I suck at power ballads.

Andy has talked about how Comfortably Numb is the hardest song for him in his band's set, yet you'd think some of their other tunes like Jump would be tougher.
Nah, "Jump" is real easy Grea. Even the solo section that nobody seems to get right is easy when you know the downbeat accents. "Comfortably Numb" is a right bastard, & here's why:

1/ Starting tempo. Oh so critical. Get that even slightly wrong, & you're screwed. There's nowhere to go, no natural adjustment point. So many of the song signature elements don't work if dragged or rushed. Almost unplayed ralls are featured frequently (at least, in the version we play).

2/ You need to groove, but almost not. The groove needs to be an undercurrent, an orchestration accompaniment, not a foot tapper kind of deal.

3/ Feel changes. Verses range in feel from doped out to elation. Chorus has a release vibe to it. First solo should ooze sadness & abandonment, second solo should grow in authority & intensity, then end in slow celebration.

4/ Dynamic changes. Not only does each section have it's own foundation level, it also changes according to the lyric.
 
Is the answer to the power ballads question not wind chimes?

I'm pretty sure it must be.
 
Comfortably Numb is quite the piece of work. I love playing along to that one. From the same album, Mother has to be my favorite though. Word is that Jeff Porcaro played on that one and it's just stunning. Only thing that could have made that masterpiece of a record even more of a masterstroke would be if JP had played on the whole thing. MHO, of course.
 
Thinking about the power-pop ballads of the past I've realized that if I can live comfortably at 72 BPM I should be okay.
Beware...behind the turbo toms, wind chimes and timpani that accompany the big hair and fog machines lurks a much greater sin. Sleigh bells.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAlUVosDkMU
 
much greater sin. Sleigh bells.
Yes!!!! Something to take the heat off my wind chimes & quell the hoard of sad b&$%ds who lack the imagination (& frankly, the talent) to put me down on anything wholesome ;) ;) ;)

Yippee! Sleigh bells - a fate worse than wind chimes :) Just wait a minute though, there's hand claps, & those disco "boo boo" E-toms, & random tambourine action by otherwise unoccupied backing singers, & why does almost every pop latin section have to have a whistle, oh, & percussionists who think timbale = relentless soloing, & while I'm on a roll ------------------------------- ;)
 
Yes!!!! Something to take the heat off my wind chimes & quell the hoard of sad b&$%ds who lack the imagination (& frankly, the talent) to put me down on anything wholesome ;) ;) ;)

Yippee! Sleigh bells - a fate worse than wind chimes :) Just wait a minute though, there's hand claps, & those disco "boo boo" E-toms, & random tambourine action by otherwise unoccupied backing singers, & why does almost every pop latin section have to have a whistle, oh, & percussionists who think timbale = relentless soloing, & while I'm on a roll ------------------------------- ;)

No, just no....everything is a step above wind chimes. the only thing worse would be if Guru started making chimes....( is that already in the works)
 
Thank you all for reminding me about one of my favorite Pink Floyd songs. I'm listening to it right now. Why do the drums always sound so good?

To the OP; I'm pretty sure that DW makes some hideous floor tom snare thing to solve your problem. It probably costs $1000.
 
the only thing worse would be if Guru started making chimes....( is that already in the works)

Segmented ovangkol frame curved in a golden ratio spiral with precision-machined chromed T6 aluminum bars with logarithmic-scale lengths and harmonically tuned to the planets' alignments. Also the bars are suspended by magnets...space-future aluminum magnets...to maximize resonance. Evans heads included.

Andy told me on the DL but I just couldn't keep it to myself any longer.
 
I too used to poo-poo not just power ballads, but all types of ballads in general. They sounded boring to me.

What I figured out was the amount of emotion you can put into a ballad, especially a power ballad. Some of my loudest playing had been playing those things, and no one complains because we're all "in the moment" so to speak.

Steve Smith has some good insight into playing ballads, keeping them solid and keeping or increasing their intensity when you play a drum fill.

The dynamic contrast is what works for me. I play verses really softly, choruses, a bit more, then to bridge a bit louder. Sometimes it will get softer or completely silent before the "WHAM BAM THANK YOU MA'AM" fill that you play to get into the last chorus and coda. And you're playing the same thing you did before, just 100x's louder. Then you build even more! and more as it slows doooowwwwwwnnnn CRAAAAAAASH!!!!! High note! Loudest note! Huge floor tom roll into the Big CRAAAASH to end the tune (that one will be even louder than the previous loudest note)

aaaaand...you're spent.
 
Yippee! Sleigh bells - a fate worse than wind chimes :)

Jingle bells are wonderful :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13L6sjk080c

Just wait a minute though, there's hand claps, & those disco "boo boo" E-toms, & random tambourine action by otherwise unoccupied backing singers, & why does almost every pop latin section have to have a whistle, oh, & percussionists who think timbale = relentless soloing,

A solid list of objectionable percussives there, Andy, though I'm a fan of well placed whistles, though probably not in power ballads ...
 
I always have problems with key changes too.... :)

I literally laughed. Stupid question, what decade were you born in? That could play a role. Being born in the 80's, I heard this all the time and they remind me of childhood things. My dad, however, see it as the death of music.
 
Yes - dragged from the archives (by either spam or troll - not sure which)
I too own wind chimes - although not currently on the kit as no power ballads in the set list at the moment.

Comfortably Numb falls into my list of great songs.....that should not be done by covers bands!
See also Jeremy by Pearl Jam, I am the Highway (Audio slave) Grounds for Divorce (Elbow).......

No matter how good the band - Fired Up as an example - some songs never seem to project the same energy/feeling and end up being depressing rather than moving.
Maybe they are great songs,just not for a Friday/Saturday night out??

Anybody got any more to add to this list?
 
Yes - dragged from the archives (by either spam or troll - not sure which)
I too own wind chimes - although not currently on the kit as no power ballads in the set list at the moment.

Comfortably Numb falls into my list of great songs.....that should not be done by covers bands!
See also Jeremy by Pearl Jam, I am the Highway (Audio slave) Grounds for Divorce (Elbow).......

No matter how good the band - Fired Up as an example - some songs never seem to project the same energy/feeling and end up being depressing rather than moving.
Maybe they are great songs,just not for a Friday/Saturday night out??

Anybody got any more to add to this list?
We keep Comfortably Numb in the set for approximately half our gigs. It's definitely there in a rock orientated festival set, but I'm also surprised how well it goes down in the most unlikely of venues, & with the most unlikely of audience demographic. It's not the floor emptying song you think it's going to be sometimes.

A couple of gigs back, we had upwards of 30, 18 - 25 year old girls singing along & going nuts for it. Ok, perhaps not the most discerning sector of the audience, but nevertheless, gratifying on multiple levels!

As for our performance of it, it's nearly impossible to recreate the original vibe, but I've seen floyd struggle on it to, albeit they're entitled to, we're not.
 
I understand what you feel. I also have trouble, I must write a william shakespeare essay. Seems to me, it's not a very interesting topic for reading and for writing also. Maybe somebody can make it instead of me?

Here you go. Romeo wants Juliet. King Lear said no and hires Othello to kill Romeo. Romeo then buys an illegal AK-47 from Tibault and goes on a killing spree. The end. Now stop being lazy and read it yourself.
 
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