Busy or steady drummer?

Wow. I'm so glad I'm not a pro. With all that's been said, I would never do a gig, much less make a record, no matter how good I got. I was always told that music is supposed to be fun. If you aren't having fun, it's just a job. Plain and simple. Reading what was in several of those posts, there is no fun at all. Not stepping on anyones toes. To each their own. Just my very humble opinion.
 
Wow. I'm so glad I'm not a pro.

You most likely are a pro, just not in music :)

Gotta keep the boss sweet and you gotta do what they say unless you can convince them of a better way to go. That even applies in many hobby band hierarchies.

How about Nick Mason of Pink Floyd? Busy or steady? Often he plays fills in the second half of every bar or even multiple bar fills ... but fills with lots of eighth notes. I'd say he's a busy drummer but he's not the sort of player that comes to mind when you think "busy drummer".
 
I tend to prefer people playing simple grooves. That's my taste.
but there's nothing wrong about playing "busy", as long as you're being musical and the things you play help the music to express itself.

Some drummers play many notes, covering the other musicians and killing the groove and the music. Some other play a lot of notes, but if you just listen to the music, you don't even notice that. and that's why they're simply playing the right notes.

I'd suggest you to play without thinking so much; feel the music, play what you feel to, and there's a good chance you're gonna play the right way.

+1 on this. Concentrating on what the music requires is the best way to balance steady vs busy.

Great players can play "busy" without sounding "busy". Busy implies disrupting the flow. There's the crux of the matter right there, the flow. You don't want to impede or rush the flow. There's all kinds of room for nuance, that is felt rather than heard. I think that is one of the things that a seasoned player does, meaning that a seasoned player doesn't need to have every one of their notes heard. A seasoned player knows that a ghost note will affect the feel of the song in a way that is hard to pinpoint, all you know is it makes you feel good.

Rex Hardy, Jr. is a great example of this kind of player. He is on American Idol this year and is also Mary J. Blige's drummer. His "kit crunching" style is just a little too busy for my taste, but he is amazing at playing all styles and he doesn't impede or rush the flow.
 
I was always told that music is supposed to be fun. If you aren't having fun, it's just a job. Plain and simple.

Hmmm, I'm doing it all wrong. I have fun doing my job.

Bermuda
 
Hmmm, I'm doing it all wrong. I have fun doing my job.

Bermuda

same Jon

I always thought I was having fun

I guess it's " just a job" and I'm delusional

maybe I should go back to running an excavator or working in a deli....maybe those are the real fun
 
It's obvious that we can only play the song in front of us and that will want more or less notes at any given moment.

What's less obvious and something the OP was wondering about are tendencies, not a black and white strawman situation like Pridgeon style vs Ringo style.

Do we tend towards busy or sparse playing? When I was young I was full of energy and always wanted to stretch out so I added fills and frills when I had the chance. Now I'm older, less energetic, and the only ambition I have is for the music to hit the spot. I love just sitting back on basic beats and trying to get them feeling good - it's relaxing and fun. Pretty well the exact opposite - embracing everything I was bored by when I was young.

Money's not an issue for me so I have that luxury. Pro drummers are doing a job so they have to play what the boss(es) tells them to play - or are expected to play. So pros and aspiring pros may find this question alien to their experiences, hence all these stroppy replies from otherwise mild mannered members :)


Spot on, as usual Pol.

I did not say I was not steady, or that I always played busy, I was talking inclination and style if given free reign. No mention of chops over groove.
 
I'll bang the drum again...

Serve the song. Check your ego at the door.

My personal experience with music is that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. You are elevated as an artist (not compromised) by the aesthetic choices you persue in real time when you build the sonic skeleton on which the musical flesh is hung. Your personality as a musician is not squelched, but supported, when your "personal style" of drumming enhances the final product- the experience of the audience.

Not to say that the feedback to the band from the audience's groove doesn't count, because there is a cycle of community we all share when "Its Happening".

Ride on, Brother...
 
For me, I do abit of both. I HEAVILY orientate the drums with the guitar rather than bass in my band. Something that Brann Dailor does that I think is pretty unique. People think it's odd, but it gives my band a really good sound.

