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Qualities of a Good Drummer?

W

WyrmDL

Feb 15, 2008
104
3
#1
Hi TB,

It's been asked many times, but if you were to hire your ideal drummer, what qualities would you seek out for?

I am a drummer primarily, and lately I've been looking to improve and become a more reliable, professional musician. I try to be as professional as I possibly can; I return calls/emails, show up on time, have transportation, don't noodle when silence is necessary, etc.

I can groove, I can keep time, I try to be as solid as possible. I may be a bit timid at first with new material. I don't really solo at all.



I'm playing with the community college jazz band, which helps me familiarize myself with sheet music and charts, however, I am not that good still. I am mostly fluent with just coming up with something to suit the music, and I know most groups/musicians are looking for more than just that.

If you work in the studio a lot, what does the drummer have to be capable of?

If you are in a professional jazz band, what should he have to know and do?



I would appreciate to know a little of your background so I can understand better what scenarios require what qualities.

Thanks!

EDIT: I would like to become a dependable freelance drummer.

EDIT: I posted a video of mine below somewhere for your input, since I think a bassist's criticism is the most important. Here it is for easier availability.

 
#4
There are so many things one could mention here - ranging from personal attitude/behavior, to skills, to technical issues, etc. etc.

I'll submit just one rather overlooked parameter, one which truly separates the pros from the wannabees, IMO: A truly fine drummer thinks like a musician. :hmm:

Just as I think of myself as a musician first and as a bassist secondly, so should a good drummer. That means NOT getting lost in his own world of rhythm-making, but being just as fully engaged in the melody and harmony occurring all around him as does anyone else in the ensemble. It means listening - carefully - at all times, so as to know exactly where he is in the music. It means playing with great sensitivity and responsiveness to the natural dynamic ebbs & flows of the music, i.e. dialing it way down and playing very sparsely during soft, slow passages...all the way up to monster crank bombast levels - and everything in between. Anticipating changes in meter, tempo - or even key - with a tasteful lead-in. Using fills tastefully. "Ghosting" an occasional figure coming from a guitarist, vocalist, keyboard player and/or horn player. And so on and so forth...

That's it: A drummer who truly thinks like a real musician is likely to play like a real musician - and not just like "a drummer".

MM
 
#5
One of my best friends is a drummer, and an extremely good one at that. However - he has some issues that were extremely frustrating back when I used to gig with him a lot:

1) He had great gear; Pearl Masters Custom shells, awesome snares, and a very nice high end cymbal collection. However, combined with crappy/missing hardware, year old drum heads, and AT MOST, a single pair of usable sticks, the results weren't always so hot. A few times instead of the full 4 tom setup, he had to play with just the floor tom because the rack attachments somehow went missing. Not to mention what a few absent stands will do for cymbal setup... yeesh.

2) Late late LATE late LATE.... There at the nick of time, or not.. nerve racking to be 10 minutes from playing when your drummer decides to arrive.

3) Forgetful; of practice times, gig times, leaving gear behind, etc... Once left his Z custom hihats AND stand on stage at a gig in Oregon - bye bye..

With that said, everyone put up with it because no other drummer that we knew of could improvise, stay on time, play with power or a light touch, and throw in ridiculous fills and come back on 1 like this guy.
 
#6
MysticMichael said:
Just as I think of myself as a musician first and as a bassist secondly, so should a good drummer. That means NOT getting lost in his own world of rhythm-making, but being just as fully engaged in the melody and harmony occurring all around him as does anyone else in the ensemble. It means listening - carefully - at all times, so as to know exactly where he is in the music. It means playing with great sensitivity and responsiveness to the natural dynamic ebbs & flows of the music, i.e. dialing it way down and playing very sparsely during soft, slow passages...all the way up to monster crank bombast levels - and everything in between. And so on and so forth...

That's it: A drummer who truly thinks like a real musician is likely to play like a real musician - and not just like "a drummer".

MM
Click to expand...

+1000 -- LISTEN!!!
 
#7
Let's take some things as a given: shows up, is reliable, doesn't cause personnel problems with other musicians, etc. Aside from that, here's what I'd like to see:

1. Does not play extremely loud. Period. If your sticks are like tree trunks and you beat your drums like they were rented mules, forget it.

2. Does know how to change things up. Same song, same beats per minute...different kit arrangement. It can really make the transition from one part of a song to another into something magical--and inspire me to bust out a different groove to accentuate it.

3. Related to 2: someone who actually listens to the other musicians. It helps if he/she can play another instrument, I think. Even if not proficiently.

4. Is willing to drop out or almost completely out of an arrangement to create a wider, more dramatic arrangement.

5. Rock-solid, atomic-clock-level timekeeping. Even when singing a harmony.
 
#8
MysticMichael said:
There are so many things one could mention here - ranging from personal attitude/behavior, to skills, to technical issues, etc. etc.

I'll submit just one rather overlooked parameter, one which truly separates the pros from the wannabees, IMO: A truly fine drummer thinks like a musician. :hmm:

Just as I think of myself as a musician first and as a bassist secondly, so should a good drummer. That means NOT getting lost in his own world of rhythm-making, but being just as fully engaged in the melody and harmony occurring all around him as does anyone else in the ensemble. It means listening - carefully - at all times, so as to know exactly where he is in the music. It means playing with great sensitivity and responsiveness to the natural dynamic ebbs & flows of the music, i.e. dialing it way down and playing very sparsely during soft, slow passages...all the way up to monster crank bombast levels - and everything in between. And so on and so forth...

That's it: A drummer who truly thinks like a real musician is likely to play like a real musician - and not just like "a drummer".

