MetaFilter posts tagged with drumming

give the little drummer some

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 03:36:07 -0800

We're mostly pretty familiar, I guess, with the ol' rum pa pum pum of the Little Drummer Boy. He shows up every Christmas, marching drum slung round his waist, rat-a-tat-tatting for the Son of God, thanks to that familiar song about him. A catchy little tune it is, too... heck, David Bowie and Bing Crosby think so! Let's keep in mind, though, that back when a certain Holy Infant made his first grand appearance at a stable back in Bethlehem, any little drummer boy that might've serenaded him wouldn't have been playing any paradiddles or ratamacues. Nah, he'd have been laying down beats more like this, or this, or (from actual boys), this. I think the baby Jesus would've dug the groove, too. Merry Christmas, y'all!

it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing?

flapjax at midnite — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 18:07:57 -0800

With his whimsically biting number from 1988 entitled Jazz Police, ol' Lenny Cohen has shown himself to be a prophet once again: Jazzer drop your axe it's jazz police! disclaimer: Larry Ochs, the offending saxophonist if question, is an old friend of mine, but his stature in the music world and the newsworthyness of the episode will, I hope, override any accusations of friend-linkery...

Click Track Detector

stupidsexyFlanders — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:58:44 -0800

Drummers, you're busted. In Search Of the Click Track. Not sure why the author focuses on drummers playing to the machine, and doesn't entertain the possibility that the drummer IS a machine. Is there really any human musicianship on a Britney Spears song?

whale anti-collision

dhruva — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 09:43:18 -0800

A new whale anti-collision system "A remarkable feature of Andre's system is its ability to single out and track an individual whale among all its “family” members in the same area – a breakthrough made with the help of a West African musician. In attempting to unravel the chaotic rhythms of the sperm whale clicks, he was struck by the similarity between his underwater recordings and African tribal music. A Senegalese griot (drummer) confirmed the likeness and – amazingly – was able to pick individual whales from André’s recordings through their distinctive rhythmic structures."[via]

Original Rush drummer John Rutsey is dead at 55.

zorro astor — Sun, 18 May 2008 21:17:50 -0800

Original Rush drummer is John Rutsey dead at 55. Rush was one of the most successful prog rock acts of the 70s and 80s. Much of this success can be attributed to Neil Peart, whose airy, transcendent lyrics and virtuoso drumming in large part defined the band. But there was another drummer--more in the heavy style of John Bonham--who gripped the rhythmic helm on their first album: one John Rutsey. Mr Rutsey left the band early after a diagnosis of diabetes. This month he succumbed to a heart attack, a common complication. Unfortunately, a discursive look at youtube revealed no live footage of Mr Rutsey in action. Here is a pic from his heyday.

Buddy Rich, eat your heart out.

fearfulsymmetry — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 12:38:01 -0800

Attention drummers! Want to take all the attention away from the rest of the band... then just watch this masterclass. (SLYT)

Boom boom bap.

The Straightener — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:25:22 -0800

It may lack the hilarity of an unaccompanied David Lee Roth crooning to himself like a lunatic, but surely someone has a use for twenty three unaccompanied John Bonham drum tracks.

Improve your Rock Band drumming technique

nthdegx — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 11:41:26 -0800

Improve your Rock Band drumming technique. Rock Band as in the videogame, that is.

Batá drum and dance of the Yoruba, Nigeria, West Africa

flapjax at midnite — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:52:01 -0800

Learn about the powerful, complex Batá drumming and dance tradition of the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Check these 6-to-8 year old Batá drummers laying down the groove. Then theres the Egungun action going on over in Ibadan, to the accompaniment of Batá drums, of course. Slaves brought the tradition to Cuba, where it has thrived, with, of course, some stylistic changes along the way. Here's an example. And here.

Drum Rudiments

St Urbain's Horseman — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 18:50:37 -0800

Flam, parradidle and ratamacue... (single link YouTube) brings to mind the late john Bohnham. Also Rich/Krupa. And Steve Gadd. Elvin Jones just passed away and did I mention Ed Shaughnessy? Black and white! Drummers can get tripped out or tripped in. Drummers read the Wikipedia and they will open up if you let them... I am sure every drummer here has a back beat. Drums have always been about physical comedy.

10 minutes of Stevie Wonder awesomeness

Foci for Analysis — Sun, 22 Jul 2007 15:15:19 -0800

Watch Stevie Wonder play the talk box and the drums. Don't you regret that you stopped playing that instrument as a child, hmm? [Via]

Assaf Seewi

phrontist — Sun, 06 May 2007 08:43:34 -0800

Assaf Seewi has rhythm.

Black Fire Percussion

flapjax at midnite — Fri, 16 Mar 2007 19:52:44 -0800

Brooklyn's Black Fire Percussion: bringing high school marching band drumming to a whole other level of funky expression. [All links YouTube]

Cause Dick is America, America is Dick.

jrb223 — Fri, 10 Nov 2006 17:36:33 -0800

Healing Dick

I Don't Wanna Work

fandango_matt — Sun, 10 Jul 2005 15:31:47 -0800

CGI animation of Neil Peart playing YYZ. Large (43.5Mb) .wmv file.

Ba-doom badda badda, Ba! doom badda.......

troutfishing — Sun, 24 Aug 2003 01:59:32 -0800

Drums around the world "Drums Around the World is an annual simultaneous world wide drumming day.Our purpose is to Honor the traditions of the drum, celebrate its power to unify humanity." The tenth anniversary of the annual "Drums around the World: ....In 1994, the inaugural event, over 2100 drummers showed up at the main event (facilitated by Baba Olatunji, Hamza El Din, Arthur Hull, John Bergamo, Jim Greiner, Muruga Booker, and Native Drummers) creating the worlds largest drum circle. This event was also broadcast world-wide via satellite (complements of CNN)."

Ever drummed on a Djembe until your hands bled? ....Or wondered why virtually no republicans practice African or indigenous drumming techniques? Are hand drums, to the US far right, a spooky talesman which evokes lurid fantasies of wild satanic or Santeria (Voodoo) rituals?