bassace Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 We used to say the definition of a percussionist is a drummer who can’t swing. A bit harsh perhaps, but I know a very good session percussionist - tuned and untuned- who is probably the worst kit player I’ve ever worked with. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Funnily enough, I've met some very adept kit players who have freely admitted that they barely know where to begin with hand drums! Perhaps it's like the difference between bass guitar and upright - being a virtuoso on one doesn't necessarily translate to the other (with the exception of some talented bar stewards). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 13 when I attended this. Ray Cooper can certainly power a song, when he cuts across to the tambourine still gives me chills. Vocal energetic more than musical mind. Also, whilst on the topic of Ray, he once featured in a documentary made by George Martin where he duetted with a slowed down recording of tree cells rejuvenating and I’ve never been able to find it. If anybody knows I’d love to see it again. Seriously, I would! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveFry Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Ray Cooper was taught by Professor James Blades OBE , who also taught Carl Palmer and Evelyn Glennie . * * and .... me . ( I had one lesson when he visited Jersey in the 70s ) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 On 27/04/2018 at 11:42, leftybassman392 said: Thanks for clarifying the point, but drummers (along with guitarists, singers, keys players and just about everyone else who doesn't play bass) do come in for a bit of stick on these pages from time to time. Just making sure. I'm betting you've just come out from the Bad Jokes thread. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BreadBin Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 ^^ Badumtish! I've already posted on another thread about the pro percussionist who blew my mind with his skill on a triangle - he had a whole bag full of different devices and was adept with them all. I rate him as one of the most dedicated and skilled musicians I have ever encountered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I think this is a cracking topic. It shows how even musos take for granted the value of the ornamental and punctual effects that can be achieved by less commonly known percussive devices. Like the tambourine, when used correctly these instruments can put a shine on a track that may not be crucial to the song but is the finishing polish never the less. Paul Simon seems to use them all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scalpy Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough just came on in the car. Nothing on that track that isn’t perfection but can’t imagine it without the percussion part, especially on that outro, which has a groove deeper than Zuckerberg’s pockets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lowdown Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 (edited) Edited April 29, 2018 by lowdown Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonard Smalls Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 This is much more impressive hand music... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 Well if you're talking body parts... I freely admit that yours was far more tasteful. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borntohang Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 I've been lucky enough to play with some excellent percussionists - my old bandleader was a full-time percussionist and he could make an entire set sound fresh with just a cowbell and a shaker. Not sure it'd work in a rock set but I do appreciate a subtle touch of extra rhythm. We were playing in a big group with a rotating lineup 12+ of us most nights, and there was one section that needed massed percussion - in rehearsal he would hand every member a bit of percussion and then make you play along. If he didn't think your performance was quite up to scratch or tasteful enough your percussion was confiscated and you had to stand onstage in shame while everyone else did the breakdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 On 27/04/2018 at 15:36, EliasMooseblaster said: We'll have to agree to disagree on Carlos' guitar tone! But yes, funnily enough I've had an inkling for a while that most rock music has been rhythmically quite uninspired ever since "rock drumming" became an idiom in its own right - circa the time most young drummers decided they wanted to play like John Bonham - and it seems to have been dominated by variants on "kick - snare - kick - snare - emphasise - every - beat - think - like - a - metronome" ever since. I feel like there was a lot more freedom and invention when drummers basically learnt to play jazz and then joined rock bands. He says, having been born decades after the event, with only the recordings to go on...it's hard to put my finger on exactly what it is, but maybe some of these modern rock drummers just need to learn to swing. Amen! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpondonBassed Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 10 minutes ago, borntohang said: I've been lucky enough to play with some excellent percussionists - my old bandleader was a full-time percussionist and he could make an entire set sound fresh with just a cowbell and a shaker. Not sure it'd work in a rock set but I do appreciate a subtle touch of extra rhythm. We were playing in a big group with a rotating lineup 12+ of us most nights, and there was one section that needed massed percussion - in rehearsal he would hand every member a bit of percussion and then make you play along. If he didn't think your performance was quite up to scratch or tasteful enough your percussion was confiscated and you had to stand onstage in shame while everyone else did the breakdown. That sounds exiting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dan Dare Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 4 hours ago, borntohang said: I've been lucky enough to play with some excellent percussionists - my old bandleader was a full-time percussionist and he could make an entire set sound fresh with just a cowbell and a shaker. Not sure it'd work in a rock set but I do appreciate a subtle touch of extra rhythm. We were playing in a big group with a rotating lineup 12+ of us most nights, and there was one section that needed massed percussion - in rehearsal he would hand every member a bit of percussion and then make you play along. If he didn't think your performance was quite up to scratch or tasteful enough your percussion was confiscated and you had to stand onstage in shame while everyone else did the breakdown. He sounds like fun. What was his day job? Primary school teacher? Traffic warden? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skankdelvar Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 (edited) Many years ago the good lady wife and I holidayed in Venezuela. Having bounced around various heritage sites we fetched up in the Venezuelan capital and discovered that our hotel was overflowing with tubby, middle-aged male Brits, these being industry delegates on a 'fact-finding trip' organised by the British Meat Processors' Association - the trade body for UK slaughterhouse owners. That evening the hotel mounted a 'cultural celebration of music and dance' in the main bar and it soon became clear that the British abbatoir chaps were far more interested in the free aguardiente (a local rum) than upon the folkloric aspect of the night's entertainment. Eventually a handful of them invaded the stage, seizing from the outraged performers various items of percussion the better to accompany their chant of 'I'd rather be a Turk than Venezuelan'. Fisticuffs ensued, the police arrived etc. Next day the English-language newspaper Correo del Orinoco carried the headline: 'Knackers With Maraccas Cause a Fracas In Caracas'. Edited May 1, 2018 by skankdelvar 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
borntohang Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 4 hours ago, Dan Dare said: He sounds like fun. What was his day job? Primary school teacher? Traffic warden? Much worse than that: professional percussionist. . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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