Sympathy for drummers

[RedSkwirrell]

...until I remembered that I wait three days (and help) for him to lug his damn gear in.
Then put together all the Mechanno required to prop it all up long enough for HIM to tune up as well!
Bloody drummers!

[Slashperryburst]

For some reason, this reminded me of the robot guitars. Change tuning in a second. *waits for everyone else to tune up*

[MenaceMartin]

Funny, and kinda true! But still... the way i see it, unless you've played drums yourself for an extended length of time, you have no right to complain about drummers

Have played drums most of my life, and guitar for a mere fraction of it. It's a lot harder to sound good on drums than it is any other instrument, especially guitar. A lot more expensive too, so, my hat goes off to our fellow drummers here on the forum... they recieve so much more stick (excuse the pun) than they rightly deserve!

[Rich]

Our new drummer has five piece electronic kit that is easy to fold up, carry and transport. It also has a volume knob.

[ptate]

Mine's dying..... However, he's a good drummer and keeps a solid rhythm....



I love it when you're trying to listen to a recorded track, chat or pick up some ideas in the studio.........

"tap, tap, boom, boom etc.."...."oi, just stop a minute"..."Oh, sorry mate".....


Drumming is bloody difficult, I can vouch for that.....My 4 year old has decided he wants to become one and uses a full size set, hits the sh*t out of it and could play We Will Rock You pretty well after about 10 minutes....!!!

[RedSkwirrell]

Originally Posted by MenaceMartin

drummers here on the forum... they recieve stick (excuse the pun)!

*Fixed.
I do actually appreciate drummers - I also abuse bass players (of which my nephew is one).
Only ever in fun.

Originally Posted by Rich

Our new drummer has a volume knob.

*Cut to the chase and fixed.

Originally Posted by Slashperryburst

For some reason, this reminded me of the robot guitars. Change tuning in a second. *waits for everyone else to tune up*

LOL
Hadn't thought of that.
And me a robot owner too.
*sigh!

Originally Posted by ptate

My 4 year old has decided he wants to become one

Is there nothing you can say while there's still time?

[ptate]

Originally Posted by RedSkwirrell

Is there nothing you can say while there's still time?

Stops him and his sister beating the sh*t out of each other, so........

[RedSkwirrell]

Lmao!

[Shawn Lutz]

I only have sympathy for drummers when their girlfriend dumps them and they become homeless and when they lock themselves in her car with the keys and have to call the cops/tow truck to let him out....

[80's Rocker]

Im guessing whoever made that has never tried to tune a drumset before.

[MineGoesTo11]

[TOMMYTHUNDERS]

meme is dumb. i'm set up, plugged in, and in tune and he's still screwing his cymbals on.

how the hell long do they think it takes to tune a guitar?

[bscenefilms]

[DLChance]

Most of the drummers I've worked think I'm a hardcore bastard. They think I'm impossible to please. One guy said I don't want a drummer, I want a trained monkey - and in his case he was right!

But the few good drummers instinctively knew I wasn't looking for a Keith Moon clone. They realized I just wanted someone who could hold steady grooves and hit all the dynamic and accent elements properly.

I don't want a bass player or guitar player or piano player who throws every lick he/she knows into every song, and I definitely don't want a drummer doing the same thing.

There are drummers who are nothing but hyperactive beat bangers, and there are drummers who are legitimate musicians.

I just want to work with the legitimate musicians who play drums.

But then, I'm a finicky bastard when it comes to drummers!

[Marshall & Moonshine]

Originally Posted by MenaceMartin

Funny, and kinda true! But still... the way i see it, unless you've played drums yourself for an extended length of time, you have no right to complain about drummers

Have played drums most of my life, and guitar for a mere fraction of it. It's a lot harder to sound good on drums than it is any other instrument, especially guitar. A lot more expensive too, so, my hat goes off to our fellow drummers here on the forum... they recieve so much more stick (excuse the pun) than they rightly deserve!

