OK, Christmas music is officially the most complex music to play, IMHO. All of the time signature changes, odd phrasing, and tempo changes makes for interesting twists and turns. It’s fun because it challenges you if you are used to just your standard pop music.
This weekend I played a Christmas show and had a blast. I’ve been playing a similiar style of music for a while now and kind of got in a rut. So, needless to say it was refreshing to play some different stuff. We played Michael Buble, Relient K, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Melissa Ethridge, etc… The list was pretty diverse. My band mates were killing it. The mix was great, and very inspiring.
That’s one thing to try and attain in order to have a good performance, a GOOD in-ear or monitor mix. If it doesn’t sound right then your technique will go out the window. You will have to compensate and overplay because you can’t hear yourself. That makes you tense up, which kills your tone and feel. Then you tire quicker because of your tension. Then your stressed because you know your not on your game like you could be. You can see the downward spiral this can cause. Of course, you have to be considerate of your other band mates and the time your allowed. But, if at all possible, warm up to the monitor guy and befriend him. He has the power to make or break your night.
Merry Christmas to all you Groove Is King players out there. Hope your holidays are great and you’re getting some cool new drum stuff. See ya online.
1 Response
Monitor mix is sooo important, I’m so impressed that you are teaching these type of things to new drummers that I had to learn the hard way. Keep it up!
BL
Posted on December 19th, 2008 at 5:51 pm
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