John Bonham

When you find the answer please tell me. That guy was just a freak of nature.

practice, practice, practice. there really wasnt a secret or anyhitng.

[drumbig]

Check out Jo Jo Mayer here http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/jojomayerbasss.html

You can at least see how it 's done

[DarkToxin]

Much practice will equal goodness.

It took me a year and a half to get my foot half as fast as he can do it

[Class A Drummer]

are u talking about when he does in triplets hi-hat bass bass? if so just practice alot. My first drum book i got when i was 7 was my led zeppelin book and that was on of the first i played. took a while but it got easier and easier.

Practice both double strokes and triplets with your feet.

doubles with your feet: rr ll rr ll and ll rr ll rr

triplets with your feet: lrr lrr lrr lrr and rll rll rll rll

Oh yeah...a whole lot!!! and you will be unstoppable..seriously though, switch your starting foot and strengthen both feet...not just one.

[Bernhard]

Originally Posted by HiTMaN

Practice both double strokes and triplets with your feet.

doubles with your feet: rr ll rr ll and ll rr ll rr

triplets with your feet: lrr lrr lrr lrr and rll rll rll rll

Oh yeah...a whole lot!!! and you will be unstoppable..seriously though, switch your starting foot and strengthen both feet...not just one.

This were double-bass exercises, but John didn't use doublebass??!!!

So, with single pedal: In any case, it's a good idea to practice Triplets between Snare and Bass Drum and moving the starting point:

BD - L - R
L - BD - R
R - L - BD
BD - R - L
R - BD - L
L - R - BD

L = Snare Left Hand
R = Snare Right Hand
BD = BassDrum

Bernhard

Thats a good tip bernard, I gave an attempt at "in my time of dying" yesterday and man I have quite a long way to go for that song. I think he may use the Floor Tom with the Bass on that one, Atleast I hope so because if its all Bass then I dont think it's ever gonna happen. With single BD anyway.

[berlioz]

Originally Posted by nhzoso

Thats a good tip bernard, I gave an attempt at "in my time of dying" yesterday and man I have quite a long way to go for that song. I think he may use the Floor Tom with the Bass on that one, Atleast I hope so because if its all Bass then I dont think it's ever gonna happen. With single BD anyway.

yeah that is a challenging groove to play, and its all single bass drum, no floor tom.

[lilblakdak]

Its all practice, and a peddle with a really soft feel. Heal/toeing makes it alot easier. Nico McBrain from Iron Maiden does alot of the same kick patterns.

[stumprrp]

build up ankle strength, doing it with your leg will be energy consuming and hard.

[Jookbox]

i've seen chad smith do it a lot. one of the few 'technical' things i've seen him do. he does it quite well.

[dawg]

if you can get a drum transcription of "good times,bad times" that will help see what he does.i know there is a zep drum transcription book for some of their songs(like "the crunge".)i just practiced quarter notes on the high-hat(half open)partial 8th note triplets with the bass drum(trip-let) and 2 and 4 (or just a hit on 3 for a half-time feel)and just work up to speed,for starters.so it'd be ONE

[dawg]

if you can get a drum transcription of "good times,bad times" that will help see what he does.i know there is a zep drum transcription book for some of their songs(like "the crunge".)i just practiced quarter notes on the high-hat(half open), partial 8th note triplets with the bass drum(trip-let) and 2 and 4 (or just a hit on 3 for a half-time feel) on the snare and just work up to speed,for starters.so it'd be ONE- trip -let TWO trip-let,etc.

[pcmckay]

My favorite Bonham tracks are "Out on the Tiles", "Wanton Song", "The Crunge", "Achilles Last Stand", "Nobody's Fault but Mine", "Misty Mountain Hop", and of course the baddest groove ever "When the Levee Breaks." But I think my favorite to play along with is "Out on the Tiles." What do you guys think of this track?

[A thunder of Coxy]

Not my fav to play, but I think this was the 1st song I heard Bonham using his famous doubles on thebass drum. As soon as I got home I tried this and could do it but opened alot more windows if ye know what I mean.

[Bonzo91]

John Bonham is definetly the God of All Drums my favorite drummer ever to have lived, and yet he spirit lives on, ever since i saw John on the Led Zeppelin Dvd and have herd him from Led Zeppelin cd's Its the only style ive ever played is John's style ever since i got my first full kit, i think its a bit of an addiction. I hear this alot "you cant juest play one drummers style or youl never get any better, you got to take some bits and peaces of other drummers" and im beggining to think thats true but John is still the best drummer of all time.




