[slingerland59]

I've been listening to old Procal Harum songs lately. B.J. Wilson used to punctuate songs with fills and let the other musicians keep their own time. I think disco and even punk music messed things up for us drummers, turning us into fancy metronomes. Most songs nowadays call upon us to keep a steady cymbal/snare pattern instead of being inventive with colourful fills and flashes and leaving spaces in the music. Drummers talk about cymbal ostinatos now -- patterns that don't let up throughout the entire song. I find them boring. Let the guitarist or keyboard player keep time for a change.

[Tinter69]

I hear ya, we (drummers) all talk about grooving with the music, letting it flow, there is no correct or incorrect way to play....so why is it that some drummers have hatred for those that step outside the box in doing something off kilter? do we practice what we preach? I for one, help keep time, yes, but....I do let loose sometimes, with extravagant fills, and dropping out a bar, or just swapping the beat around. It makes the music imo unique. Are we trying to sound like Copeland, Rich, Bonzo, Ringo??? Why? The things that bother me the most when it comes to playing is the "They dont do it like that" refering to doing worship music.....ya so...Im not them. Be who you are and play how you play. Dont get into someone elses box.

[slingerland59]

I couldn't agree more Tinter69. I learn other drummers' fills and patterns, but I try to make songs my own and I try to "invent" my own patterns and fills. I've never played in a tribute band but I don't think I'd last long unless maybe it was a Procal Harum band, which I'm guessing doesn't exist.

[Timsan]

Great post - I think there's a time and place for each, really. It depends on the style and the context. Sometimes it's great to cut loose and do your own thing. If the other guys in the band are good enough they'll keep time.

With regards to covers, it grates on me when I'm asked to play it "just like the CD". Unless there's a very good reason for it, I'll just ignore that directive...

[S.A.L.]

Great post!

When it allows I get way out of the box,

...empty bars, flip-flopped beats, silly accents on bells and splashes, a fill starting half-way in a verse exploding into a chorus, ...it usually depends on the other musicians' timing abilities and how well they know their parts without relying on the drummer for cues.


SETH

[Tinter69]

I was thinking about this today, what makes a great drummer?

Their Sound. Their feel. Their licks.....notice the emphasis on Their. It is theirs thats what makes them great. For me to try to sound exactly like _______, imo is not going to make me a great drummer. My sound, My feel and My licks are!!

Keep striving to be you on your set. Do things that make You unique. and maybe one day someone will try to be like you.

[butter]

Hmmm... Maybe we should write a religion for drummers that preaches non-conformity and write a few new genres!

Jk, but great post. I think beats are great, I mean what drummer doesn't? but I love hearing somebody do something unorthodox. Cymbal ostinatos... you hit it right on the head. I have never really thought of the eighth notes on the ride limiting me a whole lot, but they really do.

This makes me think of those times when you are just sitting around, and one of your friends starts tapping on the table some simple pattern, then somebody else joins in with something else, maybe clapping or something. Pretty soon, you have a little unplanned improv drum circle going. The best guy to be in that circle, is the one who joins in last and isn't part of the beat, but the one who just fills over everyone else's rhythms. I guess it's like drum battles, where each person keeps a beat and the other solos over it, but it's different. Maybe it's just because that kind of occurence is so impromtu, but personally, I am more creative then than any other time.

In my next band, I'll hire a guy to play the Electric Coffee Cup, and he can be the metronome. I'll just fill all the time