The Basic Fundamentals Of Drumming
When you’re a young whippersnapper in high school and want to be the man to get the chicks, you need to have a craft or a skill. And, depending on the woman you’re trying to attract, playing sports just may not cut it because you’re a small fry that would get crushed on the football field. How else can you attract the woman you want to follow around all day? Well, drumming, of course! But, before you pick up a set of sticks and attempt some Lars Ulrich maneuvers, there are some basics about beat-keeping that you should be privy of beforehand. Not saying you can’t keep a beat right out of the gate; just suggesting you keep a few fundamentals in mind.
You Run The Band
Believe it or not, drumming personnel actually can speed up or slow down a band at will, which can both be positive and tragic. Having control of the syncopation of a song takes talent and understanding of the song you’re playing. Adding glitzy beats and crashes may be all fine and dandy, but you can single-handedly kill a song if you speed up or slow down the tempo at the wrong times. Understand the beat of the song before you decide to add glamorous tricks into your drumming mix.
Coordination
Keeping your body parts in sync can be a troubling task for those who aren’t use to it; your foot is slapping the pedal to a beat, your hands are occupied trying to hit a snare and high-hat; make sure that you understand where each needs to be and at what times so you’re keeping perfect hand-eye-foot coordination at all times. If you have a conductor in the band, he’ll cue you in when specific tempo changes occur.
Ignore The Other Instruments
Since we already told you that you run the band, it’s critical that your focus stays away from other instruments as they are playing their own tune. If your tempo goes too fast or slow, you’ll throw them off; they cannot throw your beat off because they’re reading the same measures you are. It’s imperative to either know the song perfectly or stick to your sheet as each person’s sheet will have the tempo for each measure expected for their individual instrument.
Playing in a band isn’t overly difficult and only takes your patience to learn the drumming trade with ease. In no time you’ll be the lead drummer of a band, or even just the school band, and have the fundamentals of drumming down like a pro.