Hitting hard

[larryace]

You know how some drummers say "Oh I'm a real hard hitter" This always makes me laugh. I think it is so over emphasized, and why do we have to think we need to "hit hard" in the first place? Why don't you ever hear anyone say," Oh I can play really softly", or "I always hit at the appropriate volume for the song and setting". To me it's every bit as difficult to burn at a low volume than to 'hit hard". I certainly don't want to see a band where the drummer is louder than the other guys. Is Vinnie Colaiuta considered a hard hitter? Steve Gadd? Thomas Lang? I know when I play, I have to constantly watch that I don't play too loud, or it doesn't sit right with the song. I suppose Metal and it's various sub-genres would be the exception to my rant. Comments?

[DamoSyzygy]

You know how some drummers say "Oh I'm a real hard hitter" This always makes me laugh. I think it is so over emphasized, and why do we have to think we need to "hit hard" in the first place?
Most of the time Ill hear this comment when Im selling a customer a cymbal. Truth be told, its information Im glad they share with me!

[caddywumpus]

It doesn't make me laugh as much as it makes me realize that either; 1) they have somehow come to the false assumption that hitting hard is some kind of achievement reserved for good players, or 2) they are aware of the volume at which they typically play at, and are looking to improve in their dynamics, or 3) they never learned to play anything softer than loud, don't play any casual gigs where they need to play softer, don't see the need for keeping their hearing for later in life.

I usually just feel sorry for people who, metaphorically speaking, proudly wear the "I play loud" badge. They are only seeing a very small sliver of the potential for playing the drum kit...

[jay norem]

I think there's a sort of jock/athlete mentality that a lot of young drummers have. I wonder to myself, "What do you want to do, play music or professional football?" But the real world of playing music will solve that problem for some of them, and the rest will either luck-up and join a successful metal band or they just won't get any work at all.

[MedievalKnight]

does the public will give more money if you hit hard?? lol like all you said, the drummer can't be more loud than the band. It is wonderfull to see a band playing in a perfect volume all together...

[Ekim]

Come on... SLAMMING on the drums is just fun! Once you figure out how to beat the snot out of your kit and your cymbals - WITHOUT damaging them or yourself - it's a great thing.

Loud and hard playing is a blast to me.

The bad part is when the volume becomes more of the focus than playing well or not hurting your gear or yourself.

I have a bass player friend whose drummer has asked to borrow some cymbals. I did it once, but seeing how he leaves sticks and cymbals in pieces and dents all over his heads, I declined to lend him cymbals a second time. He SLAMS without mercy.

That's not what I'm talking about. I used to hit like that and paid the price in destroyed gear. Not any more.

But I do still like cranking slamming tunes and beating my drums til I'm exhausted.

[trkdrmr]

Generally, drummers that always hit hard and play at one dynamic level aren't that impressive. That type of playing can be boring or fatiguing.

Someone that can hit hard,medium or soft and incorporates it into many dynamic levels impresses me.

[drummer girl09]

My drum teacher says I hit pretty hard, and that it was good. I don't usually hit as hard as I can. I know when to be quieter and softer. And I know when I have to be loud. Would you all agree that it is slightly harder to play soft then to play kind of medium? It is for me sometimes for some reason. I guess it's like slowing the tempo too.

[trkdrmr]

My drum teacher says I hit pretty hard, and that it was good. I don't usually hit as hard as I can. I know when to be quieter and softer. And I know when I have to be loud. Would you all agree that it is slightly harder to play soft then to play kind of medium? It is for me sometimes for some reason. I guess it's like slowing the tempo too.

Any fool with sticks can hit hard. It takes maturity and skill to play ghost notes.

Ah yes, the age old dilemma. Playing harder= faster tempo, softer = slower.

I ordered a metronome to help me with this.

[drummer girl09]

Any fool with sticks can hit hard. It takes maturity and skill to play ghost notes.

Ah yes, the age old dilemma. Playing harder= faster tempo, softer = slower.

I ordered a metronome to help me with this.



