tips on drum emotions?

[omnicloud7]

helo po sa lahat, pahingi po sana ako ng advice tungkol sa drum emotions.

kasi sabi po ng mga iba, na parang robot daw ako kapag nagdradrums.

could you guys give me any advice? yung tipong drummer talaga ang dating mo kapag nagdradrums. 

thanks in advance!

[pmack]

omnicloud, medyo napangiti ako sa topic nito.
hehehe... i'm guessing medyo emotive yung tugtugan niyo?

ang masasabi ko lang, try to focus on the feel nung music and susunod na yung "emotions" ng pagd-drums.
hindi naman maganda pag choreographed yung galaw mo diba?
mas maganda natural and hindi pilit yung body language mo while drumming.

opinion ko lang yun ha.
peace!

[Gep]

Tumugtog ka ng nakapikit. Effective din yun. 

[pyong_2]

close your eyes ,relax & enjoy playing & so on makukuha mo din ang groove.... GodBless

[vdonati_fan]

i see Chad Smith sway his shoulders while playing to groove with what he plays...maybe that would help....

[daemonite]

hmm, just feel the song, not just playing it. nung last eb, nag-horse si dio tsaka jp ng songo (tama ba?) and parang gumigiling ang ating matinding moderator hehehe. as in fluid talaga and pag nakita mo in person mapapagiling ka rin. buti na lang napigilan ko hehehe. baka mapagkamalang chuvaness....

[jpmb]

i think emotions depends also sometimes on the mood of the genre or style you are playing...for example..whenver i play for my metal band Goat..nasa dragon mode ako hahaha...then it came to a time i session for a reggae band kaya medyo relax and downers mode ako hahaha...

its like wacthin a movie, your emtions will depend sa pinapanood mo..

my advise is to let it loose bro and enjoy every minute you're with the drumset...this will help you get that comfortable feeling..happy drumming...

[daemonite]

Eto naman tanong ko....

Pano pag di ka comfortable sa mga kasama mo sa band? How can you bring out the emotions? I've tried it last night. Di kami magkakuhanan ng loob nung naki-sessionan ko na bassist. Sa lahat pa ng tao na di kami magclick, bassist pa. 

[pmack]

Eto naman tanong ko....

Pano pag di ka comfortable sa mga kasama mo sa band? How can you bring out the emotions? I've tried it last night. Di kami magkakuhanan ng loob nung naki-sessionan ko na bassist. Sa lahat pa ng tao na di kami magclick, bassist pa. 

that's hard. dapat ang bassist and drummer ang magkakabit of all the people in the band. kahit hindi musikero, mararamdaman na hindi swak yung feel pag hindi magkasundo yung drummer and bassist.

i would say, pag di ka comfortable sa kasama mo sa banda, even if it's the bassist, just try to make the best out of the situation. subukan mo mag-adapt. PILITIN mo. kasi kung maghihintayan kayo na may mag-adjust while playing especially pag on-stage na, mahirap na yun baka masacrifice pa pati buong banda. so i say be selfless and pilitin mo mag-adjust kahit tipong impossible, kaya pa rin yan...

[daemonite]

It was so hard, as in.

Ganito kasi yun, i was invited by my guitarist to perform in his showband. Ang kwento kasi, asar na yung ibang members ng showband nya sa drummer nila so ako, kelangan ng pangGAS, call din ako, ang balita ko pero magkakabit talaga yung bassist tsaka yung drummer, as in sila lang magkakampi sa banda nila. So, nung nagsession ako, at first, medyo ok pa yung bassist, pero dahil pinasepra ako ng 20 songs in a span of 18 hours (gabi binigay yung listahan ng pondo and wala ako sarili kit and LECHE ang pldt dsl, i was able to finish downloading 1 p.m. kahapon, konti na lang time ko magsepra), parang di kami magkakuhanan ng groove nung bassist. Tapos sa performance na kagabi, he was always commanding me sa groove. Pero, good thing, nakasabay pa rin ako, kaso nga lang yung feel talaga ang hirap pag di ko controlled yung groove.

[omnicloud7]

hey guys, thanks for the replies here, keep 'em coming! kailangan ko pa talaga magtyaga ng konti sa body movements ko, pero happy naman ako kasi super enjoy ako kapag kasama ko tumugtog band ko, highschool pa lang kasi kami kaya close talaga kami. hehe

sir pmack! syempre may emotions mga songs namin, pero take note, hindi po kami emo band.

[drumster]

First of all, you have to genuinely want to play music.  And it's not only playing music in a physical or mechanical sense.  You need to find that certain connection, whether it is spiritual or emotional.

When I am listening, studying, or learning a certain song, I do not listen to the drum parts first.  I listen to the whole song.  I listen to what's happening to the song.  I check out the vocal parts and the other instruments' parts.  I also try to find out the theme of the song.  Is it a happy song?  A sad song?  A fun song?  A romantic song?  An aggressive song?  A song that delivers a certain message?  

And once I figure out these things, I try to be empathic.  Empathy... the ability to identify with another person's feelings.  I try my best to relate to the song.  And when a musician can deeply relate to a song, the music becomes much better.

During performance, I don't focus on my ego or try to impress somebody through my drumming.  It's an overused yet meaningful phrase, but I try to simply play for the music.  If I can enhance a certain song through a few chops and flash, that would be nice.  But I make it a point that I don't do it for self-fulfillment or just showing off.  I have to make sure that it would still compliment the music.

