I went out to hear a band recently.  It was a ten piece band with horns, rhythm, and singers.  That’s a lot of sounds to fit together tightly and still have a groove.  The horns, keys, and guitar stayed out of each others way for fills and solos.  They really supported each other in an impressive polished way.

What killed the groove was their drummer.  He felt compelled to play something in every space or place his could.  This really killed their groove big time.      

Even on the ballads when the singer needed space for some subtle voice inflections, the drummer was playing cymbal flourishes and splashes, sometimes floor tom rolls.  It was quite out of context for the mood, and the soulfulness of the singer’s voice inflections were literally covered up with useless drum clutter. 

Now “what” the drummer played was technically good…..it was the time that he chose to play those things that was not good.   To be tasty and to add colors in just the right places, a drummer must be judicious with his playing.   This drummer was simply playing "way to too much" for the music.

Now, I’ve written previously about the drummers who play CRASH 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, CRASH 2, 3, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. on upbeat tunes; which I find pretty monotonous.   However, overplaying all night long is a far greater “sin” for drummers…..at least in my opinion. 

Here are some recommendations for drummers, playing music WITH the band.

Rule One:   Groove……lay down a groove so deep you can fall into it.

Rule Two:   Keep the groove happening.

Rule Three:  Whenever you do play a fill, DO NO LOOSE the groove.

Rule Four:   Cymbal crashes should make a statement with the music.  Constant random cymbal crashes detract from the groove.

If you do get a drum solo, play an interesting and entertaining solo, which can include showing some of your technical ability. 

However, if you can't make a good band groove, then you need to work on your basic skills.  The GROOVE is the foundation.

KEN

Tags: GROOVE