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What is drumming?

Shawn Lennie

Free Bird Player
Dec 12, 2021
59
149
I know the vast majority of musicians in here are guitarists so I thought I'd open up a bit of a think tank about what is drumming? It is a massive question like what is life? I'm not going to try and answer that question but simply give some points about how one goes about playing/writing/etc.

Drums/percussion as a whole are the oldest instrument known to man (apart from the voice) and come from all around the world, however I'll mostly be talking about the drum kit to start. The drum kit is an instrument that lacks one key element of music that guitar, voice, bass, keyboard all have....pitch. Yes you can tune and "pitch" toms, snares etc, but as a whole they are usually tuned for tone rather than pitch. So a drummer has to utilise other elements like rhythm, timing, dynamics and timbre (sound texture/type of sound) to create music. Rhythm is the heart of drumming, what you use in terms of which note values you decide to play, will determine what that groove, verse, fill will sound like. Switching to double time or half time as a variation to a last chorus or a bridge, comes straight from the snare position changing. That rhythm change is also directly related to timing. If that timing isn't right, the whole piece of music will move the wrong way.

Being "in the pocket" is what a lot of musicians talk about, and without a solid drummer that becomes a difficult task. The best thing to be is a solid drummer and to execute the basics well, rather than being the flashiest but sloppiest drummer throwing timing out the window. We've all seen it, gone to a bar or local show and the band is all over the shop playing as individuals rather than a band...all trying to show off at the same time 😅 that pocket, is practice, practice, practice, especially with a metronome, playing everything you know at every possible tempo.

Then there is dynamics and timbre, which drum or cymbal you decide to use and how loud to play it. How different would "paradigm" sound if that verse groove wasn't on the toms, or the little hi-hats on the left hand in the "gunslinger" "bat country" "scream" chorus'. If the drums for "dear god" were played with the same intensity as "beast and the harlot", it wouldn't sound nearly as nice.

Overall drummers have to use these elements to choose what groove, which drum/cymbal and what fill to play at any part of a song, or is it best that nothing at all is played in a certain spot?? We can't use chords or change a note in the melody or harmonic structure. Just like any instrument can change how a song sounds/feels, the drums are sometimes an overlooked but crucial part to any composition. This is just the very tip of the iceberg, and just some info to spark thoughts of composition and performing. As a drummer who also plays guitar, there is nothing more that I love than when all parts of the band are working perfectly together.

Anyway that's enough from me for now, take it easy everyone and I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts or questions on this!! Feel free to reply whatever comes to mind and continue this conversation 🤘🏻
Cheers.
 

juiceellish

Sold-out Crowd Surfer
  • Nov 11, 2019
    73
    2
    215
    27
    14
    You get an A for this well written essay.
    Also, this is very important for everyone to know as this applies smoothly and equally to every other instrument. You can pick a guitar string lightly for very soft/warm tones or you can dig into it for a heavy/gritty/mean tone (timbre). You can also implement wrist rolls (similar to the Le Pompe from Django Reinhardt) as a different kind of rhythm.

    Very well covered brother👌🏼
     

    Calvin Phillips

    Music Theory Bragger
    Nov 11, 2019
    2,588
    1,988
    I know the vast majority of musicians in here are guitarists so I thought I'd open up a bit of a think tank about what is drumming? It is a massive question like what is life? I'm not going to try and answer that question but simply give some points about how one goes about playing/writing/etc.

    Drums/percussion as a whole are the oldest instrument known to man (apart from the voice) and come from all around the world, however I'll mostly be talking about the drum kit to start. The drum kit is an instrument that lacks one key element of music that guitar, voice, bass, keyboard all have....pitch. Yes you can tune and "pitch" toms, snares etc, but as a whole they are usually tuned for tone rather than pitch. So a drummer has to utilise other elements like rhythm, timing, dynamics and timbre (sound texture/type of sound) to create music. Rhythm is the heart of drumming, what you use in terms of which note values you decide to play, will determine what that groove, verse, fill will sound like. Switching to double time or half time as a variation to a last chorus or a bridge, comes straight from the snare position changing. That rhythm change is also directly related to timing. If that timing isn't right, the whole piece of music will move the wrong way.

