Nic Collins Hears 'Whiplash' For The First Time

When Nic Collins came out to the Drumeo studio, we asked him to describe his stylistic comfort zone. As you can imagine, rock, prog-rock, and funk were all in his wheelhouse.

We then asked him what styles he's least comfortable with, and he mentioned metal and jazz, the latter of which "is a nightmare for me".

We asked him to listen to a drumless version of "Whiplash", a jazzy 1973 Don Ellis tune that enjoyed a resurgence in the 2010s thanks to the drumming-themed movie of the same name.

Without drums in the track to guide him, Nic had to rely on his intuition to come up with a part on the fly that he thought would fit. In the end, we let him hear what the drums are actually supposed to sound like. How do you think he did?
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Chapters

00:00 - Intro
00:16 - Lesson Overview
00:28 - Nic's Drumming Likes And Dislikes
01:14 - Active Listening - Without Drums
03:30 - Song Analysis
03:49 - First Take
06:04 - First Take Analysis & Second Take
08:03 - Second Take Analysis
09:03 - Final Take
13:42 - Final Take Analysis
15:21 - Active Listening - With Drums
17:20 - Final Thoughts
18:16 - Outro

Get the drumless track and full transcription of “Whiplash” inside the Drumeo members area, plus all of Phil Collins’ songs and more with a 7-day free Drumeo trial!

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[WheresSeamus]

Dude got thrown straight in the deep end and somehow came out in one piece, mad respect.

[shaggyb]

After seeing this, I'm kinda mad at my Dad for not being Phil Collins.

[theomnitorium]

Dude had to improvise on one of the hardest jazz songs ever and absolutely nailed it! Mad respect!

[erdiu]

"Not quite my tempo" 😂In all seriousness, he crushed it! Seeing a good musician finding his way through some unchartered territory is fantastic. Great video!

[BrandonToews]

I put Nic through the ringer on this one and he crushed it!! Hope you enjoy the video!😄

[endrawes]

3 takes and he got it to this point? Excellent musicianship

[Jwats]

Very confused about the comments saying he did «pretty good.» Like what?? This guy just absolutely murdered the hardest song ever featured on this show in 2 takes. One of the most impressive performances of the series, for sure.

[Elderberry]

No nepotism to see here. This kid is skilled in his own right.

[GregMcNeish]

In his breakdown of the original drums, Nic touched upon something that I think is at the heart of the style difference between rock & jazz. His instinct as a rock drummer was to add his weight to the big moments, amplifying with hits what the horns were doing, whereas the jazz approach was alternating between light and dark (playing or silence) and using the drums to colour that light. Ironically, despite saying he's not Larnell Lewis, by bringing that rock approach to jazz, he made it fusion.

[thomasmeyer]

The phrase "I'm not Larnell Lewis..." makes him absolutely sympathic (likeable).

[Halocene]

That snare is P E R F E C T I O N - you guys tuned it, mic'd it, eq'd and compressed it perfectly. That deserves to be sampled and released as a pack

[AlexanderSirnes]

To be fair, this guy was 21 when this video came out. Improvising over a song like this is no joke, no matter the age! Mad respect!

[jas_bataille]

"Imma struggle through it"
*Immediately starts nailing the intro melodically*
This young man is a prodigy and can proudly carry his father's name!

[Utcheeow]

Sometimes we forget the weight of the name he carries too easily. He is humble, well-trained, young and down to earth, he has a great career ahead of him, he did very well on the tour with his father, playing with authentic sacred monsters and in front of very demanding audiences, and in this video he has put himself on the line in the best way possible by tackling a genre that is not in his league with intelligence and musical taste. I can only wish him the best, and if he then succeeds in reviving the glories of progressive rock of yesteryear I would be even happier.

[Eldss]

I've seen other great drummers be given easy songs and you give the kid an extremely difficult song and he comes out alive. Mad respect for Nic. Deffinately has his dad's DNA.

[kfauzi]

Chose the song that directly associated with a drummer spending the entire movie bleeding to get right is such an evil pick. I love it

[neighbourhoodmusician]

You can tell he's:
A: Into a specific genre
B: Young
C: Very talented indeed
D: Humble

He doesn't have the experience of some older drummers but he has a great attitude and by the 3rd take he's properly getting the idea of it all. He still has that rock drummer power when he could lay back massively, or know when not to play, sometimes but that main groove when he gets on the bell of cymbal sounds amazing. After analysis, too, he gets it.

[anaclaudiapires]

By reading the comments, I'm coming to the realization that this might be the most positive and supportive place on the internet. I love it here and I love what Nic just did! That was insane! Congrats Nic and Drumeo! Salutations from Portugal 🇵🇹

[FiZ]

After watching half a dozen of these videos for metal songs, I've got to admit, jazz is an entirely different beast for this game! 🤣 I have SO MUCH respect for Nic after this!! ❤

[fun-with-acid]

Absolute respect for rock drummer being able to play jazz on the spot.