Filling in - can you fill me in ?

[wonderwebb]

I am just about getting used to playing what i can hear and certain sounds are now getting familiar. I am beginning to play now without thinking to much about what my hands are doing .

The problem im trying to workout is that after i have played a part that i i cant think quick enough to get to something else that i want to play my thoughts stumble which translate to stumbles on my hands lol. And the opposite of that is that i will keep repeating that phrase untill ive got another one which could get boring and all the while im thinking of what to do next my thoughts are not on what im playing which can lead to a stumble.
What is a good way to fill in in between or is it that when playing you should know where you are going almost like a song. I watch the videos on this site and others and think that sounds nice and i play the phrase and then dont know where to go with it or how to combine it with others that i allready know. I suppose its the thinking part which is tricky while im playing something diffrent to what i want to play next and then linking it. Is ther a good way of filling in to bridge these gaps.

Alot of drummers hit what i think are grace notes that they use for timing i think is this just 121212 ? when ever i try this inbetween it sounds crap like a robot with no feeling hmmm need a bit of help

Or is it that most players know where they are going before they set off lol ?

[Michel]

Hi! it sounds like we are in the same stage of learning.... In the class I study with I witness a lot of times that fellow-students are, when they get the chance to play their solo in some rhythm, always playing the same, repeating it untill they come up with something else, something that usually hardly happens... And I am familiar with it too... What helps me is:
-Listen to masters on their recordings (a lot!!), and try to figure out what they are playing. Not everything they play is hard to copy, and when you are familiar with the rhythm you play (which is so necessary!), you will find places where you can use them. For me I started to compose a 'song' of different phrases, stolen from different others, and studied that all over and over again, untill I could play it by heart always. I had a 'song' for an binary and for a ternary... And it worked out well. The solo I played for a Dununba I could also use for Garankefoly, for example. Not the real tradition, but it gets you started!
-When you listen to the masters, you will discover they take their time. A solo can be much more interesting when you leave breaks in it, stop play for a while and listen to the rhythm (sangban!) to get inspiration. You don't have to fill in everything.
-an 'question and answer game' with a dunun, gives always a good effect. But you need to listen and know the rhythm very well.
-Try to learn as much solo phrases as you can, and practice, practice. And in the thread I posted about insecure feelings the main tip was: RELAX!!! It's no use trying to play a fabulous solo and not succeeding because you try to hard.

I hope it helps. Maybe we can open up a therapy corner on the board?? Lol

Michiel

[rachelnguyen]

I'll join the therapy corner!

I think it comes with time and practice. I am totally anywhere near there yet, by the way.

But what has helped me get started:

When I play the solo phrases that I have learned for a song at home, during practice, I begin to play with them a little bit and experiment with them. For some songs, this comes more easily than others. Sunu, for example, seems to really lend itself to this.

I go to drum circles when I can, because even though it is completely unstructured, it gives me practice on improvising to a steady rhythm. My 'safety zone' is to play a steady rhythm, but I make myself 'solo' sometimes and it helps break down the inhibitions.

When my teacher invites me to solo in class, I don't rush. I take some time to listen to the dun duns and the djembes and just relax a little bit into it.

When I suck, which I often do, I don't sweat it. I am a student and I am learning and I don't give a crap what the other students think... only what my teacher thinks. And he has been teaching me for a long time now, so he can recognize little improvements even if they are subtle.

Love,
Rachel

[wonderwebb]

thanks for the advice i suppose its just a case of time and practise and probaly the confidence to just play and not to think to much. At my last drum class i was relaxed and played well. Ive just got to believe that if it sings in tune in my head its gonna play in tune in the rythm. lol i know that most of the time when it goes wrong its because im analysing it which i havent got time to. Its like the advice given dont worry too much just play and things will work themselves out .......eventually