Unusual phobia of odd time signatures

[b4nny]

My friend has this condition. (He plays/attempts to play drums)

When I say "hey guys, let's jam on this riff I made up", before I start the first note, he often shouts "NO, It's probably in 5/4 or some stupid thing like that" Then I proceed to play the riff. If the riff sounds at all syncopated or otherwise rhythmically 'different', He refuses to jump in and play anything until he has already counted it out and announced the time signature along with some sort of statement of anger.

For some reason he can't get past the number of beats. Really he should just be playing a drum beat that sounds right, and emphasizes the important accents of the riff, not precisely counting out every measure. He rejects this idea because he says "playing the same rhythm as everyone else just masks your notes" Whereas I say it reinforces and makes everyone else's notes stronger.

Now I have to admit, I have a fascination, perhaps obsession, with odd meters, which may be traceable to some bands I like to listen to, such as Yes, Soundgarden, Tool, and The Fall of Troy. As for him, he favors Blink 182, which I dread.





Other things that irk me about him:
-If I'm trying to set levels on the mixer for when we record our jams, and I shout out, "play something!" He usually blasts out a punk beat at 200 beats per minute, rather than something that actually uses every part of the kit and tastefully. (Probably roots back to his love of that one punk band)
-Loses the beat during fills and overdoes them.
-When we pick a song to learn, usually he just listens to it a couple times and calls it done, that is, if he doesn't forget it altogether.

Hmm... my other friend (the guitarist, who's great!) and I should really find a new jam partner...

[shadow_FIX]

Tell him to stop being a pussy and get over it!

Also tell him to buy a metronome to practice with. He can even practice his Blink 182 songs with it.

[bertbassplayer]

Well maybe you need someone more suited to your style, there's probably plenty of punk bands that'd love a guy like him.

[Randall]

Ya its called Jamming for a reason. Some guy can jam and some cannot make music on the fly.

[Luckie]

Yeah, find you a new jam drummer.
Good music comes from doing something different. So if this drummer won't leave 4/4
or interact with you musically, nothing much will happen. Which is no good for a jam band.

[kesslari]

Dunk him, slowly and repeatedly, in freezing cold water.
It works.

Well, it may not work for helping him get over his phobia, but it will provide endless entertainment for you and your guitarist....

[sikamikanico]

just talk to him and explain how you feel. how does the guitarist feel about him? maybe you can all have a talk and if the drummer still refuses to make progress, replace him (even a rhythm machine would be better than an ******* of a drummer)...

[Beginner Bass]

Have him play the beat to the Mission Impossible theme. Over and over. And over. And over. And over...

[groooooove]

thats a terrible attitude to have. i'd rather a guy who jumps in and fluffs it every time. a featless attitude is very admirable.. (mr.pastorious, anyone?)

[somegeezer]

Mmmm time sigs. I'd play kit for you if I was anywhere near. ;D

[tanpsi]

Have you guys thought about your potential audience or are you just jamming for fun at this stage?, just throwing this out there and half kidding but do you want actual girls at your shows or all guys in Rush t shirts air drumming?

Phobia means an unreasonable fear, maybe your drummer has a reasonable fear of odd time sigs!!

[guroove]

It sounds like you and the drummer are not a good fit. I understand his point of view, and only like playing in odd time signatures if it sounds like music and not a counting exercise.

[PSPookie]

It sounds like you are dealing with a 15 year old drummer. The problem should sort itself out in the next 10-15 years.

[pklima]

Originally Posted by b4nny

When I say "hey guys, let's jam on this riff I made up", before I start the first note, he often shouts "NO, It's probably in 5/4 or some stupid thing like that" Then I proceed to play the riff. If the riff sounds at all syncopated or otherwise rhythmically 'different', He refuses to jump in and play anything until he has already counted it out and announced the time signature along with some sort of statement of anger.

It might help when instead of playing the riff you'd tell him it's in 7/4 with an accent on 4 or something (like the old "just give me heavy afterbeats on 7 and 13" joke, hahaha), or at least counted off a couple of measures before you start playing. It'll make life easier for him and save the "count it out" time.

