I'm just a "feel" drummer so I don't need technique, right?

feldiefeld

Senior Member
Wrong!!!

My post about reading led me to think about other issues and skills that drummers sometimes avoid. The next one that jumps out at me is technique. So I ranted a bit. But I stand by my rant..... So if you think that technique will harm your feel in some way or if you tell me that you're just a groove drummer and therefore don't need to work on technique, then I say, baloney! Steve Gadd, Jeff Porcaro, and Steve Jordan all are known for great feel but they all have (had, RIP JP) great technique too.

So, if you eschew technique, please read:

http://www.bangthedrumschool.com/yes-drummers-technique-is-important/
 
I haven't really heard of this. Usually the guys who focus on "feel" understand the most about technique and how to pull out subtle sounds from their kit. It's the "play as many notes as fast as you can" guys who I find ignore technique until it starts affecting how fast they can play, at which point they will learn just enough technique to do what they are focusing on.
 
I've always felt that feel is more important than technique, but technique is a foundation. So what does that say about feel in my eyes?
 
An endless debate. Never ending because the terms being discussed, " feel " and " technique " are only vaguely defined. Can we put this one to rest already? Perhaps focus on more important things? Like which tuning key is best for metal tuning? Or how to play 200 bpm 16th notes, on the kick, with only 2 weeks of practice...
 
It's all very simple. If you don't develop good technique early then you have a hill to climb if you want to rebuild your grip and stroke. If you wait too long to correct inefficient stroke and grip then it can reach a point where it's not worth the bother, in which case you have no choice but to be a "feel drummer".

From there, as a person resigned to being a feel drummer, you can build financial security in a 9-to-5er and play a few gigs on the side playing "cool" music with other sloppy but spirited would-be musicians.

Meanwhile the players with strong technique are getting most of the gigs with great players, playing tons of godawful pop for the sake of selling drinks to drunks, and enjoying the benefits of a musician's salary, ie. chasing rats around their leaky bedsitters in the wrong part of town ;)
 
I haven't really heard of this. Usually the guys who focus on "feel" understand the most about technique and how to pull out subtle sounds from their kit. It's the "play as many notes as fast as you can" guys who I find ignore technique until it starts affecting how fast they can play, at which point they will learn just enough technique to do what they are focusing on.

fully agree with this
 
It's all very simple. If you don't develop good technique early then you have a hill to climb if you want to rebuild your grip and stroke. If you wait too long to correct inefficient stroke and grip then it can reach a point where it's not worth the bother, in which case you have no choice but to be a "feel drummer".

From there, as a person resigned to being a feel drummer, you can build financial security in a 9-to-5er and play a few gigs on the side playing "cool" music with other sloppy but spirited would-be musicians.

Meanwhile the players with strong technique are getting most of the gigs with great players, playing tons of godawful pop for the sake of selling drinks to drunks, and enjoying the benefits of a musician's salary, ie. chasing rats around their leaky bedsitters in the wrong part of town ;)

Haha, superb, Grea! This says it all.

Is there something to be said about some technique being imbibed through osmosis, listening, feeling, banging around on a kit after listening to '50 ways'? Or does it always need to be in the context of rudiments, transcriptions, stick control, Berklee, etc.? Manu Katche is a totally illeterate musician, but a highly technical drummer.. ?


...
 
I'm a technique drummer, so I don't need feel.
 
I'm a "feel" type drummer.

I like to 'feel' the groove. I like to 'feel' tight with the band. I 'feel' good about my 'technique' too!

I 'feel' that discussions about the vagaries of 'feel' vs. 'technique' are just words, and words are wind.....it's just how I 'feel'.

Play drums..
 
It's a matter of development. Anyone who plays drums has both feel and technique. Granted their feel could be great or dismal, same with technique. It's 2 sides of the same coin, they're forever linked. They are not exclusive from one another. If you have great feel and not so hot technique, you can still work. Charley springs to mind. Sorry if that upsets. Just trying to provide real life examples. If you have great technique but lacking in feel, you can still work. Portnoy may fit that bill. The guys who have great technique and great feel are sought out by the best players. Vinnie springs to mind.
 
I always felt technique is mostly about playing comfortably and safely. You can feel the groove all you want, but if you're wrecking your wrists, it's not going to help in the long run.
 
you guys are killing me. first of all, define "technique". are you referring to physical capability? or different ways of approaching the art of drumming mentally? are you saying that "feel" is mental only? one affects the other, and with only one or the other, the drummer is incomplete. all drummers have both, in varying proportion. that's what makes it invalid to say "this guy's better than that guy", or "feel is more important than technique". without chops, the drummer is boring and governed by his physical limitations. without feel, the drummer is lacking groove.
 
I think it's safe to say that technique is referring to how you move the sticks with your hands, and the footpedals with your feet. So it's a physical thing.

These threads pop up a few times a year and they're always the same. Nothing gets resolved. I can't believe I'm even posting in it.

One thing I think we can all agree on is it's better to have good technique AND good feel.

Comparing myself to myself, my feel and technique are vastly improved from 10 years ago. Feel can be learned, I'm proof. My feel now is vastly improved compared to when I first returned to drumming in 2003. I attribute that to recording EVERY gig and listening back and critiquing myself. There's no way I would have improved if I couldn't evaluate myself later on. I think feel is harder to come about than technique. Technique can be taught because it's a physical skill. Feel on the other hand is a mental/soulful thing that is not as easily taught. It's much more subjective. I mean you could be playing something with the exact right notes to groove, but if you're laying into your ride too much (for instance) it ruins the feel. So it's not the notes themselves, but how you play them. Inner kit dynamics and all that. You have to want to groove, and for me, I had to let go of the "I have to impress" mindset. It was not serving me well whatsoever. And the paradox is that once you shed the need to impress, well that's step #1 in actually impressing people. It's backwards.

But music can be anything you want. There's room for everyone. You need your groovers, and you need your technicians. I'm striving to live on groove street with a good view of technique avenue. Balance.
 
Really, this is the same type of hyperbole post as "learning to read music is crucial", just a different topic. Not one person that replied in that other thread said to not learn how to read. I'm pretty sure no one here if they are being honest with themselves, is going to say that I don't need technique.

Why can't people accept that there are different ways to approach playing music?
 
The grooviest guys all use technique that allows them to do so. As a general rule, the looser you are the more groovy, and playing loose with flow requires technique for sure. A lot of people associate "technique" with speed and licks, but there's certainly a technique to playing simple deep in the pocket. Good discussion!
 
Technique is such an open-ended blanket word. lol But it certainly starts with the mental, not the physical.

IE playing loosely is physical, but you can't play loose if you don't think loose. You won't play behind the beat if you aren't thinking behind the beat, at least in practice.
 
I spent a year working on technique with my drum teacher. He emphasized the Spivack/Wilson approach to technique and it has definitely paid off, especially when I play rock. I like to think of technique as a golf swing. If you don't maintain proper mechanics, the ball will start to hook and then you're off your game. If I could do it all over again I would have established my technique at much younger age. But, better late than never, right? There will be occasions where I'm just like "screw technique, hack away!" but even then, out of habit, I revert to what I was taught. If you get feel and technique right, it makes everything seamless which is what I'm trying to work on at the moment.
 
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