Composing For Drums as a Non-drummer?

Question

As an instrumentalist I am primarily a guitarist, but as a composer I write for a range of instruments. The one thing I am particularly struggling with is writing for drums. Although I've managed to get by alright so far and create good enough drum parts for music which has had some commercial success, I still feel my drums are somewhat lacking in their sophistication and realism.I'm thinking of picking up some books on drums, especially those by Gary Chaffee, but I'm a little apprehensive to splash out on books when I'm not sure if they will be of that much use to me without a drum kit. Do any drummers on here think I would potentially be able to get into the mindset of a drummer without having access to a kit and compose/program drum parts which have a sense of realism? Understanding the rhythms and hearing them realised with the aid of VST instruments is not an issue, it's more the mechanics and playing dynamics (e.g. one hand stronger than the other) which I am concerned about.If anyone could make any suggestions (especially resources on the mechanics of drumming), it would be much appreciated.

Answer 1

You're not alone there. Many non-drummer composers struggle writing for drums. Your biggest resource will be to listen to similar styles of music and try to figure out what the drums are doing in those songs. In addition to that, I highly recommend you try to get yourself behind a kit at least a few times. Ask a friend if you can just jam on their kit or, even better, take a few lessons. This will be better than anything else in giving you an understanding of the mechanical limitations of the instrument.

The biggest error I've noticed with composers who use VST's (I'm assuming you compose with a seqeuncer/DAW) is writing drum parts that are physically impossible to play. Keep in mind, a drummer only has 2 feet and 2 hands. That maximum amount of sounds you can hear at once is 4, 2 of which will be the kick and high hat foot. While your VST can do any number of impossible things, if you keep your parts within the bounds of physical limitation, it will make it seems like your parts are being played by a real person.