Rxonmymind Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 On 1/4/2017 at 8:01 AM, DizRotus said: Again, I am not a drummer. The varying responses to the YouTube of the young woman's Uptown Funk video prompted me to forward it to a friend who is a drummer. His lengthy response is excerpted below. I found it interesting. "I have never played drums with recordings. Never. Why you ask? I find it very boring. This young girl appears to have her chops, but the real test of a drummer (in my mind) is how they play with a band. The key to drumming with a band is to hold all of the elements together. This obviously cannot happen whilst playing with recorded music. The creativity, and skill of a drummer come through when responsible for all of the components of an ensemble “in the moment”. It sound like this young girl is playing along with the recorded track, and imitating the fills that are on that track. That is great, but it does not really display the skill of any drummer, when it comes to playing live. It may sound too obvious, but keeping time is what a r&r drummer is responsible for, and this is not as easy as it sounds. If a drummer cannot keep time, and control the dynamics of an ensemble, then it matters not how good their skills, and fills are. It is different in jazz drumming where the bass is responsible for keeping time, and the drums accentuate time, and provide all of the color. It is also very important for an r&r drummer to maintain a “groove”. This too is not possible while playing with a recording. So, my opinion of this girl is that she is good at “playing along”, but without her playing with other musicians, I don’t know what she can do. Does this make sense. An example of drummers that “keep a r&r band together” the two most obvious are, to me, Ringo and Charlie Watts. Without Ringo there would never have been The Beatles. In my current band, Hoop’N Holler, I try to emulate Charlie Watts. When you listen to the Rolling Stones he is almost unnoticeable, he is so good. Not flashy, and it has never been about him, but he is the driving force behind that band. I think w/o Charlie Watts there would be no Rolling Stones, or at least not the format that we know. He is completely tight, and allows all of the other members to go off, as they have been doing forever!" This. I've seen too many drummers overpower the band. A GOOD drummer will bring a cohesiveness to the entire band and provide a "rhythm" that compliments others. It's difficult to change pace in a fraction of a second to the guitarist pic, from high to low and still listen to your own beat then speed up immediately all without overpowering everyone. Synergy is a beautiful thing once you see it in action. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rxonmymind Posted January 21, 2017 Share Posted January 21, 2017 I like Joshua Redman Riverwide tune. Good drums, nice horns. Listening to Brian Blade on drums you can hear him playing just below the horn, not too loud and yet when the horn does go high he matches it. Keeping pace if you will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilbert Posted January 22, 2017 Share Posted January 22, 2017 On 1/3/2017 at 5:19 PM, MetropolisLakeOutfitters said: This is her favorite song, she plays this non-stop. She plays along with this video and tries to mimic the fills. Except for those she can play everything else and she's been working on those. I love this girl, she's awesome. Woe dude, she's a natural. Awsome!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 On January 18, 2017 at 5:56 PM, wvu80 said: Maybe you should take the lead in promoting the dual traditional grip. You could start a trend. +++ As for me, I refuse to be dragged into the 21st century! The Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps will make my case for me. I love these guys. They are the best marchers I have ever seen. You could drop them from from a helicopter onto a vacant field and they would still be as good, no yard lines needed. I admit it. I don't know a traditional from a matched. In the center photo above, I'm guessing the left hand is traditional. Am I correct? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 2 hours ago, DizRotus said: I admit it. I don't know a traditional from a matched. In the center photo above, I'm guessing the left hand is traditional. Am I correct? You are correct sir! If you notice the lean of the snare drum it is angled to the left in the Old Guard drum photo, above. That's because the old style snare drums used a single strap across the right shoulder causing it to lean so it's possible to march without the drum hitting you in the middle of your front, if you know what I mean. Since the drum is effectively over the left hip, the left hand grip is adjusted sideways since it is held higher than the right. Modern snare drummers use a harness which is much more stable and the drum is carried parallel with the ground and out and away from the middle of the body, if you know what I mean. This enables the drummer to used a matched grip. Despite this, most marching snare lines will still use the traditional grip, even though technically there is no longer any reason to use it. The 2014 DCI World Champion Blue Devils, from Concord, CA. You can look. These are women, not girls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 You don't say? Nuts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 18 minutes ago, wvu80 said: You are correct sir! If you notice the lean of the snare drum it is angled to the left in the Old Guard drum photo, above. That's because the old style snare drums used a single strap across the right shoulder causing it to lean so it's possible to march without the drum hitting you in the middle of your front, if you know what I mean. Since the drum is effectively over the left hip, the left hand grip is adjusted sideways since it is held higher than the right. Modern snare drummers use a harness which is much more stable and the drum is carried parallel with the ground and out and away from the middle of the body, if you know what I mean. This enables the drummer to used a matched grip. Despite this, most marching snare lines will still use the traditional grip, even though technically there is no longer any reason to use it. Thanks for explaining. I always wondered the reason for the traditional grip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wvu80 Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Just now, Seadog said: Thanks for explaining. I always wonder the reason for the traditional grip. Plus, it looks cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 Just now, wvu80 said: Plus, it looks cool. Yes, yes it does. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seadog Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 My 16 year old son, who plays trombone in the HS band, explained that in the marching band the drummers use the traditional grip, but in the concert band they use the matched grip. I learn something every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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