I'm guessing in what he meant was that I wasn't afraid of getting into the music unlike new players that don't want to be heard much. If that makes sense. Maybe he meant that I was more in control. I may never know...maybe I should ask him what he meant.

[jay norem]

Would you all agree that it is slightly harder to play soft then to play kind of medium?

Playing dynamically is playing musicially. Unfortunately rock music doesn't use a lot of dynamics so I guess people get the idea that good drumming is being able to run the marathon on your drum kit.
But look at it this way. What's important, playing the drums or playing one and only one kind of music on the drums? Professional musicians are called on to play all sorts of different styles, and they're paid to play those styles very well indeed. Playing loudly is but one of the many ways to play a drum, obviously, so you have to open yourself up to being able to address the drums from all sorts of different perspectives. A softly-played snare-ride combination can sound like the whispering wind. It's a lovely sound that no drummer will never be able to produce as long as he plays in one limited dynamic range.

[zambizzi]

Playing dynamically is playing musicially. Unfortunately rock music doesn't use a lot of dynamics so I guess people get the idea that good drumming is being able to run the marathon on your drum kit.

That's a fairly general statement to make, jay. It's also incorrect since you're generalizing what rock music is. That would be akin to me saying something like "all jazz music relies on the drummer playing a spang-a-lang pattern on the ride."

I play rock music...I work very hard on dynamics. I listen to a lot of rock music that utilizes all types of dynamics....sometimes swinging up and down just as wildly as "jazz" or anything else.

[maddrummr]

I love playing soft...It makes people listen rather than force them too.

[zambizzi]

Comments?

It takes far less skill to play hard than it does to play softly. I guess it depends on your crowd. I've gotten compliments on my ability to utilize dynamics...I've never seen anyone receive a compliment for how hard they could bash their drums.

Metal...while I don't want to pigeon-hole all metal into one crowd...is another story. It's mostly a type of music that relies on volume.

[MedievalKnight]

I love playing soft...It makes people listen rather than force them too.

people are like the judges of music, if they don't like it they will go away, as for me i like loud or soft it depends of what I'm listening to and where are many people with diferent form of thinking is kind of nice to see them singing and loving the music...

[DrummerDavid]

I tend to hit hard, but I can be quiet when the need arises.

It's not that I hit hard on purpose, I guess its just naturally for me.

[drummer girl09]

Some of the coolest drum solos are when the drummers play soft, say like Steve Gadd with brushes. Even John Bonahm played quiet for a good bit in some of his solos. It's fun to listen to figure out what the dynamic is in a sense, and what ideas they are thinking about while doing the solo. I don't play just rock. I try to play as many genre types of music as I am able to do. Again, playing hard doesn't mean you can't play anything besides that (so what if anyone can play "hard" it's fun to do), but you should want to be able to play softly in order to expand your abilities in your dynamics no matter what type of music you play.

[Der Februar]

I think it's cool to hit hard, but just for accents. It sure doesn't sound good to always play like that. Plus, if you always play really loudly, you have no where to go when you want to build up. I used to hit really hard and break sticks and stuff until last spring when I got one ply heads and started using thin sticks. Then I was like, "Well now I can't hit hard. Then I realized that it sounds better to not play very loudly and the accents thing.

[MedievalKnight]

I tend to hit hard, but I can be quiet when the need arises.

It's not that I hit hard on purpose, I guess its just naturally for me.

i guess that is when someone don't think of anything else and get lost playing to enjoy the music, sometimes when i realize is like that...

[Nickkk]

when i whip out the brushes for a quiet number you can hear the knicker elastic snapping 10 rows back... the chicks dig my dynamic control and restrained ride accents


i am of course joking.
im sure a bonham fan could correct me on this but im sure i read that he began to develop far more power in his playing when he developed playing from the wrist and not from a caveman-like approach to playing the kit? does that ring any bells in terms of his playing history?

nothing would make me happier as a drummer to be praised for my feel and dynamics rather than any of my chops or indeed volume during a song. its the biggest thrill when it goes well and the musicality comes out because its often what you dont 'say' (in terms of pure volume) on a kit that comes accross most powerfully out front.

however if i can completely contradict that,l i recently saw a drum hero of mine , J.R Conners (former Cave In) playing extremely loudly with his new band Doomriders and it was utterly compelling to watch a powerful performance as it was to listen to it.

