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Hayden Knoll

Mrs. Layton

English 4 Period 2

15 March 2019

Drumming In Music

Learning to play an instrument is thought as being a long and grueling process,

demanding utmost attention to perfection and complete understanding of the instrument falls and

it’s different styles. Considered to be most demanding instrument and a crucial part of any band

or genre. Drumming plays a pivotal role in setting up the backbone of any song. Whether it’s

jazz, rock, metal, or punk, most songs are lead by the rhythm section which consists of a bass

player, and a drummer. A band such as Led Zeppelin were able to create groove based songs

because of their rhythm section. Beats that make people wanna tap their foot, or a tempo that

makes people bang their head. But drumming tend to be underappreciated in the music industry.

It’s not sought after to become the drummer of a band as compared to the guitarist, who is

known for being more flashy and popular in a band. Drummers possess a highly required set of

skills that take years to develop. From rudiments, fills, hand/eye coordination, tempo, beat,

rhythm, and improvisation. Drummers have to master each one of these skills if they want to be a

proficient drummer. A majority of people in the music industry aren’t aware of the skills that are

necessary and don’t know what happens mentally when playing the drums. Even though

drummers are important for keeping a rhythm for the band to follow, drummers and their skill

sets are often underappreciated in the music industry.

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Drumming has been around for thousands of years, dating back to around 6000 BC in

China. Drums were originally used in ceremonies and rituals before the public got a hold of

them. Cymbals would not be created for another 5000 years and the ever so popular snare drum,

a crucial part of a drum kit, most commonly used in marching bands, would not be invented until

around 1300 AD (“History Of Drums Timeline”). Drums and percussion would continue to

evolve over the next hundred years with the implementation of the bass drum in the 1400’s. But

drumming only became more involved and popular in music around the 1930’s with the creation

of swing music. Drummers such as Gene Krupa and Chick Webb were considered the fathers of

drumming and help to revolutionize drumming in music forever. “In addition to revolutionizing

the drummer's place in jazz and influencing percussionists as musically far afield as Led

Zeppelin's ​John Bonham​, Krupa helped revolutionize the instrument itself” (“Gene Krupa; The

Drummer’s Drummer”). Jazz and American blues would continue to dominate for the the next

30 years up until the 1960’s when music would change altogether. Bands such as The Rolling

Stones, and The Beatles would be responsible for creating groovy riffs and drum beats to fill the

soul. The standard drum kit would become more popular and accessible to all. “As individualism

took hold of America and the world, drums sets became even more popular. The modern drum

set emerged with more cymbals, and bass drums” (“History Of Drums Timeline”). Drumming

would continue through the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s with bands such as Rush, The Doors, Queen,

The Who, and many more. Drumming became more hard hitting compared to the smooth and

soft style of the 1930’s and would continue to change into the 90’s with the introduction of punk

rock, and grunge. Bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and The Smashing Pumpkins were

known for having quirky guitar riffs and heavy drums that overpower the song. Drums are
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continuing to evolve with the development of new equipment such as cymbals, sticks, drum

heads and continues to please audiences worldwide.

Drummers are responsible for creating a rhythm for the band to follow and provide a

metronome for the other members to keep their tempo. Tempo is the speed of which a passage

should be played. According to Erik Stams, a journalist with Music Radar, “It is well accepted

amongst musicians that a mediocre band with a great drummer can sound truly great. The

opposite is true as well, a great band with a poor drummer will not sound very good at all”,

(“2013 Drum Expo”). Drummers are considered to be the backbone of the band. Creating groovy

rhythms that allow the guitarists and bass player to flow with each other. Take a song like “The

Lemon Song” by Led Zeppelin. The rhythm, A regular repeated pattern of sound, and the beat,

the rhythm people might tap their foot to, help the song progress and allows the bass player and

drummer to really dig into the song. Without the drummer creating the beat and tempo of the

song. How would Robert Plant be able to come up the lyrics that match the beat, or Jimmy Page

being able to create a steady riff without a tempo to follow along with. This is important because

all of music is based around timing, a band that doesn’t have good timing will sound sloppy.

Drummers are considered to be the groove makers along side the bass player. But their ability to

keep time, and create beats for the guitarist and singer to mend with help to adjust and create the

song. Drummers help to create the skeleton of a song. Gonzalo Abracas is a former drummer and

answered on Quora asking “What is the importance of drumming in music?“. Gonzalo stated that

drummers help to provide melody, harmony, and rhythm (Abarcas). When listening to a

drummer play a song, you can pick up on a lot of little hints about the song. Such as what the

timing of the song is, like ¾, 4/4, or even 7/4, when the song itself might possibly change in
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tempo or even a sudden stop. Drummers also help to give off a certain emotion. Songs that have

lighter sounding drums may represent a song which is more delicate. A good example of this is

Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged. Nirvana is well known for playing loud music and being very

destructive on stage. This was the first performance that the band played acoustic only. Dave

Grohl, Nirvana’s current drummer had to play very light in order to fill the mood of the song. If

Dave was to play the kit aggressively during the performance it wouldn’t sound good and the

show would be a flop for Nirvana, this show is even considered to be the bands best

performance.