Long live John Henry Bonham

[foursticks]

Originally Posted by pcmckay

My favorite Bonham tracks are "Out on the Tiles", "Wanton Song", "The Crunge", "Achilles Last Stand", "Nobody's Fault but Mine", "Misty Mountain Hop", and of course the baddest groove ever "When the Levee Breaks." But I think my favorite to play along with is "Out on the Tiles." What do you guys think of this track?

Out on the tiles is great, i love it. Led Zeppelin III is waaaay too under rated. i like their acoustic stuff ALOT....

[Skylane]

John Bonham is one of my favorite drummers. However lets not forget that he died at a very young age due to alcohol abuse. I doubt very much that he was ever sober on stage. Can you imagine how great he could of been without the booze??

Skylane

[pdp 9091]

Originally Posted by Skylane

John Bonham is one of my favorite drummers. However lets not forget that he died at a very young age due to alcohol abuse. I doubt very much that he was ever sober on stage. Can you imagine how great he could of been without the booze??

Skylane

You cant really try to see how great he would have been without the booze because he wasn't drunk on stage 24/7. Maybe a little buzzed but you cant be totaly drunk on stage playing as well as he did. Just watch the Led Zeppelin dvd.

[drummerstix_au]

If Bonham was on the booze while he was on stage, I dont think he could have been as solid as he was... but then again if he hadn't been drinking.. do u think we would have seen that awesome hands section in Moby Dick?

[Bonhamfan]

Bonham hit the skins hard, songs like Four Sticks and the ocean really display his power both on the beat and fills.

[pdp 9091]

the ocean = my favorite song to play

when the levee breaks = my favorite drum groove/beat

the song remains the same and achilles last stand = two favorite for listening purposes

John Bonham = favorite drummer of all time

Led Zeppelin = Favorite band of all time

[pdp 9091]

Originally Posted by A thunder of Coxy

Did Bonzo use a normal sized snare wire or was it a 42 strand wire? Im sure Nutha will know :D I just love that fatness but also the resonance of his Supraphonic

Pick up the Jeff Ocheltree dvd...he was the drum tech for bonham in the late 70's....he shares so many secrets about bonhams sound....a part of the dvd is also on bonhams page.

http://www.drummerworld.com/Videos/johnbonhamtech1.html

its pretty interesting stuff

[foursticks]

Originally Posted by pdp 9091

You cant really try to see how great he would have been without the booze because he wasn't drunk on stage 24/7. Maybe a little buzzed but you cant be totaly drunk on stage playing as well as he did. Just watch the Led Zeppelin dvd.

damn straight.... i love that dvd, i like the 1st one the best, bonzo was at his best back then...

[pdp 9091]

Originally Posted by foursticks

damn straight.... i love that dvd, i like the 1st one the best, bonzo was at his best back then...

ya i probably have watched that dvd 4 million times...lol....but in my opinion i think he was at his greatest on the second dvd because he was more mature in his style of drumming- more controlled and even tamed (if that makes sense)....dont get me wrong bonzo was soooooo great on the first disc but i think as he got older and matured more from the 21 year old he was on the first disc to the 30 year old he was at Knebworth...he picked up more of controll with his fills/technique. Just take the fills in Kashmir for example....totaly amazing....but all in all....awesome dvd!

[foursticks]

I agree with you there, but he was a beast on the first dvd which is what i mean't... i love how he opens we're gonna groove. great song....

[pdp 9091]

Originally Posted by foursticks

I agree with you there, but he was a beast on the first dvd which is what i mean't... i love how he opens we're gonna groove. great song....

did u catch up on the video before the song "we're gonna groove"....he does a fill when before plant greets and audience and he breaks a stick. thats not even 15 seconds into the dvd and he already broke a stick!! but ya hes so crazy on the first dvd its amazing.....im actually watching it right now...theyre playing how many more times...great song..and after that song ....the best one of all...i dont even have to tell you what it is...lol


and


this is what i read about how the recoring of "when the levee breaks"

The legendary drum sound in the Zeppelin track 'When The Levee Breaks' was recorded in this way: Bonham was sat at the bottom of a stairwell on his kit and he had the mics positioned 3 flights above him. Hence the stuttered reverb effect on each snare hit. Worth bearing in mind if you ever...erm...find yourself on a stairwell with a drumkit.

dont know if this was brought up already but just thought this was pretty cool

[pcmckay]

I was very happy when the DVD came out. Finally some great footage of the man at work. For years we were stuck with "The Song Remains The Same" movie and it didn't do the band justice, alot of the time the audio doesn't match the video and it was more frustrating than anything else to watch. My favorite clip is the black and white footage of "Rock and Roll" in Australia. The solo at the end is incredible, the tripletts are so fast. Amazing!