[mrchattr]

I would argue that I'm a hard hitter, even when playing softly. It's not a bad thing. You can play softly, with dynamics, while still hitting hard...it's all about finger control. The difference between me hitting a snare drum quietly and an less experienced drummer hitting a snare drum at the same volume is that mine will still sound like a crisp, snare sound, when a lot of guys tend to lose the sound of their drums as they play quieter. You CAN play hard and soft, just as you can play soft and loud. It's all about subtle finger and wrist control.

Also, while I agree that it is annoying when people brag about bashing the heck out of the drums, I will remind you that some amazing drummers were/are really proud of it. Three jump to mind:

- Art Blakey hit harder than any drummer I have seen live, and I've seen hundreds. I also saw him when he was old...he hit much harder in his prime.
- Elvin Jones was an insanely hard hitter
- Tony Williams has a quote (I can't find the exact quote) which said, "I play the drums hard. That's how they are ment to be played...that's how they sound the best." Again, not word for word there, but his sentiment is there.

[larryace]

The reason I started this thread is because I hear this way too much, (that the harder you hit, the more "revered" you are) and I wanted to put out there that while hitting really hard has it's uses, I would love to hear the younger players be more interested in trying to develop real finesse on the kit rather than bragging about how hard they can hit. It is definitely encouraged by the advertisers (more sticks and heads and gear to replace) I also want to point out the fact that you just don't hear "Oh man I pick really hard" from a guitar player, or "Oh man I blow really hard" from a sax player, or "Oh man I push my paintbrush really hard into the canvas" from a fine artist...I guess what I'm saying (mainly to the younger players) is: it's not the number one, two or three thing to strive for. When I hear of new heads broken in the first set, and 6 pairs of sticks cracked in a night, broken footboards (that one totally puzzles me) on bass drum pedals, cracked cymbals, wrist pain, tendonitis and the like, it bothers me that more times than not, it is said with pride, like it's this really great accomplishment. It really isn't. Hey I used to subscribe to that fallacy too, and it didn't take long in gigging situations with accomplished musicians to realize that I was not being a team player, but more of a loose cannon. I just wanted to express my take on this topic. Making a drumset sound good, I mean really good, is a very difficult thing, that takes a lifetime to master, and beating the snot out of the drums is just that, and not much else, in my opinion.

[GRUNTERSDAD]

I think the best thing the younger drummers could do is to join the school band or orchestra and learn some dynamics. I do not read as well as I did in school but I still understand dynamnics. There are times to play loud and times to not play hard. I guess if you play hard rock or metal all of the time this has no meaning, but to brag about being a hard hitter in my opinion is just saying "look at me, I can hit hard" So what. Play withn the music and be a musician. A robot can hit hard and on time.

[nfiora]

Hitting hard is ok if you need to do it but it is not ok if you dont have dynamics. Hitting hard realy means nothing. If you play in a band that requires realy loud drumming and you want to seem more "badass" be my guest but you still need dynamics. The best example I can think of right now of a "Hard Hitter" who has dynamics would be Danny Carry from Tool. Watch the end of the Lateralice video on youtube with John Bonhams old drum tech. Watch at the very end of the song how he is playing on the Floor toms. Increadably dynamic as is most all of the stuff he plays.
A drummer who is dynamic is almost always going to be a better drummer than one who just wants to "Hit Hard".

[drumtechdad]

With the music I play, this isn't an issue for me.

But my kid plays in rock bands unmiked all the time. He's learned to be a hard-hitter, in fact the hardest hitter I've ever seen.

He plays lots of ghost-notes, too. Being able to hit hard has nothing to do with your ability to play with dynamics--his primary band uses dynamic contrast quite a lot--nor does it reflect on your musical sophistication unless you mindlessly hit hard all the time.

