Less Is Less: Developing Taste

The drums have been too loud for a very long time. Many people have thought of different solutions to make drums sound quieter: drum shields, special drum heads, special sticks, muffling inventions, special cymbals, electronic sets, and the list goes on and on. I believe the only real way to sound quieter as a drummer is to play quietly. Sure, all of those things mentioned above are well, and good, but a drum is only going to be as loud as the drummer plays it. So really, it's not the drums that are loud; it's the drummer that plays them loudly.

But having a softer touch isn't enough.

It's not enough to just play quietly. You have to have something else called "taste." You see, the drum part that you're playing was recorded in a place where drum volume was most likely not a problem. You can try to play the same part quietly, but your context is obviously different.

Here's a good example: If you are using hot rods and the recording uses drum sticks, you immediately have a very different sound from the recording. So why should you try so hard to play the same part as the recording when you've already deviated VERY far from how it's "supposed to sound" from the very first note? The answer is YOU SHOULDN'T!

You have the liberty and authority to change your part. 

But how do you know what to change?

That's where taste comes in. Taste comes from listening. If you don't listen to music, it's time to start. Listen to other drummers. Pay attention to their parts. I HIGHLY recommend listening to music that has little to no drums. First of all, that music tends to be very musical, and I think you'd enjoy it. Second of all, you will hear how something really simple can be climactic.

When I change the drum part, I know that I'm changing the part, because I know the original part. I'm not advocating that you abandon learning your part, because that part you learned comes in handy if you change it. I use the part I learned to give me structure and ideas for what to play. I use the same dynamic structure but adapt the part to my environment. A good rule of thumb is "Less notes = less volume." So if you're aiming to sound quieter, use less notes. Ask yourself, "What notes can I leave out in this section?" and try it out during rehearsal. If you don't like it, try something else! But figure it out quickly, because other people rely on what you play to figure out their parts.

Good taste takes a long time to develop, so the sooner you start listening and trying things out, the sooner you'll grow your instinctual taste.