What do you do to spice up the 2 & 4?

evolving_machine said:
I do not do anything to spice it up. Dispite how boring it may be, and how it is torture, I try to play it straight. A song like "just what I needed" by the cars is painful. Yet I try to do my job and play the tune.




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Isn't that the one where he plays 1 and 3 on the snare for a section?
 
Whenever I feel like I wanna be fired, I'll spice it up. A popular thing to do would be to shift everything you play to the left of the bar by a sixteenth note ;)
 
I sometimes play left hand ghost notes on the hihat, maybe bring the right hand down to the snare for a different sounding back beat. Adds a little 16th interest without disturbing the 2 & 4.

I do this in 'Celebration' - Hats are: 1 &a (snare) &a 3 &a (snare)
 
Matt Bo Eder said:
A popular thing to do would be to shift everything you play to the left of the bar by a sixteenth note ;)
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Yes, people really like it when you do that kind of thing. Then your name gets passed along and you get a ton of gigs. I'm pretty sure this is what's kept Keltner working all these years. ;-)
 
spleeeeen said:
Yes, people really like it when you do that kind of thing. Then your name gets passed along and you get a ton of gigs. I'm pretty sure this is what's kept Keltner working all these years. ;-)
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Well, I'm sure ol' Jim told the bands he was playing with that he was doing that, and that gave him his particular feel ;)
 
Garlic powder, cayenne pepper, onion powder, thyme, parsley, sugar, salt, paprika, allspice, black pepper, crushed red pepper, nutmeg, cinnamon, that kind of thing.

Seriously, I'm really satisfied with a nice solid backseat. I'll handle it with dynamics mostly. Maybe loosen the hats a bit. Maybe utilize different strokes on the snare.

I'd rather play around the rest of the phrase than fool around with the back beat. Perhaps you can say that's how I make it interesting... Sometimes how I get there isn't obvious. I like peppering syncopations and polyrthyms around solid backbeats here and there.

Most of the time, I think the best way to make the 2 and 4 interesting is to just nail it with authority. That's not to say loud, just, well, we've all heard it. You know when it's right.
 
Listen to Steve Jordan. Simple, hypnotic and dead on time. 98% of drummers can't resist overplaying. Be like Steve. Be in the 2%.
 
I would go mostly in the opposite direction of most posters, you can change everything all the time, not just HH, but snare, bass drums, add toms, etc.

Now if you don´t have the appropiate theorical knowledge and dexterety to do it, you should probably take lessons with someone who has...Must be very boring to play all the time the same...


Best regards!
 
Playing drumless cover songs is a really good way to find out if you should spice up or not. It's really easy to think so, playing live or to a track with drums. A few tasty embellishments can sound just fine, but when you only listen to your own playing on a rigid (recorded) song, general embellishments can sound like a train wreck in a hurry.
 
Lennytoons said:
Listen to Steve Jordan. Simple, hypnotic and dead on time. 98% of drummers can't resist overplaying. Be like Steve. Be in the 2%.
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I can definitely get on board with this. Resisting overplaying. It's very very hard for especially younger, but generally newer drummers to resist overplaying. I totally understand that, I used to think I needed to work as hard as I possibly could. Lol it's supposed to look easy not hard. I think the not overplaying kind of develops later on in the journey. Exceptions as always. Anytime I can go for a trance like feel I do. Hypnotic. Like novacaine, you just keep hitting the same spot, and after awhile it feels soo good.

Keeping a groove is like a staring contest. If you look away (break the spell by doing something drummy because you're "bored") you lose.
 
Alex Sanguinetti said:
I would go mostly in the opposite direction of most posters, you can change everything all the time, not just HH, but snare, bass drums, add toms, etc.

Now if you don´t have the appropiate theorical knowledge and dexterety to do it, you should probably take lessons with someone who has...Must be very boring to play all the time the same...


Best regards!
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Sorry Alex, but this smacks of arrogance.

When Leon Chancler played the money beat throughout Billie Jean, I'm pretty sure it wasn't for lack of appropriate theoretical knowledge and dexterity.

