"Whiplash"...Are you rushing or dragging? - New film

[Julián Fernández]

That vid proves that The Roots will make anyone sound pretty good...

[Rhythmatist]

I've been screamed at by conductors and composers but never by teachers. Chaffee made a crack to me but he did it just to make a point and it wasn't meant to belittle. Soph and Rufus Reid tore me down and rebuilt me in a week that I spent doing concerts and clinics with them. They did that all the time working together in the Aebersold camps so it was a methodology they had. There was always a positive side to everything even when they'd get tough and by getting tough I mean they were quick to point out all the warts...but it was never, ever malicious. It wasn't Marine drill sergeant bullshit like in these clips. Who the fuck teaches like that...and who in their right mind would put up with it? If you practice till your hands bleed, well that tells me you're doing something wrong technically right there. It should NEVER hurt even if you practiced 16 hours a day.

I'll just have to go into this movie with the realization that it's drama and has no basis in reality...like 99.9% of movies and let the musical bullshit slide and try to enjoy the acting.

I looked up showtimes...it's only coming out in one theater in the entire Chicagoland area...downtown. Ah, not with the Marathon...I'm going nowhere near downtown!!

[geoffgilldrums]

good points. i AM going to see this movie...but it's full of myths and other hollywood crap. my main beef is the lines fed to the actor who plays the band teacher and how the drummer reacts like it is gospel. it's the "wrong stuff". i guess purposely to make a DRAMATIC movie about us "boring" drummers. for example, the latest trailer: "just relax & play what you feel" then next "analyze your playing as you play" BS. completely paradoxical to the creative process. kills any "flow" you might get from being rehearsed & "in the music". or the rushing / dragging / slap trailer. the dude is essentially ON his count-off tempo every time...but only drummers would know this. adding to the hollywood drama. it irks me because it's factually wrong. well it's got me thinking & bitching about this. maybe the point is to be a self-made badass & fugg what anyone else thinks.

[willyz]

Saw this flick last night. All I'm going to say is turn off your drummer brain. The story serves itself well and the extremeness is to be taken with a grain of salt. Think of it like a sports movie with a really tough coach.

Despite the horrid on-screen drumming (er... pretend drumming) that doesn't match the dubbed playing, the horrible technique-related things that a player of the proposed caliber at the country's greatest music school WOULDN'T have in real life, etc, the film is beautifully shot, has some great moments and one-liners, J K Simmons is incredible, Miles Teller is fantastic when it comes to dramatic side of things, my friend Melissa is beautiful in the film and I really hope she gets some more work from it. Again, turn your drummer brain off.

Apparently Miles only had three weeks to prepare and there was no drum-specific consultant other than the films composer. Granted, this is an indie production, so the time and resources (sadly) weren't there to please us nerds- we're a very, VERY small part of the audience and those that don't play drums aren't going to be able to notice anything.

Also, the bloody hands thing is a bit of a thematic thing... putting in blood, sweat, & tears into your goals, etc.

[Julián Fernández]

It should NEVER hurt even if you practiced 16 hours a day.

I disagree. After 8 hours sitting on a throne, back muscles can hurt. After playing long periods of time you´ll forearms will burn.
Everyone is different on how they learn and how much connection they have with their own body... I get your point, but there´s really no absolutes.
The whole "relaxed at all times" is quite overrated imo. Human body doesn´t work like that, and as any athlete, a drummer playing physical/aggressive stuff (think Buddy!) will be contracting muscles all over and sweating like a pig... Nothing wrong with that...

[gretsch-o-rama]

All I'm going to say is turn off your drummer brain.

You don't know what you're asking for, and all I'm going to say is NO...

[Rhythmatist]

It should NEVER hurt even if you practiced 16 hours a day.

I disagree. After 8 hours sitting on a throne, back muscles can hurt. After playing long periods of time you´ll forearms will burn.
Everyone is different on how they learn and how much connection they have with their own body... I get your point, but there´s really no absolutes.
The whole "relaxed at all times" is quite overrated imo. Human body doesn´t work like that, and as any athlete, a drummer playing physical/aggressive stuff (think Buddy!) will be contracting muscles all over and sweating like a pig... Nothing wrong with that...

I'm mainly referring to the bloody drumstick thing...good Lord if I bled from practicing I know I wouldn't be enjoying it. I do have to say though, at 60 I have way more longevity than ever and it's from learning how to hit hard without undue stress physically. I had a house gig over last winter, 5 hours 3 sets, pretty hard hitting. And at the end of the night I wasn't stressed or in any physical discomfort. Used to be I'd lapse into tension part way through a gig and end up having to ice down and I'd get cramps and such. I think it's beyond merely relaxed, but about consistently being in the zone physically and mentally, always catching the sweet spot. Finally figuring out what JoJo Mayer and Weckl have been preaching has paid off...and there are no bigger fans of Buddy than those two guys. Is it exhausting...hell yeah, but exhilarating...like a runner who runs a marathon but still can go a few more beyond. I actually hurt more from packing at the end of a gig. That's when my back goes out.

As for the sweating thing...Rufus Reid told me a long time ago; the sweat doesn't come as much from the physical or mental aspects of playing but from the emotion. It's having your entire being so absorbed...kinda like sex...having an eargasm

[Paul Marangoni]

http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richar ... ght-movies

[amoergosum]

[electrizer]

It should NEVER hurt even if you practiced 16 hours a day.

I disagree. After 8 hours sitting on a throne, back muscles can hurt. After playing long periods of time you´ll forearms will burn.
Everyone is different on how they learn and how much connection they have with their own body... I get your point, but there´s really no absolutes.
The whole "relaxed at all times" is quite overrated imo. Human body doesn´t work like that, and as any athlete, a drummer playing physical/aggressive stuff (think Buddy!) will be contracting muscles all over and sweating like a pig... Nothing wrong with that...

Practiced jazz the other day dor 3 hrs and I had to stop because my left leg muscles just couldnt take it anymore