what skills does a drummer need to become successful in current market situation ?

S

sina

Member
what skills does a drummer need to become successful in current market situation ?
1 - Technique
2 - Knowledge
3 - Marketing
4 - Recording his own Drum
5 - .... ?What else?
 
I think above all, when attempting to perform in a band or studio situation, musicianship is the most important aspect of being sucessful. That includes some of the things listed rto an extent, but it doesn't suggest that all of those item are equally important. In my experience, they're not. But they're part of the puzzle that makes up success. Technique for example is normally not as important as musicians think it is. I would also have to say that recording drums at home is not very important. I'm not aware of anyone who has a career based on that, and few major pros do it at all.

Now, marketing/networking is important, as it determines who knows you and may hire you.

I suppose knowledge, assuming you mean the wisdom and experience to know what to play and what not to play, would be considered important. But, that's really just musicianship.

I always give this advice - be a musician, not a drummer.

Bermuda
 
In any field, there are two elements to achieving success that on the face of it, have nothing to do with the task at hand:

1. Be somebody that others like being around. That could be because you are witty, friendly, helpful, beautiful, knowledgeable or some combination of these and many other attributes.

2. Luck. Be in the right place at the right time. I heard of one drummer who owes a great deal of his success to being able to play a groove on the side of an accordion at short notice. (Apologies to the drummer concerned if that is a gross mis-representation. No slight was intended.)
 
I don't even gig, but I'm pretty sure Bermuda is spot on. If I were, however, trying to feed myself by playing drums, I would look at it from "whole package" perspective. Technique, versatility, musicianship, and the ability to be a self-marketing machine....all rolled into one.

But if I had to narrow it down to one single trait, I would say versatility. When I think of the guys who are really "in it", I think of guys like Anton Fig, Sean Pelton, whoever is the American Idol house band drummer, etc. Those guys have to be able to shift from jazz to funk to hard rock to country to R&B to blues...all in the same night.
 
FoolInTheRain said:
I don't even gig, but I'm pretty sure Bermuda is spot on. If I were, however, trying to feed myself by playing drums, I would look at it from "whole package" perspective. Technique, versatility, musicianship, and the ability to be a self-marketing machine....all rolled into one.

But if I had to narrow it down to one single trait, I would say versatility. When I think of the guys who are really "in it", I think of guys like Anton Fig, Sean Pelton, whoever is the American Idol house band drummer, etc. Those guys have to be able to shift from jazz to funk to hard rock to country to R&B to blues...all in the same night.
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Russ Miller was the drummer from AI. I believe he's endorsing Saturns now too.
 
BTW it is skillz not skills. Just FYI

But I think at aside from obvious talent and knowledge of the music creation process, in order to be marketable...

1. Have the ambition to try new sounds/setups to set yourself apart from the rest of the fish in the sea.

2. A decent idea of what music/artists are "in" right now. A good idea is to check out the lineups for the bigger music festivals.

3. Look good. I think it pays to always look like you're the musician at the show, not the drywaller that got off work 2 hours before the gig.

4. Network a ton. Remember names. Learn Facebook and Twitter (tagging people in posts, posting good clean statuses/tweets, etc...)

5. This goes along with networking, but don't burn bridges. I know that hipster dude with bad breath listens to music that you may think sounds atrocious, but you never know who is in their contacts list, so give them a chance.

You might also check out http://www.reddit.com/r/WeAreTheMusicMakers. You can reorder that page and get the top posts of all time. There's also some other great sub-reddit pages that have a ton of great industry advice.
 
there was a great article, I think it was 5 parts in modern drummer earlier this year from a working pro LA drummer. He laid it all out about what he knows, needs to know, how to act, what to have etc. maybe look up back issues on line to see if you can find it. it was a good inside look and mentioned things most of us would forget to consider when trying to go pro and make a living. cant remember his name but I recognized it.
 
Networking is key. The guys I know who work full time as drummers spend as much time networking as they do practicing. And in retrospect, lack-of-great networking this is the #1 reason I sit behind a desk instead of a drum kit for a living.

And then you have to be someone people want to be around. Most gigs come from recommendations. People recommenced who they want to hang out with. People hire people they want out hang out with.

From there, confidence. If you play confident, people feel good about your playing.
 
DrumEatDrum said:
Networking is key. The guys I know who work full time as drummers spend as much time networking as they do practicing. And in retrospect, lack-of-great networking this is the #1 reason I sit behind a desk instead of a drum kit for a living.

And then you have to be someone people want to be around. Most gigs come from recommendations. People recommenced who they want to hang out with. People hire people they want out hang out with.

From there, confidence. If you play confident, people feel good about your playing.
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I'm not a pro by any means, but I was going to post something along these lines.

Being a very good, dependable, versatile drummer is the minimum requirement for the job, and will help get your first gigs.

After that, it's all about relationships. And this applies for any profession. If you are competent at your work, and also a positive, friendly, pleasant, flexible, courteous person (being funny helps too!), then people will always seek you out when they have an opportunity.
 
IMO, it's the playing first, second and third. People have to want to play with you. Your playing is your reputation, your calling card, your contribution, musically speaking. That means you have to understand what it takes to be a kickass drummer in an ensemble situation.

After that, now your attitude, personality, helpfulness, work ethic and general nature is the next item to be scrutinized. Face it, you could be the most dependable, positive, and great to be around personality, but when it comes to getting the job done, if you cut the cheese instead of cutting the mustard, you will be beaten out by the equally nice guy who can play.

I know that I myself allow a ton of leeway to a someone who can really play. I don't care if they are bristly offstage, as long as they are dependable and on time, and can really play, they can pull the wings off butterflies as far as I'm concerned.
 
larryace said:
.... if you cut the cheese instead of cutting the mustard, you will be beaten out by the equally nice guy who can play.
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Larry really knows how to turn a phrase and stink up a discussion at the same time! ;-)
 
bermuda said:
I always give this advice - be a musician, not a drummer.

Bermuda
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Brilliant quote. Someone once told me that when you want to succeed as much as you want to breathe...then you'll make it. I would say a lot of it narrows down to how motivated you are.
 
(1) listening
(2) reading and interpreting
(3) communication/interpersonal (easy to work with, flexible, reliable)
(4) musicality
(5) technique/chops
(6) on-time

Some of these blend together and are very general categories, but definitely a must.
 
Bermuda made the most important point, but if I can add a few things to the list I'd say,

1. Musicianship
2. Attitude
2a. Basic organization and punctuality
2b. The right shoes
3. Good old fashioned graft.
4. Luck (remember that luck is when preparation meets opportunity)
 
Pretty much, it's been said in a nutshell here. I might add:

1. Class
2. Humility
3. Confidence when needed.
4. Good sight-reading/chart reading/making skills (Nashville Number System is key)
5. Versatility, which leads to:
6. Chops, which is MOSTLY the ability to get good sound and dynamics from the drums which precludes the next one:
7. Taste. That doesn't mean you have to play like Ringo all the time but obviously overplaying or trying to compete in the Drum Off when you're on the bandstand or the studio will leave you back at McDonalds, where you were before.

In fact, in my 20 years of playing in bands and for song writers, the only time I can recall being asked to do something "technically hard" that I had to work on, was STUDENTS who wanted to learn something ridiculous. Obviously, they are probably never going to use it professionally either.
 
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