Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld? (off topic)

Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

Asking who is the fastest drummer is like asking who is the strongest football player. While speed does not automatically equal great drumming and strength doesn't automatically mean ability on the playing field, they are both large elements of the physical aspect of the respective disciplines. They are valid topics of conversation.

I play in a metal band as well as a rock band. The speed and ability I have gained from playing years of fast stuff makes the "normal" rock stuff come out so much smoother. Truth is you need to be able to relax to play fast and that relaxation comes across even when not going fast.

Derek nailed it. It's not either-or. Drummers who play fast can also move to Bernard Purdie's groove and groove-meisters can also shake their heads at Derek's double bass.
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

Fast music can be good.....personally, there is a lot of fast music I enjoy. I contend that the notion of "who is fastest", which is the subject of the thread, is immaterial. Onward from that, aspiring to be the fastest will not necessarily create good or even enjoyable music. And onward from that, if there is a young aspiring drummer that is going to take a stab at a career in drumming...speed may not be the parameter that will separate them from the pack and get them noticed, revered, and working. There is nothing wrong with being fast, but it has been done many times over...we've heard it many times over....and when we are talking about music, not sports, the notion of being the fastest seems to be a concern that is a bit misplaced.

We have digressed into the merits of fast music....but that is not the point....the point was who is the fastest....which is really pointless.
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

At this point in the discussion, I would like to raise a practical question, are we going to have a fastest dw drummer thread?

Wait a minute, wasn't that was this thread was supposed to be?
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

. . . . . . There is nothing wrong with being fast, but it has been done many times over...we've heard it many times over....

Have we not heard "slow" even more? It has been done many times over as well ;)

. . . and when we are talking about music, not sports, the notion of being the fastest seems to be a concern that is a bit misplaced.

Most of us probably agree with that, but in this case the discussion seems to be less of a "concern" and just a lighthearted discussion.

We have digressed into the merits of fast music....but that is not the point....the point was who is the fastest....which is really pointless.

It's not pointless. Aspiring to be the fastest for the sake of it may be pointless, but players' ability to reach high speeds and apply that ability is worth discussing, just for fun if nothing else, which is how I interpreted the original question.

I probably would have phrased the question who are the fastest rather than who is the fastest, which of course is Chuck Norris.
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

Have we not heard "slow" even more? It has been done many times over as well ;)



Most of us probably agree with that, but in this case the discussion seems to be less of a "concern" and just a lighthearted discussion.



It's not pointless. Aspiring to be the fastest for the sake of it may be pointless, but players' ability to reach high speeds and apply that ability is worth discussing, just for fun if nothing else, which is how I interpreted the original question.

I probably would have phrased the question who are the fastest rather than who is the fastest, which of course is Chuck Norris.

My thoughts on the topic of speed in drumming are likely a bit rigid, I agree.....although, judging by the number of respondents or entries into the ring for who is the fastest at DW, it seems that my "who cares" attitude may be shared by others....which seems to indicate at least *some* validity to the idea that being the fastest is pointless.
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

With Derek Roddy showing up on this thread, the odds of MY being the fastest drummer on DW have become just sickening.

C'mon, guys. It's a joke. A gag. Like who's the fastest drummer on DW? Put up your dukes!

After we settle this, we can have a "Who's grumpiest on DW" thread/contest. I predict everyone will win in spades and the major topic of debate will be how grumpy doesn't matter if you're a good drummer.

Self confidence. Desire. Will to win. Altius Sitius Fortius! This is SPARRTAAAAA! Pow! Kapow!

If you choose not to compete, we all believe it's because you're not scared.
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

*altius, citius, fortius*
(Or, more frequently, in this order: citius, altius, fortius)

But we get the idea ;-)
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

I have to disagree. Speed leads to innovation. Without the quest for speed we would all be still doing the same things. Speed is almost the defining factor of innovation in every industry.

No, without speed we'd be doing different things. Speed doesn't necessarily lead to innovation, speed of execution is a kind of innovation. Besides, is mechanized industry the right metaphor here? We're talking about artistic expression, not factories. We're talking about tempo not speed.

Beethoven wasn't always faster than Mozart who wasn't always faster than Bach. Bop was faster than Swing but Cool Jazz was slower than Bop. Coltrane could burn but I'd say you don't get 'Trane unless you've heard his Ballads album. It's doubtful that the highly interactive trio concept of Bill Evans, Scott Lafaro and Paul Motian would've worked at breakneck Bop tempos. There just isn't enough time to think and react when you're going hell-for-leather. Rocksteady and Reggae followed on from Ska and Bluebeat and one of the key changes was a slowing of tempo. Some have alleged that one of the key factors in the change from Ska to Rocksteady was a particularly hot summer in 1966. The rising temperatures made dancing quickly uncomfortable so the tempos were slowed and the movements changed. So, in this case, we actually have the formula you're proposing reversed: slower movement lead to musical innovation. The movement from Rocksteady to Reggae was influenced by a host of social and political factors, but one of the key musical results was even slower tempos. Slower tempos meant, for instance, that the bass players had more room to improvise and innovate rhythmically. There are countless other examples of slower tempos being key parts of musical innovation just as there are examples where an increase in tempo was a key factor.

