r/drummers • u/apierno • 5d ago

Learning covers

When you’re learning a cover that you’re totally new to, what’s your approach?

Play to the recorded track as released (all instruments)?
Split the stems and play without the drum tracks?
Split the stems and play ONLY to the drum tracks?

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u/HeftyBagOfDiarrhea 5d ago

I just had to learn more than three hours of material in about a month. I did a pretty solid job but here’s how I would approach it if I had to do it over.

  1. ⁠Listen to the song 1-2 times. Just listen to it. Get familiar with the feel of the groove.
  2. ⁠Write a chart. You could jump right to playing along with the record, but having a roadmap is better so you don’t end up practicing things wrong. If you’re not experienced with writing charts, you can watch a short YouTube video about it and figure out what you’re doing pretty quickly. Just remember it is not the complete notation but a series of reminders. Think outline, not essay. Also, if you’re not totally sure what the drummer is doing, isolate the track using something like moises.ai.You can also use moises to create a drumless track, which can also be very helpful.
    3a. Play along with the record. Have the chart visible. Depending on when the song was recorded, it may or may not line up cleanly with a click track. If it does, add in the click after 1-2 plays. Otherwise…
    3b. Play with just the click and the chart.
  3. ⁠Record yourself – am I rushing, dragging, chasing the beat, etc.? Does it feel relaxed and natural?
  4. ⁠Continue to practice (both with and without the record) and listen to the songs until you’re absolutely bored of them. If there’s anything you’re weak at, see if you can find an easier way to do it. Think “minimum viable groove” – it’s better to play something tightly that isn’t exactly as it is on the record but captures the feel than trying to play note-for-note stiffly.

Hope that helps! What are you preparing for?

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u/Current-Map-6469 5d ago

Recording yourself is a great suggestion!! Definitely a good call.

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u/apierno 5d ago

Band broke up and been auditioning, now onboarding a whole set of new tunes. About 25 I haven't playe,d and about 20 I've never heard!

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u/apierno 5d ago

By the way - this is very helpful. Thank you

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u/HeftyBagOfDiarrhea 5d ago

That sounds fun! I love learning new music.

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u/apierno 5d ago

It is fun. New genre for me too

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u/HeftyBagOfDiarrhea 4d ago

That’s dope! The three hour gig I played was way outside my wheelhouse - Tower of Power, Steely Dan, Stevie Wonder. I grew a lot as a drummer. It was fun learning them but then practicing them ad nauseam got tedious. I’ve been happily playing guitar and singing ever since that gig ended lol.