I can't take drum solos

it appears to be mental block. worrying about good drum solos makes
drum solos impossible? try playing some bad solos at home for a while.

martinbr

2010-02-16 22:47:13 UTC

Post by mike
it appears to be mental block. worrying about good drum solos makes
drum solos impossible? try playing some bad solos at home for a while.

That's a interesting concept. I know alot of it is just not being
relaxed. When I get uptight, the tune goes out of my head and panic
mode sets in. I don't know, I might not ever be a great soloist, but
it would be nice to just get thru 32 bars and know where the heck I am
at when it comes to the tune.
martinbr

Frisco

2010-02-17 01:30:48 UTC

Post by mike
it appears to be mental block. worrying about good drum solos makes
drum solos impossible? try playing some bad solos at home for a while.

I'm not being condescending or anything, but seriously why do you care
so much? I've been playing drums for a serious long time too, and I
don't ever do any solos. Don't want to do them, don't need to do
them, nobody ever asks me to, nobody even mentions it. I play in a
texas-blues trio now, and band before that was a pop-chick-country
band, before that all fusion-funk originals. Last time I did a solo
on-stage, I think I was 16 and in my Neil Peart mode... their first
live album had just come out and I learned his solo almost note for
note. I'm embarrassed by it now. Damn, I actually played that
repeatedly at school dances in high school. Oye. :-)

Paul

m m

2010-02-17 01:44:09 UTC

Post by mike
it appears to be mental block. worrying about good drum solos makes
drum solos impossible? try playing some bad solos at home for a while.

Because in bebop, you are almost required to take a solo. It's
tradition. You kind of look like you really haven't gotten control of
the instrument. I don't mean a Buddy Rich solo which is all rudiments.
I mean a solo where your breaking up the time between the set. Are
there any jazz drummers here? I know there used to be.
martinbr

Steve Turner

2010-02-17 01:59:43 UTC

Post by mike
it appears to be mental block. worrying about good drum solos makes
drum solos impossible? try playing some bad solos at home for a while.

I'm with Paul on this one; I'm virtually never called upon to do a solo because
the band I'm in doesn't require it. There are a few places where I "kinda"
have solos ("Late In The Evening" by Paul Simon, for example) and I can do
them, but I'd really rather not if I had the choice. That said, if I have to
take a solo I almost always follow one rule: Keep time throughout the whole
damn thing! I really hate hearing drummers go off on a wankfest, just showing
off their chops without any regard for an underlying pulse. I'd much rather
hear a Steve Gadd style solo where the drummer keeps an undeniable groove going
on underneath whatever else he chooses to do, and believe me that "whatever
else" can be as sparse and simplistic as possible and I'm happy. Especially if
you have people out on the floor; the last thing I want my drum solo to do is
to clear the dance floor because nobody can follow what the hell I'm doing.

I know I kinda ignored what you said about being in a be-bop band, and I doubt
you're going to have a lot of dancers in that environment, but I'd still bet
your audience would enjoy what you're doing much more if you keep time while
doing it. And to paraphrase Bill Bruford, "When in doubt, roll!"

--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

m***@intercom.net

2010-02-17 11:54:40 UTC

Post by mike
it appears to be mental block. worrying about good drum solos makes
drum solos impossible? try playing some bad solos at home for a while.

In jazz you are expected to take several solos a night. Trade 4's, 8's and at
sometime during the
night take an extended solo.

I learned to take the 4's and 8's by trading with myself. Play four bars of
time and then play four
bars of solo. After practice the length becomes natural. It may take a lot of
time but it will come.
As far as the extended solo goes I play what I play at home to amuse myself
since it doesn't have
to be in time. This would also apply to a concert situation with other types of
music.
You can riff around and then come to a stop and bring the band back in.
This all applies to jazz. In other situations with people on the dance floor the
solo has to stay in time
so the people will be able to dance to it. These solos don't happen too often
in my experience.

