Smart guys/girls try to be uncommon!
Posted on May 2, 2008
“You can’t do that, nobody would do it this way!”
How often have you heard this sentence when you were in the rehearsal room, writing a new song with a band?
Or, when you’re not in a band, how often have you heard this discouraging sentence in other parts of your life?
I can’t count how many times somebody was telling me so and i guess i’m not the only drummer/musician who made this experience.
But i’m asking if this is always the best way to create cool and original music…
Swimming in the mainstream!
It’s very easy to walk the common way and make music just like everybody does…
You just have to repeat the same old song again and again.
It’s also very secure to do so because you know that such a song works fine and you don’t need to worry. You’re swimming in the mainstream and it’s nice…
Play what you have to play!
Most of the time we are playing stuff that we know sounds great. For example…
- a rock beat has to be a rock beat. It must punch into people’s stomach.
- a popular song should be close to the origin to let people recognize it.
- a drum-fill has to be in time and tasteful. That’s what impresses people most.
But sometimes, i’m sure, you feel a little bit bored and want to try something that’s kind of cute and freaky…
Be smart and try something else!
Ask yourself, where is all the great music, where are the fat bands coming from?
Those who keep on playing year after year and influence generations of musicians, are they only playing the same old song?
No, those steady groups and musicians once left the secure mainstream and went down a lonely road to create their own style!
Trying a different way worked for them. And it can work for you as well!
Create cool and original music!
If you want to create cool and original music, if you want to drum like noone else, you have to try uncommon things.
When you have an idea, check it out! Even if it sounds terrible in the beginning.
You must give it a chance or you will never know if it was a good or bad idea!
And if it really appears to be a poor idea - perhaps it will work perfectly well in the next song.
Better don’t play Free-Jazz in a Dance-Band!
Only start to experiment in the right situation. Don’t play Free-Jazz in a Dance-Band or you simply will get fired.
And don’t play the swing like Gene Krupa if you’re the drummer in a Heavy Metal Band.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s great that you can play like Gene Krupa but the other guys will send you to a doctor anyway…
Take some extra time!
I just want to tell you that you are free to create your own uncommon, freaky, cute, smart, original things on drums. Use this freedom and be creative.
So, in your next drum session, find some extra time to experiment and check out stuff that’s uncommon for you.
It’s huge fun and can improve your own style of drumming.
And don’t listen to the “you can’t do that” guys. You know better.
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Excellent Post!
I agree wholeheartedly - there is nothing more discouraging thing than someone can say to you in a rehearsal room than something like that.
As musicians we all have to explore things - sometimes they work, sometimes they dont!
The challege for all of us is to keep up our creativity, while staying musical and in line with what other musicians we are playing with feel is right as well.
It’s absolutely true that the most memorable of songs tend to have an ‘off beat’ drum or other uncommon trick to make them stand out. Why not try a metal riff over a dance beat? If it really works, you might just even make fans in both genres!