For him it's just another tool in the kit. When he needs it, it's there. He also happens to have great hands (thank you, drumline) so he always pulls a good sound out of the drums.

Mostly he plays with authority--everyone knows who's driving the bus.

[Matt]

What I don't like is seeing some of the local bands (mostly highschool kids) who are playing this stuff they think is the hardest thing ever with all the screaming, and their drummers do NOT know how to hit hard or get any volume when it is needed. I disagree with all the "it doesn't take any skill to play hard" responses here. A good rock drummer, in my opinion, will learn to play loud (yes, loud), consistent backbeats, and will know how to get a good balance between all the parts of the kit. That does take plenty of practice, and is a skill. (Of course that also involves skills at tuning, knowing how to do rimshots, and other things.) And if the crowd likes you better for not looking like a sissy when you raise your arms above your head, more power to you. Too many "artists" here I think sometimes forget about the entertainment part (not directing that toward anyone in particular). No disrespect toward the art, part, though. That's cool too, but not when nobody shows up to watch/listen to it.

I agree that some people just bash all the time and it is boring, but hitting really hard doesn't necessarily make you a bad drummer.

[larryace]

And if the crowd likes you better for not looking like a sissy when you raise your arms above your head, more power to you. Too many "artists" here I think sometimes forget about the entertainment part (not directing that toward anyone in particular). No disrespect toward the art, part, though. That's cool too, but not when nobody shows up to watch/listen to it.


Matt makes a great point. I'm not making a blanket statement saying anyone who hits hard is wrong or anything...it's just that...as a drummer, punishing the drums doesn't impress me in the least. (This is where Matts point fits right in, it's really the audience that matters) But man, give me a great press roll cresendo, or a high energy infectious rhythm where it's impossible not to move some body part, or a great dynamic where the whole band is just building the solo and building the solo and then right after it climaxes you just slam the door on the 1 and the whole band drops it down real low and the crowd goes nuts....

To distill my thoughts, what I'm trying to say here is that musicality is vastly more important to me than sheer physicality, and I believe it should be the number one goal with players young and old alike.

[Ekim]

In a lot of band situations, it's appropriate and well past the time to put the blame exactly where it belongs:

On the guitar player!

They buy 100 watt amps that "only sound good cranked to at least 7". So the bass player needs a 300 or higher watt amp to be heard at all and the drummer needs to pound like a madman.

So it's all the guitar players' fault.

[Matt]

Haha, I think I agree with all that.

[Deathmetalconga]

In a lot of band situations, it's appropriate and well past the time to put the blame exactly where it belongs:

On the guitar player!

They buy 100 watt amps that "only sound good cranked to at least 7". So the bass player needs a 300 or higher watt amp to be heard at all and the drummer needs to pound like a madman.

So it's all the guitar players' fault.

Then look at a lot of the ads for musical gear:

"An extra snare to produce crowd-cutting backbeats."

"Cut through the rest of the band."

"Cutting projection to cut through the rest of the band."

The industry reinforces the oafish image of drummers and many drummers buy into it. I think there's some overlap here with double pedal obsession.

[drummerchick435]

My drum teacher says I have "good touch", meaning I have great dynamics, but I do love to get my adrenaline pumping from playing as hard as I can!

There's a time and place for everything!

Jazz/blues/big band/etc: soft to medium
Rock: medium to loud
Metal: medium-loud to loud
Funk: medium-soft to medium-loud
Gospel/Christian: soft to medium-loud

[Big_Philly]

Then look at a lot of the ads for musical gear:

"An extra snare to produce crowd-cutting backbeats."

"Cut through the rest of the band."

"Cutting projection to cut through the rest of the band."

The industry reinforces the oafish image of drummers and many drummers buy into it. I think there's some overlap here with double pedal obsession.

Just like the ads for Sabian APX: Loud, cutting, and loud. And cutting. And did we mention loud? They're very cutting too. ...

These cymbals go to eleven!

This reminds me of something Wavelength once said:

If I want loud and cutting, I'd get a chainsaw.

-----
In a lot of band situations, it's appropriate and well past the time to put the blame exactly where it belongs:

On the guitar player!