[Bonham to the moon]

I was very happy when the DVD came out. Finally some great footage of the man at work. For years we were stuck with "The Song Remains The Same" movie and it didn't do the band justice, alot of the time the audio doesn't match the video and it was more frustrating than anything else to watch. My favorite clip is the black and white footage of "Rock and Roll" in Australia. The solo at the end is incredible, the tripletts are so fast. Amazing!

Ya, and theres so much more footage and studio outtakes that jimmy and robert arent putting out

[NUTHA JASON]

perhaps a led zeppelin 2 dvd will come out one day.

BUT how about this idea:

we missed a 25 year memorial of the passing of John Bonham. but in 2010 it will be 30 years. so they have five years to make:

BURNING FOR BONZO

a double disc featuring on disc 1 an evening with such greats as:

steve smith
nico mcbrain
chad smith
dave grohl
carmine appice
and the amber vistalite (of course)...

all playing a great tribute concert to the godfather of rock 'n roll drumming.

disc 2 features an extensive break down of each of john's great drumming masterpieces and his signature chops by the master drummers of today.
also included...some never before seen footage of john in the studio and an interview with jeff ocheltree and john paul jones.

j


PS: everyone who knows anyone who could have the power to make his happen should make it happen.

[gr82bagn]

NJ,
Great idea, perhaps a small interview with Jason Bonham would round out the dvd nicely.

[NUTHA JASON]

yes! actually having him as the prime teacher of his dad's licks with a little help from steve smith would be perfect.

[CJK84]

I haven't read all of the posts in this very long thread, but one thing that has been mostly missing (I've seen only one post on it) is that Bonham had a great swing to his playing, which is a major reason why he sounds so utterly unique.

Swinging was common in 60s rock drumming (Ringo and Charlie certainly have some swing to their playing), but Bonham seems to swing more and seemingly swings on every bar of every song.

And swinging can be awesome!

Drummers who play evenly are ok by me, but those who swing bring the listener into that gray area that is sometimes more exciting - more exciting because there is an almost infinite number of degrees to which a drummer can swing.

Listen to Bonham's HH work on Stairway to Heaven. He adds quite a few extra hits (probably with his left hand) between the 8th notes. These extra hits are relatively quiet and swung just so perfectly it's hard to imagine it could be done any better.

And I don't know if anyone else has brought it up here, but Bonham is one of the extremely few white guys (as far as I know) who could cop this swinging feel that made Zep's tunes seem more funky and soulful than nearly every other white band.

[NUTHA JASON]

absolute agreed. to hear and experience that swing one has only to try to learn fool in the rain from tab...its all there but when you play it if you don't swing it bonham style it sounds bad.

j

[CyclopseSlayer]

Originally Posted by NUTHA JASON

and the amber vistalite (of course)...

Y'know everyone's all about the vistalites, but I'm much more enamored with the early 70's green sparkle kits. They seem to be the "behind the scenes" or "unsung heroes" of his drums. What a sound.

Same thing with the Giant Beats, everyone associates the 2002's with Bonham, and he did play them longer, and they sound unbelievable, but listen to the beauty of him crashing that 24" Giant Beat in "Out on the Tiles" It sends chills down your spine.

[tambian89]

Here's something to consider: "When the Levee Breaks" is the most sampled groove ever. It usually sampled by rappers who are looking for a good grove that can be repeated over and over. To me, John Bonham is the most influential rock drummer; he has not only influenced every rock-oriented drum part (even if indirectly), but has influenced rap and hip-hop, which is currently the most popular style of music (at least I consider it to be, since most radio stations play either Rap or R&B, and most teens listen to this style)

- Marc

[NUTHA JASON]

while i totally agree with you in your post ... you are wrong about the most sampled groove bit...that belongs squarely to either or both clyde stubfield and jabo starks in the james brown band...the groove? well we all call it funk but they invented it.

j

[Bonhamfan]

Originally Posted by NUTHA JASON

while i totally agree with you in your post ... you are wrong about the most sampled groove bit...that belongs squarely to either or both clyde stubfield and jabo starks in the james brown band...the groove? well we all call it funk but they invented it.

j

Your right. Bonham's beats are sampled quite a bit though along with other great drummers, and that is why I dislike rap, it seems so unimprovised, it's to easy to create and it all sounds the same. There is no heart in that type of music IMO.

[tambian89]

Originally Posted by tambian89

Here's something to consider: "When the Levee Breaks" is the most sampled groove ever. It usually sampled by rappers who are looking for a good grove that can be repeated over and over. To me, John Bonham is the most influential rock drummer; he has not only influenced every rock-oriented drum part (even if indirectly), but has influenced rap and hip-hop, which is currently the most popular style of music (at least I consider it to be, since most radio stations play either Rap or R&B, and most teens listen to this style)

- Marc

One of the most sampled grooves ever.....

- Marc