TigerBill's DrumBeat Community Forums for Free Expert Advice on Drums and Percussion.

Sometimes the lessons come hard. I remember years ago when I was basically just getting my feet wet, I'd do what James said. Lock into the soloist. After a couple of tenor saxes upside my head, literally, I learned to cap the phrases and maybe run what I call the agreement in unison to the final phrase of the soloist's statement as I set up the rest of the group to hit abck into the tune. What Terry was talking about as a melodic soloist can also happen to a drummer. I've taken solos and found that no-one in the band was even listening to what I was talking about in my solo. When I see that happening I just cut it short and count the band back into the tune immediatley. of course there are also those cats who, when given a solo on guitar or horn who take their own heads and go completely somewhere else out of context to the tune. I just lay back, pull back the fire and basically just play cozy time and accompany them as much as possible while keeping the origianl tune's form in my head, until they are finished. Then set the band up to come back in with a phrase that brings everyone back around to the tune. Our job back there is to accompany. To make cats play outside their normal skins but in what they are playing. Anything else is counter productive to the music. if we can't make the tune bigger than it was origianlly and the sum of the band bigger than its parts as drummers, then we don't belong on the bandstand!! If I'm not told that I am easy to play with in the tunes I know I'm in the wrong place at the wrong time, and I'll find a drummer I know who can fit with the band well and give him/her the gig. That's only happened a couple of times in my life and in the end it worked out much better that way.

Post Extras