They buy 100 watt amps that "only sound good cranked to at least 7". So the bass player needs a 300 or higher watt amp to be heard at all and the drummer needs to pound like a madman.

So it's all the guitar players' fault.

True! In my previous (metalcore) band I used to be the one telling everyone to turn it down. The best part of it is that I got away with it, but I was obviously the most experienced bandmember so people would generally listen when I had something to add.

I used to be a very hard hitter but I am much more dynamic now and can adapt my volume to most (if not all) situations.

[Trench.one]

The Key is surely to be "Solid" not necesarily the loudest or Hardest. If you constantly murder the kit and play a eleven there is no way you can be consentrating on technique.

It sure is fun to play like that and I occasionally get caught doing it when I start practicing but you can't control what you are doing sufficiently for my liking.

one word "DYNAMICS".

Good luck if you enjoy hitting hard but look beyond the box and expand your skills!.

[mattsmith]

Is Vinnie Colaiuta considered a hard hitter? Steve Gadd? Thomas Lang?

I would consider all 3 hard hitters, as are/were Weckl, Erskine, Buddy Rich, Bellson and the list goes on.


- Art Blakey hit harder than any drummer I have seen live, and I've seen hundreds. I also saw him when he was old...he hit much harder in his prime.
- Elvin Jones was an insanely hard hitter
- Tony Williams has a quote (I can't find the exact quote) which said, "I play the drums hard. That's how they are ment to be played...that's how they sound the best." Again, not word for word there, but his sentiment is there.

I agree 100%.

Yeah, there are too many unnecessarily loud drummers in the world, but I don't like the direction the volume cops are taking the other side of this either. You now have a new crop of jazz horn players that are patently tragic about their low volumes when a lot of it is they simply don't know how or care enough to put the proper amount of air through their instruments. It's not the drummer's job to fix their technical laziness.

Rock guys are also right about prima donna guitar heroes, some of whom haven't heard the other players in their bands for years. Then suddenly there's this idiot drummer getting in the way of that righteous guitar sound. I just wish there weren't so many good natured, always accomodating drummers aiming to please these guys when they're wrong.

Loud for the sake of loud is never right, but many times the hard hitter mentality is entirely appropriate and above scorn. I also sincerely believe that solid playing hard hitters have heard of dynamics and use them when they're supposed to. Unfortunately there are many musicians who believe all higher volumes are wrong. In fact playing softer for the sake of softness is often just as wrong as the other way.

[AttilaTheNun]

I tend to hit on the hard side because when i started playing double bass i could play in tempo better the harder i hit the bass. So i would have to bring the volume of everything else up and now i'm just that way. I mostly play metal in a metal band so the volume thing is a bit of a good thing when we play live without drum mics available, although it does do quite a lot of damage to my heads

[mrchattr]

My drum teacher says I have "good touch", meaning I have great dynamics, but I do love to get my adrenaline pumping from playing as hard as I can!

There's a time and place for everything!

Jazz/blues/big band/etc: soft to medium
Rock: medium to loud
Metal: medium-loud to loud
Funk: medium-soft to medium-loud
Gospel/Christian: soft to medium-loud

This is just so wrong. I said it before, and I'll say it again: some of the hardest hitters I know or have seen are jazz guys. Art Blakey was a beast. Heck, he was two or three beasts. Tony Williams, Buddy Rich, the list goes on and on.

The fact is, you can play any of these styles at any dynamic level. It depends on the band, the club, the role of the drummer in the band, etc. I have played rock shows where the room was so small, I used rods and no arm motion at all. I have also played jazz shows for audiences of 5000 or more, with no mics on the drums, where I had to play very hard.

And, I'll say it again...you can play hard and soft, just as you can play soft and loud. It has a LOT to do with technique.

[nfiora]

Personaly I found the hardest thing when I first started drumming was playing soft. My band had a good paying gig at a local restaraunt but the only stipulation was that we couldnt play to loud. I was so used to playing at like 800 decibles in the practice room that it was hard for me to keep quiet and still play as well as I could normaly. When you play softer you have to have a looser gip and be much more relaxed. This makes playing anything fast or realy technical much harder for a young drummer.

