What do you look for in a drummer?

[jtcdrums]

Hi Janek,

I'm a drummer so it interests me what you personally find desirable in a drummer (in a playing sense, that is).

I know from experience that some bass players like a particular degree of 'cohesion' between the bass part and the bass drum part, whereas others prefer things to be a bit looser.

I've no crazy notion that I'll ever be as capable a studio drummer as someone like Steve Gadd, but getting the low-down from pro bass players can help me forge a better 'partnership' in getting those grooves down...

Cheers,

john

[janekbass]

For me there are so many great drummers that I get to work with that the playing side of things comes as a given. You can name a hundred things that you might wwant to hear from a drummer such as groove, time, feel, form, playing to a click etc... but if those things aren't in place then the musician is probably not showing up on the radar in the first place. What I look for is a good human being. Someone who's cool to hang with, someone I could go grab a burger with on a lunch break from a session and not get bored to hell with. And for a touring situation it's all about the hang. On a tour you play music for such a small amount of time compared to hanging, so it's really important that everyone gets along.

Easy,

Janek

[Jeb]

I'd suggest a certain degree of predictablility, "in a playing sense".

I can better lock with a drummer when he/she is listening to my playing as much as I am to his/her's. Playing off of each other makes for a great rhythm section. Otherwise?

Seems like a slam dunk for the pros, but to alot of us (and alot of you), not so much.