750 Words - Day 3

So, drum solos. I played around a little bit yesterday. I noticed I was procrastinating. On my list of things to do was find good drum solos and write down the bits I liked. Also, to write down all the licks I could think of that might work. I kept putting it off. I wanted to 'write' a solo before the weekend, but I found that I really didn't want to start on the task.

With a bit of reflection I realised the reason was that I didn't feel like I was capable of creating something I was happy with. I didn't want to start on it for fear of realising that I couldn't come up with the goods. Which, if you think about it, is pretty silly. I already know that I can't do what I want at the moment, and all I was intending to do was to move closer to that goal. I suppose, but giving myself the deadline of the weekend to create a 'great' solo, then I was potentially setting myself up for failure and thus putting myself off even beginning the task.

Instead, I just sat at the drums and played around. I tried different tempos and realised, to my surprise, that I ended up using totally different 'licks' if I played at 110bpm, than if I played at 100bpm. Some things just didn't work at both speeds and if I tried to throw them in I'd speed up (or slow down). That was an interesting discovery as the song would work at both tempos.

The next thing I realised was that I have a tendency to always begin phrases in the same places. That gets boring, but it's hard to break out of. At one point I went to play something in my head which started on the snare with my right hand. I accidentally didn't play an accent so the rhythmic idea sounded like it started a 16th note later. Immediately it sounded more interesting than what I'd been playing before.

So, I took that concept and expanded on it. If you think in 4 bar phrases try giving yourself some boundaries. For example:

• Begin all phrases in a certain place. Try the 2nd 16th note of the bar, or the 'a' of 2. Work this through all possibilities.

• Begin all phrases on a certain drum, or cymbal. If you begin a phrase on a lone crash it'll make a nice change. You could also begin a phrase with a stepped hi-hat. Or a x-stick.

• End all phrases in a certain place. Perhaps over the bar line.

• End all phrases on a certain drum/cymbal.

• Try intentionally always beginning and ending a phrase on the same beat and instrument that you start it on.

These are all just ideas to help broaden your sound palette. You'll undoubtedly find some of them more difficult than others. Also, you'll HAVE to count in order to know that you're actually starting/ending in the places you're telling yourself too. This can be difficult, but it's definitely something you should be able to do.

You may have to simplify the kind of thing you play in order to meet these criteria. That also is a good thing. As your competency increases you'll find the complexity of what you play will also increase. It's better this way than just playing complex things without thinking about them.

The main thing is to keep trying new things and making mental notes of what you like and what you don't. This is the process of creation and evolution of your style. TRY EVERYTHING and then EDIT.

Think about it. You know what you like and what you don't like when listening to other drummers. I suspect you don't always like EVERYTHING that even your favourite drummer plays. It'll seem more interesting and creative than what you play, but that's just because it's new and different to what you play. If you can come up with ways to make things you play be 'new' and 'different' to what you usually come up with then you can apply the same judgement to your ideas.

One final thought. Don't judge them too soon or you'll put yourself off. Give yourself creative freedom to try everything. Ideally you'd record it, then listen back when you've forgotten what you played. In that way you'll be able to judge it as you would someone else's playing.