Learning to play shout sections

Hi Everyone,

I wanted to start a conversation about playing shout sections, a topic I cover in my most recent blog post:

http://haredrums.blogspot.com/2012/03/shout.html

Here are some questions for you guys. Who are your favorite shout section players? What is your approach to playing shout sections? What are some useful techniques you have developed for learning to play this way?

I'm a big Irv Cottler and Sonny Payne fan. There's nothing better than popping rimshots on 2 and 4 to take 'er home.
 
I love the way Buddy Rich would play a shout chorus. Mel Lewis, too. I picked up a great example of Buddy from a recent Zildjian brochure. Tommy Igoe tells the story of how he was on a flight listening to Buddy Rich on his iPod when Buddy played something that was so great and so fearless that he burst into laughter and started drawing stares from the other passengers. It was Buddy's recording of Naptown Blues and the part Tommy was talking about was the shout chorus. I have to agree with his appraisal.

Of the current crop of players, I think Jeff Hamilton stands out for me. He played on Milt Jackson's Bags' Groove off the Explosive! record and just nails the shout section. His sense of dynamics and the balance of just enough restraint while still providing the extra push the music needs is fantastic.
 
I love the way Buddy Rich would play a shout chorus. Mel Lewis, too. I picked up a great example of Buddy from a recent Zildjian brochure. Tommy Igoe tells the story of how he was on a flight listening to Buddy Rich on his iPod when Buddy played something that was so great and so fearless that he burst into laughter and started drawing stares from the other passengers. It was Buddy's recording of Naptown Blues and the part Tommy was talking about was the shout chorus. I have to agree with his appraisal.

Of the current crop of players, I think Jeff Hamilton stands out for me. He played on Milt Jackson's Bags' Groove off the Explosive! record and just nails the shout section. His sense of dynamics and the balance of just enough restraint while still providing the extra push the music needs is fantastic.

Totally agreed, I do love some Jeff Hamilton shouts! I will check out that Milt Jackson track immeditately.
 
Great piece, as always, Andrew- I think Buddy Rich's Ya Gotta Try is about the shoutiest shout chorus ever. Thad Jones/Mel Lewis' Cherry Juice (after 3:30) is another classic. And I really like Don Lamond with Woody Herman- he plays these kind of crusty set ups. I try to emulate his approach, and play big and simple, and pick my spots.

Oh crap, and this. The silent breaks used to be my favorite part of that, but now I think it's the singles @ 1:25.
 
Can someone educate me on what a shout chorus is? That's a brand new term for me! Is it where the band stops and just the drummer plays for 4 bars or whatever?

Sorry, still trying to learn.
 
Can someone educate me on what a shout chorus is? That's a brand new term for me! Is it where the band stops and just the drummer plays for 4 bars or whatever?

Sorry, still trying to learn.

It may be as simple as the loudest part of the song.
 
Great piece, as always, Andrew- I think Buddy Rich's Ya Gotta Try is about the shoutiest shout chorus ever. Thad Jones/Mel Lewis' Cherry Juice (after 3:30) is another classic. And I really like Don Lamond with Woody Herman- he plays these kind of crusty set ups. I try to emulate his approach, and play big and simple, and pick my spots.

Oh crap, and this. The silent breaks used to be my favorite part of that, but now I think it's the singles @ 1:25.

Thanks Todd. Oh man, those silent breaks are so good!

I have always felt a little conflicted about Buddy Rich, just because if I ever try to play any of his stuff, I just sound like garbage. That being said he really is the "shoutiest" of them all. I also dig the crustiness concept, I would call those kind of setups thick. But crusty sounds way cooler.

Great examples, thanks for the contribution.
 
It may be as simple as the loudest part of the song.

Yeah, that is almost always the case. Some other signs that you are hearing a shout are big, repeated, unison band hits, generally with some space around them to give the drummer some. I think the best way to get a handle on this is to listen to some of the examples posted below. Or check out "Splanky" starting around 3:03:

http://youtu.be/VBTSoLzZ3-U

That is a shout! You can see why I always use exclamation points when I talk about them. Thanks for the question Larryace, it always helps to clarify what you are talking about. Sorry I didn't do a better job of that to start out with!
 
Thank you! I never knew there was a term that goes along with that. I get it now, you guys rule. I learn something new everyday here at DW.

Thanks Andrew.

You can call me Larry, the ace part sounds a little pretentious. (my company is named Ace Electric. I'm not a WWII flying ace, in case you were wondering lol)
 
Thank you! I never knew there was a term that goes along with that. I get it now, you guys rule. I learn something new everyday here at DW.

Thanks Andrew.

You can call me Larry, the ace part sounds a little pretentious. (my company is named Ace Electric. I'm not a WWII flying ace, in case you were wondering lol)

You are most welcome Larry (I was wondering about the ace thing)!
 
You can call me Larry, the ace part sounds a little pretentious. (my company is named Ace Electric. I'm not a WWII flying ace, in case you were wondering lol)

Andrew, don't believe a word of what Larry said, he rules by modesty, he's got his ace after his name for having played a well know groove on this song, hence the nickname, he's so modest it's uncredited on the album, sorry Larry, it's better when it's all out in the open, and sorry Andrew for the hijack in your thread, but this needed a shout! ;-))

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYEQQiMhYxA&feature=related
 
When I hear "shout" in a musical context, my first thought is always "shout music" style, like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ggAL5m0j-w

Yeah,

That is a good point. Actually though if you think about it, even though the genres of music are obviously quite different, a gospel shout and a jazz shout have a lot in common! They both feature loud, unison, repeated, rhythmic hits, lots of space for the drummer to stretch, and are generally pretty climactic. Thanks for bringing this up.
 
Yeah,

That is a good point. Actually though if you think about it, even though the genres of music are obviously quite different, a gospel shout and a jazz shout have a lot in common! They both feature loud, unison, repeated, rhythmic hits, lots of space for the drummer to stretch, and are generally pretty climactic. Thanks for bringing this up.

Haha, thats actually true! I'm not really a fan, but gospel shouts are sorta fun to play, haha!
 
I've never heard of 'shout' sections before. It makes sense after reading the thread but my first thought was of a drummer shouting manicly while playing!

Coming to think of it I have alot of those sections in my bands songs where, as our guitarist puts it, the snare goes 'f**k'!

I love rimshot backbeats!
 
I've never heard of 'shout' sections before. It makes sense after reading the thread but my first thought was of a drummer shouting manicly while playing!

Coming to think of it I have alot of those sections in my bands songs where, as our guitarist puts it, the snare goes 'f**k'!

I love rimshot backbeats!

Yeah,

I think this term actually can cover a lot of different genres of music. Luke brought up the gospel connection, and I am sure this applies to metal as well. Anytime you are playing lots of big unison hits with the band really. In my experience, the best way to learn to do this is to be able to sing the band hits while you are playing them to really lock in to what is going on.
 
Yeah,

I think this term actually can cover a lot of different genres of music. Luke brought up the gospel connection, and I am sure this applies to metal as well. Anytime you are playing lots of big unison hits with the band really. In my experience, the best way to learn to do this is to be able to sing the band hits while you are playing them to really lock in to what is going on.

Yup, that's exactly how I approach it. Then I try to make my fills part of the overall musical/rhythmic line of the hits. I also use motivic devices to guide what I play sometimes - i.e. if the tune/hits are underpinned by a 3:2 clave, or a 3:3:2 concept or something, I use that as a template for the accents and rhythms I play in the fills.
 
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