Improvisation vs composition

The Scorpio

Senior Member
When I'm playing with my band, I find that I learn the sections, and compose a groove with my bassist. I generally only compose one or two "hook fills." Other that that I improvise on the go.

But on the other hand, some of my drum buddies tend to "compose" more. That is to say, they will write a part and then play it that way every time.

So I was wondering, which camp do you guys fall into and why?

-Kyle
 
I'm firmly in the play-what-you-feel-at-the-moment camp. I just don't see the appeal of playing the same songs identically over and over.

(Then again, the note-for-note thing works pretty well for Neil Peart!)
 
I'm firmly in the play-what-you-feel-at-the-moment camp. I just don't see the appeal of playing the same songs identically over and over.

(Then again, the note-for-note thing works pretty well for Neil Peart!)

I've always been in the above camp but recently when I've been listening to songs that I've played in covers bands in my mind I'm playing something different to what I actually play and in my mind it sounds a lot better.

If listening to a song and imagining what I'd play with no restriction I'm the best drummer in the world ................ I did say in my mind :) now take some of those amasing fills and make them real rather than imagination.

I'm about to try a project and spend at least 15 mins of each practice now working out the fills in my mind and putting then to the music to see if given a reasonable period of time like 6 months it actually makes me a better drummer or detracts.

I also wonder if it'll help me start using my vocabulary a lot more, there are so many fills I've learnt practicing but just don't use when I'm playing and I think it will work them into the music so they become a lot more natural and I'll start using them on a more regular basis in other songs / my everyday playing as I get used to using them.

My thinking behind it you have good days and the bad days when you just don't "feel it" it'll have a bigger impact on improvisation than something practiced.

Be really interesting to see what others answers are generally but I'd love to know what Bonham, Billy Cobham, Aaron Spears, Gavin Harrison, Dennis Chambers and Simon Phillips answers are to name but a few and if they're the same as Neil Peart's who lets face it isn't that bad when he has a good day :)
 
It depends.

Back when I was in the Industrial-rock back, everything was planed out note for note. We used a lot of loops and so there really wasn't much room for error. My goth-y darkwave band was the same way, for pretty much the same reason.

With my prog writing project, I know where the fills are going to go, but I don't work them out exactly. Every time I play through the song, it's a bit different.
 
I read a Neil Peart interview a few years ago, and he talked a little about how he composed his parts. He said that, for the most part, he knows what he's going to play, but will leave some fills "open." I just thought that was a cool thing to hear coming from a drummer who plays with such consistency and precision.
 
I think it really depends on the people you're playing with, the style of music you're playing, as well as the audience you're playing for.

If I'm playing for a cover band, chances are I'm going to stick with what the audience is comfortable with and what the original track dictates.

If I'm playing with a small jazz combo for an audience of jazz-savy individuals - the chart is wide open.

At the end of the day, I think it is important to be versatile as well as consistent. If you are in a situation where you need to play the song the same way every time 10 times in a row, you should feel comfortable doing it. If you are in a situation where you need to play the song a different way 10 times in a row you should feel comfortable doing it.

Just my two cents :)
 
Very few drummers improvise everything or play composed notes all the time. Usually you have an arrangement with some wiggle room.

How much wiggle room depends on the song. Some songs with fabulous arrangements work best if rendered faithfully, others need extra / varied notes.
 
Very few drummers improvise everything or play composed notes all the time. Usually you have an arrangement with some wiggle room.

How much wiggle room depends on the song. Some songs with fabulous arrangements work best if rendered faithfully, others need extra / varied notes.

Pretty much, Polly. It all depends. I tend to settle into things that work/compose and then repeat myself a bit from night to night. Conceptually, I think it's important to be predictable and easy to play with and a little bit of repetition can help with that. But, if you're playing a really open jazz gig, go to town.
 
Some parts demand more precision than others. I have some parts of songs which remain the same, and some parts which change depending on how I'm feeling at the time. Whatever the song demands, really.
 
Very few drummers improvise everything or play composed notes all the time. Usually you have an arrangement with some wiggle room.
I fit squarely in this mold.

The bands I play in are all original so I first go about trying to find just the right beat for each part, but as the parts start coming together, the individual drum parts will tend to modify themselves to fit together better so there isn't this radical shift at the changes. Like Scorpio, there are usually one or two hook fills that pop out at me at some point and I'll play mostly variations on those.

By the time we record our songs I'm mostly set on what I want to do, but after hearing a recorded track for a few weeks afterward, some things will stick more than others. Those that stick in my mind that I like, I keep. For everything else, there's remains a margin of wiggle room for changing it up.

I've always liked the methodical way Neil Peart composed his parts, but I could never seem to settle on parts and fills to the extent he does. Still, it's a nice model.
 
I've always liked the methodical way Neil Peart composed his parts, but I could never seem to settle on parts and fills to the extent he does. Still, it's a nice model.

This is exactly how I feel. There are very few of my own parts that I make an effort to replicate note for note (Two is the number I think haha). The parts are constantly changing and evolving to fit the song better.
 
Im defo an improv guy i started out and still do play in church so its all about feel and improv, now in my band i write a drum part for the recordings and with a little improv on top, and for live i mainly just improv whist staying to the song strusture unless we have previously changed it, im a huge dave matthews band fan and the way they play live is amazing and carters playing on the recordings and even more when live is amazng so much feel and passion otherwise we might aswell use drummachines for all music imo, improv revelution
 
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