So browsing the Northampton Bands Adverts you can't help but notice that a lot of them are from people looking for drummers.  Why exactly is a good drummer so hard to find?  Read on to find out more.....

Drummers don't tend to get a lot of respect in bands, we've all heard the jokes::

Q: How do you know there's a drummer at the door?

A: The knocking gets faster.

Q: How do you tell when the stage is level?

A: The drummer is drooling out of both sides of their mouth.

Q: What do you call someone who hangs round with musicians?

A: A drummer. 

It's easier to think of the stereotypes than the exceptions, Animal from the Muppets, Keith Moon.... the slightly mad one who gets their kicks from hitting things until they break.  Yet you only have to look at the adverts on this website to see drummers are in demand.  A  good drummer can make even the most mediocre band sound better, without a great drummer you never get a great band....

Yet talk to most musicians and they have a list of drummer horror stories as long as your arm..... the drummer who was great..... as long as they didn't have to play a fill..... the drummer who was great.... as long as you didn't have to play anything quiet....... the drummer who was great.... as long as you didn't leave them with sharp objects or matches.....

As a bass player I have probably spent longer hanging round in the rhythm section with drummers than it is polite to admit.   You see all of the stereotypes the guy with the really crappy kit who plays like a dream... the guy with more equipment than Neil Peart who just can't keep time....

Playing with a great drummer is a transcendent experience, almost spiritual, playing with a bad drummer.....  well I can barely describe the horror of one covers gig I did with a dep drummer, the guy turned up with all the gear, we had been recommended him because he was playing with five different bands and he knew more about theory and all the jazz greats he based his playing on than any book I have ever read... and then we started playing and it turned out what he meant by jazz was he didn't play the same thing in the same timing in any two bars in a row.....  trying to keep time with him was like balancing a box of eggs on your head while riding a bucking bronco..... and the end result was probably slightly more messy.

........and then you get to play with a great drummer, they've got the feel, they're in the pocket, and everything the band plays moves up to another level.  It's all about the timing and the groove, I love this quote:

"...it is a spiritual experience that goes beyond playing the right notes, great timing, or being in tune. The experience of playing in the pocket is more like becoming a tap through which the music flows. Being in the pocket is not just about "locking together" or "syncing up" as a band. It goes beyond this to the place where the musician allows the music to take control."  

So if playing the drums is such an easy way to get a gig..... if not to keep the gig..... then why are there so few drummers and why is it so hard to find a good one.....

Well playing the drums, especially playing the drums well is much harder than it looks, scientist have studied it and reported that it's basically the same level of challenge faced by a skilled helicopter pilot.

Then there's the fact there is no volume knob on drums, it's hard to practice drums quietly.... and couple that with the fact that when you start learning anything you are going to be pretty bad at it and need to practice for hours on end... well it's not exactly a quick route to popularity... you need to be a pretty strong person with a pretty robust personality just to get through that.

And last but not least, drums are hard work, not many instruments combine the need to be as fit as a runner to play, a body builder to transport the kit, the endurance of a long distance lorry driver to transport the gear and not forgetting you then have to build the damn drum set out of musicians mechano before you can even get a note out of it.

So as you sit there after your next gig watching the drummer packing up and having to transport all that gear by themself, lets raise a glass and make a toast to the underappreciated musicians, the glue the holds most bands together, the engine room that drives the band forward, lets hear it for drummers! 

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written by Dan, May 20, 2010

I agree drummers are as rare as rocking horse shit.

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