Poll: What kind of drummer are you?

What drumming style(s) best describe your playing? Choose as many answers as you like.

  • Basic "meat-n-potatoes" rock grooves with minimal fills (think AC/DC or Rolling Stones)

    Votes: 25 41.0%
  • Funky rock/funk grooves that incorporate ghost notes and more intricate fills

    Votes: 33 54.1%
  • Heavy metal or double-bass grooves with bombastic fills

    Votes: 10 16.4%
  • Latin grooves such as sambas, mambos, etc.

    Votes: 10 16.4%
  • Traditional, big band or any "swing"-style jazz (i.e. Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Buddy Rich, etc.)

    Votes: 11 18.0%
  • Modern jazz/fusion (i.e. Dave Weckl, Gary Novak, later-era Tony Williams, etc.)

    Votes: 6 9.8%
  • Progressive rock incorporating odd time signatures, very intricate fills, etc.

    Votes: 12 19.7%
  • Blues, country or bluegrass (shuffles, train beats, etc.)

    Votes: 16 26.2%
  • Marching or orchestral percussion

    Votes: 4 6.6%
  • Other

    Votes: 9 14.8%

  • Total voters
    61
  • Poll closed .

TK-421

Senior Member
Just curious. You can elaborate on your answers in the comments if you like.
 
I selected the closest two that applied... Meat & Potatoes and Blues, Country, Bluegrass. I consider myself a pure pop player and have a reputation as the quietest drummer in my town. The quiet thing gets me gigs in venues where drums usually aren’t allowed, and the pop mindframe keeps my playing concise. Maybe Meat & Potatoes Lite! LOL
 
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I would not call Max Roach a traditional big band/. swing band drummer. He was very progressive. He was a be-boper. He never drank his fifths lol.

 
I didn't check the box for marching and orchestral, because it's been decades since I've done any of it. Also didn't check the boxes for either of the Jazz options, because you can't call what I play Jazz. More like butchering! :'(

Edit: I forgot...no double-bass or bombastic fills either. Can't do those or something may snap. Won't be my sticks either!
 
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I would not call Max Roach a traditional big band/. swing band drummer. He was very progressive. He was a be-boper. He never drank his fifths lol.

There’s a comma in between traditional and big band. So it’s not meant to imply “traditional big band” but rather traditional jazz (i.e. bop), big band jazz, or any form of swing-style jazz playing.
 
I'm definitely a "play for the song", pocket kind of drummer. I focus mostly on the groove and making the song feel right. I do incorporate plenty of ghost notes and subtle fills when appropriate but I've never been a "fancy" player.
 
I play blues, classic rock, a little country, and church praise and worship. I always try to play what the song calls for. Peace and goodwill.
 
I didn't check the box for marching and orchestral, because it's been decades since I've done any of it. Also didn't check the boxes for either of the Jazz options, because you can't call what I play Jazz. More like butchering! :'(

Edit: I forgot...no double-bass or bombastic fills either. Can't do those or something may snap. Won't be my sticks either!
I haven’t marched since college, so that would be 1995. And I haven’t played any orchestral percussion since high school. But I checked that box anyway, if for no other reason than my near daily practice pad routine where I play rudiments and warmup exercises with marching sticks and traditional grip (and pretend like I’m still in my college drumline).
 
I checked "Funky rock/funk grooves that incorporate ghost notes and more intricate fills", "Progressive rock incorporating odd time signatures, very intricate fills, etc.", "Modern jazz/fusion (i.e. Dave Weckl, Gary Novak, later-era Tony Williams, etc.)", and "Other", because I'm kind of a mess. :D
 
There’s a comma in between traditional and big band. So it’s not meant to imply “traditional big band” but rather traditional jazz (i.e. bop), big band jazz, or any form of swing-style jazz playing.
I don't think Max Roach was Traditional, big band, or a swing style jazz drummer. Pretty much the opposite. Very radical and innovative IMHO.

I don't think "bop" is traditional jazz either. Traditional jazz and big band players drink their fifths, they don't flat them lol.

Bop was a response to traditional jazz.

You're kinda missing a category: Bop Jazz.

 
I don't think Max Roach was Traditional, big band, or a swing style jazz drummer. Pretty much the opposite. Very radical and innovative IMHO.

I don't think "bop" is traditional jazz either. Traditional jazz and big band players drink their fifths, they don't flat them lol.

Bop was a response to traditional jazz.

You're kinda missing a category: Bop Jazz.

I maxed out the number of categories available when creating this poll, so I had to combine a number of genres.

While bop was a response to the swing bands that were popular back then, I think most people would categorize it as a traditional form of jazz, as opposed to newer styles such as fusion and smooth jazz that are based straight 8th playing (i.e. not swung). Of course not all bop is swung, but a large percentage of it is.

So essentially I was trying to differentiate between a swing style of jazz playing vs. straight styles of jazz. I’m sorry if your definitions differ slightly from mine.
 
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the only category I don't fit in is the modern jazz one...and not b/c I don't like it, but it does not excite me to learn it

I am mainly a metal/punk/progressive and marching, orchestral guy...and I also play what the song calls for
 
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I had a really hard time picking and ultimately chose 'other'. I have a pretty lengthy background playing Mars Volta style 'indy prog' as well as more progressive heavier stuff ala Russian Circles however I don't always think in nor play odd time signatures and I'm certainly not a frequent fill person nor overly busy. My style is more groove oriented... Be it a bastardized unusual groove that I like to fill with odd stops and changes. I'm heavily included by the discipline of hip hop but I also don't play much straight 'four on the floor'. So yea, I chose 'other'. Beyond all of that, I've been severely pushed outside of my comfort zone musically (in a good way) for the last almost decade now so my style has gone through a constant dramatic evolution. I've only recently become one to regularly practice by myself at home so my style has been mostly dictated by the project I am involved in at the time.
 
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