Or should I say “Driving the Band”!

 

Being a drummer for 20 plus years I have had the pleasure of seeing many, many good drummers and musicians. Being a teacher at PIT for the past seven years I have also had the pleasure of seeing many young talented players become seasoned studio vets and road warriors. Not to mention the many talented teachers I have worked with or studied under.

These players are as varied in age as they are varied in style. But they all have one thing in common, they DRIVE THE BUS! By that I mean they drive the band. From the first note to the last note from the most simple song to the most difficult masterpiece, they drive the band. This has nothing to do with playing ridiculously cool fills and everything to do with the attitude and conviction they convey in their playing, in what they choose to play and what they choose not to play.

Nirvana may be best known by Curt Cobain but it was Dave Grohl that drove the band with his big beats, aggressive and sometimes frantic playing. The same could be said for many other bands. From Slipknot to P-funk, from Phil Rudd to Vinnie Colaiuta all these drummers drive their respected bands.

Again, I’m not emphasizing their abilities to play cool fills or solos, most of them definitely have that ability, but rather their skills in leading and supporting the bands or artists they work with. Sometimes it will involve playing lots of fills or soloing but even when this is required their main job is still as a time keeper. I think Vinnie Colaiuta, arguably one of the best drummers in the world, is a perfect example. His work with artists like Frank Zappa and Alan Holdsworth is some of the most technical playing ever record and yet his work with Sting and Faith Hill is the exact opposite. But in each setting he is driving the band. Whether with simple grooves (i.e. Field of Gold) or crazy odd meter songs with lots of set ups (i.e. Joe’s Garage).

To be a truly great drummer you have to master the simple things before you can become a virtuoso. I have compiled a list of some of those simple things and why they are so important and often overlooked. And today we will overlook them no more.

Counting in the band (this is VERY important)

Grooving

Sound (quality of your drum sound)

Listening (not just to yourself)

Attitude (as in your playing, this doesn’t mean volume)

Conviction (having confidence in what you play)

Set ups (appropriate for song)

Form (knowing where you are is important not only to you but the rest of the band)

Supporting (don’t overplay)

Grooving

Listening

Notice I listed Grooving and Listening twice. Why? Because they are two of the most important thingsto do when playing music. And when I say “listening” I don’t just mean cranking up the iPod. I mean listening when playing!

Having said that, cranking the iPod and listening is also very valuable. But most of us tend to just listen to our instrument and for us that is the drums. While this is a great way of learning and dissecting what our favorite players do we tend to miss the bigger picture. That bigger picture is the song. So the next time you are listening to your favorite drummer try and listen to what he is playing and how it works with the song. Whether it be a ridiculously cool fill or a simple set up listen for how it fits with what is going on around it in the music.

Grooving, well, that’s what we do. From blast beats to disco, we groove. And 90% of that revolves around the kick, snare, hi-hat and sometimes the ride. For me as a working musician, studio and live, it is 95% of what I do. Because of that I have focussed on these things a lot. It’s what keeps me working.

We might be at the back of the stage but we can have the biggest impact on a crowd. So remember this:

good band + bad drummer = Bad Band

mediocre band + good drummer = Good Band

One final thought, we have to think and play like musicians, not just drummers. This is a mistake I see a lot of drummers make. They want to wow their friends with some cool lick they spent 6 months working on and it doesn’t fit the music. This is bad musicianship. I’m not saying to not learn cool licks, I’m only saying if the music doesn’t call for it, don’t play it.

I wish you all the best in your musical endeavors. Keep rockin’ and feel free to drop me an e-mail with what you are doing musically. I always love to hear from fellow drummers, ah, musicians I mean.

All the best,

Charlie “The Basher” Waymire