Shut the fvck up, stupid drummer.
(How do I make that purple??....)

[Marshall & Moonshine]

Originally Posted by Shawn Lutz

I only have sympathy for drummers when their girlfriend dumps them and they become homeless and when they lock themselves in her car with the keys and have to call the cops/tow truck to let him out....

Even then.......

[Grand Toad]

[MenaceMartin]

Originally Posted by Marshall & Moonshine

Shut the fvck up, stupid drummer.
(How do I make that purple??....)

Was only a matter of time dude

[Thumpalumpacus]

Originally Posted by DLChance

There are drummers who are nothing but hyperactive beat bangers, and there are drummers who are legitimate musicians.

I just want to work with the legitimate musicians who play drums.

False dichotomy here. If your music is simple, your desires in a drummer are wise. If your music is more complex, your requirements are insufficient.

In either case, dismissing busy drummers as being non-"legitimate" musicians is pretty lame. Sometimes the music needs a busy musician.

[MeKevin]

Originally Posted by 80's Rocker

Im guessing whoever made that has never tried to tune a drumset before.

That or mic one up.

[matthew bear]

I love to play, I love to be tactful, I love to actually listen to what's happening around me... i love the funk sucka! Make it funky!

James Brown "Funky Drummer (Bonus Beat Reprise)" - YouTube

James Brown "Funky Drummer (Bonus Beat Reprise)" - YouTube

[Gin&Pentatonic]

I played drums for 10 years before living arrangements and a lack of people to jam with forced me to switch to an instrument with a smaller footprint and a volume knob. The other guitarists tuning up was nothing compared to the annoyance of trying to have a discussion while one of the guitarists wouldnt quit noodling around with the volume all the way up.

[DLChance]

Originally Posted by Thumpalumpacus

False dichotomy here. If your music is simple, your desires in a drummer are wise. If your music is more complex, your requirements are insufficient.

In either case, dismissing busy drummers as being non-"legitimate" musicians is pretty lame. Sometimes the music needs a busy musician.

Lame? When they won't play what the job requires simply because they don't want to, or they can't understand why I won't let them put their particular hyperactive spin on what I do, I don't see where it's lame to dismiss them as not being legitimate musicians. Seems to me that they're the lame ones.

As for the rest of your point, I can agree to a large extent. Busy drummers can certainly be legitimate musicians, too; if they play according to whatever the music requires.

But, to me, legitimate musicians who play the drums have the discipline it takes to play appropriately in all situations - like every other kind of instrumentalist - while the hyperactive beat-bangers just tend to want to wail away in their own little world all the time. If they can get into bands they sound good with, GO FOR it! (And by "all situations" I don't mean "all kinds of music." Very few musicians are so accomplished that they can fit seamlessly into every kind of mainstream music there is. I mean all venues and settings, no matter what kind of music they choose to play.)

I have no problem with the the hyperactive beat-bangers banging away in someone else's band. My 3rd son is an amazing "hardcore metal" drummer (he's also a brilliant guitarist); but I only allow him to play percussion with me because, even though he has no problem playing incredibly complex heavy metal arrangements with his band, he just can't take it down to the level I need. Myspace Music Player Maybe someday.

In the meantime, I'll go on playing only with drummers who understand the difference.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Originally Posted by DLChance

Lame? When they won't play what the job requires simply because they don't want to, or they can't understand why I won't let them put their particular hyperactive spin on what I do, I don't see where it's lame to dismiss them as not being legitimate musicians. Seems to me that they're the lame ones.

As for the rest of your point, I can agree to a large extent. Busy drummers can certainly be legitimate musicians, too; if they play according to whatever the music requires.

But, to me, legitimate musicians who play the drums have the discipline it takes to play appropriately in all situations - like every other kind of instrumentalist - while the hyperactive beat-bangers just tend to want to wail away in their own little world all the time. If they can get into bands they sound good with, GO FOR it! (And by "all situations" I don't mean "all kinds of music." Very few musicians are so accomplished that they can fit seamlessly into every kind of mainstream music there is. I mean all venues and settings, no matter what kind of music they choose to play.)

