Every now and then I hear the super intellectual artsy types talk about drummers and how the good ones play “melodies.” Ok, so… I don’t want to be that guy who points out people’s grammar mistakes in Facebook posts or whatever, but seriously.
Drummers don’t play melodies. We just don’t. That’s not the drumset’s job. It never has been and it never will be. “I love how melodic that guy is on the drums.” I feel like people who talk that way are trying to lend cred to the drumset, and I appreciate the effort, but it’s just too much of a stretch. Drummers simply don’t play melodies.
There are, however, a handful of ways drummers can participate in the melodic and harmonic aspects of music. I’ve been slowly learning these things over the past decade and they’ve really impacted my playing and how I view my role in the band.
1) Be aware of what key the song is in.
The biggest impact this has for me is how I tune the snare drum. An open and ringy snare tone can add a lot of life and energy to a rock song, but not if the ring sustains at a bad interval with the key of the song. I typically try to tune the snare to either a tonic or a 5th, but major/minor 3rds can also be cool. Tuning toms to the key of the song can work well too, especially if you’re using them in the actual groove and not only in fills. For instance, check out the way Jay Bellerose uses the tuned rack tone instead of a hihat on this piece of awesomeness. And check out this wiki page on scale numbers if you don’t know what 5ths and 3rds are.
2) Go for “hooks” in your fills.
The thing about a melody that everybody likes is its catchiness, or “hooky-ness” (in pop music terms). It’s something that everyone can sing along with… something that makes the song easily recognizable. Though a 12-tone scale can’t be played on a drumset, there’s nothing stopping us as drummers from playing HOOKS, especially in fills. Dave Grohl on “In Bloom” comes to mind here, or the iconic Phil Collins on “In The Air Tonight.” And you know what? Forget about just fills. What about timeless groove “hooks” like the intros to U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” or Green Day’s “Longview?” While these references are certainly NOT melodies, they are genuine hooks nonetheless and the music is better because of them.
3) Know how to talk about melody and harmony.
The rest of your band knows what scales and chords are. They know the difference between major and minor. You should too. It will make rehearsals and discussions easier for everyone, and it will help to offset the stigma that drummers aren’t “real” musicians.
4) Play in a way that tells a story.
This is more of a soloing or improvising thing, but it can apply to any setting if you want it to. The idea is that you as the drummer spend time thinking and strategically planning what you’re going to play, instead of just mindlessly repeating the same groove over and over. I think this is what a lot of people mean when they reference “melodic” or “lyrical” drumming. And I’m not talking about being overly busy or changing things up just for variation’s sake. I’m talking about putting the kind of effort into the overall direction and crafting of your groove that songwriters put into their melodies and lyrics.
Summary: Suggesting that drummers should play “melodies” doesn’t make you sound smart, but knowing how to use a drumset to access the non-rhythmic elements of the music world sure does. Your job in the band is GROOVE, but that’s not the only realm where you can contribute.
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February 21, 2013 at 8:43 am
James Mayor
Good job Professor Steve!
February 21, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Travis
Hi Steve,
First, I understand what you’re trying to convey but I want to challenge you a bit on this idea. First, I think we need to define what a melody is. I think the quotes you raise are confused with “being musical” vs being a melodic drummer. Often times jazz drummers are told to solo over the form and they take try to play the melody on the drum set. This is objective but most definitely feasible in many different ways. “A melody is a sequence of single notes that are musically satisfying”. It depends on the musical genre. Yes, they are played mostly by a melodic instrument in which follow a specific key, time, rhythm, etc. However, why can’t drummers do this? Because they don’t have pitch? Ask Terry Bozzio or watch a solo of any great jazz combo drummer and you can hear a tune in their solo because they play melodically. So to say that “it will never be our job” is putting a boundary over our role, why can’t we? Maybe we are arguing over the definition of a melody but nonetheless I believe I can play a melodic solo. Our scale system uses 12 pitches, 13 if you count a rest. I guarantee you can get more than 12 pitches on my drum kit, it might not be ideal or the lead melody in contemporary music today but I think every drummer should be able to sing, play, and adapt it for the drum set! Why not? Besides, atonal music and 20th century composers were always trying to try new things, why can’t we try. Maybe a non-traditional drum set approach? 🙂
Here is some good melodic drumming 😉
T
February 22, 2013 at 1:46 pm
Steve Goold
“I guarantee you can get more than 12 pitches on my drum kit, it might not be ideal or the lead melody in contemporary music today but I think every drummer should be able to sing, play, and adapt it for the drum set.”
Good comment, Trav. Here’s the deal though… you’re kinda proving my point. You don’t have to “adapt” a melody for a trumpet or a piano. You don’t have to “adapt” a melody for percussion instruments like marimba or vibes. One can even play specific notes on timpani (or the toms and snare with snares-off). But when your snares are on and you’re using sticks and playing the cymbals… it’s just not a melodic instrument. It’s not in the same league as the other instruments I mentioned. Ari himself has to take a very “prepared drumset” approach just to play a simple blues. “Hey drummer… we’re changing the key of the tune… down a half step… the vocalist is tired and not feeling like she can hit the high notes in the bridge.” Oh right. Nobody says that to the drummer. Because playing melodies is not our job as drummers.
Again, I get where Ari is coming from, and the stuff in the vid (or a Bozzio vid or whatever) is cool in its own way. But I would argue that you’re not really playing DRUMS anymore when you’re doing that. Don’t misunderstand me… it’s COOL and everything. But try to get some gigs when the only thing you do is play pitched toms with mallets. You will get solo gigs… because when musicians (of all instrumentation) gather together to make music together, they don’t look to the drummer for a melodic role. And drummers don’t look to trombone players for groove. Can trombonists play a syncopated pattern in a way that has a groove of sorts? Yes. Is the trombone in the rhythm section? No.
So that’s my only point. Yes, be creative with your instrument. Yes, push the boundaries of what the instrument itself is capable of. And by all means please learn what scales and keys and chords and melodies ARE so you can discuss the entire scope of music with your bandmates instead of checking out mentally as soon as someone mentions “diminished” or “root note.” But I don’t go around acting like the drumset plays melodies just because one time I tuned my rack tom the major 3rd of the song we were playing.
Last thing… jazz drummers play solos over the form for sure, and they acknowledge the melody in doing so for sure. That is not the same thing as actually playing a melody.
All I’m going for here is a clarification of what these terms actually mean. And maybe a redirect of intentionality and focus. Here is a paraphrase of my entire post: “Hey drummers… focus on being grooving. Learn some stuff about the melodic/harmonic aspects of music, and let that make better at providing the groove for the harmonic/melodic players. Don’t worry about playing melodies… because compared to actual melodic instruments you can’t do it anyway.”
February 27, 2013 at 4:31 pm
David Blascoe
Steve you have said what I’ve been thinking for YEARS…thank you
February 27, 2013 at 9:18 pm
Erik Lindeen
Reblogged this on Erik Lindeen and commented:
Good thoughts! Steve is a killer drummer who plays for Owl City, as well as lots of other great artists. I had the chance to play with him a couple times and it was always a treat.