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Music: Practice & Theory

Questions tagged [drums]

Drums are a subset of percussion instruments played by beating a "head" stretched over a hollow "shell."

317 questions
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Words to describe this Dance Music texture/effect

So we always have like in dance music 4/4 and like 4 kicks in one bar with two claps or snares on every second beat going and let's say I add some bassline that plays totally different rhythm/pulse (...
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1answer
31 views

Drum head choices for Hyperdrive toms (short)

I have a Tama Starclassic Birch/Bubinga drumkit. The toms are TAMA's Hyperdrive (short toms). I am looking for new heads and ask the question what would be the best type of drum heads for short ...
3
votes
1answer
53 views

Untuned Percussion Clef

G clef (usually treble), F clef (usually bass) and very movable C clef (alto/tenor) are all very definable, as are the dots contained within. Look at untuned percussion music, though, and there's ...
2
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1answer
59 views

How to get a higher quality sound from my (cheap) hi-hat?

I've been using a cheap used drum kit for the past 8 months or so. It doesn't get the greatest sound, but it gets me by and it's good for practice. The only complaint I really have is that the hi-...
1
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1answer
33 views

Heel up technique

I want to know the muscle groups which are used in performing heel-up technique and how they are used. This is to know if I am doing it correct. While striking shall I use my hip muscles to lift my ...
3
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2answers
43 views

Do drum skins crack?

I am a keen drum player and have had my first drum skin crack. It was on a medium snare drum. The drum has been played for about 20 mins a day for the past 4 years. I had got the drum second hand and ...
1
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1answer
28 views

Improving drumstick control in non-dominant hand

Why is it that my drumstick in my dominant hand always hits the same spot yet the drumstick in my non-dominant rarely does?
2
votes
1answer
71 views

Does this drumming technique have a name?

I just discovered the track "I Got The..." by Labi Siffre and am blown away by it. One quite appealing technical detail is around the 3.25 mark the drummer starts repeating a kind of two bar sequence ...
1
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1answer
15 views

Skin tension problem with frame drum

I own a frame drum with a rawhide skin tacked on. Recently the skin tension dropped quite significantly. I know this might be due to temperature or humidity. Is there a way to tighten the skin ...
1
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1answer
44 views

Which technique is better to play double strokes on bass drum Heel-to-toe or sliding? [closed]

I have been practicing both heel-to-toe technique and toe sliding technique to improve my bass drum speed, which method would be helpful in the long run ?
0
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1answer
27 views

Is there any standard institute which provides certification for drummers in India?

I have been practicing drums for over two years and I want to know whether we have any institutions which would conduct exams and provide certification for drummers in India ?
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1answer
95 views

What Kind of Rhythm Is This?

I downloaded a latin / reggae / edm template for Logic Pro. I really like the beat, but I'm trying to understand it better. The creator didn't tell me anything about the key or time signature, only ...
-1
votes
3answers
52 views

Ride Cymbal in notation Sibelius

Hello I have this notation: Notation But someone told me that is wrong notated the ride cymbal and is incorrect. And that must be notated of the G space above the staff. Can someone tell me ...
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2answers
58 views

Drum set notation

I'm notating a drum beat in Finale that I worked on at first using a piano roll. Below is a screenshot of the piano roll containing the beat's pattern. From bottom to top the rows containing notes ...
1
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2answers
75 views

What’s this drum notation symbol (X in the top gap)

Hi. What’s the drum notation symbol that I’ve circled in the attached image? Thanks
0
votes
1answer
55 views

Do I need to EQ frequencies before layering or after?

I want to create kick-samples, snare-samples, etc... by layering recorded samples (e.g. 909-Bass-Drum + click + crunch). Also I want to cutoff frequencies to get suitable samples for the mix. I use ...
1
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1answer
59 views

Designing the home audio setup with musical instruments in mind

I'm trying to plan my new living room from the audio point of view and because it's a small living room, I'm trying to figure out if it's possible to use my musical instruments for jamming with ...
1
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0answers
33 views

Should I disable Addictive Drums native effects when using Pro Tools?

