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Diplomatic way to make the drummer stop drumming?
- Thread starter bassicmike
- Start date
In that case you may have to kill him
I had a drummer much like you describe in our band and his constant banging drove us all nuts. He had to go. However he was not that good a drummer and was also a significant pain in the butt in other ways. In your case you may just have to learn to live with it.
Exactly that way right there. I'm not interested in sugar coating it if the drummer (or anyone) insists on being a jack wagon and playing while discussion is taking place.
Here is a good plan !!
Get your phone out and record a video with you guys in the foreground talking/going over the set-list order for the next gig,
have the drummer in the background of the video view pounding away, with the drums drowning out the speech,
then post him the video and say here is next gigs set list quoted in the video for you.
Get your phone out and record a video with you guys in the foreground talking/going over the set-list order for the next gig,
have the drummer in the background of the video view pounding away, with the drums drowning out the speech,
then post him the video and say here is next gigs set list quoted in the video for you.
Use the power of suggestion: " I suggest you stop the f*** drumming"
Stuff from this thread would make hilarious scenes in another rock band movie.
Our band has the same problem not with the drummer but with one of the guitarists. He plays songs or riffs unrelated to practice between most songs. Usually he does not play loud but it is hard to have a conversation when he is doing this.
One of us simply asks him to stop when we need to discuss something OR start the next song. - sometimes we ask politely - sometime we are not polite.
One of us simply asks him to stop when we need to discuss something OR start the next song. - sometimes we ask politely - sometime we are not polite.
It is band courtesy to not play when the rest of the band is talking. Generally, if there is a discussion, it's important and needs to be heard. It's the same as being in a meeting and one person at the table is just sitting there blabbing out loud, out of context. Very rude.
This is a strong point brought up with every band I am in-no incessant noodling. You get your chance to play out loud when the rest of the band is playing. Working over a riff or fill or groove while the rest are on a break is fine.
The same goes for use of the "God Mic," or when the singers talk/discuss through their vocal mics in small spaces when everyone else in the band doesn't have a mic and therefore a big, loud voice in the discussion. Step away from the mic and talk.
Also, being relatively quiet in between songs gives your mind and ears a brief rest, which is nice during a 2-4 hour rehearsal.
This is a strong point brought up with every band I am in-no incessant noodling. You get your chance to play out loud when the rest of the band is playing. Working over a riff or fill or groove while the rest are on a break is fine.
The same goes for use of the "God Mic," or when the singers talk/discuss through their vocal mics in small spaces when everyone else in the band doesn't have a mic and therefore a big, loud voice in the discussion. Step away from the mic and talk.
Also, being relatively quiet in between songs gives your mind and ears a brief rest, which is nice during a 2-4 hour rehearsal.
Yep, it does, temperature and humidity are a bitch. As you said, a good drummer should be able to fix it in a couple of minutes, I just wanted to point out they do go out of tune fairly easily.
Spoken like a non drummer.
I have toured as a drummer very, very extensively and yes, you do have to have a kit that sets up quickly, holds it's tune well and it trustworthy enough to be relied on. Plus, you got to be able to adjust it quickly and efficiently. We spend enough time just hauling that stuff around, first one in, last one out, etc... Any time saved is time spent catching up with friends, getting some work done or getting some rest.
Yes, there is a certain truth to having the drums tuned beforehand, but they don't necessarily pop out of the cases exactly the same. It's just like tuning your bass at home only to find the tuning machine got bumped in transit and the bass got cold on the way. It's not ready to play right out of the case, so why assume drums are? A drum can shift a touch in the case or take a small bump and then be a little out. Plus, temperature and humidity changes the tension of the heads and shells just like strings and necks.
Plus, drums sound different in every room, a floor tom tuning that worked at home or in the practice space now hits a node on stage resulting in the drum being lost/out of phase. A quick tweak to it's pitch will bring it back. That crash that sounds so great in the treated practice space now sounds like a shrieking cat up against the hardwood floors and windows of the bar. It needs to be switched out for a darker/lower pitched crash.
Memory lock and marked Sharpie settings on hardware is a must, it saves a lot of time and headache. Stands that set up exactly the same every time also remove the mental aspect of seemingly shifting settings. No, the stands didn't change, your headspace did.
In the end, setting up a 4 piece drum kit with 2 cymbal stands, a hi hat stand and throne is a lot more complicated than a bass into an amp. Give the drummer a little slack. If he's not a seasoned pro, these adjustments take longer.
I’m guilty of noodling myself when we’re talking at practice/rehearsal. I do it without even thinking. Someone will say “everyone quiet please” and I get the message. Buuuuut, sometimes the talking gets annoying or off the task at hand and noodling is my way of saying “ Let’s cut the crap and play something”. Everyone must play well with others and be nice.
I’m thinking of suggesting that we start off every practice with an open jam or something that we know and can play real good just to get it out of our systems and warm up a bit. I absolutely hate dragging my bass to practice and hooking everything up and then not even playing anything and just discussing music. Yes those are things need to be done sometimes but I just hate dragging equipment to a place and not using it. If we’re going to strap on our instruments, and the drummer’s gonna sit behind the kit then we best be playing something.
I’m thinking of suggesting that we start off every practice with an open jam or something that we know and can play real good just to get it out of our systems and warm up a bit. I absolutely hate dragging my bass to practice and hooking everything up and then not even playing anything and just discussing music. Yes those are things need to be done sometimes but I just hate dragging equipment to a place and not using it. If we’re going to strap on our instruments, and the drummer’s gonna sit behind the kit then we best be playing something.
