The curse of the drum set in modern music

[respirator]

The drum set was invented in the late 19th century, and has ever since played an enormous role in popular music. The drum set allows one percussionist to play a large number of percussion instrument at the same time at a great volume. It was an instrument of necessity and economy. But the drum set severely limits the way percussive sounds are used in popular, rhythmically based music. The combination of bass drum (some times called kick drum because in the early days you actually kicked it ), snare and hi-hat is so pervasive in music today that we notice when they are missing or even used in different ways.

Add to that the tyranny of 4/4 and the prevalence of bass on 1-3, snare on 2-4 (with slight variations) and the drum set becomes a straight jacket on our creativity.

In recent years the acoustic drum set has to some extent been replaced by synthesized and sampled alternatives, but most of these still adhere to the notion of the acoustic set. Bass drum on 1-3, snare sound on 2-4 (with variations). Hi-hat sounds driving the rhythm, cymbals and toms for embellishments. (OK, you got 4-to-floor, heavy rock with bass drum on every 8th or 16th, but the bass drum is present and often accentuated on 1-3 and the snare usually on 2-4). And even when music is breaking out of this formula, you still got the notion of bass drum, snare, hi-hat.

I’m simplifying things, but I think it’s a valid observation. I’ll even go as far as claiming that music that does not adhere to the formula is labelled as progressive, or even worse as experimental (there are exceptions of course, but generally spoken this seems to be the case). There are ballads – but they are ballads because of the missing or understated rhythmical drive. But other than that I can’t really think of any popular genre that isn’t slave to drum set.

So how do we free our selves of the tyranny of the drum set without making inaccessible experimental music (as I tend to do)? Can we imagine a wave of popular music that takes a different approach the percussive and rhythmic elements – or am I an old fart that hasn’t been following popular music for a decade?

[Jbravo]

that's a good question and an interesting observation. I wonder if maybe the timbral and rhythmic qualities of drum tracks in mainstream music engage us in a way that is unavoidable because it works on some fundamental psychological level that can't be replicated by another means - or it could just be a cultural convention. I have a suspicion that it's not just cultural and that the reliance on this kind of percussion is an evolutionary trait of music that has become more finely honed to engage the listener in a physical, non-intellectual way.... or I could be talking complete bollocks

[Sepheritoh]

I think this is just genre specific. Modern electronica may fall in this class, so did rock music for 50 years, but the "problem" as you see it does not seem me to be a major limitation in much of the music I listen to - but then I am an old fart who has fallen on the way-side.

Rhythm in music has not been invented with the dum set. The drum set, as you said it, has just made it easy for a single person to provide that rhythm by using a wide veriety of instruments. The strong beat on count 1 has been around as long as music has been around. The downbeat has been there all the time too.

[nuffink]

The drum set was invented in the late 19th century, and has ever since played an enormous role in popular music.

Thank f**k for that. It rescued music from 600 years of white boys reducing rhythm to mere meter.

[Ja.x]

...
So how do we free our selves of the tyranny of the drum set without making inaccessible experimental music (as I tend to do)? ...

Hum... Phillip Glass? Michael Nyman? Wim Mertens? Some Penguin Cafe O.? Dunno, not popular? Rythm is embodied into music, drums are suposed to be just for "color". I know that more and more without drums the rythm of track is gone. Maybe it's time to get back to basics

[CypherOne]

The drum set was invented in the late 19th century, and has ever since played an enormous role in popular music.

Thank f**k for that. It rescued music from 600 years of white boys reducing rhythm to mere meter.

agreed (and I'm a white boy).

[respirator]

Maybe the biggest problem isn't the drum set and the musical stereotypes it prescribes, but the drummer?

[clueless]

mere meter.

[Hovmod]

Add to that the tyranny of 4/4 and the prevalence of bass on 1-3, snare on 2-4 (with slight variations) and the drum set becomes a straight jacket on our creativity.

Uhm - that's entirely up to you, mate. It's a *tradition* now, not a straight jacket. Wanna do something minus drummer? Go ahead.

[Jbravo]

It's a *tradition* now, not a straight jacket. Wanna do something minus drummer? Go ahead.

I think the question is: is it possible to ignore that tradition and make something that still works? if so how do you do it, and if not why not....

[respirator]

Yeah, yeah. Do your stuff. Never mind tradition. I'm on that (just listen to my "music"). But every time I try to do something with a broader appeal then ... DRUM SET. The tradition is internalized. And I sincerely think it's not just me. When I listen to music, KVR included ... DRUM SET.

Great inventions are often born out of necessities. Take the electric guitar, which is arguably the most important instrument since the tempered piano: Born out of the necessity to be heard over a big band. But these invention becomes limitations in time (don't get me started on the keyboard's influence on the way we make music).

(I in rambling mode today).

[Benedict]

Fascinating question. There are 2 opposing shcools here so we could argue forever:

1. Hot: where rythem(drums) is foremost and everything else fits around. Examples are African Tribal Drums and Chant, some Jazz, Salsa.

2. Cold: where drums are there to accentuate the rythms not to be them and melody is dominant. Examples are classical, true ambient (Eno etc), ballads.

More confusingly tho we have hybrids where hot music uses a cold form and cold music uses a hot form. eg. Techno/Rave, White Soul/Jazz like George Benson, Sade or Style Council, Rockabilly/Punk like Eddy Cochran and The Clash.

At heart I'm a cold music lover, I prefer my drums as part of the mix not the mix itself. Hot styles can drive me up the wall. Hot music lovers often can't understand the other colder approaches to music and tend to slag it off. Sad but I guess understandable.

Surely tho as musicians (and we are that aren't we) we owe it to ourselves to understand the other styles around us, we may even learn something from this exloration. After all it was white (cold) boys playing with black (hot) boy's music that gave us all we now know in popular music. eg Kraftwerk were trying to be funk and from there we all have a host of dance styles. Interestingly we still have Salsa alive and kicking. I personally dance a 4-step to 50's style Rock & Roll and Roackbilly.

[insaneacyde]

respirator, anyone who's ever heard Danney Carey from Tool will laugh at the points you made above. Although I agree that alot of rythms used these days are pretty generic it's the "casio" drummers that make these rythms. The acoustic set has no limitations except your own creativity and the size of your wallet, whereas digital -wether a plugin, emu, looper or a 909- has a tremendous amount of creative hurdles and limitations. Let's face it, if you want to change anything about rythm you're going to have to be able to get physical with the sound and not be plonking it in via midi controller or on your keyboard. Dont blame acoustic drums for there "tyranny" over modern music, blame the droolin keyboard players for there total lack of creative rythm programming there beats. At the end of the day it's the audience who "dictate" the beat and it's the "digital regime" that enforced the perfect, dry, brittle, BORING beats you hear today.
It's probably way to many drugs as well.

[fateamenabletochange]

Drums are not meant for color ,they are meant for hitting you in the chest at it's resonant frequency.60 Hz.Why do people go wild in clubs and dig music that you would cringe at.

[respirator]

respirator, anyone who's ever heard Danney Carey from Tool will laugh at the points you made above

Yeah. And anyone who's ever heard Dave Weckl or Max Roach or every other drummer who's somebodies favorite. Thats not the point. And the "casio"-drummers are not to blame either in my book. There are as many bad/uninventive drummers as casio players out there. The few geniuses doesn't dominate the music business.

Benedict: I sort of get your hot/cold distinction, but I think that most of the music in the cold division fells under the drum set curse.

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Seriously: I'm trying to make a point by over-simplifying. I know that the world is much more complicated (thank god, even if he's a woman). But still. Listen to the radio. Bum-cha-Bum-cha.