[caddywumpus]

When you play softer you have to have a looser gip and be much more relaxed. This makes playing anything fast or realy technical much harder for a young drummer.

*spits out coffee* WHAT?!? You should have the SAME grip when playing loud and soft. It makes your playing sound consistent at all dynamic levels. Also, playing relaxed is what allows you to play the really fast and technical things. If you have a tight grip you can't play to your fastest potential. You can't contract a muscle that's already contracted...

[mrchattr]

*spits out coffee* WHAT?!? You should have the SAME grip when playing loud and soft. It makes your playing sound consistent at all dynamic levels. Also, playing relaxed is what allows you to play the really fast and technical things. If you have a tight grip you can't play to your fastest potential. You can't contract a muscle that's already contracted...

I had the same exact reaction.

Except I wasn't drinking coffee.

[Deathmetalconga]

My drum teacher says I have "good touch", meaning I have great dynamics, but I do love to get my adrenaline pumping from playing as hard as I can!

There's a time and place for everything!

Jazz/blues/big band/etc: soft to medium
Rock: medium to loud
Metal: medium-loud to loud
Funk: medium-soft to medium-loud
Gospel/Christian: soft to medium-loud

That makes a lot of sense. You can play loud jazz or soft heavy metal of course, but I think this list pretty well sums up the audience expectations of each genre in most settings.

[doorstilend]

to tell you the truth i dont use to think about that too much cause when im playing im so concentrated on what im doing so...

[drummerchick435]

This is just so wrong. I said it before, and I'll say it again: some of the hardest hitters I know or have seen are jazz guys. Art Blakey was a beast. Heck, he was two or three beasts. Tony Williams, Buddy Rich, the list goes on and on.

The fact is, you can play any of these styles at any dynamic level. It depends on the band, the club, the role of the drummer in the band, etc. I have played rock shows where the room was so small, I used rods and no arm motion at all. I have also played jazz shows for audiences of 5000 or more, with no mics on the drums, where I had to play very hard.

And, I'll say it again...you can play hard and soft, just as you can play soft and loud. It has a LOT to do with technique.

I fully agree with you, but I was talking about typical situations. Yes, a show with 5,000 people and a kit with no mics will require you to hit hard or else you won't be heard at all! My drum teacher is a jazz guy (and a professor of jazz drumming at the University of Alabama) and he hits very hard.

I'm just saying that under the same conditions (same room, same kit, same band, etc.) these would apply.

Jazz/blues/big band/etc: soft to medium
Rock: medium to loud
Metal: medium-loud to loud
Funk: medium-soft to medium-loud
Gospel/Christian: soft to medium-loud

[wubanger40]

Hitting hard is not necessarily a bad thing, and neither is hitting softly. However, when you do either of these at the wrong time, that is when it becomes a bad thing. As drummers our job is to support the band as a whole. This could require us to play soft or hard, it all really depends on the situation and the song. There are times in jazz when you will have to play hard, just like there are times in rock when you will have to play soft and vice versa. But one of the things that makes a drummer good is knowing when to play soft, or knowing when to play hard. You can be required to play a song very soft, but in that same song there can be a heavy interlude which will require us to play hard, this will help make the song more musically, and enjoyable for the listener. It all depends on the song and how it will sound as a whole. Thats why classifying how hard you hit by genre is not necessarily correct. It depends on the song, and what it calls for in you as a drummer. That is part of what makes us as drummers truley skilled musicians.


But just rocking out to your favourite song, and hammering away on your drumset from time to time is a really fun thing to do. Im sure everyone on this forum is guilty of that. :D

[MedievalKnight]

I give you a medal you just resumed all the thread ;) :D and speaking of guilty...:P

[jay norem]

The drum set is a musical instrument. It's capable of being loud, soft, and everything in between, the same way that all instruments are.
Is this, maybe, a matter of semantics? This "hitting" thing? I ask this because drummers do not hit their drums. They play them. You play the drums, just like someone plays the trumpet. If the music calls for me to play loud then I play loud, if it calls for me to play so softly that I can barley be heard then that's how I play it.
Hit the drums? Hit? Well, good luck to you if that's the way you approach the instrument. But how long do you think a piano player would last if all he could do was bang the hell out of the keyboard?

