if you want a real kick in the guts, post a drum cover to this forum 😄

I mean this in the best possible way of course- someone who gets a million views/ likes or whatever from Youtube alone may just have a strong social media following while receiving positive feedback from this forum is a bit more "legitimate" I guess

Absolutely!
Like @DrumEatDrum said about drumming in the 80's (as I did as a teen drummer), it was a whole different game. As a teen then, Modern Drummer was in the mailbox like clockwork every month. The only way to name drop was to read it, hear the songs on the record & discuss it.

These days, I see kids barely out of single digit age drumming circles around me. I'm fine with that as I know times change and I actually find them inspiring.
But I'm of the school that playing your instrument well is one thing, playing it well with others is something completely different.

 

[NickSchles]

YT is a tool. It helps me work through the moguls.

Yes! It’s a great tool, but if you know how to get the most out of it. So much content and no direction can make for option paralysis and no progress! 🙃

 

[GeoB]

Sticking play alongs with Stone seems to be a go-to for me.

 

[felonious69]

For the record:
When I read the term "selfie slut" posted by @Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX ...IMMEDIATELY I pictured David Lee Roth.

Just sayin'.

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

For the record:
When I read the term "selfie slut" posted by @Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX ...IMMEDIATELY I pictured David Lee Roth.

Just sayin'.

that is what I was referring to....not female specific, but people who are really into seeing them selves on camera...people who will forsake certain amounts of civil and interpersonal interactions to be "seen" by other people...

some would call me a "Drum slut" because I will drop all else to play, talk about, look at etc....drums

maybe the word "addict" is more clear? Selfie Addict....

 

[felonious69]

maybe the word "addict" is more clear? Selfie Addict....

I don't think that addicts are as into sharing...

 

[bud7h4]

INSTAGRAM / YOUTUBE DRUMMING CULTURE: LOVE IT? HATE IT? WHY?​

I don't engage. I view what I want, take what I want from it, and that's the extent of my involvement and/or concern with who made what video where.
Overall I think there's been more positive than negative affects on music but there certainly is plenty of both.

 

[felonious69]

Just Friday, when I was driving home from work...JAMMING...
I pull in, turn down and then off my stereo/car and go inside.
Open my email and Sweetwater...THE GODS OF GREAT CUSTOMER SERVICE...random email.
One of the articles...Nick (Something)"how to play Don't Fear The Reaper" on YT video.
THAT is what I was listening to when I pulled up...thinking I should work on that song (guitar)

That kind of tool would have been immensely helpful when I was younger.
Was watching a recent post of Under Pressure cover by one member here.
That is cool! Different angles...can pause/rewind...That is how I learn best...watching and doing.

 

[Sebenza]

I'm starting to realize that it's the "production value" thing that is putting me off on the whole instagram/youtube drumming thing...meaning all those different shots from different angles... Today this video popped up in my recommendations, and that girl's bass playing is just so much for the better for it being a whole take...

 

[Seafroggys]

That's why I mostly do all my videos one camera, so you know it's one take. I'll use multi-cameras sometimes, but I make sure in the description I say "this is one take".

But yeah, a lot of instagram/youtube performances are hella-spliced. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but I think it gives off a false impression because it *looks* like that musician actually played that.

 

[MrInsanePolack]

If only one camera is used, what would be the preferred angle? Cant see the feet from the front, can't see a lot of the hands from the rear, top view makes it harder to see stickings. Maybe 2 cameras and just leave them both on?

I too get tired of seeing the constant camera shifting. Sometimes it does make it easier to see things though. It would be cool if maybe the viewer had options with how they watch the performance.

 

[Sebenza]

If only one camera is used, what would be the preferred angle? Cant see the feet from the front, can't see a lot of the hands from the rear, top view makes it harder to see stickings. Maybe 2 cameras and just leave them both on?

I too get tired of seeing the constant camera shifting. Sometimes it does make it easier to see things though. It would be cool if maybe the viewer had options with how they watch the performance.

I guess I don't really care about the angles...if the audio is decent standard, that's enough for me. I'm competent enough on the instrument to recognize the musicianship involved in doing a "one take" take and that is much more impressive to me than all those elaborately produced videos involving snazzy cuts. I've spent enough time in studio settings to truly appreciate what it takes to track a difficult 5 mins or longer tune in one go.

