Inner Dynamic Control
One of the common questions my drum set students asks of me is: “What can I do to be a better drummer?” This is a big question to answer for sure because there are so many facets of being a “better” drummer.
The most important tool for becoming a better drummer is to hone your dynamics. Of course we all need to be able to play quiet or loud depending on what the song - or part of the song is requiring. As drummers we need to be aware of the different dynamics of each venue we play at (whether the room is loud and boomy, or tight and hushed). Drummers need to be aware of what I call “inner dynamics” that will be required for each of these different rooms.
For instance one of the venues my band Tantrum plays at regularly has a large, long, high ceiling with a good sized dance floor. There is a wonderful, natural resonance to the room and I can play pretty much unrestricted. I don’t mean loud and crazy, I just mean I don’t need to adjust, within my kit, which part is too loud, or quiet for the room.
The situation is completely opposite at another venue where the small room echoes sound and I need to adjust my kit’s inner dynamics to suit that room. I needed to back off on the snare and crash cymbals but keep the kick and lower toms nice and strong. After one song, the soundman informed me that I needed to bring the snare up a bit more. At this particular gig I was limited to only one overhead microphone on the kit, so my dynamic control was crucial. At the end of that night the soundman thanked me in amazement saying that my inner dynamic control made his job so much easier and the night sounded great because of it.
When an element of your kit is coming through too loud or overpowering, realize that no soundman in the world can “quiet down” what you are playing – he can only “boost” every other instrument on stage to balance it out. Boosting the mix is acceptable in a large room, but in a smaller venue proper dynamics need to be practiced by those of us in the band to avoid overpowering the mix. The thing with this is, dynamics will change from gig to gig and from room to room. I always make it a habit of asking the sound guy as soon as possible if the mix is good – anything too loud or quiet? You will find that working on this level not only has him on your side, but you may also learn something from him at the same time.
In the first year or so of Tantrum’s performing we had a limited amount of channels on the board to properly mic up my drums. Only the kick drum was in the PA system so I was aware that unless I hit hard on the snare and toms, they would sound a bit behind the band and weak. As it was with 3 guitar players in the band (and bass guitar) all going through the PA system as well as their onstage amps, I was always sounding thin and a bit sluggish. Sound coming through the front end will naturally reach the ears of the audience milliseconds before my acoustic instrument no matter how hard I played.
Now that we have a bigger and better soundboard (and a great sound guy who happens to be a drummer too) I am properly mic’d up for the venues we play at. And because of that I can back off and play a lot lighter – which is very critical for my physical endurance since we play two 90-minute sets (minimum) per night – sometimes more!
Also we have a nice CD quality mix to our band due to the fact that everything is going through the PA which makes it controllable. Of course I still need to be aware of my overall dynamics and back off on the cymbal hits when required in a brighter room.
...Keep dropping in this blog for all that we have planned to share as time moves forward
** In an upcoming article I will address the topic of “awareness of adrenaline” and how it can affect your dynamics, tempo and endurance. Excitement or nervousness can adversely affect elements of your playing more than you think and being in control of them can ensure your long lasting employment as a tasty drummer.
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