...Also I am referring to getting closer to a trance state and not playing with the conscious mind per se (OK here comes that tricky fill)
I know exactly what this means, and I agree.
The forget about the drummer bit, what I mean is don't focus on the drums, focus on whoever is taking the lead. In my mind if you "look past" the drum part, and play for everyone else, you end up getting everything you were ever after in the first place. Playing for everyone else...you get to play great stuff...tension, build ups, release, dynamic drop offs, custom tailored quick little fills and accents and stuff that just pops out of nowhere...
It’s this play for everybody else bit that I get hung up on. If everyone played for everyone else, then nobody would be playing for anybody and things would grind to a halt! Whoever is playing a solo is playing for themselves (and presumably the music) and expecting the supporting players to go along. Now, I’m not a big advocate of taking drum solos, but there are other ways in which the drummer can take a turn in steering the ship by upping the intensity and pushing things over bar lines without causing calamities as long as the other musicians are receptive to drums taking more of a lead role on occasion.
… it comes off better because you are playing off/for someone instead of separately. It's just better to play off the others. It's better to be connected. We do a lot of improv stuff in my main band, and I get led on a merry chase sometimes, so that's where that comes from, I
have to listen and play off them.
I do get this and these are great points. Yes, you have to listen, but so does everyone else. I guess that’s kind of my point in all this – that as we’re hyper aware of our role as listeners and supporters, it feels too easy to let the other players off the hook when it comes to listening to the drummers because it’s not traditionally the drummer’s role to take the lead on some of those merry chases.
If you are in a band that has all prearranged parts, then maybe this doesn't apply.
Yes and no. Once all the prearranging is done, things get more or less set. It’s during the composition process that I want a voice; I want to enjoy some creative latitude; I want the ability to perhaps embed some crazy idea into the fabric of the song in some permanent way that sounds cool, that fits like a glove, and that is agreeable to all. Doesn’t even have to be crazy, but as someone described on this forum recently, it’s like that fill or a drum part you’ve heard 1,000 times in that song that you feel compelled to air drum every time you hear it. Creating those kinds of moments doesn’t come from being a habitually transparent support player. It takes a mindset from all involved that drums can, and often should, be more than just a supporting foundation for everything else to just sit on.
I’m not special or unique in this thinking, so it's not I'm going all rouge or anything - all my early drumming heroes took this approach to some degree (Stewart Copeland, Keith Moon, Peter Erskine, Neil Peart, Bill Bruford, Terry Bozzio, etc…
. It was because these drummers approached their roles in their ways that I liked them so much. I’m sure it’s why they were my favorites and why I wanted to be like them in that way. But none of those drummers would probably fly in a band that relied on more traditional forms (except maybe Erskine), but more than anything, I think it just goes to show that there’s more than one way to approach this, or any instrument, and that the musical context will largely dictate what will be acceptable.
I just see so many selfish drummers that pass up great musical opportunities because they can only hear their little part. They miss the big picture and the role they play in it. I hardly see any drummers that really listen to the big picture and try and predict where the solo is going and are truly all the way supportive of their mates. Usually it's the ego that gets in the way. They have to "get theirs" and ruin the mood by doing some stupid fill I guess. I "get mine" by seeing the others "get theirs". I advocate being completely unselfish behind the drums. I'm there to provide the environment for great things to happen.
Are these selfish drummers more along the lines of some of my favorites while trying to play blues? Perhaps they’re not appreciating the context part - like fish out of water. Maybe they should pick bands that are more appropriate to their style of playing.
The music/relationship parallel is interesting...I don't know that it's directly comparable. An intimate relationship should be more balanced. We chose drums. We are not the focal point. We are at the mercy of the song, the vocalist and the soloist much of the time. The drums are not a lead instrument. They support. That's the function. I can get very creative supporting, original even, but at
all times, supporting the others is my main objective. I think that you think I am dumbing my parts down. Not one bit. To the contrary, I am listening to their solo, and making sonic choices as to best handle the mood they are going for. A custom fit drum part, for that solo, that night. A listening drummer is a beautiful thing. My drum parts are rich with nuance. Nuance that hopefully perfectly compliments the surrounding mood that the others are creating.
You’re right: I have been left with the impression that you’ve been “dumbing your parts down.” That’s not how I would’ve characterized it, but I get what you mean. It's true that I’ve interpreted your semi-regular comments about "selfish" drummers to mean that one who play more fills than Steve Gadd (like me) are immature heathens. But you’ve described well how you do your supporting in these paragraphs so I won’t continue to make that assumption. I’ve heard some of your playing on here and it is rock solid, so that box is definitely checked off, but I haven’t heard much in the way of you adding much beyond that, and figured it was because you were making a conscious effort not to. Maybe I just haven’t heard enough of your playing.
Anyway, I'm recalling the old tale of a Stewart Copeland clinic where he just lays down the money beat for 10 minutes and tells the audience he’d be happy to do that all day long. I don’t really believe him, but his point is well taken, as is yours.