We don't get punch-ins or reruns live either, but it seems most of those yt/ig stars don't have much videos of them playing live either... (obviously there will be exceptions, but I think the general point might well be valid)

 

[felonious69]

I guess I don't really care about the angles...if the audio is decent standard, that's enough for me. I'm competent enough on the instrument

One example I can think of is the Yoyoka videos, where they have her kick foot in the lower corner and a different angle in another corner (PIP).
I am not proficient in a lot of areas to be able to just "tell" what exactly is going on, so different angles can be a good thing.
On the other hand...I only have one camera, as I suppose a lot of people might.

But I do learn better from being able to both see it and hear it.

 

[Xstr8edgtnrdrmrX]

I'm starting to realize that it's the "production value" thing that is putting me off on the whole instagram/youtube drumming thing...meaning all those different shots from different angles... Today this video popped up in my recommendations, and that girl's bass playing is just so much for the better for it being a whole take...

I am in love!!!!

with her awesome technique and feel...she reminds me of a student I just started who, in a few months, will probably have that same thing going on!!

 

[BrokenStick]

It borders on too much information, as well as being an echo chamber of licks. Which for me means sticking with known players and not bothering to scroll.

There does seem to be a competition to cram more notes on a increasing diversity of sound sources than will fit in a space. AS the background stage chatter leading into The Mule (Deep Purple, Made in Japan) puts it: "can I have everything louder than everything else." That is social media in general and drumming in specific.
I am skeptical of the pedagogical value of social media, but I am in something of an unusual position there. And I worry we are spending too much time listening to and dissecting licks and not nearly enough time listening to music. As for the informational value, it can be tremendous. I researched my latest kit almost exclusively on YouTube, and I likely would have been completely unaware of drum industry happenings were it not for YouTube.

 

[incrementalg]

Absolutely!
Like @DrumEatDrum said about drumming in the 80's (as I did as a teen drummer), it was a whole different game. As a teen then, Modern Drummer was in the mailbox like clockwork every month. The only way to name drop was to read it, hear the songs on the record & discuss it.

These days, I see kids barely out of single digit age drumming circles around me. I'm fine with that as I know times change and I actually find them inspiring.
But I'm of the school that playing your instrument well is one thing, playing it well with others is something completely different.

Ah...I loved getting my Modern Drummer back in the day...feeling like I was personally getting tipped off with some insider info when I read about a drummer or band I hadn't heard before. It was also fun when a buddy/bandmate would bring over a CD, record or tape of something I hadn't heard before. "You gotta check this out!" Part of the fun for me was having to explore to find stuff. I was constantly at a music store looking for something I had heard about or for something entirely new.

 

[BrokenStick]

Drumming culture on YouTube and Instagram bores me in terms of watching yet another drum solo featuring gospel chops from a 9-month-old baby who can't even walk yet. (I swear it's not jealousy; it's just that I don't really like drum solos anymore).

However, when it comes to getting good deals on used gear, I enjoy those videos on Facebook and Instagram. I REALLY like drum demos and "shoot-outs" on YouTube from Drum Center of Portsmouth, and I'm pretty sure that Nick D'Virgilio from Sweetwater's videos could sell me a swimming pool in the middle of winter. I like his presentation and personality.

Agree with everything here. I skip the drum solo chops smorgasboard display in almost all videos, but I do mine the informational stuff regularly.

 

[BrokenStick]

As for Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and other platforms, I've never used them, and I don't wish to. What happens therein has no impact on my life. My opinion of them is beyond neutral. It's embodied by total indifference.

Ah, but it does impact your life. It's like shoplifting. You may not practice it yourself, but you are victim of it nonetheless. It influences the World around you and you as well if only by reflection--unless you are a hermit. And forums are a form of social media as well.

 

[BrokenStick]

I normally don't care for 80:20 (the content to me is a bit meh and just meandering) but that video was pretty funny, haha.

Not a big fan either, and that video went right over my head. Guess not seeing means not seeing the humor in that. It was supposed to be funny, right?