I'm working on some videos of myself recording at home. It doesn't need to sound professional but good at least. My setup is Pro Tools, Addictive Drums and some instruments. I'm wondering if it'd be ...
5
votes
1answer
148 views

Relearning basic technique after 10 years of playing drums

I started playing drums when I was nine, and mostly stopped when I moved to another city when I was 19, and have been practicing maybe once a month or two for the past few years. I used to be really ...
1
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2answers
116 views

Record multiple mics on one line

Is there a way I can connect two or more headset microphones to a single jack to record drums?
2
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5answers
178 views

The number of notes drums have

I'm wondering if there is anything about the number of notes a drum set has. Western music typically has 12 notes, but that is for everything except drums. Wondering if there is a way to classify drum ...
1
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0answers
37 views

Trigger / sync drum beat / drum machine to MIDI keyboard bass line

I play a bass line with my left hand, melody with my right and chords between the two. I want to add in drum beats triggered and synced to my left hand bass. For example, if I play C-E-G-D-F#-A-C-E-G ...
1
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1answer
60 views

what is the 'let' and the '&'

I am playing around with Drum patterns, and trying to decipher what is going on in these notes .. I have 2 bars in front of me.. but now thinking I need 4?? What does the & signify? The ...
1
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2answers
93 views

slow drum beats over fast sub beats

I'm looking for the definition of a drum beat where the main beat is slow, about 70 bpm, but the sub beat is about 3 times faster. What is the official name/style of that playing? for example ...
3
votes
1answer
142 views

Best way to practice bass (drum) technique without a bass drum

A question to all those who have been or are in my current situation of temporarily not having access to a bass drum to practice on. I do have a pair of sticks and carry a pad to practice my hand ...
1
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1answer
54 views

Guitar Drummer Pa system

So me and a friend have got a partial band lol. Its me on guitar and vocals and him on the drums. My question is how should we set up. we usually play in my shop metal walls and concrete floors. I ...
0
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1answer
73 views

Is the metronome the closest thing to a mechanical drum?

I noticed there's a lot of drum machines out there, but they're all electrical. Is the metronome the closest thing to a mechanical drum? and by mechanical I mean, there's no batteries/electricity ...
1
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1answer
768 views

Could I use “normal” headphones with an electronic drum?

I have recently purchased a Roland TD-4KP drum kit (that did not arrive yet), and I am wondering if it is possible to use my current headphone (a Sony WH-1000XM2) to play the drum, or is it required ...
0
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1answer
134 views

Converting Vocal Line into Guitar - Speed, Dynamics

I'm struggling with creating a vocal-less cover version of a song that does have a vocal line in my digital audio workstation. I know exactly what's going on in terms of notes/chord progressions in ...
1
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1answer
48 views

Stage monitoring for drums - in ear and speakers combined

I am a drummer and I am using in-ear for live performances as monitoring. But sometimes I have problems with the cymbals mix which can get to really high frequencies during the performance (moments ...
-3
votes
2answers
209 views

Can “regular” drummers play Death Metal?

I am an amateur drummer, and I can play a bunch of rock songs and other styles too, but death metal is way too extreme for me. So I have always wanted to know if any drummer can play it, or just death ...
3
votes
2answers
283 views

Is there any standard format for MIDI drum lines?

I'm getting the impression that the answer to this is probably no, but I'm wondering if there is any standard for writing drum tracks in MIDI format? For example, I downloaded a MIDI file for a (rock) ...
0
votes
1answer
72 views

How do I record my drums onto computer with roland td1kv?

