Jack-of-All-Trade or ...

[Bammbamm]

Master of a particular genre?

Which one would you personally choose to become as a drummer? 



 

[daemonite]

I'd like to be as groovy as an R&B drummer (like sir Dio), as powerful as a metal-bashing drummer (like sensei JP). Limiting yourself in just a particular genre removes the possibilities of endless grooves and fill-ins. There are drummers here i know of na ayaw pumalo ng r&b kasi metal sila, yes it's pride, pero to yourself as a musician more so, drummer, Parang nilagyan mo ng wall ang buong performance skills mo.

Pero i just dunno with the other guys, sessionista kasi ako, so i really have to adapt to different kinds of genre. from pop to house to latin to r&b to alternative to heavy to metal....

Paborito kong combination is house and latin. tapos bigla ako papasok ng heavy. Sarap ng groove....very entertaining sa ears....

[drummer_boy17]

^^
wow galing naman.. nakaka pag adjust ka sa lahat ng genre..

[daemonite]

^^
wow galing naman.. nakaka pag adjust ka sa lahat ng genre..

Open-mindedness lang yan dude, mas na-inspire ako nung nakilala ko sila sir anthony dio tsaka peeves tsaka jp, more or less the first attendees of the mini-eb series....

Dormant kasi madalas ang main band ko, kaya most of the time, if i want to play, i have to session sa ibang banda. Pero don't get me wrong, namimili rin ako dahil hindi pa nga ako marunong mag dpeds kaya di pa ako masyado sa metal. Kapag practice, i try to incorporate different approaches on different genres to add "spice" to the groove. Tulad nga ng sabi ko na fave combination ko, kung alam mo yung song na ever after ni bonnie bailey house yun diba? tapos papasukan ko ng groove ng parang hips don't lie ni shakira pero same speed, tapos papasukan ko ng basic fast groove. tapos balik house. Timing, hearing and knowing where to place your fills is the key....

Hindi naman sa nagmamarunong ako kasi i know i've got a lot to learn, pero i use my knowledge to the best that i can kahit na puro basic grooves and fills lang alam ko....

My ultimate reward is seeing chikkas dancing / grinding to my groove while imitating sir dio's drum dancing moves hehehe.... buti na lang di nahuhuli ni misis 

[Bammbamm]

I dont mean to start a debate on which is a better choice. I just want to know each others opinion based on each individual's goal as drummer.

Parehong may pros & cons ang pagiging 'all-around' at 'master'.

Eto ang ilan sa mga alam ko:

All-around-drummer

1) Pwedeng tumugtog ng lahat ng genre, pero sa dami ng dapat aralin, malaking chance na mediocre level lang ang skill na maa-acquire ng isang drummer.

Master of a specific style

1) Contrary sa 'all-around' drummer, very limited ang tugtog na pwede mong paluan. Pero dahil concentrated ka sa isang style lang, may possibility na mas ma -master mo yung technique.

ngayon, base sa personal na goal nyo as drummer, saan kayo nakatutok sa dalawa? 

[intake]

All-around  pero! may mamasterin din..pwede ba yun?

i'd try all types of music and slowly focus on one...dahil hindi ko pa rin mahanap ang genre na para sakin 

[FINGERZAP]

Jack of all trades, master of none, as the saying goes.

If I could only turn back time, I would master only one genre. Then mediocre on all the other genres.

Mahirap kasi masterin lahat. Weckl cannot be Portnoy and vice versa.

And this is also true not only with genres but also instruments in general. May mga taong nakakapag guitar, keys, and drums pero mediocre siya sa lahat. Now that I'm older I wish I had mastered only one, but at the same time learned the basics with the other instruments as well. Sad to say, when I was younger, I wanted to learn everything. I thought I could be a rock guitar virtuoso, classical piano master and jazz fusion drumming god but this was an enormous, if not impossible, task. Too enormous, in fact, that I think no one in this world can achieve it in a single lifetime.

Choosing one aspect na nga lang e, like jazz drumming for example, is already an immense task to take on...

You cannot be Steve Vai, W.A. Mozart, and Buddy Rich at the same time.

[nO RLY]

All-around drumming for me. para masmadali mag adjust. siguro pag naging pro na ako (like Portnoy or Vic Mercado) tsaka lang gusto ko maging master sa isang genre..

[drumster]

There are some musicians who can pull it off.  They can play various musical styles effectively and convincingly.

One of the best musical advices I ever got was from one of my musical mentors, the great Pinoy bassist senyor Bong Gonzales.  We performed together overseas for 3 months, almost 5 years ago.  He said to me that it's nice to master a specific style of music or playing.  But it's also essential to open our minds, hearts and ears, and be able to at least know how to play different styles of music. 

For example, in his case, his bass slapping technique and his appeal for fusion and jazz music are what he considers his specialties.  But if he's asked to play a certain style, he'll be able to play it.  That's why he's very flexible on sessions and projects.  He can play with various artists.

That's why when somebody calls him to play for a pop gig...  Yes he can do it!  A rock gig?  Yes he can!  On a Latin music setting?  Pwede!  He's that versatile. 

Master Bong said that it's important to at least know how to play other musical styles, even if it's not your forte.  As a professional musician, we can easily get various gigs.  As a devotee to the art of music, it just adds up to our bag of tricks and to our musical vocabulary. 


