[Check out Andy Ziker's contribution to how Rock Band can help you be a better drummer. For more drumming related goodness, check out Andy Ziker's official website. -- CTZ]
Why would a non-video gamer (and a professional drummer nonetheless) contribute an article to a game blog? To uncover the answer to this, let’s travel back in time about three years ago, when the first Rock Band game arrived.
In the August 2008 edition of Modern Drummer Magazine, I reported that one of my teenage drum students, Amanda, appeared at her weekly lesson with dramatic improvement in her hand/stick technique. After discovering that she had been playing Rock Band feverishly for many weeks, I decided to give Amanda an unusual drum lesson assignment. I told her to play Rock Band and practice "Say it Ain’t So" by Weezer until she mastered the song at an Expert Level.
When Amanda came in for her next lesson, I had placed in front of her a note-for-note transcription (often referred to as a drum score or drum chart) of the same song on a music stand. This was to see if Amanda’s mastery within Rock Band applied to reading and playing drumset music. To my amazement, she was able to assimilate this material much faster than any other method that we had tried.
Amanda then offered me a wise suggestion. She told me to use colored markers to highlight the noteheads in the chart. The highlighted notes would correspond to the colors found in Rock Band’s scrolling note chart and drum controller. This turned out to be an important piece to the puzzle for Amanda. Her confidence grew each lesson as she was able to draw upon her knowledge from the game to learn how to play the drums. I was so excited about this new teaching tool that I bought an Xbox 360 (and the game) to see for myself what this phenomena was all about.
I had fun playing Rock Band; I especially liked the positive feedback from the faux audience and the dynamic rock and roll graphics. However, I have to admit I was slightly annoyed by the plastic drum pads and unstable kick pedal. The scrolling note chart looked really cool, but made it especially hard to recognize complex rhythmic patterns.
Something about the Rock Band note chart did strike an especially familiar tone to me. After some experimentation, I suddenly realized why Amanda found it so easy to read the color-coded drumset music. With only a few alterations, Rock Band’s scrolling note charts could easily be transformed into standard drum notation.
One measure from “Say It Ain’t So”-Hard Level, Original 3D Perspective from Rock Band.
Now in 2D.
Rotated clockwise 90 degrees.
A white background replaces the black one, and the note positions are changed, now reflecting the positions of or relative pitches of the parts of an acoustic/electronic drumset.
Notehead shapes now differentiate between drums and cymbals (regular noteheads and X’s).
Beams clearly define rhythms, stems serve to connect the noteheads, and the full staff (lines and spaces) is used for easier separation of notes.
The four levels of difficulty in Rock Band make for an ideal for drum method. The Easy Level requires very little coordination from the player, while the Hard and Expert Levels demand increased coordination. Also, because the Expert Level is, for the most part, a note-for-note transcription of the actual drum part, it allows the learner to get inside the style of each drummer that they are imitating. This is a powerful way to begin to forge your own musical style.
The following colored drum notation examples are plucked from the bridge of Vasoline by Stone Temple Pilots.
Easy Level
Medium Level
Hard Level
Expert Level
I believe that stationary, colored drum notation, as I’ve presented here, is the missing link. It bridges the gap between playing a game and learning how to play the drums. As useful as this tool is, however, it isn’t enough to turn Rock Banders into would-be rock stars. Gamers would be best served to follow these steps:
• Use Rock Band to its fullest educational potential. Practice mode (in each version of the game) plus the Tutorial Mode in the first game, the Drum Trainer mode in Rock Band 2 and Green Day Rock Band, and the “Drum Lessons’ and “Beatle Beats” in The Beatles Rock Band are all extremely well done and provide plenty of practical tips and practice opportunities. Recently, for Rock Band 3, Harmonix has enlisted the help of the Berkley College of Music to make lessons that go along with 60 to 80 songs as part of the Drum Trainer.
• Consider buying some of the add-ons that make the Rock Band playing experience even more realistic. For instance, Mad Catz makes an expansion pack that plugs into the controller from Rock Band 2 (and beyond). It allows for up to three additional cymbals and an additional pedal for double bass drum playing. The Ion Rocker (by Alesis) is a premium drum set controller that doubles as a real electronic kit with the addition of a drum brain.
