Some tips from the real drummers please

[theonlychief]

Hi guys. Recently I purchased the Roland TD-3 drum set. Do the real drummers have any tips regarding using the high hat controller. (eg. going from having my high hat controller foot pressed down to the next note requiring it being released and then back to being pressed down and also with some kicker bass in there). I just find it hard to sequence it all. Just looking for some tips that might make my timing easier. I know.....practice right? I kind of find it helpful to lean my body back for the note that requires me to release the HH controller and then come bring my body forward as i push the controller in for the next note.....if you can visualize that. lol

What I try and do is play RB either on practice mode or solo mode with "no fail". (keep in mind my TD-3 are not hooked up to RB during this. They are hooked up to my powered speaker and I just use RB as guidance). But during the song if you do not use the kicker theat stupid foot symbol pops up right in the middle of the screen and its hard to see the yellow/blue bars coming down the screen. Is there a way to get rid of that foot icon obviously besides pushing the green button on the XBOX controller? Thanks guys.

[davidshek]

Just looking for some tips that might make my timing easier. I know.....practice right? I kind of find it helpful to lean my body back for the note that requires me to release the HH controller and then come bring my body forward as i push the controller in for the next note.....if you can visualize that. lol

You already stated the correct answer: Practice. There are no shortcuts or tricks for drums, practice is really the only way to learn. Go search Youtube for videos on hi-hat technique, there's a TON of them.


What I try and do is play RB either on practice mode or solo mode with "no fail". (keep in mind my TD-3 are not hooked up to RB during this. They are hooked up to my powered speaker and I just use RB as guidance). But during the song if you do not use the kicker theat stupid foot symbol pops up right in the middle of the screen and its hard to see the yellow/blue bars coming down the screen. Is there a way to get rid of that foot icon obviously besides pushing the green button on the XBOX controller? Thanks guys.

If you put it in Practice Mode and don't touch the drums at all, you won't get that foot symbol on the screen. Don't use regular play mode with No Fail.

[theonlychief]

Hey David. I am on practice mode. The only thing connected to my Xbox is the Ion drum controller. I dont even have the drums plugged into the drum controller so I can't be touching the drums but I still get that darn foot!

[davidshek]

Hey David. I am on practice mode. The only thing connected to my Xbox is the Ion drum controller. I dont even have the drums plugged into the drum controller so I can't be touching the drums but I still get that darn foot!

Well, I'm not sure what to tell you. To record the note charts for my acoustic drum vids, like this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KW8IxCd3sJU&fmt=18

I go into Practice Mode, start a song and don't touch the drums. I never get that foot icon.

Maybe it's because you don't have anything plugged into the Ion controller...try plugging in at least the kick pedal and see if that works.

[theonlychief]

Thx for the info Davidshek. You are pretty damn good on those. I tried plugging in the drums and still the bloody foot. Are you using RB or RB2? I am using RB2. Not sure if that makes a difference or not. Just a quick question. If I am playing Pearl Jam Black. How do I know what the blue note is. Do you just go by ear? You can probably do that but I haven't developed the "ear" for that yet. I can't tell if its a Crash or a open high hat. Thx bud

[davidshek]

Thx for the info Davidshek. You are pretty damn good on those. I tried plugging in the drums and still the bloody foot. Are you using RB or RB2? I am using RB2. Not sure if that makes a difference or not. Just a quick question. If I am playing Pearl Jam Black. How do I know what the blue note is. Do you just go by ear? You can probably do that but I haven't developed the "ear" for that yet. I can't tell if its a Crash or a open high hat. Thx bud

I recorded that Everlong note chart on RB2. Actually I think I recorded all of my blank note charts on RB2.

As for how to tell what note is what, the only way to do is by ear or by watching videos where people are using the right cymbals. I have a few of those up, in fact all of my Ion videos are created for that exact purpose, but not nearly as many as I'd like. For me, it can be from either knowing the song beforehand, or even just from knowledge of how drum patterns work. Once you've been playing for long enough, you develop an instinct of when certain things should be played.

But I can tell you that in Black, the blues during the verses are open hi-hats. During the chorus, the blues are ride cymbal.

[theonlychief]

Thanks a bunch David. Hey I hooked up the original drums for RB2 and the foot went away. I think I knew what it was now that I am thinking about it. When I had the Ion drums sometimes I would just get up and walk away and as soon as I stood up the green button would get pressed even without any input from me. Weird huh? Ghosts in the machine I guess. Now you really messed me up on the Black song with the blue key. haha. Thats ok. With practice I will sooner or later get it. Just wanna say a big thanks for you helping me out and doing so promptly. Very kind of you.
Jack