Here's a good example of this: when DJs started speeding up old funk, hip-hop and breakbeat records they created Jungle and Drum and Base. Of course, when some of the same DJs then took their Jungle and DnB albums and played them at 33 minus 8, they created a whole new texture and sound. Eventually, Downtempo became all the rage and even congealed into a distinct genre. It also laid the foundation for the emergence of Dubstep a few years ago. Here we see a movement in tempo up and down being a part of a cycle of innovation.

Artists and composers chiefly use tempo to create mood and intensity (thanks to Derek Roddy for adding this word to the discussion) not merely to demonstrate speed of technical execution or because moving their hands quickly makes them more innovative. You can innovate playing slowly. Tempo is just one of the elements of music. There's room for innovation in harmony, melody, rhythm, meter, timbre, texture etc. All of these other elements can be platforms for innovation more or less independently of tempo or speed of physical execution. I'm reminded here of Jojo Mayer's sage comments in his MD cover interview a few years back that (paraphrased) texture is the next frontier in drumming, not speed.

Just like fast and slow tempos exist together on the same album or even in the same song, genres which focus on fast and slow tempos exist side by side during the same time periods, each pushing their sound into new territory.
 
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Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

We're talking about tempo not speed.

We are?

"Who's the fastest drummer on DrummerWorld" sounds to me like a question of speed, as in physical ability, not music tempo.

BUT, obviously you can play fast to a slow tempo, and that is often where speed really shines, i.e 32nd notes at 150 bpm vs 16ths at 300 bpm.

I'm a huge fan of groove, whether it be in metal, jazz fusion, rap, you name it. Whether I like the genre or not, I always appreciate a great groove. I love the weight of it. Generally a fast tempo does little for me. While it may contain very interesting playing, a fast tempo usually feels weaker to me (has no bottom, no punch), and best serves to build tension or act as a transition or bridge.
 
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Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

We are?

"Who's the fastest drummer on DrummerWorld" sounds to me like a question of speed, as in physical ability, not music tempo.

BUT, obviously you can play fast to a slow tempo, and that is often where speed really shines, i.e 32nd notes at 150 bpm vs 16ths at 300 bpm.

I'm a huge fan of groove, whether it be in metal, jazz fusion, rap, you name it. Whether I like the genre or not, I always appreciate a great groove. I love the weight of it. Generally a fast tempo does little for me. While it may be contain very interesting playing, a fast tempo usually feels weak and bottomless to me, and only serves to build tension or transition to/from a "ballsier" part of the song.

Pardon me. Perhaps I should've said, "we should be talking tempo, not speed." My bad. As you say, "speed" in this case is relative to musical context. Of course physical execution of fast tempos and subdivisions is necessary to musical mastery. I just think we need to always frame what we're doing in the context of musical expression, not gymnastics.

Anyway, I know I'm not the fastest guy here. Probably not by a long stretch.
 
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Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

Asking who is the fastest drummer is like asking who is the strongest football player. While speed does not automatically equal great drumming and strength doesn't automatically mean ability on the playing field, they are both large elements of the physical aspect of the respective disciplines. They are valid topics of conversation.

I play in a metal band as well as a rock band. The speed and ability I have gained from playing years of fast stuff makes the "normal" rock stuff come out so much smoother. Truth is you need to be able to relax to play fast and that relaxation comes across even when not going fast.

Derek nailed it. It's not either-or. Drummers who play fast can also move to Bernard Purdie's groove and groove-meisters can also shake their heads at Derek's double bass.

This is what I hear time and time again from really great drummers, so I think working on speed is a valid use of practice time
 
I could never be the fastest but I always aim to be tasteful. 2 of my favourite drummers are Virgil and Gavin and they know when to play double bass and what sounds good.

This wasn't prepared and there are a few more patterns that I play but I'll contribute this little recording of a jam I had with a random guitarist last week:

https://soundcloud.com/drecor/sebas-jam
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

At this point in the discussion, I would like to raise a practical question, are we going to have a fastest dw drummer thread?

We already did. Derek showed up and everyone folded. Game over.

So now the thread is blossoming :) To me Derek's comment about intensity is the crux of the biscuit. Also Boomka's point about how slower tempos allow more time to think and react.
 
Edit: Not sure how I ended up as the thread starter here... I'm guessing the original first post was deleted? wtf?

God work in mysterious ways....

god-works-in-mysterious-ways1.jpg
 
Post counts do not a thread make. Or maybe they do. This was my thread. My thread has been Shanghai'ed.

As far as speed in music, different horses for different courses. Look at some of the younger kids these days, music is measure in terms of the brutalz. That implies speed and a lot of the time when new and upcoming drummers are felicitated, it's on account of complexity, speed and execution. Look at Chris Adler for example. Not particularly fast, but quite complex.

In fact, perhaps that could make another thread: who can play the most complex things rhythms on drummerworld. Might not be everyone's cup of tea, I mean, why play complex for the sake of being complex? And we'd have another round of debate.

None of this is to say groove, dynamics and tasteful playing have no place in drumming. The money beat has been around forever and will probably last forever too. I just don't think speed does not have a place in drumming either.
 
Re: Who's the fastest drummer on Drummerworld?

After we settle this, we can have a "Who's grumpiest on DW" thread/contest. I predict everyone will win in spades and the major topic of debate will be how grumpy doesn't matter if you're a good drummer.
And the winner is............
 

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