    Being "in the pocket" is what a lot of musicians talk about, and without a solid drummer that becomes a difficult task. The best thing to be is a solid drummer and to execute the basics well, rather than being the flashiest but sloppiest drummer throwing timing out the window. We've all seen it, gone to a bar or local show and the band is all over the shop playing as individuals rather than a band...all trying to show off at the same time 😅 that pocket, is practice, practice, practice, especially with a metronome, playing everything you know at every possible tempo.

    Then there is dynamics and timbre, which drum or cymbal you decide to use and how loud to play it. How different would "paradigm" sound if that verse groove wasn't on the toms, or the little hi-hats on the left hand in the "gunslinger" "bat country" "scream" chorus'. If the drums for "dear god" were played with the same intensity as "beast and the harlot", it wouldn't sound nearly as nice.

    Overall drummers have to use these elements to choose what groove, which drum/cymbal and what fill to play at any part of a song, or is it best that nothing at all is played in a certain spot?? We can't use chords or change a note in the melody or harmonic structure. Just like any instrument can change how a song sounds/feels, the drums are sometimes an overlooked but crucial part to any composition. This is just the very tip of the iceberg, and just some info to spark thoughts of composition and performing. As a drummer who also plays guitar, there is nothing more that I love than when all parts of the band are working perfectly together.

    Anyway that's enough from me for now, take it easy everyone and I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts or questions on this!! Feel free to reply whatever comes to mind and continue this conversation 🤘🏻
    Cheers.
    This is what has made me music so difficult to polish off as I havent been able to get a real drummer. Luckily my brother will be moving with me to a place and I'm gonna get a kit for us. It's nice to see other musicians here for that reason. I feel collabs or even A band is a real possibility here.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Shawn Lennie

    Shawn Lennie

    Free Bird Player
    Dec 12, 2021
    59
    149
    You get an A for this well written essay.
    Also, this is very important for everyone to know as this applies smoothly and equally to every other instrument. You can pick a guitar string lightly for very soft/warm tones or you can dig into it for a heavy/gritty/mean tone (timbre). You can also implement wrist rolls (similar to the Le Pompe from Django Reinhardt) as a different kind of rhythm.

    Very well covered brother👌🏼
    Totally!! I have countless conversations with my guitar students saying just relax on the pick so it just softens the tone a bit, and vice versa.
    And thank you appreciate it!
     
    Synner Endless Summer Collection

    Shawn Lennie

    Free Bird Player
    Dec 12, 2021
    59
    149
    Awesome! Thank you! Yeah, I’ve long said that the difference between a tight band and a sloppy band almost always comes down to the drummer.
    I used to think I was a good drummer until I got to university...when you start getting strictly marked on your playing you learn real quick to improve the simple things like playing in time 😅
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Ed Seith

    Shawn Lennie

    Free Bird Player
    Dec 12, 2021
    59
    149
    This is what has made me music so difficult to polish off as I havent been able to get a real drummer. Luckily my brother will be moving with me to a place and I'm gonna get a kit for us. It's nice to see other musicians here for that reason. I feel collabs or even A band is a real possibility here.
    That'd be sick having your bro under the same roof both jamming! Collabs for riffs and media would be cool too🤘🏻
     

    Calvin Phillips

    Music Theory Bragger
    Nov 11, 2019
    2,588
    1,988
    That'd be sick having your bro under the same roof both jamming! Collabs for riffs and media would be cool too🤘🏻
    I'm always down but everytime I ask people dont jump on it. But collabs i think even for a.song cover will help jump the reputation here. Like seeing musicians playing together makes you feel.very welcome.
     
    • Like
    Reactions: Shawn Lennie