Mad About Drums
Pollyanna's Agent
OK Larry and Henri - you guys are using too many words. This denotes you two being too technical and not groove oriented. Let it go.
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OK Larry and Henri - you guys are using too many words. This denotes you two being too technical and not groove oriented. Let it go.
No... thread not over... Uncle Larry...
Do you remember your own words in one of my thread?
You said: "There's a way to play simply that makes it sound great. It requires nuance and experience. I think a lot of guys play lots of notes because if there is a place where it would fit, why not? I can think of many reasons why not. You can play a simple beat, in a complex way, with dynamics, inner kit individual volume relation knowledge/control, barely audible ghosts, and much more, but most of all it has to have feel. A sense of just the right touch to put on a song is something that can be learned. I'm proof, I wasn't born with it.
A distilled drum part that feels right beats a more verbiose drum part that doesn't put feeling as Job 1 wins every time for me."
So in other words, the red highlights of your quote imply a sound knowledge of the instrument, not just feel and playing a simple pattern, to get a groove going like you've explain in your quote requires a sound technical knowledge or skill, to pull out ghost notes efficiently alongside dynamics with a killer groove that has feel and emotion is one of the hardest thing to do, much harder than throwing fills left right and center.
Furthermore, a "groove" can be intricate and complex to play, sometimes more difficult than what's called "technical drumming".
So ideally you'll need both, groove AND technique, it's not a "either or" type of question IMO, one can hardly exist without the other, is what you chose to do with the skills you have that count.
9 times out of 10, I find that the music tells me what should I play (originals, not covers), I think I groove, but I'm also busy enough on the kit, much depends on the style too, some music definitely needs a simple pattern, some others a little more spice and sometimes overplaying just fit the bill, it's all drumming to me, you play what you feel fits the music.
I think I also know what Mary is asking in a more simple way, am I more a Steve Jordan or a Thomas Lang type of player, my guess is I'm more a Steve type of drummer if that makes sense.
Good relaxed technique grooves and many drummers have prooved that. Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro, Vinnie, Jojo Mayer, his technique is flawless and his time feel is sick, as is Vinnies.
I think some of you guys may be cofusing technique with chops, chops are chops, speed is speed. Technique is about how you body works and approach. To groove you need some. I can't think of drummer who does'nt have some. Maybe a few weekend giging guys on drummerworld, but not record cutting groove, not groove you could atchually cut to record and sell to the masses.
You are not wasting your time practising rudiments, as long you use a metromone and develop your innerclock whilst doing it. Rudiments develop all the technique you need to groove, and again focus on sound not speed. Make you parrddiles and flam taps groove and your singles silky smooth and you will have silky hats and tastey ghost notes trust, as well as tastey diddles and a nice singles for the fills you may wish to play one day.
Regrettably, I'm neither
What people call "groove" - heavily syncopated funk drumming a la Gadd, Purdie, Garibaldi, Moore, Dave etc is intensely technical (and scary to me). They have consistently precise subdivisions and amazing control over internal dynamics.
I just would hate to go through life thinking groove scares me.
Definitely more groove than flash. I appreciate and understand and am usually impressed with some of the fireworks and extreme playing, as a youngster, I always thought it would be great to play for Zappa. But as life progressed, the technical stuff is not what I listen to, and not what I play. In fact, I don't recall ever being offered a gig for anything particularly funky, fusiony, or jazzy. I'm not being mercernary, it just happens to work that way for me, and perhaps explains why I'm very happy in that role. No coulda-shoulda-woulda here.
That's not to say I only play 2 & 4 for a living. I have more than a few tricks in my bag, and can swing pretty good for a 'rock' drummer. It's just that the vast majority of work I do requires the drums to lay down the groove.
The technical players do get more attention and notoriety from the general drumming population, although it should be noted that the professional community tends to really respect the groovemeisters.
Bermuda