DRUMMERS

[isaacs]

YOU NEED A VERY SPECIAL DRUMMER FOR IT TO SOUND BETTER THAN NO DRUMS

Western non-classical music has evolved to the point where a composite instrument called a drum kit (or set) consisting of several drums and several cymbals of varying sizes is played continuously with four limbs throughout the entire rendition of any given piece (with occasional brief exceptions).

This is quite unusual in the history of music across all cultures. The density of a multi-drum/cymbal set-up and the unique application of four limbs using pedal mechanisms is equivalent to at least two instrumentalists playing drums with hands. The cymbals would be another player. Leaving aside the special case of actual music for drums alone this use of a drumset in a wider instrumental ensemble is an unusual instrumental balance. Continuous percussion in folkloric musics might come from a single tambourine or hand drum playing with several melodic instruments rather than what amounts to maybe the density of three traditional percussionists pitted against an equivalent amount of melodic instruments. Moreover there is the singularity of the very assumption of the drumset's necessary constancy in the foreground of the music. Traditional folk musics and non-Western classical traditions like Indian and Arabic musics feature long passages without drums or if the drumming is continuous it doesn’t necessarily have the same degree of constant primacy that it so often does in jazz, rock and related forms. And of course in Western classical music drumming and cymbals are used only very occasionally for punctuation.

Now, the situation with drums as we now know them is all very well and I in no way intend to make a case that it should be any other way in non-classical Western music. But what is the musical purpose of this unusual case of the multiple drums + cymbals playing such a big role all the time?

Drummers need to justify their existence far more. It's not at all the case that "swingin’ or groovin’" music needs drums inherently. A master folkloric player will groove like crazy without drums. Same for the unstoppable swing of a sublime jazz musician playing alone or indeed the rhythmic propulsion of a great country guitar picker. A certain kind of classical player - I'm thinking of someone like Glenn Gould - can also groove palpably without drums. Orchestras (really good ones) might get you on your feet dancing in certain passages with no more than an odd timpani bump, or not even that.

Clearly an accomplished musician doesn't (or shouldn't) need a drummer to keep time for them or to create a groove that they themselves are apparently incapable of generating. Why would it be that way other than lack of skill? All instruments are percussion instruments. Chick Corea once remarked that he liked to approach the piano as if he were a drummer with 88 drums and 10 drumsticks at his disposal. Even a voice can be percussive. So really – as is the case with every other instrument – the drums should bring something truly special of its own beyond the rhythmic dimension that all instruments contribute to anyway.

What distinguishes the master drummers that I know of is that they make sure they are really adding to the music something that it would lack without them. And so mere timekeeping is no more important to them than it is to any player. They play in time and share in the groove along with everyone else, no more, no less. But when music without a drummer is capable of grooving of its own accord if we're going to have drums all the time it behoves the drummer not to forget that along with everyone else they must make very sure they are at all times adding something of unique value to the timbre, orchestration, counterpoint, dynamics and all the other spectrums of the music. And since their instrument can so easily dominate adversely, they of all instruments need to pay extra special attention to balance.

Let's strive to be sure the music really is better by virtue of what the drums are playing as it clearly is when Tony Williams - or any other master - plays. Too often the reverse holds, with a bombastic, gormless drummer wringing all the dynamics out of the music, puncturing a carefully spun fabric with boorish ejaculations and drowning out or indeed completely destroying the subtleties, careful pacing and shadings of other players to whom they just can’t be bothered to pay deep attention since the art of accompanying largely evades them. When this lamentable situation is in play the drumming is so far from being special that the music really would sound better without it.

Mark Isaacs, Good Friday, 2009

[Girdle]

A few responses off the top of my head -

-The French don't call it the batterie for nothing.

-Although, as you say, a bad drummer can kill a performance, I can listen to a good drummer all night even if the rest of the band sucks, but I can't necessarily say that for other instruments.

-There are so many dynamically sensitive drummers out there these days, particularly the younger cats, I wonder why you've raised this issue.

But I agree, less is most assuredly more, and I wish everyone, not just drummers, would drop out more.

On the other hand, although as you say, good players of other instruments are perfectly capable of grooving without drums, I don't agree that the drummer has to ask his/herself "is my presence really necessary?" before joining the fray. The sheer constancy that a drumkit can provide has its own merits and can be totally mesmerising. It doesn't HAVE to be seen as merely spelling out the rhythm.

And a drumkit player, by virtue of having so many "voices" at hand, but the one brain controlling them, can invent textures that three or four individual percussionists never could.

[bodgey]

Good points, Mark.

I'm with you on the widespread tendency to lean on the drummer for time- it should be a shared responsibility.

The interplay between a drum kit and other instruments can be one of the greatest sources of excitement in jazz - I can be extremely happy just comping all night when it's possible to hook up with a great drummer.

Our dear colleague here AliMcG is a master craftsman of the kit, and more importantly of music. His command of texture, timbre, rhythm and dynamics is superb. He also has ears like a bat.