Drummers are very versatile, being able to create beats for songs that they feel is most

appropriate. Sometimes the beats may be very simple such as a basic 4/4 beat, or they can be

complicated to match the style of the band or the tempo that the band wants. Drummers require a

demanded set of skills that are worked on for years. A few of these skills include playing

rudiments, a ​small pattern which form the foundation for more extended and complex drum

patterns, polyrhythms, a rhythm which makes use of two or more different rhythms

simultaneously, and improvisation. Not only are there skills that drummers need to learn to help

their sound improve. Drummers need to figure out what suits them best. According to Stephen

Belt, a former drummer. Drummers need to figure​ out what is best for themselves, such as how

they hold the sticks, and how they learn? Will this drummer play along with the song, or will this

drummer learn by reading sheet? What drumming style is best for you, do you play with your

arms crossed, or do you play open handed? What genre is best for you? (Belt). Drummers have

the freedom of learning how they want, you can do what is most comfortable with you. Learning

how to play drums is a skill that takes years to master and even many of the greatest drummers
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are still learning how to play. Learning how to master all the rudiments and keeping perfect

timing takes more than 5 years and should be appreciated more than it is. Even though there are a

lot of skills to learn as a drummer, it is not necessary to learn every rudiment or know how to

play every single style of music. Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters once stated, “You never feel

fully satisfied. You never feel like you’ve master your instrument. It’s always going to be a

puzzle and a challenge” (Foo Fighters). Drumming is a process that takes years to master. Even

then you won’t be a master at it. Dave for example has been playing drums since he was 17 and

he’s now in his 50’s. Dave’s very good for the style of music he plays, but it doesn’t mean that

he’s perfect. Being a good drummer is the ability to match the style that the band wants.

According to Andy Herman, who answered a question asking “How good must a drummer be to

make it in with a rock band and keep up”. Drummers such as Meg White of the White Stripes,

Phil Rudd of AC/DC, and Mike Mangini of Dream Theater are great drummers, but their not

perfect drummers. They were able to match the style their band wanted (Herman). Phil Rudd of

AC/DC is known for playing the same basic 4/4 beat that any drummer can do. Most AC/DC

songs sound very familiar due to the drum beat that Phil Rudd makes. It’s important to know that

some of the most famous drummers are not perfect. Even Neil Peart of Rush, who is regarded as

being the greatest drummer of all time has some issues with keeping time or performing fills in

songs. Drumming requires knowledge of proper skills, but it doesn’t demand everything. You

can do what you want just so long as your in time and match the bands style.

Drumming is one of the only instruments that uses the entire body. Whether it’s tapping

your foot to make the hi-hat bounce, or using your wrists to create a beat on your floor tom.

Drumming is well known for being a great form of cardio. Not a lot of people know this, but
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drumming provides a lot of healthy benefits to the mind and can help improve depression,

anxiety, unnecessary stress, etc. Michael Drake is a well known Shamanic drummer. Shamanic

drumming is a style of drums typically played within a circle and is known for healing, self

expression, and can help to get rid of depression, unnecessary stress, and anxiety. Drumming

circles have also been known to help cure patients with Parkinson's, and Alzheimer's disease

(Drake). Drumming is one of the only instruments that connects sections of the brain to each

other, this is done through the drum beats that are created from drumming on a kit, or Shamanic

drumming. Robert Muller is a journalist who went and experienced drumming therapy hands on.

According to Robert’s article. Drumming circles have also been known to help people with

autism, cancer patients, people with anger management, and veterans with PTSD. Drum therapy

helps to improve connections to specific parts of the brain, and is known for creating a sense of

euphoria if played with other people or when connections to the brain are made (“The Heart Is a

Drum Machine: Drumming as Therapy.”). Not only is drumming considered to be good for the

brain, but it has been proven to be an incredible workout and can help to reduce your blood

pressure, burns calories, and improves your circulation. Pamela Lynn-Seraphine is a journalist

with Drumeo, Drumeo is an educational site designed to teach new drummers how to play via

video lessons, recommendations for gear to get, and the effects of drumming. According to

Pamela, drumming is being looked into more over the past decade by scientists because of the

effects that it has physically and mentally. Drumming has been proven to boost cardio, improve

your well being, and increase your energy (​“What Can Drumming Do For Your Health?”)​.

