8Mile
Platinum Member
Another discussion we could have is figuring out what other musicians want from the drummer when they are trying to describe it using non-drummer terms. This is a skill I've developed over the years. It's like listening to someone speak with an unfamiliar accent; it takes some getting used to.
The most common misnomer I hear is talk about how the drums should speed up or slow down during certain sections. What this almost always means is playing double-time or half-time, not actually changing the tempo.
I also hear the term "groove" misused a lot, and what that means depends on who is using it. When people say it, they usually aren't talking about the feel of the tune. I used to think it meant to not do anything fancy, just lock in the beat, but sometimes that's not what they mean, either. In situations like that, I ask a lot of questions and play a lot of different things on the drums to figure out what they mean.
I like being asked to play a part like a specific song or drummer. "Go Keith Moon here." I get that. I can do that. One time a guy said, "And here the drums come in full Billion Dollar Babies." I took that literally and played the exact drum part that starts the song. He loved it. The funny thing is that I later discovered he didn't really mean to play that exact part, he just wanted me to capture the spirit of it. I don't think he even realized I played it exactly the same. But it worked!
The most common misnomer I hear is talk about how the drums should speed up or slow down during certain sections. What this almost always means is playing double-time or half-time, not actually changing the tempo.
I also hear the term "groove" misused a lot, and what that means depends on who is using it. When people say it, they usually aren't talking about the feel of the tune. I used to think it meant to not do anything fancy, just lock in the beat, but sometimes that's not what they mean, either. In situations like that, I ask a lot of questions and play a lot of different things on the drums to figure out what they mean.
I like being asked to play a part like a specific song or drummer. "Go Keith Moon here." I get that. I can do that. One time a guy said, "And here the drums come in full Billion Dollar Babies." I took that literally and played the exact drum part that starts the song. He loved it. The funny thing is that I later discovered he didn't really mean to play that exact part, he just wanted me to capture the spirit of it. I don't think he even realized I played it exactly the same. But it worked!