Philosophical Question

Would you rather be in a band where you, as the drummer, were the best player or the worst player?? I would want to be equal is not an option for this quiz.

I would always prefer that I was the worst player in the band. That way I can get better and rise to the level of the people I'm playing with, rather than dumb down.

Plus a simple but steady drum beat behind great players sounds a lot better than the coolest most intricate drumbeat behind horrible musicians.

BertTheDrummer said:

I would always prefer that I was the worst player in the band. That way I can get better and rise to the level of the people I'm playing with, rather than dumb down.

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I'd be the best drummer they ever had. And I wouldn't dumb anything I did down. I'd drag those guys up to me. It's hard for me to be in a situation where everyone isn't trying to do the very best they can.

I'd prefer to be the worst player in the band, provided the others took the time and had the patience to allow me to become a better player. Otherwise, I'd prefer to be the best player in the band and do the same for them.

Bo Eder said:

I'd be the best drummer they ever had. And I wouldn't dumb anything I did down. I'd drag those guys up to me. It's hard for me to be in a situation where everyone isn't trying to do the very best they can.

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I've tried to do that and it is difficult. You can drag people only so far, even if they are doing their best.

I play keys for a church now and I'm by far the best musician in the group and I'm not even that great of a keys player. In the end it is very draining.

I guess it depends on how far off they are and how far you have to drag them up.

Depends on which Band.....lol.

I don't consider myself a "real" drummer so I guess I am lucky to be in any band.

Put me down for "worst". I can only go up from there I guess.

*smile*

I'd choose "worst' to. I like playing with better of anything-because they challenge me to be better. I love a challenge. The last band I met up on Bandmix I was the better (course that just demonstrated how bad they were)-first time I've experienced that and it sucked. I loved the guys but the band sucked beyond measure and no compass or direction.

Tough one since the "equal" option is off the table.

I would go with worst so long as I could still deliver the goods for what the music needs.
I feel like I could contribute to the band in other areas and still be an asset.

That being said I think I would struggle emotionally if I was the weakest link in the band.

Easily, I'd want to be the worst. The pressure and expectation to play better does wonderful things.

I'd be the best drummer they ever had. And I wouldn't dumb anything I did down. I'd drag those guys up to me. It's hard for me to be in a situation where everyone isn't trying to do the very best they can.

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I have this dilemma currently and been thinking about this subject (yet again) just this week.

I've been in a band for about 5 years. For the last 2-3 of that, I've semi-often been on the verge of quitting because I just can't take the frustration anymore. The band has improved a lot, is decent, plays out and people like us. However, the continual effort to drag the band up & along, particularly one person, is indeed draining and intermittently very frustrating. I'm the sole quality control just about always. They are friends, however, and so far mainly for that reason I've stuck with it.

This is the reason that I play in two bands (and I like to play more than each band does on its own). The caliber of players in the other band is awesome by comparison. As a whole, excellent play by this band comes SO much easier. I'm often pushed and challenged which I love. This band feels like driving a sports car on a nice curvy road where the other one feels like driving a mini-van on the same road.

Of course, being in WAY over your head is terrifying and not that great either. Although, I've been there too and nearly always the experience has benefited me tremendously.

Vintage Old School said:

Tough one since the "equal" option is off the table.

I would go with worst so long as I could still deliver the goods for what the music needs.
I feel like I could contribute to the band in other areas and still be an asset.

That being said I think I would struggle emotionally if I was the weakest link in the band.

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All of that jazz. Sums up my answer perfectly.

Best.
I can do what it needs to make a crazy composition intelligible, as long as they play to what the drummer plays and not what they fancy the drummer would be playing if it was just a guy keeping time.

GruntersDad said:

Would you rather be in a band where you, as the drummer, were the best player or the worst player?? I would want to be equal is not an option for this quiz.

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Best player.
You're a teacher too.
Along with being the best player you are also the leader.
Just like Buddy.
So yeah,the best player.

Mongrel said:

Depends on which Band.....lol.

I don't consider myself a "real" drummer so I guess I am lucky to be in any band.

Put me down for "worst". I can only go up from there I guess.

*smile*

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Being the worst musician has its perks in say Dream Theater,
It would be like everybody has a musical IQ of 200 and yours is 196.
You're still better than 99.9 % of everybody else out there.

pgm554 said:

Being the worst musician has its perks in say Dream Theater,
It would be like everybody has a musical IQ of 200 and yours is 196.
You're still better than 99.9 % of everybody else out there.

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I am in this situation. The others in my band are incredibly talented musicians. I feel very lucky to be in the band, and love the challenges they give me. They have pushed me to be far better than I thought I could be.

I honestly beleive that while my drumming is very well received by the band, that if I didn't have the best voice (also the widest range), I would be pushed out.

For me I like to be the worst in the band because it pushes me to improve my drumming. The band I'm currently in, we're all about equals, which works well, but the out of left field ideas/riffs aren't as common when I'm the underdog.

Both.

Usually you only have time for one band (at least for non-professionals). You can learn in situations where everyone else is better than you. But it's also healthy to play with people on your own level. It also depends on what level you are. If you're experienced and have a place to practice regularly, you probably would rather take the opportunity that requires you to grow. If you're a beginner then you probably are not ready for a band. You're ready for that black piece of rubber, a music stand with Stick Control on it, and that hunk of a drummer who comes by once a week to show you how to hold your stick just right!!

Rhumbagirl

I was the worst musician in a band for about four years and it was a blast. It upped my playing more than any other gig I’d had.

Keyboard player had a PhD in piano and played a 4-keyboard rig with ease.
Guitar player had 3 years of Berklee experience (had to drop out to care for family) and had gigged for 20+ years.
Bassist had 25 years experience on the road with many bands.
I was clearly the dullest pencil in the box.

The perks:
I could ask any question without shame and get an honest, clear answer.
Holding the tempo was very easy. These guys didn’t rush or drag once I clicked us in.
We played local festivals cuz they knew people.
We played only early sets in bars cuz we wanted a life the next day.
They helped me understand difficult passages and gave me pointers on how to approach them in my practices.

Eventually the keyboard player moved away when his wife relocated to a new hospital (she was a doctor). The guitar player went back to college and had no time for a gigging band.

Why’d they keep me in the band? I was always on time and had a shiny Tama kit.

Musicianshipwise, I've been both at various times in various bands. And what those experiences have taught me, is that it's way more important not to be the worst human being in the band.

The bands that have been most fun and forced me to grow most have been the ones where all were better musicians than me. The most stressful and unfulfilling bands have been the ones I had to try and carry. Why I Always strive to get my parts down 100%, unless the musicians are better than me, they are always striving to dumb things down. It’s just not worth the effort.

I'm with Bert as long as the other musicians understand that I'm working and learning. In our worship band, the pianist and I are probably equally the best (and often do duos because of it). Sometimes it's hard dragging some of the others along. Unfortunately, a couple of them think they're great and do nothing to improve. Then I remind myself of why I'm there....