OT- Why doesn't anyone want to play drums anymore?

[hangwire]

^ metronomes groove...

 

 

...all musicians should that this advice, not just drummers... it is the attitude I think that mucks things up

[chris_d]

Cry about it why don't you.... a lot of the time, the drummer has backline... for festivals you mainly only have to bring a snare and some cymbals. And as for load outs, if your band isn't helping you load your drums up, their just dicks.... the shows not over till all the gear is dealt with Yes the drummer needs to be on point, and it can be tough (I play drums too) but singing is a lot harder imo. Cymbals do crack sometimes, but its usually from people not taking care of them while loading in and out, the main reason your cymbal is cracked is because someone stepped on it, or you had an amp leaning on it in the van. Drums imo are one of the funnest instruments to play, and people who think they just want a drummer to keep the beat, don't understand music. The beat is just as if not more important than anything else, it's the groove, it's what makes people nod their head or break out into a full out riot. As a guitar player (mainly) my pedal board costs just as much as a nice ludwig kit. And if u break a stick or cymbal live, it's pretty easy to recover, if you break a string, its hard. sorry to rant on you, but saying being a drummer sucks is ridiculous, maybe with the band you played with, but it's a sweet gig.

Hmm, yeah. OP is asking why drummers would want to quit playing, not why they love it. Therefore, that is what my post outlines?

Anyhow, what kind of music do you play? I have never played a festival with backline drums, myself. The way i play, set up, and tune my kit being somewhat atypical for most rock bands, i am not sure that i would want to either.

I have played in quite a few bands, from surf rock to bad metal, to hardcore, to power violence, and the basic dynamic has been roughly the same between them for me, with the surf rock being somewhat less frustrating, due to a simpler kit, a simpler setlist, and less taxing drum parts.

I admitted that certainly much of it had to do with the specific bands i was in. I also freely admit that much of my perception is colored by the type of person and the type of drummer that i am.

I am glad you enjoy it though.

[less_cunning]

everybody just makes their own drum parts in Ableton & plays over that.

[Crxsh]

I play the drums. Almost as well as I play guitar... which isn't really saying much at all really. I'm sort of an average guitar player, so I probably pretty much suck on the drums.

[onyxrhino]

eh, about 20 years ago when I was first forming bands, no one wanted to play drums then either. it's always hardest to find a drummer.

[less_cunning]

i think hardcore drummers are pretty {censored}ing awesome drummers. they alwayz end up being my favorites.

[Amigo]

i think hardcore drummers are pretty {censored}ing awesome drummers. they alwayz end up being my favorites.

 

 

I personally am way more moved by an interesting technical/creative beat that you can get into... I don't care how fast a person can play drums, or guitar for that matter, songwriting >>>>>>>>>>>> speed/skill... imo.

 

Not saying hardcore drummers don't do this, but just as a statement in general.

[Meriphew]

There's more glamour in being a guitarist or singer, plus it's harder to lug around a big drum kit. Every city has a shortage of good drummers and bassists.

[Operator]

The world definitely needs more guitarists.

[ATauO]

Why is it that I can tap a monster beat with my fingers/pens/any sort of object (solid grooving beats) but if I sit at a drum kit I feel like I just walked in on my parents boning and am frozen solid in fear. Seriously, its like I farted and felt a bonus point pop out and don't know if I should keep moving or freeze until I can figure out if its safe or not.

[mlabbee]

a drummer is a glorified metronome... If a prospective drummer came in with no toms beyond the floor tom and an attitude that "I could add more I guess if you really wanted" , they would be the one we chose... be consistent, be open, be in sync... be a human metronome!

 

 

Back when I was mostly a drummer, every terrible musician I ever played with thought it was the drummer's job to keep time . . .

[hangwire]

Back when I was mostly a drummer, every terrible musician I ever played with thought it was the drummer's job to keep time . . .

and now you are no longer "mostly a drummer"... moral of the story... you couldn't end a song without speeding up and getting off beat and were kicked out off all bands.

[darryl2112]

A band that doesn't let their drummer have enough creative input is doing it wrong.

 

 

Well, he wasn't treated like a drum machine....he just had songs that he would write that sounded totally different than the rest of the tunes in the set. If I feel I have a good arrangement, I am not going to let a drummer change it just for the sake of changing it. Maybe I mistreat drummers?

[Kirk Markarian]

I'm a drummer, and the reason I haven't been eager to play recently is because the of the glut of guitarists, etc. that are into easy music. I used to be a drummer who liked easy music. Then I heard the guitar parts in bands like Daughters, U.S. Maple, Yowie and even Captain Beefheart (who I do not like much). I could appreciate the extra effort of the guitarists and bassists there. I joined a duo and began to create sounds and patterns with a different way of thinking and feeling. Then it ended.