Drumming is considered to be a very well rounded form of workout because of the use of every

part of the body and the need for endurance. Being a good drummer requires a lot of skill and
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hand eye coordination that can take years to develop. But drumming can also have negative

affects on the body. Such as possible strain on the heart and cutting of circulation in your wrist to

cause carpal tunnel syndrome.

There are many different views about what instrument is most important in a band.

Depending on the role and what they provide for the rest of the band helps to back up this view.

A lot of people believe that the guitarist is most important because of the rhythm and tone they

provide to songs. A song that has a lot of heavy distortion and gain might show that the band’s

style of music is metal or grunge based, while a clean tone from a guitar might represent a more

bluesy sound. Prajwal Simha answered a question on quora asking, "What is the exact role of

each guitarist in a rock composition”. Prajwal stated that rhythm guitarists create a rhythm that

follows along with the lead guitarists and the bass player, and lead guitarists are responsible for

creating the riff and a solo if it’s necessary for the song (Simha). Guitarists are considered to be

the most iconic instrument in genres such as rock, jazz. That’s why guitarists like Jimmy Page

and Eric Clapton stand out so much compared to their musical partners because of the impact

they made to their music. But guitarists have to follow tempo just the same as drummers and it’s

the drummers and bass players that create a beat and rhythm for guitarists to follow. Another

side of the story is that the singer is the most important part of the band because it’s their lyrical

input that forms the songs the band wants. Singer’s such as Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant,

Robert Daltrey were the members that talked with the audience, got them more involved rather

than just letting them sit and listen. Singer’s help to create a mood for the band and helped the

band connect with their fans. People consider the singer to be the most important part of the band
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because of there lyrical input to the songs. But if it wasn’t for the drummers to create a groove

for the guitarist and bass players to jam to. There wouldn’t be any music to sing to.

Even though drummers are important for keeping a rhythm and tempo for the band,

drummers are often underappreciated and should be considered more important in the music

industry. Drummers give rhythm, tempo, and a beat for the band to follow with, drummers have

a highly required skill set that is more than meets the eye. Drumming has many physical and

mental benefits that people are unaware of. Bands such as the Foo Fighters, Led Zeppelin, The

Eagles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and more are inspiring new generations of musicians to be

creative and step out of their comfort zone. Drumming has evolved over the past two decades

with the creation of Electronic kits, better quality cymbals, and better material for drum shells.

Drumming is still moving at a fast pace and we are unaware of what the future could hold for

percussion.
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Work Cited

Abarcas, G. (2017). What Is The Importance Of Drums In Music. Quora.

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-importance-of-drums-in-music

Belt,Stephen. "What skills are required to play the drums?" Quora.

https://www.quora.com/What-skills-are-required-to-play-the-drums. Dec 16, 2017

Drake, Michael. “Express Yourself by Drumming for Healing.” ​Thoughtco.​, Dotdash

www.thoughtco.com/drum-therapy-1729574.Drake, Michael.

Foo Fighters. “Dave Grohl - Play (Official Video).” ​YouTube​, YouTube, 9 Aug. 2018,

www.youtube.com/watch?v=e05H80-k0mY​.

“Gene Krupa: The Drummer's Drummer.” Legacy.com, Legacy.com, 14 Jan. 2016,

www.legacy.com/news/celebrity-deaths/article/gene-krupa-the-drummers-drummer​.

Herman, Andy. “How good must a drummer be to make it in with a rock band and keep up?”
Quora. Mar 30, 2014
https://www.quora.com/How-good-must-a-drummer-be-to-make-it-in-with-a-rock-band-a
nd-keep-up​.
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“History of Drums Timeline.” Math,

www.softschools.com/timelines/history_of_drums_timeline/291/​.

Simha,Prajwal. "What is the exact role of each guitarist in a rock composition." Quora

https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-exact-role-of-each-guitarist-in-a-rock-composition.

Dec 9, 2014

“The Heart Is a Drum Machine: Drumming as Therapy.” ​Psychology Today,​ Sussex Publishers,
www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/talking-about-trauma/201501/the-heart-is-drum-mac
hine-drumming-therapy​.

“What Can Drumming Do For Your Health?” ​Drumeo Beat​, 17 Aug. 2018,

www.drumeo.com/beat/8-health-benefits/​.

2013 Drum Expo. “Why Drummers Really Are the Backbone of the Band.” MusicRadar,

MusicRadar. The No.1 Website for Musicians, 31 July 2013,