I think dynamics are often thrown aside these days in jazz, and this may be why someone like Brian Blade can create such excitment with Shorter's band. More dynamics!!!

One thing that shits me is trying to set up a quiet, sparse vibe in a tune and having the drummer get bored, start doubling up and/or filling up all the space. Boring. Unmusical. What's wrong with space and quiet playing once in a while?

Cue onslaught from guts calling me a poof..... ;D

[alimcg]

Thanks for those kind words Bodge (where do I send the cheque again?).

[alimcg]

I don't disagree necessarily with anything you've said Mark, but I would counter by saying that those accusations (with slight variations) could equally be leveled at any other instrumentalist or singer.

You've spoken a lot about "groove", "time" and "rhythm", but I think one other key thing that drummers add to "Western non-classical music" is energy. Listen to the way Art Blakey drives the Jazz Messengers, or how a drummer like Ken Edie impels others to invention, or Big Sid Catlett's understated drive providing an altogether different type of energy and drive.

An insistent drumming rhythm has a very different effect to an insistent guitar rhythm or bass rhythm, for example. All have their role. The role of repetitive rhythmic figures that link together is also important (ie the hook-up between drums, bass and rhythm guitar in funk). The jazz-cymbal pattern can sound empty without bass, and a walking bass-line can sound somewhat ponderous without cymbal and the snap of hi-hats on 2&4 (note that I said "can", not does). And on the subject of 2&4 - how about all the beautiful forward movement brought to the music with that simple rhythm?

A good drummer shouldn't fill every available space, and yes, there are plenty of bad drummers who do, but a well functioning rhythm section should also remove the need for the "soloist" to play all the time. If we have an ideal that the band members are "equal", then we shouldn't have the rhythm section functioning as a play-along CD. A drummer (or bassist, or pianist), who clearly isn't getting anything back from a soloist can often become intensely frustrated by the situation, and their playing can then reflect that frustration. I know that's not an ideal response to an unresponsive band member, but it's the way things often are.

And finally let me counter this:
"Continuous percussion in folkloric musics might come from a single tambourine or hand drum playing with several melodic instruments rather than what amounts to maybe the density of three traditional percussionists pitted against an equivalent amount of melodic instruments."

...by saying that jazz came out of a distinctly Afro movement and the multiple drum idea is widespread in Western Africa, and as such, across South America, the Caribbean, and the US. Listen to Cuban Rumba, Baiao from Northeast Brazil, the African Fume-Fume, or New Orleans Brass Bands - all multiple-drum styles, some with other percussion (cymbals, triangle, bells).

Having said all that, yes, the "boorish ejaculations" of "gormless drummers" are intensely irritating, and I walk out of gigs with that kind of playing. Thankfully in Australia we have many wonderful drummers, across generations, and across cities. We've had great drummers come out of Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Sydney, Brisbane, etc, some from the Tertiary Education system, some learning on the job and in their travels.

[isaacs]

I appreciate the very interesting and eloquent responses to my piece, which astute people would have realised was a deliberate diatribe, a polemic and hence by nature only plays one side of the coin.

At my Facebook (where I also posted the piece), I clarified it thus:

I did ask myself when writing it "Doesn't this apply to all instruments?". And of course the answer is that it does. Yet I feel drums can take a "special case" badge because when they're unmusical, it's especially bad. As a kind of devil's advocate, I didn't mention the converse: when they're good they're exceptionally good, and as you say they add something no other instrument can. The other thing is that drums tend to be thought of as an indispensable part of the instrumentation which is an idea worth interrogating, so I did so!

On the topic of the special stuff that great drumming does bring, I can't agree more with this perceptive comment form Girdle:

And a drumkit player, by virtue of having so many "voices" at hand, but the one brain controlling them, can invent textures that three or four individual percussionists never could.

Alimcg I'm aware of the multiple drum tradition in African and Afro- musics. That is in fact specifically what I had in mind when I said "Leaving aside the special case of actual music for drums alone". It's a special case. And of course there are traditions of pairing multiple percussion with melodic instruments such as Cuban music. And I take your very interesting point that the drumkit in jazz is effectively a way for one player to continue this multiple voice percussion tradition. But having set that into the contexts of functional harmonic movement, orchestration and a different dynamic grid among many other aesthetic parameters that jazz has come up with by virtue of its concomitant European heritage there is a paradigm shift that spawned my comments.

[rusty]

And a drumkit player, by virtue of having so many "voices" at hand, but the one brain controlling them, can invent textures that three or four individual percussionists never could.
[/quote]

I know a few drummers who seem to have more than one brain. (Or at least multiple personalities.) And a few with half a brain.

But I guess the same goes for any instrument. Let's not descend into drummer jokes.

[isaacs]

I just emphasise that I don't really need to be reminded of all the special things that great drumming brings. Hopefully what I wrote will be understood as a polemic, rather than a "What's the point of the drums? Let's diss them!" piece requiring crusaders to counter by emphasising the special beauty of great drumming which I acknowledge in the piece itself despite my polemical stance.

