Drummers with no kick

[skej21]

[quote name='EdwardHimself' post='1005760' date='Oct 29 2010, 08:53 PM']I think if you practice along with a metronome enough you can get to the point where you don't need a click, unless you're playing with backing tracks or midi operated synths or sound/lighting effects live.[/quote]

I agree. The issue is, that when adreneline kicks in, you might keep a consistant BMP throughout the song, but because your heart-rate has raised, your natural perception of time/BMP is a lot quicker than reality.

If you ever play drums live with a metronome, or with a drummer who is using one, you'll get what I mean straight away.

Because you're a bit pumped and ready to go, you tend to think "I'm sure this is slower than we normally play it" when in fact, you're brain is thinking faster than it normally does when you're playing the song (in a relaxed environment like a rehearsal or at home whenyour heart is ticking over at a normal rate)

[flyfisher]

[quote name='skej21' post='1005768' date='Oct 29 2010, 08:59 PM']My brother in law is a session drummer and has just come back from a European stadium tour as he plays with quite a famous band. He swears by his metronome because he is the first to admit that at live gigs (especially on such a large scale) the adreneline rush you get inevitably pushes you into speeding things up. It's a natural reaction that we all have, but when you're playing live gigs (particularly such important/large scale gigs) you want to sound as professional as possible.

This is where the metronome helps, as it overrides the drummer's adreneline and stops him/her from naturally speeding.
He uses this and mixes it into his in-ear monitors; [url="http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/DB-88/"]http://www.bosscorp.co.jp/products/en/DB-88/[/url]

It also helps to make the track lengths/set list duration consistant so you can plan sets more easily [/quote]
Thanks for that - very interesting. I somehow doubt we'll ever do a Europeaan stadium tour ( ) but if it's good enough for real musicians then perhaps we should give it a try.

Interesting point about the set list duration as well. I guess these are the sorts of details that sort the real pros from the ''muddle through somehow' bands (like us!).

[spinynorman]

Who needs a kick drum

[tauzero]

[quote name='flyfisher' post='1005715' date='Oct 29 2010, 08:27 PM']There surely has to be a single point of rhythm reference and I've always thought of that as being the kick drum. That's the drummer's key responsibility isn't it? Not that I'd ever claim to have a lot of live experience, but 4 bands spread over 6 playing years (excluding the schooldays) with a reasonable number of gigs ought to have taught me something I reckon.[/quote]
I'd have said it was the drummer generally, not just the kick drum. I think I have a holistic approach to drummers. Especially as drummer #1 has a double bass pedal and occasionally (really) wanders off it.