Personally, I don't want to be pigeonholed as an R&B/hip-hop/groove drummer.  I can be considered as one, because I am in a band that plays these styles.  But I have my rock roots, and I'm proud of it.  I also have my playing experiences, from a full orchestra to a jazz quartet.  All those musical exposure and explorations also add up to developing my personal playing style.

And like what I said on one of my blog entries, I enjoy playing with my band because even if we're a hip-hop R&B group, we are open to other musical elements.  We have songs which we play with a heavy rock feel.  We have songs which we play with a jazzier touch.  And everything in between.  That's why I never get tired of our gigs.  I don't play the same stuff night after night.

 

[ushuaia]

imho,wala tlagang alll around player. khit nman sila gadd o vinnie hinde kaya eh. look at guys like elvin jones etc,tlagang yun yung music nila. sa sobrang pagmamahal nga nila dun spiritual na eh. can you swing hard as elvin and play latin like a cuban? convincingly? playing those music,you have to know the cultures,history etc. c bo razon nga tumira pa sa cuba eh. dont get me wrong , madaming kaya tumugtog ng madaming styles. pero to play it the traditional way or the right way? for me dapat hanapin mo gus2 mo and stick to it. opinyon lang

[drumster]

That's right too, ushuaia.  Even drummers who are considered as "all-around" guys have their specialties too, like Steve Gadd and his paradiddle-based grooves & Vinnie and his improvisational fusion chops.  It's our choice on which musical direction do we want to focus on.

It wasn't long ago that I realized that I somehow fit better on groovy musical styles.  I focus on my specialty style a lot nowadays.  But that doesn't mean that I'm gonna stop checking out and listening to other musical styles, and even practice it for my personal and musical growth.

As a lifelong student and devotee of the art of drumming, I'll just continue exploring, simply because I love it.  Who knows, I might discover or realize something musically interesting someday.  

[residentdrummer4]

for me the best all around drummer has got to be vinnie! first time i listen to megadeth's 'the sysytem has failed' album, man,my jaw just dropped! galing nya tlaga!

[lil.drummerboy]

mas maganda talaga natutugtog ko lahat... pero gusto ko masterin pag dating ng panahon metal. kasi ganung music talaga gusto ko. pero dapat pinag aaralan ko din yung iba para kahit papano alam ko din para kung kinakailangan tumugtog ng ganun.

[bassman88]

Is mastering rock genre considered enough or is that just a sub-genre profession for drummers?

[Akira JUMBO]

The way I see it is it would be a great challenge for a drummer to blend in or adjust to any genre he is presented with with the style he has mastered.

I would prefer mastering a single genre, but to be effective at applying it on other genre's is a great challenge.

Jazz drummers has it's advantages the way I see it. Mastering jazz supposedly will allow you to develop into different genre's more easily than the other way around. Maybe it is because jazz is one of the primary roots of the genre's we have today.

As music is a never ending river of creativity, being able to adapt to the flow of that river is an advantage towards enriching the river further.

[cavsdieagram]

IMO, as long as you love the song... kaya mo and parang lead sa guitar kylangan mo lang tlga mafeel ung music... cheers!!!

[drumster]

Jazz drummers has it's advantages the way I see it. Mastering jazz supposedly will allow you to develop into different genre's more easily than the other way around. Maybe it is because jazz is one of the primary roots of the genre's we have today.

As music is a never ending river of creativity, being able to adapt to the flow of that river is an advantage towards enriching the river further.

I believe that every musician should study and listen to jazz music.  If not play it, at least we should understand and appreciate it.  Jazz is the mother of all modern musical styles.  Rock came from jazz.  R&B has its jazz roots.  Pop too!  It is indeed the primary root of the modern music most of us play and enjoy right now.  Even culture-based music like Latin-American music (Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, etc.) has its jazz-influenced applications.

I'll never forget what the great Pinoy drummers like Mar, Koko and Bagets always preach...  Every drummer should know how to play the swing pattern.  It's all in the swing.  Swing or die! 

[kibohead]

that's why it is great to have bands who are open-minded and have courage to mix and match. that definitely helps us drummers be "well-rounded".

It is also great to have your own world of drumming, more like a story or an interpretation of who you really are...whether it is jazz,pop,extreme drumming and so on...
godbless.

[palolo_worm]

well said! learning jazz also improves a drummer's time-keeping, coordination, independence. something that all of us, regardless of music style and genre, should learn.

I believe that every musician should study and listen to jazz music.  If not play it, at least we should understand and appreciate it.  Jazz is the mother of all modern musical styles.  Rock came from jazz.  R&B has its jazz roots.  Pop too!  It is indeed the primary root of the modern music most of us play and enjoy right now.  Even culture-based music like Latin-American music (Afro-Cuban, Brazilian, etc.) has its jazz-influenced applications.

I'll never forget what the great Pinoy drummers like Mar, Koko and Bagets always preach...  Every drummer should know how to play the swing pattern.  It's all in the swing.  Swing or die! 

[Bammbamm]

Jazz drummers has it's advantages the way I see it. Mastering jazz supposedly will allow you to develop into different genre's more easily than the other way around. Maybe it is because jazz is one of the primary roots of the genre's we have today.

Absolutely right. Come to think of it, without the evolution of Jazz music we wouldn't have drumsets today!   



Good eye-opener for all of us. Thanks for the replies, peeps!
Keep 'em comin'