Styles of Drumming (Pocket Drumming vs Chop Drumming)
Howdy guys, I’m Rich Abidor, a 17 year old drummer from AZ. I’ve been drumming for 10 years, working to develop an eclectic taste for music. My drumming ranges from the blasts of Meshuggah to the grooves of Mars Volta, and then some Sinatra on the side. Note that I didn’t say I was good at, I just said I play it
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I’ve been doing a lot of analysis on some of the premier drummers today, and am working to categorize them into two groups. These two groups are pocket drummers, and chop drummers. I know there is a negative connotation attached to pocket drumming, as it is mistaken for the “easy” style, but in this analysis, I hope to debunk this myth.
First, you have the pocket drummer. The definition of such is a drummer, who is, “very solid with a great feel never wavers from the deep pocket allowing the other musicians to fit into the pocket well,” (Music Perception 443-461). This definition generalizes pocket drummers as simplistic percussionists pandering to the need for clarity of his accompanying musicians. I would say a pocket drummer is one who plays a solid 4/4 rhythm that one could easily tap along to. This doesn’t necessarily mean that it is easy or simple to play; it is just easy to follow. Drummers of this ilk include Tony Royster Jr, Travis Barker (yes, I listed him with top drummers, give me hell) Dave Grohl (in many Nirvana songs), and many rock drummers who are mistakenly disenfranchised because of their lack of panache.
Now, from the other end of the spectrum, the other classification is a chop drummer. This style utilizes the amalgamation of various chops and rhythms to create somewhat of a collage of sounds within a piece. Many terms go hand-in-hand with this style, such as polyrhythms, musical bridges, (switching tempos) and broken up beats. This rather chaotic show of drumming is more appealing to the credulous demographic as it is often synonymous with speed and fury, and most people who aren’t well acquainted with groove believe speed and fury is the mark of a good drummer. Some drummers who evoke this style are Thomas Pridgen, Buddy Rich, and Gavin Harrison.
So… why is pocket drumming perceived negatively? I think this might have something to do with the Earth’s Tendency Toward Complexity. It’s far fetched, I know, but stay with me here… The Earth is constantly working toward the ultimate complexity, which is ambiguous it could be god, or whatever you believe is the most complex thing. In the human mind, we see anything that works toward complexity as good and anything that negates complexity as evil. (Adapted from a novel called Shantaram, great read). Hence, people tend to like the complexity of chop drummers more than pocket drummers, although pocket drumming is plenty respectful and difficult. This can be seen in the younger demographics’ taste in music, somewhat. This whole EDM genre, with dubstep and what have you, is really just a bunch of noise. Honestly, I thought someone was just banging on a trashcan for one of those Skrillex songs. Regardless, it is still music, and it’s complexity appeals to the masses.
I am not adamant on any of this, it’s just an idea I’ve been toying with, I would love some input in this, I know I’ll get flak for my drummer examples, just wanted to show drummers from different genres who could be classified together. Thanks, Rich