The Mind of a Drummer
I’m a drummer.
I just lost half of you, didn’t I?
*sigh*
Well I am, and I have been for quite some time. It’s one of those things that just works out. I tried it, and it took. I wouldn’t call it natural talent, because I worked hard at playing the drums and doing it well. But I will say that being a person with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD to those only familiar with it through night-time dramas and gossip circles), and the clinical depression that often accompanies ADHD, drumming is a tailor made therapy that probably kept me out of jail and IN college.
Here’s a short aside. Having ADHD is a little like having a curse and a super power. I have trouble focusing on one thing, listening, detailed questions…you know what I’m talking about. But what I have no problem with, is doing six things at once inside one closed environment. Drumming is very much a busy closed environment. Closed meaning, while I’m doing it, I’m very focused on the tasks but there’s little chance of me being distracted away from it. I have four limbs doing different things with the same general goal. My mind is stimulated and my depression is quelled by the physical activity that goes along with it. The result is a happy guy with a trade that suits him.
So that brings us to today’s subject. I’m often asked, in the exact same phrasing, the question all drummers are asked about playing: “How do you do all that stuff to the drum set, with all your different body parts doing different things, how do you keep it straight?” Google that line, I bet you get several drummer blogs or message boards.
I’m happy to say that although I blush every time someone asks that of me, I couldn’t definitively explain how I did it. I would simply answer, “I pretend I’m a very hungry octopus and that all my drums and cymbals are delicious crabs that I have to grab and eat.” Simple, scientific and accurate, but is it the perfect explanation? Up until a few weeks ago, I thought so, but thanks to the wonders of technology, I can present to you what exactly DOES go on in the mind of a drummer while playing a song.
I got the idea after watching War Games. The part where they are showing the old footage of different experiments in Professor Falken’s computer lab inspired me to build a machine that would capture my brain signals and thoughts and translate them into a verbal chart of activity while I played. Using an old Tandy 1000 computer, a Betamax cassette recorder, two Furbies and a Speak and Spell, I created a machine that would help me answer the ultimate drummer’s question: “How do you do all that stuff to the drum set, with all your different body parts doing different things, how do you keep it straight?”
The answer is below. Now keep in mind, the machine isn’t perfect and may have picked up some cross talk in my nervous system, but it seems to be pretty accurate. There are abbreviations that I’ll help with here, so you have better understanding, as the code is fairly rudimentary but you’ll need to know what parts of me are responsible for what.
LH: (left hand) responsible for the snare on the 2 and 4 count generally, accent crashes, follows right hand around the drumset.
LF: (left foot) operates the hi-hat pedal cymbals keeping straight time or accenting strikes by opening slightly while stick hits it and choking the sound by closing. Sometimes operates a light switch dimmer for stage lighting.
RF: (right foot) Bass drum foot, plays around the 1 and the 3 counts.
RH: (right hand) dominant hand, keeps time (rides) on the hi-hat or ride cymbal, usually 8th notes across a 4/4 beat, leads the rest of the limbs in combinations for fills and accents.
BPM: (Beats Per Minute) number of quarter notes played within one minute. For instance, Louie Louie by the Kingsmen is about 92 BPM.
Wow, all this setup… I hope the answer to this question is worth it. Without further junk, here’s the thought process of a drummer while drumming:
(…….s it online? Oh, wow! There are words! This is awesome! Speak to band members to show them how awesome you are. No time. ) Starting? Starting song? What song? Speak, ask what song. Speak, ask what song again. No song name recognized. Listen for guitar intro pattern…registering: Match song…
All Along the Watchtower (Dylan version) Match guitar tempo 110 109 111 BPM… match RH Hi-hat begin…NOW, stabilize tempo at 110 BPM. Anticipating bass guitar intro, ready RF for Simulta…WARNING, EARLY BASS PLAYER INTRO! Ready RF (for mediocre late entry) on three. RF ready left hand for 2 and 4…NOW. RF follow root bass line. RH crash every line of chorus. Tempo? 112 BPM reduce to 111 BPM reduce to 110. (that got away from us quick, I better watch the tempo. Not many people here tonight, it’s Friday though, no, it’s Saturday, I wasn’t at work today. ) RH move to ride cymbal for chorus…NOW. (
(Smile, good lord, has my mouth been open the last 6 bars? Just smile. Anyone in the audience I know? There’s Steve and Ingrid. That’s nice of them to come out. This is probably their 12th time seeing us. I should have the bartender send them a drink, maybe appetiz… Is the house music still on? Someone left the jukebox or stereo playing?… Black Eyed Peas. Doesn’t mix with Watchtower…Did the Jehovah’s Witnesses come by this morning? Didn’t see the new addition of the Watchtower. They hit us on Saturdays AND Sundays now. Yep, that’s loud house music. We gotta get that off…) LH stop playing 2 and 4 on snare. RH play 2 and 4 on snare while continuing ride pattern. LH wave at guitar player…NOW. LH motion indicating sound above head… Eye contact with guitar player… LH point to head, point to ceiling speakers. LH point to ears with drumstick and to ceiling house speakers. Mouth words “Turn Music OFF” to guitar player. Repeat request. Repeat request. LH point to bartender then to house speakers. (AHA! Guitar player is relaying the message and… there go the Black Eyed Peas.) return to verse 2 of Watchtower. LH back to 2 and 4 on snare.
