drum solo post techniques/styles

**dova** · 09-08-2008, 02:53 PM

i'll start by posting some of my drum solo sessions.

http://www.myspace.com/dovasounds

nothing like a drum solo to really get things going, think of endless creative ideas, and get a cool workout too!

who are some of your influences when it comes to drum solos?
and if anyone wants to talk about technique and chops, go right ahead as well.

dova

**DoubleKickMick** · 09-10-2008, 08:40 AM

Im not one for drum solos. I dont feel the need to go all out like that even though the boys in my band try and push me that way. I find the best fills are the simple ones that have punch and make you be heard but not seen. Call me boring but it works for me.

**Ethel_The_Frog** · 09-10-2008, 11:30 AM

Can't be bothered with proper solos, just Keith Moon it and hit everything.

**backtodrum** · 09-10-2008, 12:10 PM

Never been one for them either!

**Dustin** · 09-10-2008, 12:18 PM

Blimey - I though I was the only drummer not into solos!

**gonefishin** · 09-10-2008, 01:13 PM

Im happy with about 3 or 4 measures of fill myself , not really into several minute of solo .

Im with Mick , just want to be heard, If I was interested in standing out in a crowd I would have been a keytar player .

**dova** · 09-10-2008, 01:39 PM

oh c'mon is that it?

in many styles like progressive fusion and jazz, you are almost forced to be able to feel what is around you and solo accordingly, if anything, i think even if you do not like a part of drumming (i.e. drum soloing), i think it's necessary to keep pushing the envelope and bringing something new to the table to educate and progress our younger drummers, who time and time again, i believe are being influenced too much on the mainstream "hollywood" aspect of being in a band and drumming, and not enough on actually knowing what's up with their instrument. Whether you play rock, reggae, metal, funk, punk, trip hop, jazz, hip hop, country, or whatever, it's always nice to be able to shred and take control of the situation, at least for a little bit, and show the upper echelon skills. It's always nice to lay back, i love doing that too of course, lol, but this is a drumming forum so I thought i could talk about pushing the creativity of drumming!

for some of the younger drummers, some excellent educational books/dvd's that i would start with in terms of learning and grasping independence and technique, would be (Steve Gadd - Up Close) + (Dave Weckl - Back to Basics)

Just trying to help and spread the love of drumming

Listen to my solos and let me know what you think of my style and some of my chops, of course I play in many bands with different styles and know how to calm down and set the pace of the band, but I just wanted to have a little fun and spread the talent.

peace and drumming,

-dova

**Ethel_The_Frog** · 09-10-2008, 04:03 PM

blah blah, independence, blah blah, technique. No point if it bores you or no one can realize it.
The crowd aren't going to go wild for your amazing cross over in speed and limb control, they'll go mad for something that sounds good and dynamic. Of course you expect a solo in jazz, but jazz crowds are so musical it'd have to be amazing. If you want to muck about, go for it, just don't go tech special.
I don't care for solos. The only one I enjoy is Moby ****. The rest of the time they can be overblown and self indulgent and it's not what your crowd wants if you only play a 40 minute set...they want you to play the songs that they like.

**dova** · 09-10-2008, 04:30 PM

hahaha, dude you're like totally missing the point man

i give up

**dova** · 09-10-2008, 04:39 PM

and btw, i'm never going to post anything if people are just going to be negative and stuff, it's like even with me posting my own stuff, like that's my material and i'm hella sensitive about what i show to people and stuff you know? like it's cool to have you own opinion and say that you don't like something, but your not giving anything back to the original post or poster, it's like why would you say that? you didn't even comment on my style of drumming or anything, i leave the topic feeling negative instead of positive. That's like me posting stuff of my band on here, and someone being like hey your band sucks, i'm not into that music... it's like what good does that do me?

i dunno man... i signed up for this forum cuz the other forum i was with drum-talk.com disintegrated, and i thought this one was going to be cool you know?

**Mysterious Stan** · 09-10-2008, 05:02 PM

Hey man, i thought your solo sounded really cool. I love listening to drum solos but cant really play them too well due to my poor kit set up (and myself!) I know what your getting at, maybe if you had posted it in the my band section or drum videos section people would have got that you wanted people to give you feedback. People probably thought you were starting a discussion about what people thought about them. But yeh, cool playing and will look forward to hearing some songs!

