House of Drumming.com

Hi!

I've been a fan of graceful drummers for a while now. I love seeing a drummer executing his moves with finesse and flow. That, to me, is important. It seems to get lost a bit nowadays though. I was looking at some Ari Hoenig videos and couldn't help noticing how awkward his moves seems to be and how little bounce he seemed to be using (he's a tremendous drummer soundwise tough, don't get me wrong). I tend to prefer drummers like Vinnie (obviously), Jojo, Buddy Rich, Weckl, Carlock who all seem to be using a lot more bounce and finesse in their playing. I sometimes joke to my students about some drummers that I could listen to with the sound off and it would still be amazing to look at. What are your thoughts on the subject, is it important to you?

Here are some clips of what I call graceful drumming.

Papa Jo Jones:



Tony Williams:



Dave Weckl:



Buddy Rich:



I hope this can be an interesting subject for us to talk about.

Daniel

Hmmm, graceful drummers besides the ones already mentioned - Gene Krupa for sure. Omar Hakim, Manu Katche, Steve Smith, Josh Freese.

I find Bill Stewart's physical approach awkward and uncomfortabe to watch, but I love his playing and sound.

This guy came to mind immediately to me.



I have been searching for this FOR YEARS. I saw it when I was in HS, and was completely demolished by Omar...I had no idea what the hell he was doing...



I always thought Michael Giles had grace, and Bruford as well, Ian Paice too, Clive Bunker wasn't just a slammer either, he had some style about him.

That Weckl Hip Gig vid is f'n sick as it gets for me.............

Joe Travers w/ Zappa plays Zappa is always so relaxed and fluid...I like watching him...

and many others

for me, grace is more than a matter of looks. Ya gotta move to play the drums. Smooth, fluid, natural movements are a must for 3 reasons:

(1) technique.... playing smoothly and naturally allows the drummer to get the most out of his/her body. How many awkward sports starts do you see? none. Awkward players get eliminated at earlier rounds. Hoenig may sound good, but he could sound better with better technique.

(2) sound... fluid technique also allows for better sound production. This one is a lot easier with a demonstration, but using loose grip, fluid movements etc more easily allows the drum to resonate to its fullest.

(3) injury.... last but definitely not least, playing naturally means moving naturally, means using the body the way the body is supposed to be used. The body can do amazing things, and has phenomenal powers of repair, but there is a limit, especially as we age. I'll hit the hihat on average 30,000 times in one 4 hour show. Holding unnecessary tension will eventually wear the body down, causing back pain, wrist pain, thumb numbness.. etc etc etc. Fluid technique means never having to deal with those things... at least with drumming as a cause of them.

sorry, how is Carlock graceful? Dont get me wrong, he's brilliant but I've always preferred to listen to than look a him play.

electrizer wrote:sorry, how is Carlock graceful? Dont get me wrong, he's brilliant but I've always preferred to listen to than look a him play.

I know that for some people, he looks weird when he plays but to me, he looks like he's perfectly in control of what he does and he does it comfortably. I really like the way he bounces on his kit. The first time I've seen him play was on that Oz Noy clip and besides his really cool playing, I remember being amazed by how he moved.

It might be a matter of interpretation, I don't know. Some drummers look uncomfortable and still play like crazy madmen. I enjoy that too.

This dude has it.







So does this guy, albeit in a different way.





Steve Jansen has it, to me.



In a similar vein, Phil Gould too.

Two words...
Carlos Vega