Gospel/R&B/Hip Hop style drumming

Buhzie2

Junior Member
first off, it's just an opinion, and we're all allowed to have one, so don't be up my butt about it.

Who else is sick of this gospel style drumming with the same old sped up break beat style riffs, with just fast chops, quick grooves, and other beats that are totally lacking in musicality and just showing off chops and skills?

Maybe it's just me, but it's getting kind of old. I like musical drumming: not just playing fast stuff and quick beats with ridiculously fast fills between the hands and feet to show off how you can play really fast alternating hand/foot rolls. I don't know... I just don't find it impressive.

Be musical, not annoying.

...opinion over. :-/
 
lol yeah ...
i play for my church and im sick of playing coz we ve been playing a list of abt 30 songs over the past year.. im sick of them now,
 
Funny you should bring this up. Just last week I went to see a shed session for the first time ever with some pretty hot players ( one of them, a known drummer.. )

Have seen some of the best on MD dvds, you tube etc( Aaron Spears, Gerald Heyward, Teddy Campbell, Spanky etc ), and being floored by their technique and skill, I was pschyed to check these guys out.

Big disappointment. It was 2 hours of fills, played by three drummers. Though the mechanics of the chops were great to observe, it goes without saying that I left with a massive headache.
 
I'm not into the guys that are just throwing down chops every four bars like those Shed Sessions drummers (Thomas Prigden anyone?). However, the people that don't play like that (ie Ahmir Thompson) are fantastic.
 
I'm not into the guys that are just throwing down chops every four bars like those Shed Sessions drummers (Thomas Prigden anyone?). However, the people that don't play like that (ie Ahmir Thompson) are fantastic.


...have you listened to the latest Mars Volta album? Pridgen MAKES that album, IMO. Just because it's crazy doesn't mean it's not musical. It just needs to be in the proper context (i.e. on a Mars Volta album, not in a 2 hour jam session)...
 
True about the mars volta thing, but I'm glad to hear that some other people agree with me. I thought i was the only one who thought that...
and yeah, Ahmir Thompson is fantastic
 
...have you listened to the latest Mars Volta album? Pridgen MAKES that album, IMO. Just because it's crazy doesn't mean it's not musical. It just needs to be in the proper context (i.e. on a Mars Volta album, not in a 2 hour jam session)...

Yes, I own the Goliath record, as well as Temulant, Deloused, Frances, Amputechture, and Scab Dates. Goliath is a good record, probably on par with Amputechture. Not close to everything pre-amputechture though. I'll take Theodore any day of the week over Prigden.

Speaking of Jon Theodore, check out his latest band; a collaboration with Zach de la Rocha. One Day As A Lion is the name, and their EP dropped a week or so ago. Really cool stuff.
 
I like listening to and seeing gospel drummers. I like to be wowed and blown away with fearsome chops. This style of playing is suited to a particular genre of music, therefore is has great "musicality" for that genre. I think the word "musicality" is thrown around too much anyway. If something works in the setting, that's all that matters.

In too many settings, the drummer is told to sit down, shut up and avoid getting in the way or playing too much. Here is one genre where the drummer can go off, go wild and show off - and the people who like this genre like that about it. I think too many drummers have internalized what guitarists have told them.

What the poster said about gospel drumming I would actually apply more to double bass obsession. Check out the technique section - double bass is the hottest topic and has the least application.
 
I see where you're coming from. It's getting old to me also. Especially when I figured out the universal formula a lot of them use to get around the kit. It sounds surprisingly similar when when you study or listen to a lot of one of the so called "gospel drummers" then listen to others.But, I also think a lot do a number of musical things with it though. People like Terreon Gully, Eric Harland, and Chris Dave figured out how to use it in a very interesting and musical way.
 
well I saw thomas pridgen playing with the mars volta yesterday and it was amazing. I love his style, and it totally fits the band. one can say that he exaggerates with the crazy fills, but like I said before, the music mars volta creates need that kind of drumming.
 