All its premise really says is that bad drumming is so bad that we'd be better off without it. That can apply to every other instrument (perhaps not exactly to the same extent or in the same way) however the idea of the possibility of configuring music without drums is sometimes oddly overlooked in our music. Hence I thought it was worth casting in that way.

Here's another way to boil it down. If you were forming a band and didn't have access to a great sax player it would probably occur to you to not include sax in the instrumentation. If you didn't have access to a great drummer would you be just as inclined to consider not having drums in your band? And if not, why not?

[alimcg]

" And I take your very interesting point that the drumkit in jazz is effectively a way for one player to continue this multiple voice percussion tradition"

Further to that Mark, I would add that we should also consider the specific history of the drum kit, especially in light of its use in vaudeville, musical theater, and early cinema. There is a strong tradition of drummers having to do a lot. Looking at a lineage of great drummers, most early jazz drummers, and later on bebop drummers too, had teachers from, or formative personal experiences in these situations. I'm not saying that there's a direct link between this and "bad" drumming, but history does bring with it some expectations - just look at saxophone players post-Coltrane. Most of my favourite drummers aren't particularly "choppy", but often a player without the technical facility of, say, Tony Williams, is seen as a deficient player.

[isaacs]

Yes, but I'd say that immense chops are required for finesse and to play quietly and accurately even simple music. Part of the reason drummers (or anyone else) don't do it is they lack the chops, it's not ony a question of will or taste.

So I wouldn't say drummers with heaps of chops are the only problem, also not enough chops of the right kind!

[alimcg]

Apr 11, 2009 0:16:35 GMT 10 bodgey said:

Good points, Mark.

One thing that shits me is trying to set up a quiet, sparse vibe in a tune and having the drummer get bored, start doubling up and/or filling up all the space. Boring. Unmusical. What's wrong with space and quiet playing once in a while?

Similarly, I'm quite fond of dropping out for sections of tunes - to change dynamics, texture, etc, and give the listener a break from the drums - but so many guys freak out when suddenly the drums aren't there! Maybe it's because often their own time-feel is not so good. Maybe.

Mark goes on to say of drummers:
"And so mere timekeeping is no more important to them than it is to any player"

Quite true Mark, but that idealistic stand is not always reflected on the gig. Who gets blamed first when time is bad? The sax player? The piano player? No. Drums and bass. And the first port of call is usually the drums. Not to say that we're all metronomic innocents! Most drummers and bassists know where any time problems lie, and will often just grin and bear it if they're blamed unnecessarily.

How about though, something on the flip-side - recognising the good work of rhythm sections cleaning up the shit when things go wrong. When that sax player misses an A-Section, who tries to fix things and make them look good? When the singer comes in in the wrong bar, or miss-leads an ending, who makes them sound great? When the trumpet player starts the melody a beat out, who picks that beat up? You know who.

We all make mistakes, but the blame is not always easily spread. I know this has gone a little beyond Mark's original topic... sorry. Still, better than some of the nonsense posted here.

[alimcg]

Apr 11, 2009 14:31:32 GMT 10 isaacs said:

Yes, but I'd say that immense chops are required for finesse and to play quietly and accurately even simple music. Part of the reason drummers (or anyone else) don't do it is they lack the chops, it's not ony a question of will or taste.

So I wouldn't say drummers with heaps of chops are the only problem, also not enough chops of the right kind!

I understand perfectly what you're saying here. I should've been more specific in my use of the word "chops". Perhaps I could've said not every drummer has the "wow" factor. Vernell Fournier, for example, had great touch, speed and accuracy, with finesse and dynamic control, but certainly doesn't ellicit the same response as Tony's playing, or Tain Watts.

[bodgey]

Apr 11, 2009 11:49:58 GMT 10 isaacs said:

Here's another way to boil it down. If you were forming a band and didn't have access to a great sax player it would probably occur to you to not include sax in the instrumentation. If you didn't have access to a great drummer would you be just as inclined to consider not having drums in your band? And if not, why not?

That is perhaps the key issue here - I guess that far too often, jazz bands are 'required' to have a drummer. To take the glaring obvious example of Oscar Peterson, the trio had absolutely no need for a drummer at all. Peterson, Brown and Ellis swung like the clappers by themselves, and I'd argue that on the quartet records, the drums don't particularly add much and often get in the way. Conversely, I can't imagine Basie's big band without a drummer. Energy, indeed.

Peterson fills almost all available gaps most of the time and is a wall of groove. Contrast that to Ahmad Jamal where the groove is very much a collective undertaking.

...and AliMcG - spot on re rhythm sections picking up the pieces when the front line fucks up. There is a certain special joy in having to save a singer's arse when they modulate their way metrically and harmonically through Summertime AGAIN.

Re chops - I'm with Mark in that it requires immense chops to acheive delicacy and subtlty.

[ironguts]

Gee, wish I could read all that.

I only like drummers that don't play the drums, then there's no issue, they just play music, easy.

Oh yeah, I'm a lesbian so I might be wrong.

[ironguts]

Oh yeah, Bodgey, fag.