 

Heck, if I could find more guitarists willing to do things with extended technique ONLY, rather than standard chords and tuning, I would be much more interested in lugging the drumset out. I don't really enjoy hearing pleasant melodies or patterns I've played a million times before.

 

It also seems that many bands are making double-bass drumming a pre-requisite for joining their band. I unfortunately am not competent yet at playing double bass.

 

It is also usually unappreciated that I am able to make musical suggestions for songs, even though I compose my own tracks. I play synthesizers and compose in MIDI. I make Noise. I know my way around effects better than the guitarists I've played with. I like mixing boards - Regardless, I get pouty-faces and sour looks because I'm supposed to be a caveman who is supposed to "Shut up and keep time".

 

Load in/load out. Who goes and gets to talk with beautiful girls and get wasted? Guitarists and singers. Who gets stuck tearing down a kit? Me. I'm sweaty, feel good, but tired, and I have more work ahead of me. Nobody is willing to help, outside of pulling it off the stage.

 

I love playing drums. It's the most fulfilling experience I've ever had - in the same breath, sometimes the search for musicians that are interested in my criteria becomes exhausting. I don't want to be the fat, balding blues drummer when I'm older. I want to push my body harder, to play faster and more complex passages, and to create new sounds constantly. I want to learn double-bass drumming, and when I get a place where I can afford to do that, I certainly will.

 

I probably come off as egotistical.

[mlabbee]

and now you are no longer "mostly a drummer"... moral of the story... you couldn't end a song without speeding up and getting off beat and were kicked out off all bands.

No - I got tired of having of all the chicks flocking to me when they realized I was the only talented musician in the band

[TomCTC]

Why is it that I can tap a monster beat with my fingers/pens/any sort of object (solid grooving beats) but if I sit at a drum kit I feel like I just walked in on my parents boning and am frozen solid in fear. Seriously, its like I farted and felt a bonus point pop out and don't know if I should keep moving or freeze until I can figure out if its safe or not.

Clearly you should take up finger drumming. Seriously man, it's alot of fun! And if you know anything about the dynamics of a drum kit, you'll pick up on it quick.

[hangwire]

No - I got tired of having of all the chicks flocking to me when they realized I was the only talented musician in the band

really, how's that working out for ya...

[big_cat]

I want to learn double-bass drumming

 

 

don't do it man

[mlabbee]

All kidding aside, the reason I am no longer "mostly a drummer" has a lot to do with Kirk's post. Music is a hobby for me, so I don't have the time or energy to continue to evolve as a drummer - as a result, my playing has become pretty boring and predictable. Ironically, this made me a very popular drummer when I was still playing out quite a bit, because I could keep time, play what was needed and was in enough of an autopilot mode that I could really listen to what was going on and groove with the band (so, some good, some bad aspects of being in that mode). But it was no longer a challenge and to challenge myself would have meant much more time than I had - probably a total re-learn of drumming or at least lots of lessons. On the other hand, I did not know how to play any other instruments, so it took much less time to challenge myself and grow picking up guitar and (now) keyboards. I will never be particularly proficient at either, but I'm low enough on the learning curve to have lots of new things to learn every time I pick one of them up, so it's more fun.

[Faldoe]

I love playing drums. When I had my old rehearsal space, I'd get there early before my drummer and make some guitar loops in Ableton and Jam along on drums. So much fun.

[EvilSoup]

I play drums.

Here's a pic of my dw custom maple set:

[AidyCM]

don't do it man

 

 

+1. My band's drummer ruins everything by turning my blissed-out shoegazeisms into DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDadnauseam.

[chris_d]

+1. My band's drummer ruins everything by turning my blissed-out shoegazeisms into DDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDadnauseum.

 

 

There is certainly a difference in knowing how to do something, and knowing when to do it.

 

I put off learning double bass for the better part of fifteen+ years and am just now playing catchup with it. I hardly ever use it, but it is totally silly, not to know how to use it, IMO. That is like telling someone not to use their pinky for fretting. Why not?

[GuitarSlim101]

I wish I had the room for a kit, too. We have this awesome little maple Peace kit at the music store I work at that I'd love to have. For a cheap kit, it sounds amazing.

 

Of course, I can't play anything other than some really, really, really simple beats, but it'd be fun anyway.

[Harry_Manback1]

Why is it that I can tap a monster beat with my fingers/pens/any sort of object (solid grooving beats) but if I sit at a drum kit I feel like I just walked in on my parents boning and am frozen solid in fear. Seriously, its like I farted and felt a bonus point pop out and don't know if I should keep moving or freeze until I can figure out if its safe or not.

exactly.

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