Listening to your drummer - what part of the drum pattern is most important?

[tbirddad]

What part of the drum pattern / rhythm is most important to you as far as your bass pattern / rhythm?

[mambo4]

Heavily dependant on genre/ style. And probably the drummmer's skill level.

I play rock/pop stuff, and I follow the hi hat like a metronome, but often take my rhythmic cues from the kick. My drummer is skilled and tasteful. I've played with drummers who pay less attention to the groove and in those cases I stick with the hi hat as metronome.

[Skitch it!]

For me it's always been what kind of consistency they have on the kick and snare placement, what they're internal sense of time is like. Some play slightly behind the beat, some on top and some in front, if I can get their take on placement, it's a good start if your not familiar with them. Accent's and hit's I'll tend to give the sticks a glance to get it on the nail too, a bit of observation is another cue. Some drummers play with a little more swing and space, some feel a little more constricted, and some are just a bit sloppy.

[hyp.spec]

For my band (hard rock/metal), I focus alot on the accents. Since we're a 3 piece (1 guitar, bass, drums), I make sure to lock in on accents and let the guitar player do his thing.

[paparoof]

#1: kick drum
#2: everything else

[Billnc]

The whole kit? This is something I've never understood, he or she is playing ONE instrument, just like I'm playing multiple notes on one bass. I know I'm odd man out on this.

[VincentSalizeri]

First thing I listen to is the hat, since it's usually played on every beat, which works as a good metronome. After that, I'd say the kick usually helps me figure out the rhythm of the song.

[JTE]

The groove is in the high-hat and snare (the reason I generally don't like double kick drums). The kick sets the bottom, but the hat and snare define where the groove is over all that, so that's the most critical part for me.

John

[Bassline00]

Originally Posted by paparoof

#1: kick drum
#2: everything else

+1!
Cheers
Bassline00@gmail.com

[Kenner]

...the "feel". Then make it groove like the "feel" I hear....

[LIONFURY]

I focus on the double bass drum and try to keep in time. (Notice I said try xD)

[Jonathan1990]

Originally Posted by Billnc

The whole kit? This is something I've never understood, he or she is playing ONE instrument, just like I'm playing multiple notes on one bass. I know I'm odd man out on this.

I'm with you, man. It's hard to believe that anyone would pay attention to the groove the drummer plays on one drumpiece alone.

[OOZMAN]

IMO the speed at which the cymbals and snare are going (quarters eighths sixteenths) make a world of difference to the sound of a song.. I always find this when writing songs, it may sound like rubbish one moment then I speed up the hi-hat to 8ths and snare to 4ths and it sounds like god music.

[Nordskov]

It's the wrong question. It should be: "How to teach your drummer to play groovy".

When you play with a drummer, who are everywhere on his set, keep changing accentuation and groove, making a lot of noise by doing fills all the time, you have a hard time trying to make it groove.
If your drummer is sloppy, cant keep time, are floating arbitrary between being on the back, on top and on the front of the beat, you have a hard time trying to make it groove.

But if your drummer knows his stuff its like good sex. You know it takes two to tango.
Often it sounds good when you accentuates the kick drum. Then listen to the snare and the hihat to make fills and other off beat stuff.
Other times you can be contra rythmic. But be careful the buttom end (kick and bass) are not getting muddy by doing too much - too many beats.
The old rule "Less is better" applies more often than you think.
If it doesnt groove, keep it simple. If it doesnt groove and you complicate your playing, you end up with meaningless noise, drowning everything else

[jaywa]

For rock/pop/country, kick drum is primary and the hi-hat is a close second. That's your "1" and the subdivisions, respectively. These two things are as high as the bass in my personal IEM mix, and slightly higher than the lead vocals. The snare is important, but secondary to the kick and the hat and in my personal mix is relatively low or even out altogether (if I am standing close enough to a hard hitting drummer). Toms and cymbals other than the ride really aren't important at all... they are just extra noise in my IEM mix and I have them taken out.

For jazz/swing, the ride cymbal becomes the most important, snare and kick are secondary and everything else comes after that.

[Hifiguy]

Originally Posted by Skitch it!

For me it's always been what kind of consistency they have on the kick and snare placement, what they're internal sense of time is like. Some play slightly behind the beat, some on top and some in front, if I can get their take on placement, it's a good start if your not familiar with them. Accent's and hit's I'll tend to give the sticks a glance to get it on the nail too, a bit of observation is another cue. Some drummers play with a little more swing and space, some feel a little more constricted, and some are just a bit sloppy.

Exactly. Can't add a word to this.

[packhowitzer]

Originally Posted by JTE

The groove is in the high-hat and snare (the reason I generally don't like double kick drums). The kick sets the bottom, but the hat and snare define where the groove is over all that, so that's the most critical part for me.

John

+1

[StuartV]

Originally Posted by Billnc

The whole kit? This is something I've never understood, he or she is playing ONE instrument, just like I'm playing multiple notes on one bass. I know I'm odd man out on this.

When I play drums, I'm playing 10 different instruments at once. Sometimes 11 or 12. Of course, I'm actually playing 4, at most, simultaneously.

Only djembe players and similar are drummers that are only playing 1 instrument.

[GreggBummer]

Originally Posted by Billnc

The whole kit? This is something I've never understood, he or she is playing ONE instrument, just like I'm playing multiple notes on one bass. I know I'm odd man out on this.

I agree with you here, in a general sense.

To be honest it is song/drummer/situation dependent. I tend to listen to the whole pattern and find a pocket to get in...

I played with a guy who I "clicked with" and we sort of made it up as went along. He could cue me with a look or a even just a subtle dynamic change. Fun. Once we started jamming, who knew where we were headed.

Gregg

[TripleDouble]

windchimes and the squeak of the bass drum pedal. Everything else is just croutons on the salad.