Quote:
Originally Posted by VEGANGELICA
Hi, Sam-Y,
You wrote about the limited power of drums to produce melodies. As a novice drummer I haven't had a lot of experience playing, but for the few songs I've played (during home recording) I've tuned the drums so that they make the notes that match certain parts of the song. For example, right now my high tom is D, my mid tom is B, and my floor tom is G. So, when I play with the melody I do feel very much part of it and I am helping to create it (beyond just the rhythm, which is of course important). I am going to try to adjust the tuning to match additional songs and see how that works. I wondered if you do this with your drumming, too?
--Erica
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Never tried that before. When I think of melodic drumming I think less about notes and more about texture and feel. Its hard to explain, but there is that vibe that Vertical was talking about that you can hear in a good drummer. I think creative drumming is more having a sort of sense and feel, and less of something that can be explained.
A few drummers that have that feel and texture that I'm talking about
:
Listen to the song colony of Birchmen by Mastodon. I can't find the actual track on youtube, but there is a drum track only video (I'm assuming there are copyright issues with the full song). The drum part goes great with creating a heavy and almost earthy feel in the actual song:
Mastodon - colony of Birchmen (Drums Only). The drums kind of mold into the guitar part and help create the feel of the song.
Hella - The Things People Do When They Think No Ones Looking. A very tame sample of Zach Hill's drumming. His drumming may be considered inaccessible and too crazy for some, but his drumming is very unique and abstract, especially in his other work with Hella without the vocals.
Mike Johnston - John Legend Play Along. Another example of drumming with great feel and sense. Maybe these all aren't examples of melodic drumming, but I'm just giving examples of a few that expand past the boring "time-keeping." Drumming does get much more interesting once you obtain the skill to be able to pull this kind of stuff off and develop that kind of sense.