Rat-A-Tat Busy Drummers

My Brothers,

I was talking with several professional musicians lately, and the subject of "Rat-A-Tat Busy Drummers" came up. You know the kind, keeping really complicated busy patterns going during the whole song.

The pro's were saying they preferred a more simple style, keeping an accurate beat, and not out shining the rest of the band.

What's your opinion and does it matter what type of music is being played.

Summit111

"Old School rock & Roll"

Were not in an elavator ya kno... If your beat's not different ,it should be copyright infringment....!!For real!! I've not heard a NEW rat or a tat outta ANYONE since like tool..... I can go low key,nutty putty in the back ground the whole time not disturbing any simpletons.....You remember the last time a drummer who remotely immpressed you,live or not? Besides carter beauford??????????? That a good Q: good topic .............one love

I think it completely depends on the song. I mean- you wouldnt put amazing fills in a quiet piece whereas, in a faster feel-good fun piece, its great to show off!

The general rule is----straighter and less complicated when recording and show off live!!

I prefer to be more fancy than straighter players on recordings depending on song.

Also some drummer, for instance- Travis Barker- justshow off on recordings too

This is no bad thing in my eyes

Neil Peart

It depends on what kind of music your playing and whether you are doing originals or covers.

You can under play or over play anything.

The one thing I can't stand is seeing a cover band drummer constantly over play songs.

Now, I'm a drummer in a cover band and while I certainly don't over play songs, I will add some flare to certain songs. Just not all or most of them.

I suppose if you're playing some sort of metal or funk or prog, busy drums are good, part of the style and all. I don't personally like it, I'm not impressed by it, and I wouldn't want it in a band I was playing in.

I don't think anyone knows what you're talking about but can I have some of your drugs?

over drumming is my biggest pet peeve. i go to high school with a bunch of drummers. just today, we were all taking turns at the drumset, and when they all got on, there were 3 of them, they just started pounding the hell out of the drums and mushing all the strokes together and clicking rims and one even cracked the bass drum head. they need to slow down, and play a more straighforward beat and just KEEP IT SIMPLE!!!!!

Carter is tha' man

im a huge DMB fan... saw them in NH.... the guy has to be one of the best ever. If anyone doubts what I am saying... take the time to listen to him and watch a live dvd of the band.

Amazing stuff.

later

Eric

I know I'm going to get roasted for this but...Carter definitely overplays. He doesn't overplay so much on the recent DMB stuff, but he certainly does on their early cds. Nails on a chalkboard. I know lots of people who love him, so to each their own. His early stuff definitely bugs me. I always want to say, "Relax, and play the groove! The song would sound better!" However, he's making millions playing drums and I'm posting on this forum, so shows what I know.

Neil has moments where he overplays. The list of metal drummers that overplay would take several pages on this forum. You don't have to play artillery fire sounding 16ths on your kick, or as many notes or starts/stops as you can possibly muster to play heavy. Do you want to play heavy? Listen to Phil Rudd from AC/DC. That guy plays HEAVY!

Just because you have th technical ability doesn't mean you have to use it on EVERY song. Being tasteful is -at least to my way of thinking- much more important than the chops you may possess.

I'm not gonna roast you on this, i totally agree with you.

I think it really just comes down to if you are playing for other musicians or are you playing for average joe.

I'm not gonna roast you on this, i totally agree with you.

You know, I feel it all comes down to the difference between being a drummer and being a musician.

Broad generalization coming: Drummers play for the attention. Musicians play for the song.

If you don't understand, you're probably a drummer.

(puts Nomex suit on)

Originally posted by the DW You know, I feel it all comes down to the difference between being a drummer and being a musician. Broad generalization coming: Drummers play for the attention. Musicians play for the song. If you don't understand, you're probably a drummer. (puts Nomex suit on)

Yeah, I agree with you. To my ears, it's ALWAYS about the song. Unless you are soloing, it is NEVER about you.