MM
Click to expand...
+1 Dynamics is a big one. And a good drummer should be able to bring the band down in volume with one smack of the snare. Also, knowing the arrangement of a song is key to being able to set up sections. This not only makes it easier for the other musicians in the band, it also helps guide the audience's ear.

Learn to play a convincing backbeat! I've played with a lot of university trained jazz drummers who just couldn't cut it on a pop gig, largely because their backbeat wasn't happening.

Play with authority - and that doesn't mean playing hard. When you hit something, mean it!

Tune your drums appropriately for the music. This is a big one that often gets overlooked.

Be cool. What goes on onstage is important but what goes on in the dressing room can be just as important.
 
#10
WyrmDL said:
Hi TB,

It's been asked many times, but if you were to hire your ideal drummer, what qualities would you seek out for?

I am a drummer primarily, and lately I've been looking to improve and become a more reliable, professional musician. I try to be as professional as I possibly can; I return calls/emails, show up on time, have transportation, don't noodle when silence is necessary, etc.

I can groove, I can keep time, I try to be as solid as possible. I may be a bit timid at first with new material. I don't really solo at all.....


Thanks!
Click to expand...

This will get you farther than anything else, so you are off to a good start.

I also agree about dynamics, and it's not just for drummers either!!!

Playing with a crappy drummer sucks, period and it makes you appreciate a good drummer. Playing with a good drummer makes you vow to never play with a crappy drummer again!!! :hiding:
 
#12
my ideal drummer would be able to play several styles, play the appropriate groove for the tune, play in time, not overplay, play with dynamics, be a good musical listener, be punctual, and be a team player.

After reading the other responses I agree that the ability to tune the drums and the ability to provide musical lead-ins to different sections of the tunes is also very important.
 
#14
As basically a freelancer I get to play with many drummers.
My ideal is
*One who listens to me. I listen to the drummer first, the band second, but many drummers dont listen to me. I can tolerate a bit of speeding up because if the drummer is listening to me, I can pull him back.
*One who knows how to tune his kit so it doesn't sound like a collection of cardboard boxes.
*One who plays with taste, ie: plays for the song. I dislike drummers who feel the need to fill up every available bit of space.
*All the usual things, punctual, pleasant personality etc.

A poster above mentioned that a drummer should be a musician first, drummer second. Absolutely... and this applies to every member of a band.
 
#17
Lackey said:
A few times instead of the full 4 tom setup, he had to play with just the floor tom because the rack attachments somehow went missing.

(...)

With that said, everyone put up with it because no other drummer that we knew of could improvise, stay on time, play with power or a light touch, and throw in ridiculous fills and come back on 1 like this guy.
Click to expand...

First off, losing all the toms sounds like a WIN to me!! How many soundmen gut the bass low-mids to make room for "thunderous toms"? Too many. Ugh.

My experience is that being a decent person who gets along with everyone in a genuine way is the most important thing, ironically. If that ain't happening then nothing else is, and bad feelings between people on the bandstand creeps into and pervades the music. Been there just recently with a ridiculously chop-heavy drummer, pretty decent feel and arrangement ideas for pop tunes, but was just such a deplorable human being we couldn't work with him. I think we all started to suspect it when his first drum solo with our band stretched to over 6 minutes long...

Then dynamics, groove, and feel. Our current drummer plays loud, he's into heavy music and might not be a great fit for us in the long run. But he is a great player and his arrangement and musical sensibilities are great, he just usually plays pretty loud. Since the grooves and feel are there, he's getting the gigs, plus he's engaged in making us better and willing to rehearse. On top of that he does drop some impressive fills and plays a great solo. Still our guitarist and lead singer are both not too psyched about how loud he plays.

The last guy we played with, before these two, really was the complete package- really friendly, plays with impeccable dynamics, and his grooves and feels are amazing, stellar! This guy played in a band that had a huge hit and a platinum album in the 90's, and he often gets gigs much better than our band, leaving us in the lurch. He does studio work all over the east coast. It's no wonder. He makes the entire band sound better no matter who he plays with. The feel he gets are just so positive, kinetic, and buoyant, without having to pound the drums (but he can play loud if the band is loud), without having to play at fast tempos (he actually prefers medium tempos but can play real fast), and without over-playing. He has a number of absolutely golden medium pop shuffles that just feel great, but he can also drop a convincing reggae beat and some really heavy heavy beats too. In the end he just cost too much for us because he's that good.
 
#18
MysticMichael said:
There are so many things one could mention here - ranging from personal attitude/behavior, to skills, to technical issues, etc. etc.

I'll submit just one rather overlooked parameter, one which truly separates the pros from the wannabees, IMO: A truly fine drummer thinks like a musician. :hmm:

Just as I think of myself as a musician first and as a bassist secondly, so should a good drummer. That means NOT getting lost in his own world of rhythm-making, but being just as fully engaged in the melody and harmony occurring all around him as does anyone else in the ensemble. It means listening - carefully - at all times, so as to know exactly where he is in the music. It means playing with great sensitivity and responsiveness to the natural dynamic ebbs & flows of the music, i.e. dialing it way down and playing very sparsely during soft, slow passages...all the way up to monster crank bombast levels - and everything in between. Anticipating changes in meter, tempo - or even key - with a tasteful lead-in. Using fills tastefully. "Ghosting" an occasional figure coming from a guitarist, vocalist, keyboard player and/or horn player. And so on and so forth...

That's it: A drummer who truly thinks like a real musician is likely to play like a real musician - and not just like "a drummer".

MM
Click to expand...

+1 to all this!

Your not only a drummer, your a musician!
My drummer even knows the keys of the songs!
Listen to whats going on and dont be stuck in a rhythmical world!

I do think though tat the most important thing is your attitude! Most people would rather play with an average player who is easy to deal with, reliable and nice than a musical genius who is a total prick!
 

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