Pete Pemberton

2010-02-17 19:55:03 UTC

Post by mike
it appears to be mental block. worrying about good drum solos makes
drum solos impossible? try playing some bad solos at home for a while

Post by martinbr
That's a interesting concept. I know alot of it is just not being
relaxed. When I get uptight, the tune goes out of my head and panic
mode sets in. I don't know, I might not ever be a great soloist, but
it would be nice to just get thru 32 bars and know where the heck I am
at when it comes to the tune.
martinbr

I have been studying a little from a book called Mastering The Tables
of Time. Playing across the bar is easier than it seems. You just have
to learn how to do it, just like anything else we have learned. Start
slow and count!

PP

Bill Coffin

2010-02-19 19:41:14 UTC

Bebop solos are demanding in that you have to keep track of the tune.
You get 32 bars. Or 8, or 16 or whatever.

On the other hand, you don't have to be a wailing Buddy Rich type.
Listen to Frankie Dunlop or Phillie Joe Jones soloing. The emphasis is
on musical expression, not on display of chops.

So it's something to work on in the woodshed. (I have the same problem;
I hate to solo, and I hate it when some arranger wants a killer fill to
open a tune.)

-Bill

In article <93348656-d3d8-4b3e-a954-

Post by mike
it appears to be mental block. worrying about good drum solos makes
drum solos impossible? try playing some bad solos at home for a while.

--
Bill Coffin --- ***@eclipsoid.com --- visit us at www.eclipsoid.com

bluetrain

2010-02-17 20:21:37 UTC

like other stuff in drums, soloing technicque must be studied and developed,
unless you actually are one of those gifted drummers who apparently may let
the drum sing everything is comin through his mind.

taking for granted you have already a basic mastering of rudiments, you
should start practiseing single strokes while counting in your mind the four
beats of each bar.
you start playing only few notes in each bar, and you have to play them
unevenly on different drums
in other words, if you divide each bar in sixteen, namely 1-a-e-i -2-a-e-i
etc etc, you should play some note on the beat, some on the e, some in the
beetween...
tom tom, snare and bass should be tuned thorougly and singin'.
in a few weeks you will be very surprised by the interesting phrases that
may develop from this exercise, and, above all, you will be able to play the
note you want in the proper time of the bar, that is you learn how to sing a
phrase on the drum set.
the next step is to apply rudiments to make such phrases more articulated.
key points are counting quarter notes by yourself (avoid metronome) while
playing, and practise at very slow speed.

Post by martinbr
Hey everyone, I have been playing drums for over 40 years. But I still
can't take drum solos. You think for playing that long I would have it
down, but it's become kind of a phobia or block for me when I am on
the band stand. I got out of it for awhile. Actually for quite a long
time. But still I have seen drummers that have played for a lot less
time than I have who are just killin on the bandstand. I mean like
playing over the bar line which I can't do yet.
This has become a big stumbling block for me. This is really a fucking
problem for me. I mean don't get me wrong, I can swing. I have been
told that my feel is good. I have been around for awhile. I am no kid.
A lot of these musicians give me good feedback. But I know what a good
drum solo is, and I don't have it. But for how long I have been
playing I really don't have a lot of on stage experience taking drum
solos. I have been told to sing the tune, count bars, ect. I have been
thinking about just giving it up all together if I can't get this part
togther in my playing. I really don't want to play that way if I can't
express my all the way around the drumset.
I mean what are you jazz drummes thinking about when your trading with
other players in the band or than the song? I mean you have to be
thinking about some rudiments, rolls, ect...
It's funny, I have this concept what I want to do when I practice, but
when it comes to playing and taking solos, I kind of wimp out. It's
humilating. To be honest, it's just down right fucked up. Please no
flames, my ego is bruised already.
martinbr

Perry Justus

2010-03-28 20:32:56 UTC

On Tue, 16 Feb 2010 01:27:31 -0800 (PST), martinbr

Singing the melody in your head really does help, in my experience.
Just hear it in time and react with your drumming. Imagine that
you've taken over the song, and you're embellishing the melody, adding
your own experiences to it. It could be simple whole note phrases, or
anything, really. Hope this helps.

Perry

Frisbieinstein

2010-03-30 06:42:21 UTC