If you're playing your own version of a song, feel free to be as busy as you like, but if you're in a cover band, the job of the band is to do a very recognisable rendition of the song. Playing the 2 and 4, and sticking to it, is about being faithful to the feel that you are aiming to recreate, it's not about being limited.
 
JustJames said:
Sorry Alex, but this smacks of arrogance.

When Leon Chancler played the money beat throughout Billie Jean, I'm pretty sure it wasn't for lack of appropriate theoretical knowledge and dexterity.

If you're playing your own version of a song, feel free to be as busy as you like, but if you're in a cover band, the job of the band is to do a very recognisable rendition of the song. Playing the 2 and 4, and sticking to it, is about being faithful to the feel that you are aiming to recreate, it's not about being limited.
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Well, maybe Alex isn't a working drummer, and that's ok if you never work. I've worked enough to know that you have to do it simply. There's enough going on musically with the other instruments to provide enough rhythmic mayhem right there. I've been in bands (i.e., latin bands) where everybody playing was part of the rhythm to lay down the groove for the dancers, and that is awesome. Remember, everybody in the band is responsible for the time, right?
 
It's funny how dogmatic these discussions get. Everybody knows how to do somebody else's gig better than them. For the OP, I put together a list of things you can do with your backbeats. Pretty mundane stuff-- it may not cure your boredom. I think if you're very focused on the music, on getting the right sound out of your instrument, and on getting everything you play to sit squarely in the pocket-- however busy or simple you're playing-- the boredom will stop being an issue.
 
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2 and 4 isn't boring, but some drummers think it's boring, and that's where all the problem starts. It's a big pitfall. And it's not like I always knew this, it was a valuable lesson that I had to go through. I've been in that pit.
 
mikel said:
Yep, nowt wrong with the old 2 and 4, but every 2 and 4 is very slightly different. The trick is tapping into that difference.
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This.

Plus a few Gadd style licks here and there
 
This is the Central Scrutiniser ...

Attention all drummers. Once more it must be stressed that it is essential for all drummers to try to sound like each other all of the time. The rhythm must be expressed with backbeats on the two and four. Dissent shall result in ostracism and poverty.

You have been warned. Do not try to be creative. It is self indulgent and immature. Creativity should be left to composers and musicians who are more popular with audiences than are drummers. Rest assured, you will probably get your little feature spot if you behave.

I repeat. Do not try to be creative or you shall rot for the rest of your days, alone with just your drums in your basement. Single. Unloved. Unwanted. A clerk.

Don't let that be you. Be what others want you to be. That is your function as a drummer. Use your instrument to oil the wheels of commerce and they will spin for you. Fail to do so and you will fall by the wayside in this competitive world because if you don't do it, others will. If you don't get the chance to play rhythms that you love, accept that as your lot and keep the backbeats coming.

Failure to cooperate will no longer be tolerated.

// end transmission

;)
 
Anon La Ply said:
This is the Central Scrutiniser ...

Attention all drummers. Once more it must be stressed that it is essential for all drummers to try to sound like each other all of the time. The rhythm must be expressed with backbeats on the two and four. Dissent shall result in ostracism and poverty.

You have been warned. Do not try to be creative. It is self indulgent and immature. Creativity should be left to composers and musicians who are more popular with audiences than are drummers. Rest assured, you will probably get your little feature spot if you behave.

I repeat. Do not try to be creative or you shall rot for the rest of your days, alone with just your drums in your basement. Single. Unloved. Unwanted. A clerk.

Don't let that be you. Be what others want you to be. That is your function as a drummer. Use your instrument to oil the wheels of commerce and they will spin for you. Fail to do so and you will fall by the wayside in this competitive world because if you don't do it, others will. If you don't get the chance to play rhythms that you love, accept that as your lot and keep the backbeats coming.

Failure to cooperate will no longer be tolerated.

// end transmission

;)
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I love this. Break as many rules as you can. If you don't like sitting back being the band's glorified metronome, form your own band where the drums take center stage.
 
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