And Yo Euro, Come to NYC and you wont need my {censored}......On another matter Its a good thing I dont give a {censored} bout male fans, Who or what do ya'll listen to?You "finding emo" dudes are one of the biggest reasons why drumming blows. And it makes OK for loops, samples an dickriding.Almost any song can be improved,Bold statement,I know. Go ahead and try ta copy my {censored} tho,or carter's.From what I heard of Daves new {censored}, its boring,largley because of the dull ass drums. But either way I'LL keep the volume low, an keep ripping it.The bitches love that {censored},if I didnt,even their uninformed asses would know something was up...Music would be proud ,so would creativity,and I'm sure Bonham aswell point taken tho, too big is too big.....I got the formula just trying to share a little,get the funk.... ...........................one

As David Spade would say, "Are you talking?"

Sounds like the guy that showed up with the last band I recorded. After two days of trying to get a decent basic track on three songs, the producer had a talk with the band and the drummer was replaced(for the recording session) and I recommended a good studio guy. The basic tracks then took a total of 7 takes for three songs, and the bass lines and overall feel of the songs was greatly improved.

All depends on the music. And sometimes, complicated and simple in the same song is the best recipe. I think to automatically say that simple is better than complex or vice versa is pretty limiting, especially considering that we're talking about creativity.

My only problem with "simple is better" is when it's used as a crutch to avoid being creative. And my only problem with being complex is when it gets in the way of everything else.

I saw a band this past Saturday. The drummer was only 19 and he was insanely good; I've never seen anyone in person this good - seriously!

The first 2 songs blew me away, amazing drumming thoughout. Killer chops, fills, stick tricks - you name it!

By the third song I was beginning to lose my admiration... as too was the audience..

By the time his drum solo came round, no one clapped as they'd heard it all in the preceding 5 songs. He'd, figuratively speaking, shot his load early.

In essence the drums were the focal point of the band, they took over. Drums solos with accompanying instruments.

After a few songs it became very tiring, after all there's only so many times you can think "wow" before it gets boring and samey.

Now I'm sure with age he'll appreciate the "less is more" philosophy and understand he's more likely be appreciated by using killer licks sparingly.

Still, there's no doubting the guys ability but I do doubt his ability to apply that within the context of the music.

Uh...what? What the heck does "finding emo dudes" mean? I'm talking about overplaying versus not overplaying.

On an unrelated note-I'm pretty sure most women don't enjoy being called "bitches," . Here's a hint- talking/ writing like this makes you look like you are 12 years old and watching too many 50 cent videos.

This is the perfect example of what I meant by "drummer or musician?" Be a musician first, a drummer second.

But like you said, perhaps time and experience is the cure for the 'look at me' syndrome.

My Brothers,

Our band prefers an accurate beat with a little "showy stuff" every now and then. We had one of those younger drummers with loads of talent, but no restraint, sit in with us during a rehearsal. He was great, but after a short while, it became very tiring.

When he finished and left, the guys said, "Wow he was great, but never again! He's just too overpowering!"

Summit111

Good example. While I'm a fan of Dream Theater, they certainly suffer from this greatly. Balls to the wall all the time leaves no room to go up. It's a lot easier to set up a climax in a song if you keep it simple at first and then build into something, both dynamically and intricately. This is why, IMO, any great player should be able to play with the talent of the guys in DT, but only pull it out in flashes so it has a greater effect and impact.

I think it really helps my drumming that I play/have played bass and guitar in bands as well, and that I do a lot of songwriting. Many drummers, I feel, do not listen to the song itself but can be totally lost in their drum part.

Some kinds of music- certain types of jazz, Who-esque rock- lend themselves to over-the-top drums. But much rock/pop simply does not.

I also think it's silly to think a creative drum part cannot be a simple drum part.

I also think a lot of drummers spend a lot of time on chops before getting their meter and dynamics solid. If you've tried to play in a band with these guys, you know how maddening it is.