I am using Roland TD1KV electronic drum kit. The manual says that you can easily record your drums and transfer it into a computer using a "standard USB cable", "sold separately". What do they mean by ...
5
votes
1answer
138 views

Pinky in traditional grip flying out for no reason

So I'm a new marching snare player and I've been practicing traditional grip for about 3 months now, and my technique has improved a ton over these months. But as of yesterday, my pinky in my left ...
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3answers
164 views

I feel my limits when I am learning drums techniques

I love drums. I am an amateur, but from my childhood I was fascinated by this great instrument. I've never owned a drum kit but I was always doing noise (with my hands on my belly, with my mouth, ...
4
votes
4answers
107 views

Will changing old drum skins improve the sound even if they are not visibly worn?

I'm mainly a guitarist but also play the drums for my own needs. I've had the same drum set and the same skins on it for as long as I can remember ... the skins are at least 10 years old. I don't hit ...
4
votes
2answers
151 views

What does this “legato” means for bass drum?

I am looking at the tab for heart of gold on Songsterr and I've come across this bit what does the legato notation means? Should I put two notes there or just one?
1
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2answers
504 views

Effectiveness of learning drums by playing Rock Band

For a few years I have been an avid Rock Band 3 player. For the last year, I have been taking more and more interest in playing drums on the game. My favourite bands to play on the game right now are ...
4
votes
2answers
149 views

What does the double 3s mean in these patterns?

These are from For Whom the Bell Tolls drums: I understand the sixteen-notes triplets, but the other 3 above them confuses me. The first sixteen-note of the triplets would be in the same location as ...
3
votes
3answers
146 views

Need help playing 16th notes on bass drum

This problem has been persistent ever since i began playing them. Whenever I play two 16th notes with the hi hat on the first it's usually completely fine, though when i play the first on the offbeat ...
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0answers
65 views

Repair cracked China cymbal? [duplicate]

My China cymbal cracked a little while ago and I tried to fix it by drilling holes into the ends of the crack to stop it from spreading through the cymbal, however this doesn't seem to have worked and ...
1
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1answer
922 views

How to make drums sound punchy and fat?

I know it's mostly about compression and EQ but I can't seem to get even closer to this. It just sounds really kicky, even the snares. I'm using Addictive Drums with almost all the presets, but none ...
47
votes
10answers
18k views

Why can't drums produce melody?

A note is a vibration at a certain frequency. A drum produces a tone with a certain pitch much like a string percussed with a mallet. Why is a drum unfit for playing a melody while a string inside a ...
2
votes
1answer
89 views

LilyPond: Subdivided beam grouping for compound time signatures

I'm trying to write a 12/8 drum score in Lilypond, with a lot of 32nd note phrasing, and the default beam grouping looks a bit ugly to me: (Here's the above example in LilyBin: http://lilybin.com/...
1
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1answer
152 views

Vertical score positioning in LilyPond

I'm writing a drum sheet template for LilyPond and I'd like to place a drum key box to the left of the header. Here is what I've done so far: LilyBin link for fiddling with my markup: http://lilybin....
10
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2answers
1k views

What is a paradiddle?

I have very recently tried to get a bit into very basic drumming and often read phrases like: "Start with practicing Paradiddles" or even "Paradiddlediddles". I got that far that this has something ...
2
votes
2answers
55 views

drumming — voice as a 5th dimension of independence

Working on 4 limb independence. Counting beats or measures in my head (or out loud) is really hard. 4/4 I can just feel and seldom screw up, but I'm studying jazz and trying not to get lost doing ...
2
votes
1answer
601 views

What is the name of this drums “disco” rhythm/technique?

I can hear this drums beat in several songs, but could never find a tutorial about it because I don't know what it's called. Genesis - Abacab (listen to the drums at ...
2
votes
2answers
100 views

2 drum stools broken in 2 years, both the same way at the stem, is that normal?

2 drum stools broken in 2 years, both the same way at the stem near the 2nd hole, is that normal? Before snapping 2 of them, I played drums for nearly 10 years with the same drumset and same stool ...
3
votes
3answers
82 views

What is the effect of “Conglomerising” your percussion?

When writing music, I use a program called Fruity Loops. Of the music that I write that has percussion, some of them are written with all the percussion instruments being grouped into one pattern. ...

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