Re: Can I have your feedback?]

[Rick Walker <looppool@cruzio.com>]

kay'lon wrote:
> The part that somewhat scares me is that I litterally can't hear the 
> innaccuracy of the drums in the first video. Is it the whole thing or 
> is it just something within the loop?
Dear Kay'lon,

I try to have a policy of not giving gratuitous ('unasked for')  
critiques of anything.

I also have a policy that if someone asks for critique that it serves no 
one to
not be completely honest if you hear something.

To critique the timing in your drum beat in your first video is NOT a 
critique of you
in the slightest.   It's an attempt at an honest appraisal of what I 
heard in service to
your request for a critique.

In the case of this track,  I can give you a lot of good advice about 
how to train yourself
so that you *can* hear the difference between a slightly inaccurate 
track and a metronomic
track, even at quite hi speeds,  but that advice is only good if it's 
something you truly want to
learn.   Absolutely no worries, if you don't want to learn it.  It 
doesn't make you wrong or
me right.

In terms of not being able to hear the difference as you stated above, 
here is a suggestion
if you'd like to teach yourself how to hear more deeply, rhythmically.

Since I assume you know what you were attempting in terms of a rhythmic 
feel,
Go back and re-record your rhythm into a midi sequencer at the same 
exact tempo.

now take the original tracks'  .wav (or .aiff) file and put it above the
.wav file of your quantized rhythm in a sound editor or DAW and just 
look at the differences.

If you do this correctly,  there will be small distance between where 
the perfectly quantized beat
falls and where you originally played the track with your own sense of 
timing.

Pay special attention to all of the rhythms that are on the 16th note 
'offbeat' side of the rhythm:
These are the notes that people typically either *rush* or *drag* with 
their own personal performances

In the little grid below,   every symbol takes up 1 sixteenth note:
(in this case,  the Xs = notes played and the * = rests in the rhythm)

X * * X * * X * X * X * X X * X
1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a

in this particular example,  you'd be paying close attention to the
*a* of *beat 1* and the *e* and *a* of *beat 4*.

In this case,  the  *1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +*  (or 8th notes)  can be considered 
*on beats*
while all the *e* and *a*  symbols we'll call *off beats* (or , in this 
case, *16 note offbeats*)
and are the ones to pay close attention to.

Are those offbeats played ahead of the metronome or after..........by 
analyzing this,  you can begin to
understand how you do things naturally.

Nothing you did was wrong,  per se,   but as a producer and professional 
drummer,  I heard the
differences between what you played and the same rhythm quantized 
perfectly to 16th notes.

I hope you understand that everything I've written has been in the 
spirit of helping you out
because you asked for critiques of your tracks.
I think it's wonderful that you are being so aggressive in terms of 
putting your music out there
and that it's great that we have a community that can share it's knowledge.

Okay,   'nuff said,   I look forward to hearing the next 'bird song' 
that you create, my friend.

yours,   Rick