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How important do you consider a good drummer?
- Thread starter cantstoplt021
- Start date
A killer drummer is crucial. Right now i'm working with a beast of a drummer. Its great and his respect is mutual.
Totally agree with this - everyone should be as good as they can be and more or less level with each other. If someone is significantly better than the others, it would be boring and frustrating for that person. It's probably embarrassing for someone to be well being the others too. The only odd case I ever had was when we had a "2nd rhythm guitarist" who was pretty bad at playing, but a very nice guy. Unfortunately, he didn't have a very good understanding of his abilities in a relative or absolute sense. Our original plan was to turn him down in the mix, but he was from the "more of me is better" school (he also owned the board). Oh well, that was unsustainable.
Anyway with regard to drummers, it's really about 3 things (to me). 1 - basic ability (to keep time and play the part). 2 - ability to play off of others (react in the moment vs. human drum machine). 3 - ability to get along (nice, reasonably reliable). I've played with drummers who were great at #1, but not so much on #2 and/or #3. My favorite drummer was OK at #1 (knew the parts, but would speed up at times), but great at #2 and #3. Just my $0.02.
For a lot of styles of music, you can hang just about anything on top of a good drummer and it can work.
Otto
Otto
It's the most important thing, for sure. I've played with great drummers, ok drummers and crappy drummers. I will never knowingly accept a gig with a crappy drummer again. On the other hand, great drummers are somewhat rare, so I'll take an ok drummer with feel and steady tempo.
I agree with all of the guitar forum users too. The most important. If you want the band to sound good, they need a good drummer to follow.
Isn't a good anything really necessary in a band? If you have anyone that is half @$$ing it, or simple can't play at the level you need them too, they will hurt you in the long run. Everyone in your band needs to be "good."
Most important member
1. understand the mood of the music
2. keep perfect time
At our church we have a rolling lineup of 5 guitars, 10 singers, 2 drummers, and two bassists which are pieced into a 5 piece group each week
We flop between two drummers who's strengths flip. One has metronome tempo but only knows an ACDC beat. Great for the first few songs but gets a little monotonous after a while.
The other will 5/4 a measure once in a while but will turn a boring song into gold by changing the style, he also is a master of dynamics and leads them. This is the drummer I like to play with and listen to. The band, and the audience, comes alive when he plays. I know what the service is going to feel like solely based on who is on skins.
1. understand the mood of the music
2. keep perfect time
At our church we have a rolling lineup of 5 guitars, 10 singers, 2 drummers, and two bassists which are pieced into a 5 piece group each week
We flop between two drummers who's strengths flip. One has metronome tempo but only knows an ACDC beat. Great for the first few songs but gets a little monotonous after a while.
The other will 5/4 a measure once in a while but will turn a boring song into gold by changing the style, he also is a master of dynamics and leads them. This is the drummer I like to play with and listen to. The band, and the audience, comes alive when he plays. I know what the service is going to feel like solely based on who is on skins.
I agree that the drummer is absolutely critical to a band. I mean, who are you gonna fire before you rage quit?
I'll tell you who's not the most important (for many styles of music): keyboardists 
I can say that, as I'm playing keyboards on a gig on Friday; I normally play bass with this group, or a combination of bass and keys. I'm a competent keyboard player but nowhere near the skill level I have on bass. But, if I just keep my parts simple and don't overplay, I can definitely get by.
Even if my drum chops were where my keyboards chops are, I would never take a gig on drums.
I can say that, as I'm playing keyboards on a gig on Friday; I normally play bass with this group, or a combination of bass and keys. I'm a competent keyboard player but nowhere near the skill level I have on bass. But, if I just keep my parts simple and don't overplay, I can definitely get by.
Even if my drum chops were where my keyboards chops are, I would never take a gig on drums.
Absolutely critical. A solid drum/bass core is a band. One of my favorite soapbox topics...
As a bass player, the first question I ask any potential band (long term or sub call, doesn't matter) who the drummer is. It's sort of a plus if I know the player to be a good, dependable person, and sort of exciting if I know the player has great chops...but meter is absolutely, irrevocably king. I will take a four-on-the-floor pocket drummer with flawless meter over a flash drummer with wavering (or drooping) meter all the time, every time, until the end of days.