• If you don’t own an Ion Rocker, then you will need to buy an acoustic or electronic drumset.
• Hire a qualified drum instructor. Your teacher will most probably recommend additional books, DVD’s, etc., that will help you learn drumming basics.
NOTE: I have a bias towards my own drum books: Drumscapes (self-published), Drumcraft: Beginner Version and Drumcraft: Intermediate Version (both published by Cherry Lane Music Publishing) and Drum Aerobics and Daily Drum Warm-Ups (both published by Hal Leonard).
• Purchase a music stand so that you can put the drum charts off to the side while playing the Rock Band drum controller or the real drumset.
• Acquire a good set of headphones, so that you can plug them right into the TV/monitor, so that you can hear the Rock Band audio clearly over the sound of an acoustic drumset.
• Join a drummer’s website such as Drummer Café and/or subscribe to a drummer magazine such as Modern Drummer.
What I’ve offered here is a fairly low-tech answer to a high-tech question. This makes sense, because, in my opinion, old-fashioned methods will always play a part in learning musical instruments. One-on-one human interaction between a teacher and student, especially when you have the correct teaching tool in place, is priceless. However, the ultimate on-the-job training will only take place when you join your first band and begin to rock out with your bandmates.
I hope to see you out there on a real rock and roll stage!
Andy Ziker is a drum instructor and free-lance performer in the Phoenix area. Besides authoring several several instructional books, he has written articles for Modern Drummer Magazine and the Drummer Café website. Unofficial colored drumcharts transcribed from Rock Band are available on www.andyziker.com.
Contest:
7:00 PM on 01.28.2011 | 
The drum kit is the best peripheral ive ever bought. Working my way up to the expert difficulty was bloody tough but a real sense of acomplishment.. My buddy has a drum kit and I managed to do a fair turn of More Than A Feeling by Boston and Dani California by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.
The only problem is that since getting the drum kit I've been annoying everybody at work by constantly tapping away on anything that makes a satisfactory noise.
I'm convinced however that it's mainly because I either A) Don't practice on a real set nearly as much as I should, or B) Haven't shaken off the need for the Simon Says-like "This is what you should be doing" interface Rock Band offers to keep me on track. Probably doesn't help that my drum set is also a beat-to-crap set I bought for $40 that doesn't even have a functioning hi hat.
Anyways, this was a nice read, for me at least. I'm not sure how the other people that don't enjoy Rock Band and music equally as much as I do would take this, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
You would hope that those who aren't bothered by the subject matter would quietly bugger off and not attempt to trash a fanstastic blog.
You would hope, yes, but keep in mind this is the internet. And unfortunately there seems to be a lot of Rock Band hate on the internet.
Gah, speaking of internet, I really need to revive the Rock Band reviews for Stereotoid...
It's weird though. There are some songs I can play on expert with little to no problem (even with my repaired kick pedal), but there are some "easier" songs that I suck at on expert.
There are certain "types" of drum patterns that I'm really good at playing, but others are just too complex for me right now.
Great article and I loved how you showed the progression from Rock Band score to actual an actual drum score. That helps a lot.
Now if only i could punish myself to get my fucking yamaha dtxplorer, but nooooo, Sony just had to annouce a goddamn psp2. grumblegrumblegrumle...
anyways, thank you for bringing this information to the front page,
as always, fellow dtoiders, signing off until we yet again see another comment whenever marasune strike..........har har.
Now if only i could punish myself to get my fucking yamaha dtxplorer, but nooooo, Sony just had to annouce a goddamn psp2. grumblegrumblegrumle...
anyways, thank you for bringing this information to the front page,
as always, fellow dtoiders, signing off until we yet again see another comment whenever marasune strikes..........har har.
And parents say video games are worthless.
However, to all of you guys who wanna follow that same path and go from gamers to drummers, I want to make one thing clear. Rock Band, try as it might, is not the same as real drumming. There is an element of improvisation at work in real drumming that Rock Band cannot teach you, even with the cool fill sections. And by far the biggest shortcoming of Rock Band is that it does not teach the aspiring drummer how to do ANYTHING with their left foot. To all you Rock Band metal-heads, YES there is something to do with your left foot besides hit another bass pedal. Listen to jazz, or funk, or hell, ANYTHING. Four-way independence is vital and something every drummer needs to have to be able to do anything, and unfortunately that's the one thing Rock Band does not teach.