But when I do my own stuff, I tend to focus more on groove and keeping it real and solid.
 
I'll bang the drum again...

Serve the song. Check your ego at the door.

My personal experience with music is that the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. You are elevated as an artist (not compromised) by the aesthetic choices you persue in real time when you build the sonic skeleton on which the musical flesh is hung. Your personality as a musician is not squelched, but supported, when your "personal style" of drumming enhances the final product- the experience of the audience.

Not to say that the feedback to the band from the audience's groove doesn't count, because there is a cycle of community we all share when "Its Happening".

Ride on, Brother...

Nah....nothing to do with ego. A busy player can still serve the song.

In a gig situation I play what the song requires, mainly. I was talking during practice and playing along to music. What is your leaning? Do you prefer to play steady or are you a busy player. By busy I don't mean specifically lots of fills, but busy rhythms, almost like a Latin rhythm section on your own.
 
Listen to some Steely Dan. Hearing the way Purdie, Gadd, and especially Keltner balance "steady" and "busy" is music at its finest. It's all groove, and then it's potentially busy fills that suit the music perfectly. There's not one drum note on some of those songs that a drummer would listen to and say, "No, I would have played this." There are easy and difficult grooves and easy and difficult fills and other parts.
 
Listen to some Steely Dan. Hearing the way Purdie, Gadd, and especially Keltner balance "steady" and "busy" is music at its finest. It's all groove, and then it's potentially busy fills that suit the music perfectly. There's not one drum note on some of those songs that a drummer would listen to and say, "No, I would have played this." There are easy and difficult grooves and easy and difficult fills and other parts.

Jeff Porcaro on Your Gold Teeth II

perfect example

as well as anything Keith Carlock has ever played on in his life

Keith may very well be the most "busy" drummer on the planet ...but always sounds fantastic
 
Keith may very well be the most "busy" drummer on the planet ...but always sounds fantastic

Career-wise or playing-wise? =]

But yes, his stuff with Steely Dan, live and on record is great! Definitely not his "busiest" playing, contrast to stuff with Rudder and Wayne Krantz and others of that sort, but all of his pop/rock stuff is tasteful and everything he plays has so much meaning.
 
Jeff Porcaro on Your Gold Teeth II

perfect example

Great track ... except for that overly flash and abstract fill JP does to lead back to the quiet passage after the solo's peak. It's like they decided to stick a bit of Buddy Rich in there for fun or something.

Some may dig it but IMO he could have played something far less impressive and more lyrical - what he does jars me every time. It's not as though the song needed goosing up, given the superb peaks in the solo where he carved it up.

My 1c
 
I consider myself a busy drummer. Does that mean I can't hold down the fort, nope. I look at my ability as I would a V8 car. Those fancy licks and things like that are there if you need it. But I tend to focus on the main drive, keeping the group or band or song together. Always drum to suite the song first. Then if it need's it, spice it up a bit, especially if you know that you have the ability to. Sometimes I feel when I listen to some busy drummers, they tend to overdue it, and it really takes away from the song, in the case that, I used to do that all the time, then I learned to keep it under wraps and use it when needed. Hence the V8 analagy. The power is there when you need it, you don't drive your V8 car flat out all the time, if you do, you'll be in a whole world of hurt. Always drum to suite the song, and in the end if it needs some spice, add it. Have fun!!!
 
busy drummer for sure… not that i don't have a pocket… i can play solid and even, like a john bonham or bernard purdie groove. steely dan, EWF, tower of power, and james brown taught me about the pocket... but i had to make an effort to develop that. when i first heard that stewart copeland sound, i took to that style like a duck to water. something about how he plays so many various styles, often in one song, but still keeps it on target and serves the music so well… just captivated me. but hell, i can't show off all the time, i don't like to overplay, because it overshadows everyone else. another player i worship is mitch mitchell, guy was busy as hell, but always locked it in.
 
Gotta echo what I hear above re: avoiding "either/or" thinking.

Better to be the drummer that can appropriatly vary along the axis of "busy" and the axis of "steady" as desired in any situation.
 
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