Q. Ben from MN asks: Hey Wes, I have been performing for a while, but my percussion experience has only been without a mic. My old group used to gig with mics, but not separate solo and VP mics. I became good at really projecting so I could be heard clearly. Now I'm in a different group and will have a VP mic. It's really hard for me to adjust and tone things down, and I usually clip out the mic because I'm too loud. Any suggestions on the quickest way to adjust? Thanks!
A. Yikes, tough one, Ben.
But let me start by congratulating you on your new group, and for branching out into a challenging new situation, mic-wise. Way to go!
So, about your question. Here's the deal. On one hand, ya got power, and on the other, ya got finesse. It's basically true in most pursuits, and mouthdrumming's no exception. You can work on your strength and endurance, or you can work on your dexterity and control. Sure, you have some of both, and you'll only get better in both areas in time, but what I'm saying is that accepting this dichotomy is a great first step to fixing the problem you're describing.
So in order to get over this hump as quickly as possible, I suggest you concentrate your practice on finesse instead of power. Practice doing your thing nearly silently. In other words, subvocalize your drums: do them "under your breath" as though you were talking to yourself. It will of course feel weird. It will probably look and sound even weirder at first, but the point here is to unlearn the habits that make your body work too hard for the sounds you produce. So focus on it -- pay attention to how it feels as you do this.
Ever dribbled a basketball for a few minutes, and then tried to dribble a superball? Probably not, but I bet you can imagine what that's like, right? Once you're used to dribbling a basketball, a superball is all wrong. It bounces WAY too high, because the basketball that you're used to takes more force to dribble properly. You have to re-adjust when you pick up the superball, and you have to handle it very differently.
Same idea here. When you first practice your drumming silently, it feels sort of like trying to dribble a superball. Your tongue is too "bouncy" against the surfaces in your mouth, and all the parts keep trying too hard because they're used to having to work too hard for the sound you're used to. Relax, give in to the realization that you sound like a total amateur for the moment, and just play with the feeling of making quiet drums. Try things that would never work with an area mic, just to see how they feel. Don't give the sound a second thought. Just work the muscles in this new way for a little while. If you sound like a deeply schizophrenic madman talking to himself in a made-up language, you're on target.
After a short while, you should start to get a feel for things that only subvocalization makes possible. Certain patterns, fills, or techniques roll naturally off the tongue -- forgive the pun -- if you do them silently. There's far, far less pressure in the mouth, and no breath support to speak of, so it's a different animal entirely! But your high-projection drumming experience will translate, and quickly you'll find that you are far freer and nimbler when subvocalizing than when you're projecting.
Once you start to find that personal groove of "Hey! Check out what I can do (quietly)!", it's time to grab your microphone and start listening critically to your new techniques. Shaping them to sound right on the mic won't be as hard as you'd think it would be.
One other thing to do at this time (or soon after) is to start testing the mic itself. Thanks to your recent practice, you now have access to a much wider range of volumes than you had before. That is, you have added a bunch of much quieter sounds and techniques to your repertoire. So, try a wide range of volumes on mic and start to develop your intuitive feel for how loud is too loud. This will inform your sense of the volume range you should be holding to in your subsequent practice.
So, in short, I'm telling you that the sooner you go back to the drawing board and re-learn everything you do, the faster you'll get to where you want to be. It's a frustrating adjustment, but the good news is that your body will adjust far faster than you expect, because the really hard parts, such as your internal sense of groove and rhythm, are in your brain, not your mouth.
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