A Drummer's Guide to Throwing Out All of the Rules

Learning how to play music has long been associated with greater scores in math, but don’t be fooled.  If you’ve ever taken a music theory class, you know there are patterns and, yes, sometimes rules to follow.  But continue reading, and Ohio teacher Timothy K. will show you that sometimes, you just need to throw out all of the rules…

 

Music is too often approached as though it is governed by a set of concrete rules. Notes must go together in this way, chords and melodies should combine like so, and songs have to follow one of the standard formulas. Looking at drums in particular, it is generally accepted that you will use the snare for backbeats (probably on beats 2 and 4), that you will keep a steady rhythm and that you will be set up behind the band.

Don’t read me wrong; those are often good ideas, but I propose to look at them as general guidelines for modern music. Snare drums are made to cut through music, so they make a good anchor for the rest of the musicians. Keeping a steady rhythm is something every drummer should be able to do. You don’t find the foundation of the building at the entrance, of course, so putting the drums at the front of a stage would be a bit awkward in most situations.

But one of the first things I tell my students, and then remind them of, is that there actually are no rules with drums. You don’t have to hit the heads of the drums, use sticks, set them up in a standard way or even think of them as solely a rhythm instrument. There are many ways to make music with a given instrument. You can tap on just about anything and use it as a percussion piece!

My students have often asked about tuning drums, or brought in a piece of their set they were having trouble with. As I go about getting it to sound more conventional, I explain that drums don’t have to sound a certain way. You can use the weird sounds. I see drums as a musical instrument, so I want them to sound that way. Some people would rather have punchy toms, a sharp kick and a snare with as little tension as possible. There are no rules against that, either; it’s their artistic voice. One student that I have, in particular, is often wrapped up in playing things ‘right’. It’s only right if you’re trying to play the same thing that someone else played, you’ve worked a part out before and want to repeat it or it’s sitting in front of you on paper. Musicians write parts to express something, and you don’t have to express yourself as if you were someone else. This can apply to simplifying complex patterns or just trying to add a fresh flavor to the music.

The point I’m driving is this: don’t stop yourself from being creative because it’s something you’ve never seen anyone else do or because it’s unconventional. While a set of guidelines is a very good idea for the playing of most music, some of the best art comes when the lines aren’t firm borders.

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