It's funny. What's funny? Competition's funny. Gospel drummers have a lot of soul and passion and ability for the music, due to the Spirit. God bless em'. You know, their exposure to music and the influence of great drummers in their lives, I don't know where to say these great contributing, joy to listen to drummers have developed their concepts from. But take a skilled master craftsman with the skills and understanding and eclectic reception of the art of drumming and musicality, whose filled with Spirit. Watch out.
 
Who else is sick of this gospel style drumming with the same old sped up break beat style riffs, with just fast chops, quick grooves, and other beats that are totally lacking in musicality and just showing off chops and skills?
Me. I´m an old rock/jazz drummer... I can play most of what I see on Utube-Gosplechops, I´m still learning from it, but I´m also kinda sick about it.. I have never been to a church where a drummer was playing.
I got aware of "gospel chops" only through Utube. I love to learn from those, but I can not imagine to play this show-off-fancy-oddtime licks with any band around here, any stile of music, unless I would play with Red Hot Chilly Peppers or such......nor can I imagine a church, with the gospel quire singing, and the drummer showing off like hell, implying odd time syncopations and fancy drumrolls..... This does not make any sense to me. People go to church to praise Jesus, but not to praise the drummer, also people do not know anything about drumming, and they never can tell if you got those gospel chops or not. So what? Do you drum like supporting your band/gospel quire just like a "goalie" in the background, providing the feel and the backbeat on the snare, or do you wanna show off to impress another drummer who happens to be in the church, listening to you and thinks "my god, this drummer is awesome" instead of focusing on his praying?
Sorry, it is just me, I would love to play in a drummers-gospel-chops-church, getting carried away by the overall enthusiastic feeling of the crowd, rolling and rambling like hell, without other musicians telling me : "keep it simple, old fart" :)
P.S: browsing Utube: tons of "Gospel Chops videos"..I did this far not find a vid that shows a gospel church recording like featuring any drummer..I did find Mr. James Brown and Mr. Little Richard being preachers though...and all such..but no drummer beeing a preacher. Simply imagine Mr. J.Brown was the preacher and I was the drummer, playing some of those gospel chops video show off licks just once in any song: I would be fired in a minute...drag and doubledrag.....grin and doublegrin :)
 
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I took the time to check out the youtube vids. I wasn't sure what you were talking about

"Gospel/R&B/Hip Hop style drumming"

I don't totally agree on categorizing this style of drumming. There are some great Gospel, R&B drumming. I don't think I have heard much acoustic drumming in Hip Hop....???

This is what Nodiggie calls "fly swatting".

It is cool to make an extravagant fill here and there IF the music allows it.

But, "fly swatting" on a continual basis becomes little more than noise within ANY song or ANY genre after a short while.
 
sorry for the late bump of this thread, but this is what i'm pretty much getting at
http://www.vicfirth.com/artists/video/gavin_harrison/harrison_interview3HQ.html
leave it to gavin to explain it perfectly. :)

and that basically sums up why we all love Gavin to death... Mr. Harrison, i know yer on here... your the !@#$ BEST!

that video.. wich had very little playing, was more insperational than a thousand gospel fills.

*runs to dvd player to put on Rhythmic Visions*
 
Well I respect any kind of drumming if the drummer is proficiant at what he does. If he likes a certen kind of music then let him and go on doing what you want to do.

My personal oppinion is that ...Thomas Pridgen is sick and while John Theodor was an amazing drummer I think Thomas suits the Mars Volta much better. More iratic and crazy just like Cedric and Omar.
Just my oppinion though and I will respect everyone elses.
 
Interesting fact: On Tony Royster Jr.'s DW page it doesn't list a "performed with:" section. Does this mean he hasn't done anything but drum solos?

"He has played with Imajin, Lazyeye, New Flava, and En Vogue. He performed on the 42nd Annual Grammy Awards show at the age of 15, and an international tour in 2001 backing #1 selling Japanese artist Hikaru Utada as well as performing with Paul Shaffer (of The David Letterman Show) in the Nickelodeon House Band. Right now he's also playing with Francisco Fattoruso, Jay-Z and his own band. He also came out with a new video called Pure Energy on his first solo drummer video explaining all the stuff he learned and his band playing along on some of the tracks."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Royster
 
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