There’s a trend in drumming lately, something I’ve been listening to, and frankly, I don’t like the sound of it.
There’s a trend in drumming… let’s see if I can explain this. It seems as if a lot of drummers don’t really have any sense of rhythm anymore. Maybe rhythm is the wrong word. Yeah, I think it is. It’s something else that I can’t quite put my finger on.
I mean, drummers like Neil Peart and Chad Gracey, they have a real sense of… what’s the word?
Ahah! “Composition.”
When I listen to a pattern from Gracey, there’s a sense of composition. That is, every stroke means something, lending itself to the greater score.
What I hear from a lot of drummers (and see on Youtube) is this overwhelming desire to play as many 18 stroke double diddle periddles as possible. And all with each limb. It’s this… boy, am I gonna get in trouble for saying this… it’s a big fat meaningless noise. And, frankly, it’s only purpose is to show off in front of other drummers.
A drummer is a musician, just like like every other musician in the group. And his part has to add to the song. His job is to contribute, not smash as many 32nd notes as he can into one bar. With both hands. And both feet. All playing in different times.
I’ve never been a big fan of jazz for this reason. Jazz looks like showing off. And that’s fine, but I’m not a fan of it. I like music that feels like each person is playing with the other, all making a single composition.
Drummers need to put away their dicks and pick up their sticks again. Stop playing triple quadadiddleripplefiddles and learn some groove.
___
My Friday rants are getting friendlier. I must be getting older.
PS: Oh, and another thing. A very important thing. DOUBLE BASS IS A POWER ONLY TO BE USED FOR GOOD! If you find yourself playing double bass all the way through a song… give it up, man. That’s like double fudge chocolate fudge fudge fudge chocolate whipped cream fudge chocolate whipped cream chocolate chocolate fudge ice cream. And nobody needs that.