The anatomy of a good drummer

this is a good idea for a poll I only wish I was confidant I pulled it off OK  ..  so here are some choices some good valid choices some are daft,  but hey I`m a drummer so what did you expect , just got of the kit after inventing a new drum solo and I`m puffed so if this poll is dumb  don`t blame me blame the lack of oxygen in my brain   

The reason I titled this poll as "The anatomy of a good drummer"
is I want to find the single most primitive if you will or most sophisticated if you will thing that engages you , I am not talking about the culmination of the entire rhythmic body rather an isolated area of attraction you first experience that "hes good" voice in the head when you hear it , for me its sparse yet perfect placement  of the toms,  for you it may be a different thing pending on what "tribe" you descended from in this evolutionary path.    very hard to explain I hope you understand what I`m saying ... we all have different chemical responses in the brain for different things what I aim to do being a drummer is cater for those    


Edited by Yorkie X - August 10 2007 at 07:08

Syncopated kick with the bass or vocals, Danney Carey and Bill Bruford are excellent at this!

Just the opposite of all the options: putting it all together.  Just 'cause you syncopate the kick well or can play quick ghost notes on the snare doesn't mean it will sound good.  The best drummers use combinations of these techniques in order to do whatever best fits the piece.  

rileydog22 wrote: Just the opposite of all the options: putting it all together.  Just 'cause you syncopate the kick well or can play quick ghost notes on the snare doesn't mean it will sound good.  The best drummers use combinations of these techniques in order to do whatever best fits the piece.

I agree 100 % with putting it all together only if I had included that option there's no doubt it would have been the winner so I thought hey I`ll find out what it is that you people first tend to hear that makes you smile. The idea come from years behind the drum kit trying to please myself and being at the point now wondering what the "key" is to guarantee a smile,  sure good rhythmic structures work but I want more than that I want to know what drum feature you are most attracted to , every single answer given in this poll will no doubt be thought about and looked into by me as a drummer I guarantee you, after 35 years of pounding away its time to ask some questions if the eyes are what some claim the best feature of a face what is it about the drums that pleases, its one thing to know all about the drums its another to find out what others who maybe don`t play them think  ....   man that was long winded sorry about that  , should have cut it back to a few lines

drummer has to be french or japanese

I agree fully with Rileydog and BaldFriede, but if I was  to choose 1 thing that was especially appealing to me, it would be hi hat control. I love Phil Collins' drumming, and this is one of the things he's very good at!

alan_pfeifer wrote: too many options.   Personally, I look for groove between the Drummer and Bassist, as that's wjhat my expeerience has shown that's what lands you props over technicality.

groove is a great answer   I should have remembered to put groove in this poll  ...  Remember a quote from Jeff porcaro arguably one of the finest drummers ever .. the late Jeff said  "America doesn`t get groove"   or something to that effect 

StyLaZyn wrote: A good groove always wins with me. Jazz trained with some funk tendancies. I'm not sure about Gavin Harrison's root style, but he manages to play some excellent beats and not ruin them with over played fills.

Unfortunately "groove" is one of these words no-one can really define.

My brother is a drummer and I take his work very seriously  and have suffered, I mean, loved every minute of his drumming the last year.  For me, what sets him apart from every other young drummer in my region (He does drum competitions and has auditioned for 3 bands for which he's successful thus I've heard loads of kids his age) is the fact that his drum teacher "taught" him Jazz drumming then fused it with his funk soul to create amazing grooves, so to speak. As for the other kids I've heard play - they seem to aim more for speed or simple melodic beats which is why they weren't successful in the band auditions. So to me, it's obvious that Jazz/Funk makes a good drummer and creates the best grooves ever. 

frequent use of the toms... Keith Moon was the master of that.  Funny as hell... Raff and I went to B&N last night and I picked up a drumming mag that had Peart on the cover.  Seems Moon was a big influence on him... says you can hear it in his drumming.  Funny the way drum purists like to sl*g Moon off.

Edited by micky - August 10 2007 at 17:09