Percussion players add so much!

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Rockdrill

Active Member
We've had a percussion player in our covers band for the last year and I think it adds so much every band should have one!
I've always felt that a tambourine, shaker, guiro, wood block etc, can drive a rhythm as much as the whole drum kit, but have only just realised how effective after our percussionist quit and now it feels like something is missing.
Initially our percussion player was doing BVs but he was reasonably incompetent (I still don't know how that situation came about!), so to stop him singing I suggested percussion. He took it seriously, worked really hard at getting it sorted and it's morphed to where I couldn't imagine not having percussion in the band and I'm definitely going to have to find a replacement/persuade our old percussionist to come back.
Anyone feel the same way about percussion working in harmony with drums?
 
@Rockdrill As someone who plays both drumset and percussion, I wholeheartedly concur. Auxiliary percussion (including hand drums) can add a lot of texture, depth, color and sparkle to the songs. I routinely get feedback from non-band members that tell me the extra bits are a positive addition to the songs.
 
I'm a big fan of aux percussion. Modern pop tracks are loaded with all kinds of sounds and effects. Though these days I think they fall in the general category of DJ/finger drummer/aux percussion/front man. Eg there is more they can do on stage than run a shaker or guiro and cowbell like trigger samples, crowd interaction and what not. There is a local band that plays at the city festivals where the conga player does quite a bit of sample triggering.
 
Then there’s Los Lobos, where they often have the traps drummer (currently Enrique Gonzalez) play the hand percussion parts using a set of trigger pads in their traps kit, rather than having two drummers. I dig the band a lot but I’m not a fan of that one element.
 
I love a good percussion player but I can’t afford to have one full time in most bands I’ve been in. I would love it, though, as long as the music I do warrants it.
 
Yes sure they do plus they're within easy reach to wail a stick at;
kidding "Bongo Norm" was a friend of mine..
 
If they know what they are doing..i mean REALLY know what they are doing and are beyond tastefull I WANT that percussionist in our band but if not I don't need soul sacrifice on every freakin tune. Sorry..weve got a local guy that is very technical but in a band situation?..sounds like he's building a house.
 
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I think percussion can add a lot and make songs stand out and more entertaining.
Living in NL, Dutch songs have little to do with it but I like a lot of Latin songs with percussion sounds.

Mildly related is the topic of 2 drummers. Apparently there was a time that was popular.
I can see some benefits but also downsides of it. Not sure if I'm a fan or not.
 
Rockdrill said:
We've had a percussion player in our covers band for the last year and I think it adds so much every band should have one!
I've always felt that a tambourine, shaker, guiro, wood block etc, can drive a rhythm as much as the whole drum kit, but have only just realised how effective after our percussionist quit and now it feels like something is missing.
Initially our percussion player was doing BVs but he was reasonably incompetent (I still don't know how that situation came about!), so to stop him singing I suggested percussion. He took it seriously, worked really hard at getting it sorted and it's morphed to where I couldn't imagine not having percussion in the band and I'm definitely going to have to find a replacement/persuade our old percussionist to come back.
Anyone feel the same way about percussion working in harmony with drums?
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As someone that was on the other side of that, I wholeheartedly agree!

I played percussion at the church I went to years ago. I took it just as seriously as anything else.
Instead of play "drum patterns" on congas or whatever, I was constantly ch in with the drummer about what pattern, fill, etc he was playing so I could compliment it. I loved adding that extra layer of hand drums, shakers, tambourine, cymbals, etc.

At my current church gig I either play drums or the occasional djembe. That said, I'm a big fan of adding a shaker to keep time while playing the kit...that's always fun.

Now if I could just figure out a way to play djembe with the kit....
 
I learned a lot about do's and don'ts concerning drumkit performance as an accompaning percussionist . Most of the responsibility and heavy lifting is the drummer's job . The percussionist , if he/she has good ears , time and a creative spirit , can have a lot of fun putting a little stink on things.
 
I like a really good percussionist. they have to know when to play and when not to though. So many times percussionists think because they are on stage they have to be doing something.
My particularly pet peeve is percussionists doubling cymbal crashes. WHY????? Worse is playing a crash when I've purposely left it out.
 
One thing I specialize in is playing percussion (tambourine, cowbell, woodblocks) with my left hand and playing the kit with my right.. so the kit patterns aren't affected. I position my percussion tree just to the left of my hats. WHen I first started doing this, it was sometimes it's a bit of a puzzle to figure out how the left hand pattern meshed with the right hand patterns on the kit.. butI think all those syncopated mechanics helped to really free up my openhanded playing technique.. I just got it for free!
Our singer has congas that I wish she would play on gigs.. but I think she prefers not to move them and also they hurt her hands.. On the rare occassion she brings them it's great. Maybe bongos and mallets might work..Lol.
Never had complaints with percussionists.. especially if they are good conga players. They can really add synergy to the groove. Luckily, I never had one that played crash cymbals!
 
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Guilherme Franco

Guilherme Franco - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

will never forget seeing him. sitting 6 ft away in a club Jazz Wshp. Boston 75/6
McCoy Tyner, Michael Carvin (blowing into his snare drum) on drums
Guilherme was front and center
 
I finally talked my bandleader into hiring a percussionist, I love it .

He’s a real percussionist too , not a guy who does it because the drum chair is filled .
 
Stickman said:
Our singer has congas that I wish she would play on gigs.. but I think she prefers not to move them and also they hurt her hands..
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As a she who also plays congas, I ditched the real hide skins for Remo Skyndeep heads and have never looked back, as per @Bo Eder's recommendation. Maybe that would help your singer as well. Just a thought. :cool:
 
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Never played with a percussionist but man I'd love to. Saw Lenny Castro with Toto a couple of times and the man is an absolute monster. Spent a lot of the gigs just watching him the energy he has and brings is on another level.

Here's a full gig from the XIV tour. David Hungate was on bass when I saw them but that percussion work is amazing

 
Stickman said:
Our singer has congas that I wish she would play on gigs.. but I think she prefers not to move them and also they hurt her hands.. On the rare occassion she brings them it's great. Maybe bongos and mallets might work..Lol.
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It all comes down to technique and warm-up. People think they can just start whacking their hands against something and have no idea that they need to be warmed up, need to have good hand position, use the weight of their hand, etc. Has nothing to do with plastic vs. real skin; it's all technique.
 
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