Tempo? 115 BPM. (115 BPM? COME ON!) reduce to 114 BPM, reduce to 113 BPM (better wait here for a couple bars or it will sound like we’re pulling out of a nose dive. I wonder what my wife and kid are watching at home. What was it we watched last night? The Cat From Outer Space. That’s right. I forgot Sandy Duncan was in that. Had she lost her eye before that movie or after? I looked but I couldn’t really tell. You could always kind of tell on Sammy Davis Jr. but not on Sandy Duncan. Maybe I was distracted by her smile. What other movies has she been in? I’ll have to IMDB that tomorrow. I’m never going to remember that… better start pulling the tempo back again.) Tempo? 114 BPM. (CRAP!) reduce to 113 BPM. Reduce to 112 BPM. (The bass player knows something is up with the tempo. He’s looking at me. Yeah, yeah, I see your polite smile, I know we’re all over the place right now, I’m working on it.) Reduce to 111 BPM. (Seriously, I know we’ve swayed 5 BPM in the last 32 bars but I think we’re still steadier than the end of Asia’s, Heat Of The Moment. THAT SONG threw the metronome out the window at the end.) Reduce to 110 BPM.
Final chorus approaching. Ready semi impressive fill to begin on 2 of last bar of verse and ending on 2 of first bar of final chorus. RF play straight eighth notes through fill. RH lead fill around kit, hit splash cymbal on the ‘and’ of 3 fill rest of space with as many descending tom-tom notes as possible. LH, just follow the RH and stay out of its way. RH, LH, RF end simultaneously on 2, CRASH, SNARE, BASS DRUM respectively…Initiate semi impressive fill… NOW! (Whew! I can’t believe I landed that! Did anybody see that? Is anyone clapping? I don’t hear clapping. Rhythm guitar player just gave me the “oh” face. Cool. Where the hell is everyone that indicated they were planning on coming to the show on our Facebook invite? Seriously, just mark that you aren’t coming if you aren’t coming. I’d rather you put you weren’t coming and then show up. THAT’s the way you do it. Not the other way. I have a nephew’s birthday party tomorrow. Which one? He’s going to be four. I bet he could fit in my bass drum. That wouldn’t be very good for his little ears, but it would be cool if he jumped out of the bass drum like he was breaking a high school football banner. That would scare the crap out of the bass player.)
Big finish approaching. Tempo 110 BPM and dropping, decrease over 2 bars from 110 BPM to 90 BPM…NOW. LH RH hit crash cymbals fast. RF straight eighth notes on bass drum. Wait for guitar player to jump. ALL LIMBS HIT WHATEVER YOU CAN AS FAST AS YOU CAN! NOISE! NOISE! NOISE! RH, LH, RF Big single crash………….NOW!
(Whew, grab the towel. I need a drink of water. Oops, looks like I spilled it. Danger! Electricity nearby? Nope, we’re safe. Need to get more water though. Wait, what’s the guitar player doing? Another song now? Nope, just noodling. Hey let’s see what the machine picked up…
And that is what goes on in this drummer’s head and how I keep it all straight. I’m sure that every drummer is different but please let this serve as your humble answer to your question: “How do you do all that stuff to the drum set, with all your different body parts doing different things, how do you keep it straight?”
I don’t know if that machine picked up everything, but I’m no Edison. The electrodes I made were attached to a truckers cap for goodness sakes. From what I am reading here, it looks like a pretty accurate representation of the drumming mind, and that’s the Damm truth.