Toms Question - High Tom, Med Tom, Low Tom, Floor Tom

G

georgeusa

Active Member
Toms Question - High Tom, Med Tom, Low Tom, Floor Tom

so if a song you know has 3 hits on each of the toms above from high to low pitch......


but your kit has only High Tom and Floor Tom, what would you do? split them into 6 into High and 6 into Floor? or would you also incorporate the kick somehow?

just checking what is done in this cases

thanks
 
I play a four-piece kit: snare, bass, 12" tom, and 16" floor tom. Obviously, if I'm playing a cover in which the original drummer is executing a riff that incorporates four or five different toms, I don't have the tonal options at my disposal to emulate his exact pattern. My philosophy: Who cares? You can maintain the structural and rhythmic integrity of any song by improvising its fills. Keep the groove and essential accents in place and the rest is up to you. Don't feel pressured to adhere to note-for-note renditions. Often, the drummer you're attempting to copy doesn't even copy himself in live performances.
 
georgeusa said:
Toms Question - High Tom, Med Tom, Low Tom, Floor Tom ..... so if a song you know has 3 hits on each of the toms above from high to low pitch ...... or would you also incorporate the kick somehow?
Click to expand...
What came to mind, in this basic scenario .... more notes ..... but a 4 tom fill ..... Cream's "White Room" ..... and on a 4 piece. What I did was first fill on the snare, then rack tom, then floor tom, then kick drum.
 
georgeusa said:
Toms Question - High Tom, Med Tom, Low Tom, Floor Tom

so if a song you know has 3 hits on each of the toms above from high to low pitch......


but your kit has only High Tom and Floor Tom, what would you do? split them into 6 into High and 6 into Floor? or would you also incorporate the kick somehow?

just checking what is done in this cases

thanks
Click to expand...

Depends on the song and feel, but most of the time on a small kit i split it between the available toms or when i feel metallicious i will throw in a gratuitous burst of double bass
 
Georgeusa, I just watched this vid yesterday. It may give you some ideas. . .although the kit in the vid is 6 or 7 piece with 2 roto toms. ?

 
I saw a guy playing Tom Sawyer on a 4 or 5 pc and when it came to the tom fills after the guitar solo he played down the toms, up the toms, and back down, and it sounds really good.
 
Just want to say, your original idea is just fine too. Splitting evenly often works great.

You can also start to think about the dynamics and how you hit each drum. By varying the sound of each hit you can make things sound well, more varied.
 
Dr_Watso said:
You can also start to think about the dynamics and how you hit each drum. By varying the sound of each hit you can make things sound well, more varied.
Click to expand...

This x100. With good dynamics even a single, simple pattern can be musical and actually sound far more complex than it is. You can vary the subdivisions too.
 
I had to think about this when I was transcribing a nice descending tom fill from Tony Williams' Fred. I just replaced the mid-tom with the floor tom. With the accents in the same spot it pretty much captured the essence.
 
I played Easy Lover with3 toms, 1st tom alone/1st with 2nd/2nd alone/2nd with 3rd /3rd alone gave me 5
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top