DRUMMER CAFE

Hey everybody.

I'm already working on my drum solo for the Guitar Center Drumoff this year (hopefully me and my family can get a working camcorder, so I can record and post my solo on here and a couple other places). I'm thinking that if I want to get past the preliminaries this year that I'll need to throw at least 1 big aspect of showmanship into it. I was thinking that in one part of the solo, that I would do a one handed roll and spin my stick with my other hand.

Here's the problem: How do you do a one-handed snare roll? I saw a video by Johnny Rabb posted in a link on here a while back, but that didn't help. He made it look far too easy. Then when I'd go to do it, I'd be left in the dust.

What's the easiest way to learn to do a one-handed (closed) roll effectively? Anybody on here have a method that helped them learn it easily?

Yeah. That's the one I'm talkin' about. Thanks for this. But what's the easiest way to learn how to do it? That's what I mean when I say "one-handed" roll.

The GC Drumoff is in September. One of those things in terms of showmanship that I do best is spinning. I should probably find places in my solo to put spins, that is, after I finish doing the "playing" part of the solo.

Thank you for the tip. I should probably save that one-handed roll for next year. Also, about the kit being a different one than the one I play on, I can adapt to MOST other kits, and they give you a little bit (around 10 minutes or so) to put your own pedal on and move the toms to your favorite positions.
 
But anyway, thank you for that.

I found this on Steve Jordan's web page on Drummer World.  Maybe it will help?
http://www.onehandedroll.com/?gclid=CLOBueH_rIYCFR44VAodx14T_w
                                    Nutty

I agree Gaddabout I entered a few drum cops last year (not G.C. as I'm from Canada) but I went in thinking that if I played the hardest stuff (soloing against ostinato's) that I would just kill it. I made it to the finals (4 rounds later) but the kid that won it just played a bunch of different grooves, Samba, Jazz, Funk, Songo (and he really didn't play them all that well) but non the less he won. At the time I was dumbfounded because what I played was WAY cleaner (there is a dvd out so I've seen it a few times and have been told by others so I'm not tooting my own horn) but what I didn't take into account was that the judges or the audience (crowd reaction counted for part of the mark) really didn't understand what I was playing, they couldn't relate to it at all. They could on the other hand relate to a straight groove whether it was played well or not.
I have now come to the conclution that drum competions are not about who is techniqually the best player, its who everyone can relate to. Unless of course you have some sersious talent on the judging panel (I'm sure G.C. comps have better judges then the ones that I entered).
Anyway good luck to you xdrummer, most importantly have fun with it.
Robb

this is true Gaddabout, gig auditions I knew about, but I always figured that competitions were about who is the best......oh well, you live and learn.

Hi Dave,
You have a very cool sense of humor but at times very dry and too the point.  As that guy that included you in the list of people in the Thread that was "Thanking Bart", I too respect what you have
to say.  There are a few hand fulls of people I really listen closely too and you are one of them.
Thank you for being you. It's part of what makes this place so good.
                             Nutty

I just came back from a massive drummer's weekend in Melbourne (Australia). The competition there blew me away (I've never seen one before), and the judges knew their stuff (Judges: Dom Fomularo, Thomas Lang, Dave Weckl, Tommy Igoe, Frank Cornolia, 3 australian drumming legends, and some others).

Anyway, each contestant had to do a drum solo which had been written (extremely complex), and then there was an open solo. The drummers all showed amazing independance, chops, grooves, dynamics and of course flair. The guy who won deserved it!

But I'm just putting our biggest competition in contrast with your GC drum offs, I'm sure there are bigger ones in the US.

Good luck, and take all this advice with you.

If you play with deliberate strokes, purpose, intent and make it look easy, I'm sure its a shoe in. What I mean by that is basically subtley, but make it look or seem like you know exactly what your doing, and its all in your plan. (Is this making sense?)...

Proof's in the pudding. Those GC drum off competitions have been going on for at least a decade and I've yet to notice the name of one of those drummers in the liner notes of any CDs I've purchased. Perhaps it's because that's how forgettable the competitions are, but that just kind of proves my point, anyway. It might be nice to put on a resume, but three reputable references from previous gigs are worth 100 times more.

Absolutely.
Guys like you Hammertown Drummer are taking a well rounded approach.
Of course, a lot of the top recording players also have monster chops.
I do find that the average forum member is overly obsessed with double pedals, one handed rolls and players like Portnoy, Donati and Peart. However, when they post their mp3's, they struggle to sound good playing a simple pattern.
Get the simple stuff right first.....is my humble opinion.