I have experienced the latter type, as many of us have. It sucks the enjoyment out of music and the soul out of my being to be the train engine that's trying to drag the convoy uphill for an entire gig. And if I'm wise to a saggy drummer when the call comes, the answer is "sorry, can't do it." Without fail.
It probably sounds over-the-top nasty, but I feel that solid drumming really is that pivotal. My regular band includes a drummer who brings a cocktail kit to bigger gigs, and only a snare drum to smaller ones. His meter is exquisite. It doesn't matter a lick if he's doing a ballad with brushes or a shuffle with heavy sticks, the combination of his drumming + our vocalist's percussion toys + my bass has been described in a variety of positive ways. Most recently, I was approached by another musician who said it reminded him of a machine - just an unstoppable, bulletproof wall of groove, regardless of style. And that was with just snare, bass, and either tambourine or Eggz. You can get a lot out of a little when everybody falls into the same pocket and stay there.
I know a drummer is good if I can drop in some mildly syncopated riffs - or build a little tension into a line by playing 3 against 4 for a measure, or just any departure from the regular flow of the line - and the same groove is waiting for me when I return. That's the drummer I want to play with.
I once had the pleasure of catching Steve Smith (ex-Journey) with a jazz combo at a bar in Greeley, Colorado. He was getting very exploratory and taking some long, wild excursions, but what blew me away was his ability to land dead-nuts back where he started, no matter how long he'd been away. It was amazing to watch him work!
Solid drummer = great gig. Anything else = not so much.
[/soapbox]
As a bass player, the first question I ask any potential band (long term or sub call, doesn't matter) who the drummer is. It's sort of a plus if I know the player to be a good, dependable person, and sort of exciting if I know the player has great chops...but meter is absolutely, irrevocably king. I will take a four-on-the-floor pocket drummer with flawless meter over a flash drummer with wavering (or drooping) meter all the time, every time, until the end of days.
I have experienced the latter type, as many of us have. It sucks the enjoyment out of music and the soul out of my being to be the train engine that's trying to drag the convoy uphill for an entire gig. And if I'm wise to a saggy drummer when the call comes, the answer is "sorry, can't do it." Without fail.
It probably sounds over-the-top nasty, but I feel that solid drumming really is that pivotal. My regular band includes a drummer who brings a cocktail kit to bigger gigs, and only a snare drum to smaller ones. His meter is exquisite. It doesn't matter a lick if he's doing a ballad with brushes or a shuffle with heavy sticks, the combination of his drumming + our vocalist's percussion toys + my bass has been described in a variety of positive ways. Most recently, I was approached by another musician who said it reminded him of a machine - just an unstoppable, bulletproof wall of groove, regardless of style. And that was with just snare, bass, and either tambourine or Eggz. You can get a lot out of a little when everybody falls into the same pocket and stay there.
I know a drummer is good if I can drop in some mildly syncopated riffs - or build a little tension into a line by playing 3 against 4 for a measure, or just any departure from the regular flow of the line - and the same groove is waiting for me when I return. That's the drummer I want to play with.
I once had the pleasure of catching Steve Smith (ex-Journey) with a jazz combo at a bar in Greeley, Colorado. He was getting very exploratory and taking some long, wild excursions, but what blew me away was his ability to land dead-nuts back where he started, no matter how long he'd been away. It was amazing to watch him work!
Solid drummer = great gig. Anything else = not so much.
[/soapbox]
A bunch of people have said that everyone is important, and of course that's true. But it's also dodging the point of the question, I think, which is more about priorities. For instance, suppose you were putting a band together and had a great guitarist and a great drummer audition, but it so happens the two of them hate each other's guts and refuse to play together. You would have to put a mediocre second-stringer in one of the slots. Which slot do you recruit the ace player to, and which slot can manage with a mediocre player, IF YOU HAD TO (and for some reason abandoning the project wasn't an option)? I would say, definitely the drummer. Give the crowd a solid pocket and let your bass groove over it, and the guitar part can be pretty simple and still sound good. But no amount of guitar pyrotechnics will compensate for a beat that doesn't stay steady.
I agree with above posters who have said the drummer is the most important piece of the band.
No beat = no dancing = no money.
No beat = no dancing = no money.