**STICKSWIZZARDDRAGON** · 09-10-2008, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by dova

oh c'mon is that it?

in many styles like progressive fusion and jazz, you are almost forced to be able to feel what is around you and solo accordingly, if anything, i think even if you do not like a part of drumming (i.e. drum soloing), i think it's necessary to keep pushing the envelope and bringing something new to the table to educate and progress our younger drummers, who time and time again, i believe are being influenced too much on the mainstream "hollywood" aspect of being in a band and drumming, and not enough on actually knowing what's up with their instrument. Whether you play rock, reggae, metal, funk, punk, trip hop, jazz, hip hop, country, or whatever, it's always nice to be able to shred and take control of the situation, at least for a little bit, and show the upper echelon skills. It's always nice to lay back, i love doing that too of course, lol, but this is a drumming forum so I thought i could talk about pushing the creativity of drumming!

for some of the younger drummers, some excellent educational books/dvd's that i would start with in terms of learning and grasping independence and technique, would be (Steve Gadd - Up Close) + (Dave Weckl - Back to Basics)

Just trying to help and spread the love of drumming

Listen to my solos and let me know what you think of my style and some of my chops, of course I play in many bands with different styles and know how to calm down and set the pace of the band, but I just wanted to have a little fun and spread the talent.

peace and drumming,

-dova

HOLA como estas Mi amigo DOVA *CREATIVE ARTISTIC DRUMMER (CAT)
EXPRESSED Very GOOD **EXCELLENT *AS within this Very VERY ANCIENT SPIRITUAL ART FORM THE ART OF SOLOING IS FORSURE A Very DISCIPLINE
ART FORM in FACT within all OF THIS VERY ANCIENT SPIRITUAL ART FORM
PERFORMING AND Complimenting YOUR GROUP(YOUR FELLOW ARTIST) as * A WHOLE (1-ONE-UNIT) AND REALLY Beyond within THE AMAZING TEXTURES
OF ACCENTED RHYTHMS AND THE FLOW within A STEADY PLUS within THE BRIGHTNESS of THE COLORS when EVERY other ARTIST is IN TOTAL UNITY
as being one within THE FULL MUSIC TONES AND TEXTURES within the COLORS AS then THE JOURNEYS FLOW LIKE A ENCHANTING AMAZING
SPIRITUAL MAGIC JOURNEY As the CROWD (AUDIENCE) IS WITHIN YOUR
CREATIVE AND VERY OPEN MINDED ARTISTIC ARTISTRY OF THE WONDEROUS AMZING COSMIC ENCHANTING MUSIC JOURNEY**and SOLOING IS A FANTASTIC VERY ANCIENT SPIRITUAL JOURNEY **AT LEAST FOR My VERY ANCIENT SPIRITUAL EXTREMMMMMXXX OUT OF THE BOX ARTISTRY (STYLE) within My OWN UNIQUE FLOW of THIS AND within THIS VERY ANCIENT SPIRITUAL ART FORM **AND AS I always STATE WHATE EVER WORKS FOR The Very CREATIVE OPEN MINDED ARTISTIC ARTIST is ALL GREAT within Their OWN UNIQUE ARTISTRY STYLE) within their JOURNEYS **
GRACIAS **

**Beave** · 09-10-2008, 05:18 PM

Love the solo's Dova! I love drumming in general, whether its a song, solo, etc. You have some really good chops in there and have smooth transitions. Dont get down because of a couple negative posts. Keep em coming i say! Im looking forward to recording a posting some solos of my own soon.

**ratmycue** · 09-10-2008, 05:55 PM

Hey Dova welcome buddy, had a good listen to your solo, I think you have a pretty good handle on most of your chops, doubles sound pretty even and the double kicks sound pretty smooth, keep at it buddy, Only critique I will say is step back a bit and leave some space and slow her down in spots and try to make a melodic pattern the listener can lock into. Most audience members will lock into a melodic repetative pattern and enjoy it much more than fast double and diddles.

