Drum Villain Challenge Update

This blog is closed and has moved to http://Charlottegore.com. See you there!

I must be recovering because I'm back trying to complete my Drum Villain Challenge. Regular readers will know that I have the Rock Bank game and a set of the drums that comes with it, and my mission is to complete the game on the 'expert' (or 'I have no life') difficulty, then see if I can go into a music shop and convince someone I've been playing real drums for years.

I always loved that Channel 4 programme Faking It that took people from unlikely backgrounds, say a sheep farmer, and gave them intensive training in another, say hairdressing, then entered them in some kind of competition to see if they could fool judges into thinking they were the real deal.

The show proved to me something that I've known all along: Talent doesn't just appear out of thin-air. It requires someone to first want to do something, then second they must put in the effort and practice to become good. 'Natural Talent' only helps people pick things up quicker - I find confidence, paying attention, relaxing and having an open mind helps with that too - and it might make the difference between two people of equal technical skill when it comes to creating original art or music - the sort of inspired genius that comes from the application of imagation, creativity and skill. 

But we're all born able and knowing only how to cry, suckle and poo, and what we die knowing is entirely up to us. When someone says to another, "yeah but it's easy for you, you're just naturally good at everything you try", such 'talented' people rarely admit that it's because they're willing to put in the effort, as if somehow talent that 'magically' appears has more virtue and merit than that which has been acquired through sheer brute force of will and determination.

So if I can't do something, I believe it's because I've not learned how to do it yet. If something becomes difficult, that's a sign I need to work harder, not a sign that I should give up. I see that brick wall as something that, once I've overcome it, will make me a better person. That's what makes me tick.

So, the Drum Villain Challenge then. I'm on the penultimate 'tier' of songs on 'expert' now. I know I can do at least 2 of the songs in the next tier already, so I would say I have 6 songs to be beat before I have finished this game. It's getting really, really difficult now. As with all these things, the time it takes to master just one song is roughly the time spent mastering everything that came before put together. 

I've been stuck on the same two songs for a month now. One is called, "(Don't fear the) Reaper" and this is difficult because it features a section with an extended drum roll with the bass drum hitting on every single beat, and it is phenomenally fast. I could just give up. I could say this is just impossible or I can work to acquire the physical co-ordination required to beat it. I just refuse to give up. 

I've had a week off due to this sickness but I'm back practicing again today. You can 'practice' songs by changing the speed from anywhere between 50% and 100%. The theory is that you master it at 50%, then 60% and so on, until you don't have to think about it anymore, you can just 'do' it. I can do it almost perfectly at 60%, but at 70% I start having trouble, so that's where I'm currently concentrating my effort.  I also go back and try to improve my performance on the easier songs, on the assumption that the best way to improve is just to keep playing. This is also good because I can see quite easily that I am gradually getting better, even if I still can't get over this latest brick wall yet.

At this point I don't even care about the 'Faking It' style test at the end. I just want to be able to say that I set a goal and achieved something without giving up no matter how hard it got.

This blog is closed and has moved to http://Charlottegore.com. See you there!