A tip for playing covers...  What I do is I try to pretend that I'm the one who wrote the song.  So, if I wrote that song, how would I express it?  By the way, always keep in mind too that whenever you play covers, you should respect the song, and its signature parts.  For example, if you're gonna play Rosanna, make sure that it's a rolling half-time shuffle groove.  We can't play it straight-ahead.  Or else, I would feel like the song is being disrespected.

Another thing that you can try during performances...  Try to put yourself at the audience's shoes.  If you were the audience, what do you want to hear?  What makes you feel good?  What will make your head bob, you fingers snap, and your foot tap?  Feel the audience.  Now that you're behind the drumkit, how will you execute the song?

Body language helps too.  Drums are rhythm instruments.  Dancing is also about rhythm.  Try to put yourself to a dancer's mindset.  You have to search the groove within your body.  For example...  Notice how Stevie Wonder moves his head left and right?  James Brown shaking his leg in sync to the groove?  Ray Charles rocking back and forth in his chair while playing the piano?  We should find that certain body language where in it can help us somehow establish a certain feel or flow.  Like what bro mike/daemonite said in his post, gumigiling daw ako hehe....  But it works for me, because that's how I find my groove.

Wag kayong mahiyang ipakita ang body language.  If it works, use it.  And it can be infectious.  I try to do that to pump up my band and our audience.  My bandmates also do that to make things feel good, or even better.  For me, the drummers who I admire and has/had so much of this are Steve Gadd and Jeff Porcaro.  Watch their videos, and observe.

The facial expression...  Well, it just happens!  But don't be ashamed of it.

I'm quite happy that I've somehow reached this musical or artistic level where in I can already express emotions through drumming (though there's still so much room for improvement and development).  It's not an overnight thing, but once you get it, the music and the performances become more meaningful.  I'd rather conclude a gig with our audience feeling our music and being touched somehow in a deeper sense, than impressing people through technique (though I'm not saying that the latter is a bad thing).

Hoping that my thoughts and insights help.  

[omnicloud7]

wow, bro dio, hands down thanks for the deep and meaningful advice. grabe, i'm going to print what you typed. I especially like the part about the playing covers and this not being an overnight learning experience.

thanks a whole bunch guys! more power sa atin!

keep the advices coming:)

[intake]

ganyan din ako dati! 

pag relaxed ka at feel mo talaga yung music kusa na lang nalabas yan 

remember...dont overplay 

[otep]

uhm, wat can i say is like what sandy told us last xmas eb...

parang it depends pa din kung ano talga genre na feel mo...
for example kung rock ka, yung feel ng katawan mo rock pa din kahit jazz tugtog mo, pero xempre yung mga ginagawa mo pang jazz pero yung feel lang ng katawan mo rock... parang ganun, waaaaaaaaaa hirap explain... heheh

[drumster]

I believe it can greatly help if we have an understanding of what makes a certain style of music feel good.  Ano ang masarap na feel para sa rock music?  Jazz?  R&B?  Latin?  Reggae?  And so forth...


Regarding bandmates...  Chemistry is very important.  Open communication is key.  Based on my experiences, I talk with my bandmates.  I make an effort to get to know them as persons and artists, and find out how they perceive music, what they want to happen during the performances, what they want in a drummer, what kind of feel do they want, what they do not want to happen, etc...  I also try to express to them my thoughts and ideas as well.  Being open and understanding are very helpful.

Examples based on my experiences...  I am aware that our guitar player is very particular of the hi-hat, because he relies so much on the hi-hats, which helps him with his senses of feel, time and groove.  So I always keep that in mind whenever we play.  I also talk to our bass player about how we can tighten our drum-n-bass playing, and about our certain roles on some songs.  I said that there are some songs where in we really need to lock in; there are some where in I'll just play straight-ahead while he can do melodic parts; there are some songs which are quite open, where in any of us can have the opportunity to wail away. 


Omnicloud...  You're welcome.  Thanks for appreciating.  We'll get there. 

[daemonite]

yeah, i wish i could say the same for the show band i'm sessioning in. pero malay mo, sa susunod medyo kapit na kami. i was so disappointed with myself the other night. alam kong hindi ako ganon pumalo eh.

[toybitz]

just play with feel Bro.

don't play drums and think about the notes your dishing out.  think of the song you're playing for.

[Dindin]

My take is that showing emotions while playing is not that important.
What is important is that you need to "feel" the song. Emotions will come out naturally...

Here's a tip: Close your eyes, listen to the song, and feel the groove...

[Bammbamm]

Dancing is a good way to feel the groove. Even a simple bobbing of your head will convince the viewers that you have the groove inside you.
And "Play loose" sabi nga ni JP! 

[intake]

ako rin...may kasamang emotion yung paggalaw ng arms ko...it helps, mas naffeel ko yung tinutugtog 

[kert]

in my opinion travis barker has a lot sense of drum emotions...but no disrespect to others

[Gep]

in my opinion travis barker has a lot sense of drum emotions...but no disrespect to others

Count Nicko McBrain in, mas malakas pa sigaw niya kaysa sa drum solo. 

[omnicloud7]

wow, so many replies, thanks a bunch again. i'll definitely close my eyes next time and feel the groove. 

[daemonite]

just play with feel Bro.

don't play drums and think about the notes your dishing out.  think of the song you're playing for.

actually i don't do notes  kaya nga importante sa akin ang chemistry ng band kasi widow player ako. kung may hindi kumagat na isa, patay ako....