5 Genres The Working Drummer NEEDS To Know
When I think back on my drumming education, I remember learning several styles of music I wasn’t particularly excited about. In my earlier years of drumming I just wanted to play whatever I wanted. When you’re a metal head in high school you don’t typically think that learning how to play a Bossa Nova will help you get on stage on a cruise ship, or that learning a swing pattern will pay off financially. You just want to play fast double bass, well at least I did. If I had never taken private lessons I never would’ve forced myself to learn how to play a samba pattern or a waltz, luckily enough I had great teachers who taught me the importance of being multilingual on the drums. I believe knowing how to play each of the following genres is an important step to being a working drummer. I don’t believe that you have to master each genre but to have a basic understanding and fluidity will help you get hired.
Rock
Of course knowing how to play rock music will get you A LOT of gigs. Being fluent with rock drumming means knowing how to sit in with a cover band and being able to follow along. I have been in a lot of scenarios where I didn’t necessarily know the set but having good rock chops enabled me to follow along with the band. My personal favorite book for studying rock grooves is “The Encyclopedia of Groove” by Bobby Rock. This is a book I studied in college and use with my students. The book helps drummers strengthen their bass drum work while incorporating useful grooves between the hands and feet. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking to become a well rounded and tight drummer.
Jazz
My first paying gigs started when I was still in high school, I sat in on drums for a local schools drama play. Playing in the pit band I had played some very simple swing patterns. Nothing to extraordinary, just keeping time. When I began studying jazz drumming I certainly wasn’t to fond of learning the style, but it has since certainly grown on me. Learning how to be delicate and move music emotionally has helped me nail gigs, and it all stems from jazz drumming. I think jazz is an essential tool for the working drummer to know how to play. You don’t have to play like Art Blakey or Greyson Nekrutman to get the gig, you just have to know how to make the music feel and sound good. My personal favorite book for jazz drumming is “The Art of Bop Drumming,” from Jon Riley.
A simple swing pattern.
Pop
When I say pop drumming I don’t mean drumming for Ariana Grande, but if you get that gig than good for you! There are plenty of small pop artist to get involved with. When I usually think of pop music I envision someone selling out arenas all over the world. But there are a lot of smaller level artist that will play clubs and theatres that also play pop music. It can be a fun and lucrative way to make a living, backing these artists. Unto my knowledge there aren’t any books about pop drumming, since a lot of it is basic rock grooves. What makes pop drumming different is the use of electronic triggers. These triggers will have sounds of claps, swoosh’s, alternate snare sounds, chimes, and many more. Knowing how to set up a sample pad is essential to these type of gigs. Learn how to integrate electronic instruments into your acoustic drum set.
Latin
Latin drumming! Latin style music is a beautiful thing. It is a genre filled with creativity and needs some serious limb independence to execute. I believe that knowing how to play a Samba or Bossa Nova is crucial to your style of playing. It builds character in your sound and will further develop your own voice. I am by NO MEANS a Latin drummer. Latin drumming is something I am amazed by. I can slightly mimic what a true Brazilian drummer would play. If you are a drummer who is looking to play any gig that you are offered, than there is a high possibility that you would get hired for a gig where you’ll need some sort of familiarity with Latin music. My personal favorite book for Latin drumming is
A Bossa Nova groove.
Worship
Being a part of a worship team can be a lucrative way to make money playing drums. The style of Worship music isn’t particularly technical or difficult, but it requires musicians to play with a lot of emotion. The size of room, and amount of attendees really determines how one plays a worship set. If the room is small you won’t play as loud as you will when in an auditorium. I have found that playing worship music helped round out my crescendo and decrescendo’s. Volume and emotion are essential with worship drumming. If you’re a working drummer looking for a good solid gig, I recommend checking in with some of your local churches and their worship teams to see if you flow with them.
