The notation for it is here. You can get a hybrid-kit-MIDI mp3 version too. At 120bpm, it plays all the parts in order as per notation, then after repeating the intro it plays them in reverse order (and hey, it’s digitally quantized so guarantied not to swing!).
It’s my take on a Double-Kick note value ladder, or pyramid. I didn’t manage one complete loop-around in this clip, so it fades-out at the end, but I did reach the re-intro and even up a few rungs, so stretch-goal partly achieved! yay! I’m working it from 60 to 96bpm, you can tell I’m pushing myself a bit.
-My latest recorded attempt at 85bpm.
So there it is. Next for this, I hope I can share a full loop of me playing it (like the mp3 basically, and as fast ideally), tighten it way up, and really nail those transitions and feel for each part.
I haven’t posted in longer than I would have liked again, so it seems like there’d be lots to update about. Things are still improving and the situation is positively better. I’m definitively getting work done on being organized, even if overall there much cleaning up to get done. Keeping up a steady schedule is happening, and holding up for longer periods of time. Despite this important personal progress in learning harder and working smarter, the past few months haven’t been all that productive per say.
I’ve been dreading recording a video for this month again, with no painting anywhere near ready, not much else to write about otherwise, and having fleshed out an idea for Rabbit Hole part 5 already, that is however exactly what I did.
They gave the bouncer a quarter note, since all of them could fit in half the space, twice.Continue reading →
Rabbit Hole, part the 3, is what happened when I altered the Double Paradiddle rudiment, from RLRLRR to RLRRLR and LRLRRL, then orchestrated it 20+ different ways around the drum kit, playing triplets over a 4/4 (RLR-RLR-LRL-RRL).
Notations here: Rabbit Hole III.pdf and also the mp3 from a MIDI recording of those same notations.
There’s a few spots to touch up then a semi-glossy finish coat or two. If I find more of these boxes I might do some more. No clue as of yet what I’m going to stuff in there, but if you want to send me some amount more money than what it’ll cost to ship it to you, I’ll stick some bubblewrap in it and send it out. Leave a message through the site’s contact page with at least some vague description of your whereabouts to start the conversation.
Right, so over two years now. Reliably executing this track correctly, with all the right parts in the right places, it’s not a thing. I’ve tolerated the bumps and blocks as my kick leg and overall independence improved. Seems like I could, still was rough and needed polish, but the snares felt soggy and boring so I rewrote them. Almost what, 1 year now since I dropped back down to training wheel speed 60bpm grinds. Staying there (excluding the occasional 90bpm full tryouts or section looping) to flattened out all the curves and wrinkles instead of progressively increasing by 1-2bpm each time as I improved, even while overall other exercises and tracks have gotten better and faster. I’d like to get a good enough recording done by now and move on. Move the fuck on already. Anyway, but which part to leave un-good-enoughed?
Dividing it down into 4 main sections, an intro, two halves each further split into 4 parts, and an outro, it’s difficult enough to play a take exactly like I wrote and learned, at 60bpm, not to mention its intended bpm of 90, wanting to have it hold some dynamics and groove without falling of the click just makes it a nightmare.
In this one: forgetting the 2nd section snare/hi-hat pass that throws back to the outro and doing a double instead, playing the b version of the kick pattern instead of the regular one in the mid-section of the 6th part. Otherwise feels kinda okay really, sounds like it should. The triplets on the hi-hat bang on, as in off-beat.
Or ‘Why is this so difficult?’ Trying to bury the click, and the… and, and the 1 e & a or the 4 ti ta? 2 3 4 go.
So over a year after revisiting Liquid Volts Pi with some extra snare and improved flam, and I still can’t play it anymore at its preferred tempo of 90bpm. Even playing it dozens of times a day, that speed bump just keeps moving around. It’s all over the place now and no way I can go back to the limited snare version I could manage decently without tripping all over myself. At least it’s a good improvement. I can try it once in a while and only butcher like half a dozen bars or so, although it does sound much tighter as a whole, more even, feeling much easier and controlled around the doubles, flams and such, but I’d rather keep on flattening that bump… literally, as you can no doubt tell in this, one of my better takes recently, where almost looks like I’m having hiccups. I’m just trying to hold on to the sticks and stop all the bouncing.
I recently moved (again) and the space is (finally) a much needed improvement this time, despite it being doubtful on the long term. All that moving around was expensive, and it’ll take me a long time to recover from the debt and stress of these past few years… which were suppose to be a mandated rest from the events of the previous few others, and so on mostly. Hopefully things stay stable at least long enough to get better some.
All that aside, in an effort to get back better organized I’ve returned to keeping track of things with renewed motivation. There’s two more tracks pretty much rounded out I just need to settle with a metronome beep for, and a third one that just needs a title, which I could ‘mlog’ a post about. I’ll focus more on those in the coming weeks as well as some other rabbit holes I’ve been gravitating abouts without much reason or structure.
Today was essentially a somewhat planned procrastination day, spent listening to the better recents takes on a loop, uploading and selecting words to send out to the internets in this specific particular order so as to thereby assemble themselves into this content which you might be reading right now, and pondering over the next possible entries in this, my log of music and mostly art-related activities. While on that note, I’ll wrap up by mentioning that the next posts lined up for the site are probably going to be about painted art pieces (mostly the decorated cigar box I’m putting the finishing touches to), maybe possibly another digital bda (I’d like those to get back to being a monthly thing at the least) too, and also mention that you can help me get out of debt by clicking that button at the bottom of the page. In addition to instantaneously having nothing delivered right to you, you can also print out any of the works on the gallery page as an extra thank-you for your support.
First, the new tracks. I’ll start with the fairly recent one, which adds up to a couple of snare and ride cymbal practice patterns glued together with some toms at 120bpm.
Here’s the latest of the tracks I’ve been working on these past few months. It’s fairly simple I think. I’m posting the mp3 from the standard midi kit along with a video of me playing it a few days back.
A track I’ve been working on these past few weeks. This mp3 of the midi version is pretty much its final form and an accurate transcript of what I’ll be recording in the coming days. I have some ideas for bass, chords and whatnot, but unlike Molten Dry Bips which sounded perhaps a bit too dry without the extras, drums only seems fine this time so not going to risk another disaster and shelve that thought. They’ll end up on my bandcamp page at some point. Feedback is welcomed, so are any tips and support sent.
The cymbals are close but not quite like the same as what I have setup on my drum kit. The hi-hat is mainly played half-closed or so most of the time, but here I don’t delve into the editor enough to give it more variety in sounds. There’s some more snare and floor tom rimshots and assorted accents here and there too that’ll come out once I get around to recording. 80bpm is my overall maximum currently, but it’s not quite the same at that speed. Although I think it sounds best around 72bpm, it’s where I’m at in practicing my triplets on it, it holds up okay at 60bpm too, like a similar feel despite a somewhat different personality to it. Haven’t decided for sure yet, though I’m leaning towards recording it at 60bpm.
bleedleaf 