If you really want to give drumming a shot, call up your local drum shop, or music store if you don't have a drum shop, and sign up for private lessons. Actual, real lessons. If you don't have a drumset, that's fine. I didn't get a drum set or even a practice pad until 6 months into lessons; I used my hands on my knees and my feet on the floor. I can tell you from experience that you are going to make a lot faster progress learning from an instructor than you will floundering about on your own trying to 'figure it out'. Most people who just buy a drumset and whack at it for a few months without any direction end up quitting and selling it. I don't like to see that happen; we sell way too many drum sets from kids who have given up. So take lessons. If you're younger, ask your parents to sign you up for a month. If you're serious about learning to play the drums, then you'll excel because you've had an excellent primer in Rock Band. If you're not serious, then stick to Rock Band.
TL;DR= As someone who has made the transition from RB to real drums, I can say that RB will not teach you to be a drummer. It will give you the basics, but there's a big difference between someone who knows the basics and someone who knows what they're doing behind a kit. If you really want to give drums a try, get private lessons from an instructor; you'll save yourself a lot of frustration and make big progress fast.
On the article, coming from a music background already, I can identify with this. Rock Band helped with getting drum coordination and such. To get better, I just practiced stuff and then eventually wrote my own drum parts to songs that I was writing (which I think was the biggest thing to help).
Great article and great read.
Thank you! The comments are great, too.
I love Rock Band and it's such a blast when you're playing those plastic drums and you manage to keep the beat going, especially for those of us that have no idea what it's like to be a real musician.
Awesome article! Excellent way to point out how this game can introduce and/or help people to actually play real instruments!
Rock Band is still one of my favorite games! 600+ songs and still going! Long live Harmonix!
I have an ion drum rocker set myself, but haven't really considered playing for real. I'd love to do it just to see if I could, though, as I genuinely enjoy playing the faux drums. Not to mention it's a great excuse to beat the utter shit out of something.
Great blog, man. Consider me inspired.
I feel like the reason people (@vApathyv) can't jump from the rock band drumkit to a real kit is primarily technique. Rock Band is great for showing people how rhythm and drum patterns work, but one thing it is currently incapable of giving players is proper feel and feedback - what it feels like to really HIT a drum.
Until Rock Band or similar use drums with mesh heads, realistic feel and proper stick rebound, players are rewarded (even on Expert mode) by slugging away with awful technique so long as they hit each drum at the right time. When you carry that over to a real kit, you get a very loud noise with no finesse or groove. It's like playing Outrun in the arcade and then jumping in a real Ferrari. Sure, you get the jist of how to drive it, but how long before you score your first 10 points for plowing down a grandma!
It's an interesting article for sure, but I'm waiting for a rhythm game specifically designed for the drums which teaches technique, improvisation, co-ordination, independence etc etc in a fun and addictive way. That day must surely come!!
Rock Band, at a later age, would couple this already developed rhythmic notion with body wide movements. I mean, some people have severe rhythm difficulties and tend to just give up on music because of it, and gaming can offer a nice push to overcome one pretty imposing initial hurdle.
Now I'm trying to do the same thing for guitar and keyboard.
Please feel free to contact me through Facebook or www.andyziker.com if you have any questions. I've put up four color-coded transcription including Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters, In Bloom by Nirvana, Say it Ain't So by Weezer, and Vasoline by STP. Each transcription is available in four levels of difficulty: Easy, Medium, Hard and Expert. If you would like any additional tunes, feel free to send in your recommendations.
If you're interested, the prequel to this article is called "Making Millions of New Drummers" (Modern Drummer Magazine) and can be found on my website: http://andyziker.com/media/#articles.
Also, I just published a sister article for the drummer crowd: Making Millions of New Drummers: Part Deux. This can be found on www.drummercafe.com: http://www.drummercafe.com/music-industry/featured-articles/rock-band-making-millions-of-new-drummers-part-deux.html.
Again, thank you for your interest and all of your comments!
The method uses the same color-coding as Rock Band to help teach youngsters from 2-6 years-old.
Peace!
/Joakim