[slingerland755]

That's a fairly general statement to make, jay. It's also incorrect since you're generalizing what rock music is. That would be akin to me saying something like "all jazz music relies on the drummer playing a spang-a-lang pattern on the ride."

I play rock music...I work very hard on dynamics. I listen to a lot of rock music that utilizes all types of dynamics....sometimes swinging up and down just as wildly as "jazz" or anything else.

Here here....thank you.

[mrchattr]

The drum set is a musical instrument. It's capable of being loud, soft, and everything in between, the same way that all instruments are.
Is this, maybe, a matter of semantics? This "hitting" thing? I ask this because drummers do not hit their drums. They play them. You play the drums, just like someone plays the trumpet. If the music calls for me to play loud then I play loud, if it calls for me to play so softly that I can barley be heard then that's how I play it.
Hit the drums? Hit? Well, good luck to you if that's the way you approach the instrument. But how long do you think a piano player would last if all he could do was bang the hell out of the keyboard?

Yes. You hit the drums. From dictionary.com: "To deal a blow or stroke to." Yup, we do that. Another one there: "To succeed in striking." Yup. We do that, too.

People do play the trupet. They also blow the trumpet, blare the trumpet, blast the trumpet, etc. Guitarists play the guitar, strum the guitar, shred the guitar. All instrumentalists use various terms, going from mild (play) to aggressive (shred, hit, smack). People need to get over this. There's no inherent definition of "hit" that implies a lack of technique.

To take this further...yesterday was a HORRIBLE day for me. I got to rehearsal, and we started running tunes, and I was just beating the hell out of my drums. Still using good technique, and frankly playing even better than usual. But there is no denying that I was hitting the skins, and hitting them hard.

[eddiehimself]

Guys i think some of you are being a bit snobbish about this whole playing loud business. I play loud because i play LOUD music! I CAN play quietly and i do get the brushes out from time to time, just because i play loud doesn't automatically make me some kind of one-dimensional "caveman" type player. I listen to a lot of metal but i also listen to a lot of quieter music styles as well. When you are playing a quiet song then yeah play quietly but if it's a real heavy song and you are really getting into it then it's better to give your drums and cymbals a good whack and let them sing.

The way i see it is that a drummer who can play quietly but not loudly when the music calls for it is just as bad as a drummer who can play loudly but not quietly. And i don't bust my hearing either. They're called "Isolation headphones" maybe you should invest in some?

[wubanger40]

The way i see it is that a drummer who can play quietly but not loudly when the music calls for it is just as bad as a drummer who can play loudly but not quietly.

Ageed. It works both ways. As drummers, and musicians, we should be able to play at all dynamic levels, but also determine when each level is appropriate.

[jerry]

yes i think you need to play and be sensitive to the music you are playing .if it calls for aggresive playing then thats what you do .if you need to be sensitive then same goes.some drummers can not play soft. i think that is just a maturity thing

[Jeff Almeyda]

This whole thread seems so foreign to me. As a musician, your responsibility is to play for the music. Focusing on anything else is incorrect.

For example: If you're playing with Slayer you'd better have the chops to kick the crap out of your drums at warp speed for an hour and a half. If you're playing with a lounge act you'd better be able to play with feeling at a low enough volume so that people can still have dinner conversation.

That's it. There is no more complexity to it than that.

BTW, for those that think it's easy to hit hard, you are talking out of your rear end. It is very hard to play fast rolls across the snare and toms that are loud enough when your backbeat hand is absolutely slamming the snare. Most guy's fills end up sounding too soft when compared to the backbeat.

It's also very hard to play softly with emotion so please don't take this the wrong way. I don't want the "volume police" banging on my door tonite. (I like that phrase. thanks Matt)

[mrchattr]

This whole thread seems so foreign to me. As a musician, your responsibility is to play for the music. Focusing on anything else is incorrect.