P.S. I used to do the exact same as you on a solo in my early years I wanted to get everything out all at once at 300 miles an hour!!! Thats the beauty of getting older , u get wiser too. keep it up Rat.

**livewire80** · 09-10-2008, 06:11 PM

Some pretty fast chops and some pretty cool patterns going on there. Double kicks are smooth. I agree with rat that you could possibly groove it up and slow it down a bit more in some places rather than rush it all through. Pretty awesome stuff though.

**gonefishin** · 09-10-2008, 06:17 PM

Dova , dont go away mad , everyone has their own opinion on drumming . Im just not interested in solo drumming,how-ever you are and thats fine.

Everyone has their own style and techniques which is shared between all of us here on the board . I listened to your solos and thought they were good, loved the double base .

Dont get dis-couraged because not all like to play the way you do , we are all individuals with different tastes . I say keep on drummin your way and keep postin your solos .

Just because there are some of us who arent interested in playing solos that way doesnt mean we dont like listening to others who do .

**dova** · 09-10-2008, 06:56 PM

thanks for the comments on the solo's, i did those back 2 back without warming up or anything, so yeah just like rat said i just went for it, but next time i'll show everyone my groove, cuz i can definitely break it down and hit up some sick beats

lol, i'm not like butt-hurt or anything gonefishin, but you can obviously tell that i'm serious about drumming and i've played for years, started at 10 and i'm 23 now, i've been there and done that, took lessons, studied hardcore for years, learning from all the greats and trying to learn something new everyday in drumming, i'm a drumaholic! so i mean, i was just expecting a little bit more positivity, but it's cool... of course i'm aware and conscience that there are people who don't like drum solo's, but i'm just trying to help the drumming community! lol, you know what i mean?

I'll say this, when i was 15 i played a show at my high school in DC, there was maybe like 200 people cramped up in a lil space, and people liked my drumming and chops, so everyone feverishly chanted for a drum solo... Josh! Josh! Josh! DRUM SOLO! And i froze up!!! and didn't know what do, i couldn't even do one! and you know honestly, i never ever want that to happen to a young drummer whose put in that situation really quick ya know? that's why i wanted to make this post to not only show people some idea's and a little bit of my style, but to help some other younger drummers who otherwise might not have the confidence to hit it up you know?

I understand if you don't like drum solos, but it's like... why do you play drums? what do play when you are alone? i'm sure everyone here who has played a gig has had the words drum solo screamed out, and you have to please the crowd! I just wanted to educate and spread the love of drumming! do you go to a rush concert and when neil peart does a drum solo, you go... awww man... he's just a show off, booooo, i'm not into solos... lol, of course not, ya know what i mean? it's hella funny,

Just appreciate when people post and try to get things going, i'm not one of those posters who just wait for other people post so i can flame them, ya know? i hate that stuff, i think you know what i'm trying to say, i'm just not a newbie drummer and i want to learn from everybody and keep gaining ideas

-dova

**drummer** · 09-10-2008, 08:23 PM

Originally Posted by dova

and btw, i'm never going to post anything if people are just going to be negative and stuff, it's like even with me posting my own stuff, like that's my material and i'm hella sensitive about what i show to people and stuff you know? like it's cool to have you own opinion and say that you don't like something, but your not giving anything back to the original post or poster, it's like why would you say that? you didn't even comment on my style of drumming or anything, i leave the topic feeling negative instead of positive. That's like me posting stuff of my band on here, and someone being like hey your band sucks, i'm not into that music... it's like what good does that do me?

i dunno man... i signed up for this forum cuz the other forum i was with drum-talk.com disintegrated, and i thought this one was going to be cool you know?

Josh, this thread is rare for Drum Chat and had I'd seen it earlier, I would have spoken up before now. You'll find that this forum is one of the nicest and most respectful forums on the net. Simply read all the posts already in here and you'll see what I mean.

I'm with you on staying progressive about drumming and I always speak up about it. While I'm very respectful of "the groove" (I'm an accomplished drummer myself), I also believe in constantly working to progress as artists and explore new frontiers. (Why do I suddenly hear the Star Trek them playing in my head?)

