Doing anything but what I'm supposed to

A blog documenting my progress drumming (trying to learn more metal & prog rock songs) and my progress learning python (to use it for large data analysis).

[caoimhel21]

25th Feb 26

Drumming: I played with a metal band today. There's a lot more listening and guessing of how each section is going to feel and choosing what time-feel (e.g., half time, double time) than there is changing up the rhythms. I don't have much experience in the genre, so my main aim was to ensure i kept time and could enhance the other instruments. I under-anticipated how much stamina i'd need because wow i had to hit hard and quick.

Once i get used to it though, i think metal is gonna let me be really creative.

[caoimhel21]

24th Feb 26

Drumming: I've gotten more motivated to improve the speed of my double pedal, as i feel like I've hit a plateau in the improvement of my speed. I can do 1/16th notes semi-comfortably at 150bpm. I'm attempting to learn The Blister Exists - Slipknot which has those at 190bpm, so that is my target for now. I think i should watch some videos and trial a few techniques to use to help me get there. Schism - Tool is coming along really well - I've gotten to the bit after the long bass solo - which is actually my fav part of the song - i just need to learn how to play it successfully now.

[caoimhel21]

18th Feb 26

Drumming: Focused on getting my double pedal quicker, doing 1/8th note triplets, going between starting with my left foot, starting with my right foot, and then left again, as its the weaker one. For Schism, i only made progress on the third release, as it was quite similar to the other two. I started learning a few more QOTSA songs for band on friday, and in general did a lot more active song playing this session working on groove rather than directly learning something new.

Schism - TOOL, Sick, Sick, Sick, The Evil Has Landed, Make It Wit Chu - QOTSA, 7 Words, Around The Fur - Deftones

[caoimhel21]

17th Feb 26

Drumming: Started learning Schism by TOOL as i thought it would be a good song to get used to different time signatures other than 4/4 but not be overly difficult. The "Release" section with 6/8 and 7/8 stumped me for most of my session as i found it difficult to get the feel of it. Working with a metronome set to 13/4 helped though. The heavier section after the section release i also found difficult as it felt like the= groove was starting at the end of the 5/8 bar and not the start of the 7/8 one. I'm using a RRL sticking for the quick triplet parts of the verse as it feels natural, however its slightly impractical for the parts on the high-tom/ snare off.

Schism, Parabola - Tool, Ignorance - Paramore, First It Giveth - QOTSA, Solo #3

[caoimhel21]

12th Feb 26

Drumming: focused on creating some ideas around swiss army triplets (?), was really quite fun because groups of 3 are VERY easy to work with. Worked on a solo given to me by my teacher - it has nice groove. The second pre-chorus of Parabola is odd, i need to work on that more.

Parabola - TOOL, Duality - Slipknot

[caoimhel21]

10th Feb 26

Drumming: Getting much more comfortable using my two feet more independently to each other and together with my hands. I've found it easier to create linear grooves with all limbs involved than more traditional grooves. The fills in First It Giveth feel odd, am trying to work out sticking patterns which suit a two handed hit on beat one. First Date is faster than i remember - i can play fully and accurately at 0.8 speed so far.

First It Giveth - QOTSA, Schism, Parabola - Tool, First Date- Blink-182.

[caoimhel21]

9th Feb 26

Drumming: Did some exercises in my lesson on coordination of the feet. I've found i'd like to work on improving my stepped hi-hat, as i find it difficult to keep consistent with accents throughout the bar, playing the bass drum with the left hand as well.

[caoimhel21]

6th Feb 26

Drumming: Played in a rock band setting for the first time in a few months. Forgot how difficult it is to follow the structure of a song when no-one in the band knows it or is confident enough to move the song forward. QOTSA songs BOP when played live though i really enjoyed it.

Another Love Song, Make It Wit Chu, Go With The Flow, No One Knows - QOTSA, Teenage Kicks - The Undertones, Helter Skelter - The Beatles

Today I also depped for my uni's concert band. It was very fun but my sight reading skills were out of practice, which lowered my accuracy. Improvisation skills are sufficient for those situations though.

A Lion King Medley

[caoimhel21]

5th Feb 26

Python: Learnt how to use the if, else and elif functions on floats. Recapped some other functions as this is my first day learning again in around two weeks.

[caoimhel21]

5th Feb 26

Drums: Worked on grooves with 1/16th note consistent double pedal underneath and normal 8th note 4/4 on the hands - ref Parabola - Tool (a chorus). Also worked on coordination exercises to improve my independence on the kick while keeping a consistent hi-hat foot (either on the 2 and 4 or every beat). Got both around 70bpm sustainable and the double pedal up to 90bpm not sustainable.

Parabola - Tool, 7 Words, Around The Fur - Deftones, Duality - Slipknot, The Evil Has Landed, First It Giveth - QOTSA