For example: If you're playing with Slayer you'd better have the chops to kick the crap out of your drums at warp speed for an hour and a half. If you're playing with a lounge act you'd better be able to play with feeling at a low enough volume so that people can still have dinner conversation.

That's it. There is no more complexity to it than that.

BTW, for those that think it's easy to hit hard, you are talking out of your rear end. It is very hard to play fast rolls across the snare and toms that are loud enough when your backbeat hand is absolutely slamming the snare. Most guy's fills end up sounding too soft when compared to the backbeat.

It's also very hard to play softly with emotion so please don't take this the wrong way. I don't want the "volume police" banging on my door tonite. (I like that phrase. thanks Matt)

I'm going to take this a step further. The truth is, it's NOT very hard to play hard. It's NOT very hard to play soft. If you spend all of your time doing one or the other, it becomes quite easy. What is hard, however, is being able to play hard and soft, as the music calls for, with proper technique, and without having your fills be too quiet (when playing hard) or your more complex technical parts be too loud (when playing soft). As with anything in drumming, the real trick is not being able to play one way or another...anyone can learn that...it's being able to be a musical chameleon, and fit into any situation.

[eddiehimself]

BTW, for those that think it's easy to hit hard, you are talking out of your rear end. It is very hard to play fast rolls across the snare and toms that are loud enough when your backbeat hand is absolutely slamming the snare. Most guy's fills end up sounding too soft when compared to the backbeat.


I agree with this, playing loud is also physically demanding and i also think that if someone is playing something that is supposed to be loud but they're not playing it loud maybe is struggling a bit to play it? That probably applies to soft playing as well though.

[Jeff Almeyda]

I'm going to take this a step further. The truth is, it's NOT very hard to play hard. It's NOT very hard to play soft. If you spend all of your time doing one or the other, it becomes quite easy. What is hard, however, is being able to play hard and soft, as the music calls for, with proper technique, and without having your fills be too quiet (when playing hard) or your more complex technical parts be too loud (when playing soft). As with anything in drumming, the real trick is not being able to play one way or another...anyone can learn that...it's being able to be a musical chameleon, and fit into any situation.

Ok, I can buy that...

[geeza]

A lot of this playing hard/soft thing also has a lot to do with the room you're playing in. I always used to play hard no matter what. As i matured and gained respect for the songs and other bandmates including the soundman, i realized what i had been doing wrong all along. If you're playing a real small stage with everything miked up and start bashing away , your are going to create a nightmare for the soundman. Your mics will bleed into one another and eventually the soundman will simply take you out of the mix. same thing when a guitar player refuses to turn his stage volume down. Learn how to play for the room . It's a maturity thing.

[RogerLudwig]

Hard, soft, medium...fast or slow....in the end its all about the music.

Gene Krupa said it best, " My job remains the same: to keep time, and to extract appropriate and supportive 'sounds' from the instrument. To be a musician." (I added the bold/italics)

Doesn't that mean that dynamics depend on the song/setting/instrumentation/ and adjusting ones dynamics accordingly is a demonstration of musicianship? Is it possible to be a great drummer and not be capable of adjusting ones own dynamics/style to fit all sorts of different musical styles?

Just my opinion. I found out early on when, as a budding rock drummer, I was asked to sit in on a corporate gig doing swing and dance numbers. Wow. what a quick education in what I didn't know. I think I called my drum teacher from the gig at the first break and screamed "HELP."

[Bruce M. Thomson]

Generally, drummers that always hit hard and play at one dynamic level aren't that impressive. That type of playing can be boring or fatiguing.

Someone that can hit hard,medium or soft and incorporates it into many dynamic levels impresses me.

A good example of this is Alan White of Yes, if you get an opportunity watch the concert in Montreaux Switzerland during the 35th anniversary tour. You will see how close he keeps his hands and wrists to his snare when playing, granted he has the benefit of sound reinforcement but you can still see how he keeps his dynamics controlled by this technique.

Great concert by the way.