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how come nobody can play the drums anymore?


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Well when drummer ads stop saying things like, "no start-up bands", "looking to tour immediately", "looking for a paying, pro situation" and such then maybe some of those smaller local bands will have a better shot at landing a human drummer.

 

I mean you're a drummer, I assume, so I'm guessing you haven't spent a whole lot of time on the other side of the fence where we non-drummers live. Finding a good drummer is just about the most difficult thing imaginable in the band-forming process (well next to finding a real frontperson with real chops... or finding a keyboard player ad that isn't as pretentious as a drummer ad). I mean with vocalists, they all think they're amazing, god's gift to music and all but still they are, for the most part, humble in their band search ads. Guitarists have to be humble because they're a dime a dozen. Bass player ads get snobby a bit too but not nearly as bad as the drummer or keyboard ads.

 

Another answer to your question is the fact that becoming a drummer has some pretty high start up costs involved. I'd say a good drum kit costs more than a good just-about-any-other-instrument that'd be used in your typical band set-up. Also they're huge, requiring a lot of set up space, they're not easily portable, and accoustic drums are crazy loud, making it hard for most people to practice without disturbing others or using practice pads... another cost. A lot of people aren't in a position to deal with all those factors, even if they'd like to learn the drums. Thus the drummer shortage.

 

-Necro

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Double posting to add that also I think drum machines have their place, even on stage. They can do a lot of things no human can replicate while there aren't a whole lot of (or perhaps any) humans who can do things a drum machine can't replicate.

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Originally posted by techristian

I can't believe it , but local bars here have a few "bands" that use automated drummers! Automated drum machines go way back to the 70's but I laugh whenever I hear that a "band" uses one.

I agree, Dan. It is completely LAUGHABLE that any band would attempt to make good music using a drum machine. As we all know, that has simply never been done - because it is impossible. Right, Dan?

 

:D (insert laughter here)

 

BTW, the history of the automated drum machine goes back a lot earlier than the '70s. :thu:

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Originally posted by Angelo Clematide

Ohhh, by the way, i have a neighbour, a human, he plays like a machine and he is very successful with it since more then thirty years. He protects himself from being replaced by a drum computer by playing average 9.27 hits per second, which would be way too much work a programmer.

Nope. Not too much work at all. I have spent time programming down to 364th notes for extended passages. :thu:

 

Funny, but I can't seem to play 364th notes very accurately on my acoustic kit. :D

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Originally posted by Johnny Storm

Funny, but I can't seem to play 364th notes very accurately on my acoustic kit.
:D

 

Well, playing 364th is difficult, even at a tempo of 1 BPM. I would give it a first try at 0.1 BPM, and then slowly increase the tempo over several weeks. However, i know a shortcut, practice first 91-tuplets at the place of 16/128.

 

.

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to me its the same as playing to a backing track or using sequencers live. its kinda cheating and i would avoid doing it personally but not everyone has the luxury of a full band and that shouldnt stop people gigging! i mean also it depends on the kind of music. some bands have drum machines and drummers and it sounds fantastic (to my ears anyway!) :thu:

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I obviously strongly prefer being in a band with drummers. After all, every band I've ever been in had a real human carbon unit drummer.

 

But if a band wanted to keep their stage volume down in a restaurant, bar, or small cafe, a drum machine would greatly facilitate this. Also, if a band wants to play drum 'n' bass stuff or other kinds of textures and rhythms that cannot be done by a drummer, I say great. There's enough room for everybody's approach (unless, of course, I say there's not :D ).

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I've seen that as well, but the REAL question is........

 

How come no one can't PLAY anymore??

 

Instead of people using technology to aid in their music composition, they let technology DO their composition!! :rolleyes:

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yea...Damn..I'm having a hellova time finding a drummer as well..I don't know what it is but its really pissing me off..I mean mediocre guys have all the gigs in town and all the good bands want them...

 

I don't want to spend all the time putting together several hundred songs with a drum machine because I have better things to do with my time.

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Originally posted by UstadKhanAli


But if a band wanted to keep their stage volume down in a restaurant, bar, or small cafe, a drum machine would greatly facilitate this.

 

So would a drummer who actually knows how to play with dynamics.

 

There's just no good excuse for using a drum machine. :D

 

There's enough room for everybody's approach (unless, of course, I say there's not
:D
).

 

No, unless *I* say there's not. And... I say there's not. :mad:

 

:D

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Originally posted by Gus Lozada

You guys need a rig like this one:


729.jpg

ANYWHERE you hit, you'll reach a drum.
:thu:
Now try to do it with some rhythm.

 

That is Mel Brooks's fitness room in the CLINIC FOR THE VERY VERY NERVOUS.

 

...apart from that i know it is the set of Terry Bozzio, another bloke lacking the ability to point with the index finger at the nose.

 

.

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