Might not solve everything but could be worth a try. I mean, if he's having trouble with these time signatures, then try to make life easier for him.

[fractiouslowend]

i think the main issue is that your drummer can't play.
regardless of what time signature it is, if he can't play a simple beat to, he's worthless as a drummer imo.
it's like a guitarist'/bassist saying, "that song's in B flat major, i can only play in D sharp minor"

[caeman]

I am with the drummer. Stay the heck away from odd time measures. They are for artsy people trying to prove some level of superiority and rarely aid the actual enjoyment of the music by anyone but the jack-off that created the odd-time signature.



The best music on the planet, enjoyed by billions, can be counted in 2, 3 or 4. Everything can just go away.

[Neek]

Originally Posted by b4nny

My friend has this condition. (He plays/attempts to play drums)

When I say "hey guys, let's jam on this riff I made up", before I start the first note, he often shouts "NO, It's probably in 5/4 or some stupid thing like that" Then I proceed to play the riff. If the riff sounds at all syncopated or otherwise rhythmically 'different', He refuses to jump in and play anything until he has already counted it out and announced the time signature along with some sort of statement of anger.

For some reason he can't get past the number of beats. Really he should just be playing a drum beat that sounds right, and emphasizes the important accents of the riff, not precisely counting out every measure. He rejects this idea because he says "playing the same rhythm as everyone else just masks your notes" Whereas I say it reinforces and makes everyone else's notes stronger.

Now I have to admit, I have a fascination, perhaps obsession, with odd meters, which may be traceable to some bands I like to listen to, such as Yes, Soundgarden, Tool, and The Fall of Troy. As for him, he favors Blink 182, which I dread.





Other things that irk me about him:
-If I'm trying to set levels on the mixer for when we record our jams, and I shout out, "play something!" He usually blasts out a punk beat at 200 beats per minute, rather than something that actually uses every part of the kit and tastefully. (Probably roots back to his love of that one punk band)
-Loses the beat during fills and overdoes them.
-When we pick a song to learn, usually he just listens to it a couple times and calls it done, that is, if he doesn't forget it altogether.

Hmm... my other friend (the guitarist, who's great!) and I should really find a new jam partner...

Sounds like my drummer! Well, just replace the Blink 182 part with Metallica

[caeman]

Originally Posted by pklima

It might help when instead of playing the riff you'd tell him it's in 7/4 with an accent on 4 or something (like the old "just give me heavy afterbeats on 7 and 13" joke, hahaha), or at least counted off a couple of measures before you start playing. It'll make life easier for him and save the "count it out" time.

Might not solve everything but could be worth a try. I mean, if he's having trouble with these time signatures, then try to make life easier for him.

This.

Why push the subject when you could just very well declare the time signature? Unless, of course, you don't know what it is.

Leaving the drummer hanging with no clue how to approach the song from the song, is like a guitard starting a riff and not knowing what he key he is in, and then expecting everyone else to magically figure it out.

[guroove]

Originally Posted by tanpsi

Have you guys thought about your potential audience or are you just jamming for fun at this stage?, just throwing this out there and half kidding but do you want actual girls at your shows or all guys in Rush t shirts air drumming?

Phobia means an unreasonable fear, maybe your drummer has a reasonable fear of odd time sigs!!

Originally Posted by caeman

I am with the drummer. Stay the heck away from odd time measures. They are for artsy people trying to prove some level of superiority and rarely aid the actual enjoyment of the music by anyone but the jack-off that created the odd-time signature.



The best music on the planet, enjoyed by billions, can be counted in 2, 3 or 4. Everything can just go away.

I guess we're the only ones in this thread with any sense. Get over the odd time signatures. It doesn't impress anyone, and all you're doing is pissing off people who want to dance.

Music and jamming are like language. If someone starts talking to you using words you don't understand, it can be very off-putting. There aren't many traditional drum beats in odd time signatures other than 3/4, and there's a reason for that.

[caeman]

There is creating sound, and there is creating music. They, at times, are not the same thing.