Anyway... welcome to our forum. Kick off your shoes and stay awhile. We look forward to getting to know you.

PS. Stay away from Pastor Bob. He's nuthin' but trouble!

**drummer** · 09-10-2008, 08:26 PM

To the restaya...

Please try to keep your opinions and sometimes "assertive" replies to a moderate, diplomatic temperature. Remember; sometimes things come across more aggressive in forums than what you may have intended and things can quickly spiral out of control.

Thx!

**=^-..-^=** · 09-10-2008, 10:34 PM

You're all wrong about everything, you buncha poopie heads!!

I don't mind playing solos, and in the right situation, they can be fun for all involved. Some things I've found:

•Chops and blistering technique don't always mean musical! Remember, a majority of your audience are NOT drummers, let alone musicians. Some of the simplest tom rolls done musically and rhythmically will often wow your crowd more than lightning fast rudiments on the snare. WE all know how easy Inna Gadda De Vida is to play, but most non-musicians don't, and enjoy it anyway. I was listening to I think it was a Deep Purple live album and the solo was like two minutes of tighly executed snare rudiments – boring! If you ARE playing to impress those 1-2 drummers in the audience, believe me, you won't.

•Don't forget to be visual! Play bigger than life with exeggerated movement, Look up at the crowd, smile, make funny faces; be a doofus during your solo. Do a call and response with the crowd; anything to get them engaged.

•While a drum solo should be spontaneous, it should be 'planned spontanaety.' Write it and practice it like it is another SONG in your set list. Have 4-5 main ideas that you want to expand upon and practice them like it's a musical piece. The transitions between those parts are where the spontanaety comes in. Have loud parts and soft parts, fast and slow, and end on a crescendo. I start my solo on brushes and end with sticks. I once started with chopsticks, then brushes!

**jguzman361** · 09-10-2008, 10:45 PM

sometimes i really get into a song and keep playing after it finishes,thats about the closest i get to a solo

**ratmycue** · 09-10-2008, 10:49 PM

[QUOTE==^-..-^=;112710]You're all wrong about everything, you buncha poopie heads!!

I'm Never wrong..... just ask my girlfriend, hehe

•Chops and blistering technique don't always mean musical!

They do when I play em . hahahaha

WE all know how easy Inna Gadda De Vida is to play,
Speak for yourself I still cant get that one down!!! hahahehehe

• be a doofus during your solo. No problem there bud.
• and end on a crescendo.
Where can I buy a crescendo from? Do they sell at drum stores?

**drummer** · 09-10-2008, 10:55 PM

Originally Posted by =^-..-^=

You're all wrong about everything, you buncha poopie heads!!

LOL

**TURTLINATOR** · 09-10-2008, 11:04 PM

Originally Posted by ratmycue

• and end on a crescendo.
Where can I buy a crescendo from? Do they sell at drum stores?

Check Ebay they have everything.

And i love soloing but in jazz there isnt really alot of room for solos except the ones that are super musical and I am just not quite there yet. Welcome to the forum dova and drummer is right this is one of the nicest places to talk drumming.

**pastor_bob** · 09-11-2008, 12:20 AM

Dova, your drumming skills are apparent, and I thank you for sharing them with us. I think you'll find that, for the most part, your post was simply misunderstood. We've have other people come in here, post their drumming skills, and then you realize they had an ulterior motive for coming here.

I think we can see, though, that you are simply passionate for drumming, and if you give everyone a little time to get to know you, you will find that this really is a great place to hang out. We have all different levels of drummers here, and many different ages of drummers, but we're here for the friendships, fun, and to share knowledge that can make us better. If you give us a chance, I'm sure that we'll benefit greatly by having you among us, and you'll benefit greatly too by being among us.

I enjoyed the solo work a lot, even though I am no solo master. I started playing drums when I was 51. I'm now 53! LOL I'm finally having the chance to scratch that itch that I should have scratched when my age was single digits! Keep posting Dova. Hearing other drummers inspires me!

Menu

Thread: drum solo post techniques/styles

Thread Tools

Display

User Info Menu