Behind the beat is kinda like something that sits right in a groove but doesn't slow the song down. I kinda think of superstition by stevie wonder. A lot of punk and upbeat fast rock is ahead of the beat and really drives the music
I am trying to wrap my head around this concept of playing on, in front of, and behind the beat. I have read on it, but words only take you so far. I 'd like to really hear it. Can any of you out there can direct me to any rock, funk or R&B examples (i.e. songs) of playing behind the behind, on, or in front of the beat? I've heard Charlie Watts often plays behind the beat, as an example in Honky Tonk Woman. True? Any others ? Thanks.
Behind the beat is kinda like something that sits right in a groove but doesn't slow the song down. I kinda think of superstition by stevie wonder. A lot of punk and upbeat fast rock is ahead of the beat and really drives the music
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An often debated topic. I can't think of a specific tune at the moment but you hear it a lot in blues music.
Here's an old trick you can use to actually make yourself play slightly behind the beat. When you get ready to play the backbeat, play a left-handed flam. So the the right hand on the Hi Hat will be on the beat and your snare hit will be slightly behind. It works, try it!
Charlie Watts skips/misses beats between 2 and 3. i found this out from JR Robinson, he told me i have a weird charlie watts thing goin on. i cant shake it either!! i never expected to hear that.
Listen to reggae drummers, guys like Sly Dunbar, Carlton "Carly" Barrett with Bob Marley and the Wailers etc. The Jamaican guys. Guys like Stewart Copeland on the other hand (particularly in his earlier days) will tend to play on top of the reggae feel, so you really have to get to the source. Probably because they're pretty laid back sort of people. I read an interview with Sly saying that his favourite rock drummer was Charlie Watts, because of his laid-back feel.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTG7ZxO3-sE&feature=player_detailpage"]YouTube - Broadcast Yourself.[/ame]
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMUQMSXLlHM&feature=player_detailpage"]YouTube - ‪Bob Marley & The Wailers - Buffalo Soldier‬‏[/ame]
Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare on drums and bass behind Black Uhuru.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kygSN6-ICFg&feature=player_detailpage"]YouTube - ‪Black Uhuru - Sensemilla‬‏[/ame]
"...it's the Paradigm Of The Cosmos!" Stewart Copeland on Youtube
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Polka/klezmer(sp) has to be right on the beat, maybe even ahead a bit?
slow blues, slow/med tempo classic rock with lots of grace notes probably behind.
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If I want to play behind the beat then I make the really 80's reversed snare drum effect in my head before playing on 2 and 4 or whatever. You're still in time but it feels like an epic ballad. You can change how far behind the beat you are too with the amount of reverse effect you do, obviously tonnes just think of any meatloaf song and you'll be grooving!
This is where the "art" of drumming comes into play. Depending on the style/genre, you will find that before/on/after the beat is where you need to be. Sometimes you have to drive it, sometimes you have to be right on it and sometimes you need to be just a bit behind it to make it all sound as it should. It takes lot's of practice, IMO, to get it right but once you do you will really find that your drumming capabilities will be greatly enhanced. Finding examples of playing behind the beat may be the more difficult of the three for you to find. Early blues will be helpful for you to listen to.
Listen to some old-school and not-so old-school blues drummers. Guys like Chris "Whipper" Layton of the late Stevie Ray Vaughn's band, Fran Christina with Stevie Ray's brother Jimmy Vaughn, Jamie Oldaker when he was playing with Eric Clapton, Steve Jordan, Roger Hawkins of The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section, Tommy Taylor with Eric Johnson, Brendan Hill of Blues Traveller.....these are just but a small example of players I'm a fan of in the blues genre.....many more to list. Some Led Zeppelin tunes like "Since I've been Loving You" show what great command John Bonham had in really laying back behind the beat (as well as the control he had with a single kick pedal). And of course there's the late, great Jeff Porcaro from Toto and countless of other recordings, who could play on the beat, ahead of the beat and most certainly behind the beat. You need to scope out and listen to players like these.....don't just give them a once-over, cursory listen, I mean really listen. The laid-back feel of blues and shuffles is an art-form, and laying behind the beat is but one of it's aspects. Technique and sight-reading crazy stuff (although very handy) means zip if you cannot lay down a great feel. Do some serious playing in a blues band, or at least seek out guitarists and musicians who really understand how the blues work and what they want you as a drummer to play. Even if you've got to seek out older players, it will improve your playing and the ability to play on, ahead or behind the beat. That is something you won't be able to find in a book, DVD or YouTube.
"...it's the Paradigm Of The Cosmos!" Stewart Copeland on Youtube
668: The Number Of The Guy Next Door To The Beast.
"A random act of kindness; it keeps my heart in shape!" - Late8
hey these are some of my faves, have given many of them a listen, esp. Roger Hawkins on all the Aretha numbers, Bonham and Oldaker. I agree with the feel, its definitely the way to find where you belong when playing in a band. Jeff Porcaro is awesome session drummer on a tune my band plays - "My own Way to RocK' (by Burton Cummings). The drumming in that is very tasteful...would you call that right on the beat?
"Behind the beat" almost sounds like a story on tv about a musician. Today on VH1, tune in for 'Phil Rudd: Behind the beat'. We take you into the life and times of a legend of rock, face to face interview, and find out the raw details behind the drummer for AC-DC.
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I'm likely to be classified as a behind the beat kind of drummer. When I team up with a bassist who lays "ahead" of the beat, wow!, we almost wind up playing right on it.
Have you ever had that feeling from a bassist like being pulled away like wild horses. A weird sense of being driven ahead faster even tough you know exactly where the tempo should be?
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Ya I do know that feeling. But I find myself sync-ing up more with the guitarist actually. When a bassist is slightly on or ahead of beat, it can still work as a groove though.
"...it's the Paradigm Of The Cosmos!" Stewart Copeland on Youtube
668: The Number Of The Guy Next Door To The Beast.
"A random act of kindness; it keeps my heart in shape!" - Late8
"...it's the Paradigm Of The Cosmos!" Stewart Copeland on Youtube
668: The Number Of The Guy Next Door To The Beast.
"A random act of kindness; it keeps my heart in shape!" - Late8
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