I have no problem with the the hyperactive beat-bangers banging away in someone else's band. My 3rd son is an amazing "hardcore metal" drummer (he's also a brilliant guitarist); but I only allow him to play percussion with me because, even though he has no problem playing incredibly complex heavy metal arrangements with his band, he just can't take it down to the level I need. Myspace Music Player Maybe someday.

In the meantime, I'll go on playing only with drummers who understand the difference.

In other words, it's not to your taste, because you don't play music that requires it.

See how easy it is to put it that way? Playing for the song is fine. Sometimes the song requires just a little more than the music you seem to favor.

Put shortly, I think Moonie was perfect for the Who, and Peart for Rush, and Mitch Mitchell for Hendrix.

Labelling drummers who play that sort of stuff "hyperactive beat-bangers" who aren't "legitimate musicians", however, seems pretty small-minded. If country is your world, that's cool. But it's not the whole world.

[DLChance]

Originally Posted by Thumpalumpacus

In other words, it's not to your taste, because you don't play music that requires it.

See how easy it is to put it that way? Playing for the song is fine. Sometimes the song requires just a little more than the music you seem to favor.

Put shortly, I think Moonie was perfect for the Who, and Peart for Rush, and Mitch Mitchell for Hendrix.

Labelling drummers who play that sort of stuff "hyperactive beat-bangers" who aren't "legitimate musicians", however, seems pretty small-minded. If country is your world, that's cool. But it's not the whole world.

C'mon, Thump. You're missing my point.

The reality is that legitimate musicians can play, and sound appropriate, with other musicians in the kinds of music situations in which they choose to play. The type or style of music is not the issue.

One huge aspect of musical legitimacy is discipline. Another aspect is listening, because you can't truly be a good PERFORMANCE player if you're not also a good listener. If you just play for yourself, you only have to please yourself, and you get to make up your own rules as you go along. But the rules are different when you get with other players, especially if you have aspirations to make money playing music.

Hyperactive beat-bangers - no matter their instrument - are those who just can't, or won't, fit in with other musicians, and I have run across a LOT of drummers like that in my time who considered me to be the bad guy when I either didn't hire them or got rid of them when it became clear that they were just not ever going to fit in.

An undisciplined button accordion player will not sound appropriate with even a great Cajun band, an undisciplined tuba player will not sound appropriate with a great traditional German "Oom-pa" band, an undisciplined clarinet player will not sound appropriate with a French Quarter Dixieland band, and an undisciplined drummer will not sound appropriate with...well, any kind of band, as far as I'm concerned.

That's not small-minded, it's the reality in the music business, no matter the level or the musical style. Successful producers and band leaders don't want the flashiest or most technically advanced players, they look for disciplined musicians who can help form the strongest product possible, and do it at the same quality level every time. When there's money involved, the musician who can best fit in is the one most likely to earn a share of that money.

And the hyperactive beat-bangers just can't do that.

[MineGoesTo11]

I have a drummer friend who teaches. He went to school for music and knows a hell of a lot more theory than i do.. So i guess that makes him a real musician, more so than I.

[DLChance]

Originally Posted by MineGoesTo11

I have a drummer friend who teaches. He went to school for music and knows a hell of a lot more theory than i do.. So i guess that makes him a real musician, more so than I.

Why? Paul McCartney is widely considered the greatest composer in history, and is even listed as the most successful composer in history in the Guiness Book of World Records, but he still can't read or write music.

Can you play music on a musical instrument? If so, you're a "real" musician.

Can you play alone or with other musicians in a performance setting that an audience - 1 person to...infinity - wants to experience? If so, you're a disciplined musician.

Do other musicians want to play music with you? If so, you're doing something right, and you should figure out what that is and keep doing it. If not, your problem is you, not those who don't want to play with you.

That's all I'm saying.

[Grand Toad]