Ok, so I finally pulled myself off my butt yesterday and went and sat at the drums to start thinking of solo ideas. I had my laptop with me, and the initial motivation for going to sit at the drums was to analyse a couple of simple licks I'd seen in a youtube video. It was just a couple of bars of 8th and 16th notes - lots of space - but it had stuck in my mind as something musical. If you'd like to check it out for yourself it's from a solo by my friend (and amazing drummer) Louie Palmer, and it's at 3-6 seconds in this solo: The rest of what he plays is also incredible, but this simple rhythmic idea was easy to grasp and for some reason sounded good. Without the memory of the actual notes he played, my own creations seemed lacking. There's something very definite about this simple rhythmic idea. Once I'd listened again I pinned the musicality down to 3 ideas.
1) It's a simple rhythm that any body can follow.
2) Both phrases begin on beat 3 of the bar, making them seem like a response to the opening silence (or in the case of the second phrase, in response to the first phrase)
3) The first phrase crosses the bar line, tying the whole thing together.So, to work on my own versions of this kind of thing I could set myself the boundaries (as discussed in my last entry) of beginning phrases on beat 3 of a bar, limiting myself to 8th and 16th notes, and carrying the first phrase over the bar line. That would result in similar rhythmic ideas that were my own and I could begin to decide what else makes them pleasing to the ear. You might want to have a go at making an entire solo using these rules and building the excitement in other ways. Perhaps beginning at a quiet dynamic level, or on a single sound source, and gradually getting louder and utilising more of the kit. In reality, you'll probably want to use this kind of thing as part of many other ideas in your solo. Another nice thing about this idea is that it comes with S P A C E. If you consider the initial 2 beats of rest as an integral part of the rhythm, then throwing it into the middle of a solo full of 32nd notes and rolls will MAKE you leave a bit of breathing space. I think that's a good thing. Breaking solos up into phrases (like taking a breath when you speak) helps the listener to follow what's going on. Even if they're not 'following' it then at least it gives their brains a little respite from the machine gun fire of the rest of the solo. Take a breather....I like a lot of things about Virgil Donati's playing, and Vinnie Colaiuta's playing, and Dennis Chambers' playing, etc. There's plenty of recordings of all these guys doing solos. Generally, I prefer the ones to a vamp (where the rest of the band continues playing an idea underneath the drum solo) because it's easier to hear where they're going with the solo and how their ideas fit around that musical idea. Sometimes a solo will be in the middle of a song without a vamp. In these contexts it's best if they keep a hihat or clave or something going on to help you feel the pulse. Certainly when playing a solo mid-song where the band isn't keeping anything going I find it very helpful to sing my own vamp and play around that. It not only helps to make the solo more musical, but also helps you keep track of where you are without having to count. In fact, even when playing an 'open solo' (one where you start and finish on your own and can take it where you like) I find it's good to have something more musical going on in your head. Talking about open solos, I've heard many in my time. As I said, Virgil and Dennis are incredible drummers, but with a 20 minute drum-only solo there's rarely more than a few things that really stand out to me. Usually it's places where they drop into some kind of groove. That's where you can really enjoy what's going on. Dennis is actually very good at playing solos around a groove, but also has a tendency to throw in bits that sound like he's falling down the stairs.That's my 750 words up for today... see you soon. Oh, and check out one of my favourite all time drum solos by the great Joey Baron. This guy is SO musical...
1) It's a simple rhythm that any body can follow.
2) Both phrases begin on beat 3 of the bar, making them seem like a response to the opening silence (or in the case of the second phrase, in response to the first phrase)
3) The first phrase crosses the bar line, tying the whole thing together.So, to work on my own versions of this kind of thing I could set myself the boundaries (as discussed in my last entry) of beginning phrases on beat 3 of a bar, limiting myself to 8th and 16th notes, and carrying the first phrase over the bar line. That would result in similar rhythmic ideas that were my own and I could begin to decide what else makes them pleasing to the ear. You might want to have a go at making an entire solo using these rules and building the excitement in other ways. Perhaps beginning at a quiet dynamic level, or on a single sound source, and gradually getting louder and utilising more of the kit. In reality, you'll probably want to use this kind of thing as part of many other ideas in your solo. Another nice thing about this idea is that it comes with S P A C E. If you consider the initial 2 beats of rest as an integral part of the rhythm, then throwing it into the middle of a solo full of 32nd notes and rolls will MAKE you leave a bit of breathing space. I think that's a good thing. Breaking solos up into phrases (like taking a breath when you speak) helps the listener to follow what's going on. Even if they're not 'following' it then at least it gives their brains a little respite from the machine gun fire of the rest of the solo. Take a breather....I like a lot of things about Virgil Donati's playing, and Vinnie Colaiuta's playing, and Dennis Chambers' playing, etc. There's plenty of recordings of all these guys doing solos. Generally, I prefer the ones to a vamp (where the rest of the band continues playing an idea underneath the drum solo) because it's easier to hear where they're going with the solo and how their ideas fit around that musical idea. Sometimes a solo will be in the middle of a song without a vamp. In these contexts it's best if they keep a hihat or clave or something going on to help you feel the pulse. Certainly when playing a solo mid-song where the band isn't keeping anything going I find it very helpful to sing my own vamp and play around that. It not only helps to make the solo more musical, but also helps you keep track of where you are without having to count. In fact, even when playing an 'open solo' (one where you start and finish on your own and can take it where you like) I find it's good to have something more musical going on in your head. Talking about open solos, I've heard many in my time. As I said, Virgil and Dennis are incredible drummers, but with a 20 minute drum-only solo there's rarely more than a few things that really stand out to me. Usually it's places where they drop into some kind of groove. That's where you can really enjoy what's going on. Dennis is actually very good at playing solos around a groove, but also has a tendency to throw in bits that sound like he's falling down the stairs.That's my 750 words up for today... see you soon. Oh, and check out one of my favourite all time drum solos by the great Joey Baron. This guy is SO musical...
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