tips for writing the drum notes to a song in a band?

Question

I play the drums in a band, and the song has already been written and everything that the vocalist, guitarist and bassist will play. The drums were left out and I have to write them to fit the song.The song is written quite systematically in that they follow the notes for chord progressions and movement, but the drums have an indefinite pitch. So should I neglect all the effort that went in for the rest of the performers to write notes that fit into grounded musical theory and play what just sounds good and just stick to a rhythm that respects the song's timing only? Or can I consider the *'notes'* that the drums play as well?I am in a position where all the other instruments appear almost scientific and the percussion much less so. To what extent is this true?***referring to the comment of neilfein below: what kind of strategies are there to approach these kinds of situations? (which actually summarizes what I would like to learn from experienced drummers)***

Answer 1

In this context, you need to think like a big band drummer. What is it that you need, to play the song? The bare minimum. As a drummer, you have more artistic license than many of the other musicians. You need just a few things ... so write a form chart. A map that guides you from the beginning to the end of the song.

You need to know a few things at the beginning, like

1. The name of the song
2. The type of groove: rock, shuffle, funk, swing, Latin, etc.
3. The tempo: if not an exact tempo, something like med. swing, slow rock, etc.

For the song itself, you need to know the form

1. is there an intro? Do you play the intro or are you out?
2. What comes next, the Verse? Maybe the chorus after that?
3. Where are the solos?
4. How does it end?

Keeping it simple, like this will get you through the song without having to write out every little thing and it lets you be creative at the same time. Here is an example:

===========================================

Med. Rock -SONG TITLE HERE-

|| |--- Intro ---| | V V | Ch | V | Ch | -Solos- | Bridge | V | Ch | Out ||

4 - 4 8 8 12 8 12 Open 16 8 12 4

out play

===========================================

V=Verse, Ch=Chorus, the numbers underneath are the number of bars for each section.

If there are any kicks or specific things you need to play with the band, you can write them in. Unfortunately, I cannot do it here. You can also add repeats, 1st ending/2nd ending, dynamics, codas and anything else you would normally do in a chart to make it easier to write and read.

I hope this helps.

P.S. If the number of bars doesn't line up on this message, it's the formatting of the message. They lined up before I hit submit.

Answer 2

if i was you i would leave the drums out of the song

Answer 3

I approach writing a drum part as an orchestration exercise! First, I see what the bassist is playing--how can I support their part with my kick drum or low tom? Then I look at the guitar or keys, and see how my snare and cymbal patterns might accentuate or highlight their parts. Finally, I look at the overall energy of the song at that moment: should I scale things back for a singer on the verse, or find a way to back up an instrumental solo? Is this a loud jam portion or a build into the chorus? A backbeat/breakdown on the bridge? The drums have the unique power to support and accentuate everything that the rest of the band is doing, completing the feel of the song--in music theory terms, if the instruments go into a key change, the drums can change too by switching cymbals or ramping up the energy of the beat. If the instrumentalists play an interesting chord, the drums can decide to help bring that out, or to maybe smooth it over/make it less jarring by keeping the beat steady. There's so much you can do!

Answer 4

Your ears are the best tool at your disposal when writing a complementary drum part to any existing tune. But to help organize your thoughts and to make it more "scientific",I like to focus on making sure the following things sound good in relation to the song: 1. Groove: This is most important, the drummers primary job is to set a pulse and drive the song forward, consider what rhythm is being played and how it should be played to make the song feel the best. 2. Dynamics/orchestration: listen to whats happening intensity wise in the song at the moment, what level of volume and what drum set parts can be played to help guide the song through these different levels musically and emotionally. 3. Fills: if there is a time where a fill is needed, think about what it sets up rhythmically and structurally in the song, to determine how long and how grand or little it should be.

I hope this is of some help, If you have any more questions I'd love to discuss them, as there are many other layers to this concept that can be delved into!

Best of luck and have fun!

-Michael