|
ritchet
Guest
|
 |
« on: January 08, 2007, 01:22 PM » |
|
I play every night to CD's . The problem I have is that when I play without Headphones I can't hear the drum track over my drumming and when I use head phones I can't hear my drums very well. I have a very loud stereo and I have resorted to playing it very loudly so I can hear the drum parts. This however is very tiring to my ears playing at that level. Any suggestions
Thanks, Tom
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Gaddabout
supporter
Platinum Member
 Online
Posts: 2334
|
|
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2007, 02:00 PM » |
|
Remove one ear to the side. It's the cool Steve Gadd thing to do!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Odd meter isn't broken. It doesn't need to be fixed. - David Crigger
|
|
|
Chris Whitten
Honorary Cafe VIP
Platinum Member
Online
Posts: 5898
|
|
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2007, 05:32 PM » |
|
As above.........
Or learn to be satisfied not hearing your own drums very well.
That's how I practiced and it came in useful once I turned pro!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Gaddabout
supporter
Platinum Member
Online
Posts: 2334
|
|
« Reply #3 on: January 08, 2007, 10:00 PM » |
|
As above.........
Or learn to be satisfied not hearing your own drums very well.
That's how I practiced and it came in useful once I turned pro!
I was going to say something like this, but I was afraid everyone would assume it was sarcasm. When you say it, it just has ... what's the term? ... credibility. That's it. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Odd meter isn't broken. It doesn't need to be fixed. - David Crigger
|
|
|
Chris Whitten
Honorary Cafe VIP
Platinum Member
Online
Posts: 5898
|
|
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2007, 10:19 PM » |
|
Yeah, I thought people would think I was joking. But I was not.  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Bart Elliott
Chef de Cuisine
Platinum Member
Online
Posts: 12772
Be Thankful
|
|
« Reply #5 on: January 08, 2007, 10:34 PM » |
|
Remove one ear to the side. It's the cool Steve Gadd thing to do!
I control how much of the headphones and how much of my acoustic sound I hear using this technique, although I never have one ear piece completely off my ear. I typically adjust it by sliding the ear piece from covering my ear completely. I don't recommend playing louder or cranking the music to get what you're needing. Try going the other direction; lower the volume of your playing and music to get what you need. I with Chris Whitten ... I play a lot of gigs where I can't hear my drums like I'd like to. Like Chris, being comfortable not hearing my drums when I play has really paid off in my career. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
My doctor says it's bad for my blood pressure if my mind is blown for more than five minutes at a time.
|
|
|
David Crigger
Honorary Cafe VIP
Silver Member
Online
Posts: 363
|
|
« Reply #6 on: January 08, 2007, 11:54 PM » |
|
Can't really add much that Bart and Chris haven't already covered, other than to just emphasize how important this is. I think playing along to CD's is an essential part of learning to play, and so getting comfortable doing it is equally essential (or you won't do it nearly enough).
And Bart's right, watch the volume. Myself, I used to crack the headphones a bit off one ear, if I was hearing what I needed of the drums tone. Though most the time now for practice, I'll wear Superphones completely sealed and just turn the music down - to save what's left of my hearing. ;-)
David
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Chris Whitten
Honorary Cafe VIP
Platinum Member
Online
Posts: 5898
|
|
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2007, 12:21 AM » |
|
I think playing along to CD's is an essential part of learning to play, Yes! A lot of records I've made have involved me being recorded on my own, playing to an almost complete pop mix. Rather like playing to a CD, especially when there are programmed drum parts and loops to contend with. I'll wear Superphones completely sealed and just turn the music down - to save what's left of my hearing. Again, agreed. I used to crank my monitor headphones way too loud. Now I have damaged ears. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Bill Fulton
supporter
Bronze Member
 Offline
Posts: 196
It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!!
|
|
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2007, 09:38 AM » |
|
I worked in radio for a long time, and learned to keep one headphone slightly off the ear. It helped to keep the voice in a natural tone, instead of using that "radio voice" (known in the biz as "puking").
But speaking of CD's, I like to use the music minus one types. I've found a fair number of jazz CD's that are trios without a drummer. But I'm trying to find some CD's that are made as the "minus one" types.
I found one in the "turn it up and lay it down" series, I think it's vol 4, that's helpful because it has the drummer trading fours at various tempos.
I'm trying to find other Jazz 'minus one' CD's, but it's easy to get a crappy one. At 25 bucks a pop, I'd rather not just pick one out of the blue.
So ... I'm looking for jazz music-minus-one recommendations. Any help?
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"Songs are the wind chimes of our memory."
|
|
|
psdrummer
Copper Member
Offline
Posts: 61
hey, it's bobba fett...
|
|
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2007, 11:28 AM » |
|
Using isolation headphones on your cd player can also help.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
ritchet
Guest
|
|
« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2007, 02:13 PM » |
|
Thanks for everyones input. Since I 've played guitar for over 30 years , I got used to not hearing exactly what I was playing. As a new drummer, I'm struggling with that.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mkdrum
Guest
|
|
« Reply #11 on: January 13, 2007, 04:27 PM » |
|
I've had a similar problem and I just recently found a way to resolve it. As someone said earlier, try removing one side of your headphones. My solution is similar to this: I simply fade the audio to one side of the headphones (I always fade to the left side for some reason.)
This has improved two aspects of my my time spent playing along with CDs:
First, I can hear what I'm playing better, so I play softer (less volume) (this also makes the groove feel better and sound better!).
The second improvement is that I've turned the volume on my stereo down as a direct result from the volume of my playing being lower now.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
hankster
Bronze Member
Offline
Posts: 156
|
|
« Reply #12 on: January 21, 2007, 10:43 PM » |
|
i play to cds all the time. find the right balance between your volume and the track . once you know the song, hearing the drums or not won't matter. now i play to a mp3 player connected to the stereo. i put it on shuffle. every song is a surprise.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Cezar11
Guest
|
|
« Reply #13 on: January 24, 2007, 03:06 PM » |
|
Easiest thing to do.... get a pair of cheap shooting headphones .. then put a pair of earbud type headphones in your ears under them...
you'll be able to control the volume of the stereo to mix well with the drum volume.... you'll also notice a clearer sound picture from the drums... as you won't have to deal with all the reverb from the room.... and your ears won't ring after an hour of playing...
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
psdrummer
Copper Member
Offline
Posts: 61
hey, it's bobba fett...
|
|
« Reply #14 on: February 01, 2007, 08:00 PM » |
|
^this is a good idea. Isolation headphones are basically the same idea, but the headphone is built in.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mroberge
Guest
|
|
« Reply #15 on: February 11, 2007, 08:22 AM » |
|
Another good idea to use with the Iso headphones is a couple of area mics around your kit just for clarity's sake. That way you can balance out the sound of your drums and the music, and you can hear them both clearly, without having to blast your ears.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
NickC425
Copper Member
Offline
Posts: 44
|
|
« Reply #16 on: February 12, 2007, 08:44 PM » |
|
I would buy Vic Firth Isolation Headphones (my choice) and if you still can't hear your drums, move them off your ears a little bit until you can hear. I would get used to not hearing them if you want to save your ears. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Nick Cesarz -Drummer of T4G
"Any escape might help to smooth, the unattractive truth, but the suburbs have no charms to soothe, the restless dreams of youth" -Neil Peart, RUSH
|
|
|
|
