68
votes
Accepted
Why can't drums produce melody?
Instruments don't just produce one frequency at a time. When you play a single note on a melodic instruments (like piano, wind instruments, string instruments, etc.), you produce many different ...
- 11k
51
votes
Why can't drums produce melody?
The drums CAN play melodies, but the number of pitches and notes you have available are limited by the number of drums you have (not counting creative applications of "bending" the drum head to ...
- 2,578
45
votes
Why are there many guitarists, but only one drummer in a band?
This is not always true. While most bar bands have this set up, if you go to many large concerts (for instance the Eagles concert tour), you will often find many percussionists working simultaneously. ...
45
votes
Accepted
Why didn't classical music use drums?
What you are thinking of as "drums" is really a collection of drums, percussion & cymbals gathered together in such a way as they can be played by one person. A drum kit or trap kit.
This idea ...
- 22.5k
31
votes
Accepted
Why do drummers put (duct) tape on their drums?
It reduces volume, but usually the desired effect is to remove excessive ringing. If you listen to the snare on the St. Anger record by Metallica, you'll hear the type of sounds some drummers want to ...
- 6,657
29
votes
Why didn't classical music use drums?
Classical music did use drums: timpani and bass drum for starters.
...I'm talking where the rhythm is one of the main driving forces
Rhythm IS a driving force in classical music.
I think what you ...
- 49.1k
25
votes
Accepted
Difference between a ride and a crash/ride cymbal
At the risk of covering something you may already know well, let's take a detour and be clear about what crash and ride cymbals are and how they are different. Then the explanation of what a crash/...
- 51k
25
votes
Accepted
What is the most effective, structured way for an adult beginner to learn drums without a teacher?
If you are serious about drumming I have good advice:
Background
I've been playing 13 years.I play in my college's jazz ensemble and play in a rock band outside of that. I take lessons with the ...
- 2,004
25
votes
Can the bass be used instead of drums?
The relative dearth of percussion in classical music versus rock is part of what makes those genres sound different. Nothing takes on the role of a drum kit in the classical orchestra. That role ...
- 51k
22
votes
Why can't drums produce melody?
No-one's mentioned pans - aka steel drums They certainly are used to play melodies. The main problem is that melodies usually contain long and short duration notes, and drums generally can only ...
- 173k
22
votes
Accepted
Why are drums considered non pitched instruments?
A drum is usually considered a non-pitched instrument because it produces a weak fundamental frequency, produces inharmonic overtones, and the pitches it does produce are unrelated to the rest of the ...
- 544
21
votes
Accepted
10,000 Hours Regime - Drums
I don't see why you wouldn't be able to achieve all of your goals within a year - they are a perfectly reasonable. 1.5hrs of practice a day is a typical average of many college musicians, but I ...
- 25.1k
21
votes
Why do drummers put (duct) tape on their drums?
I'll add pictures to precise the answer of Meaningful Username ;)
This is more for sound mitigation :
This is more for tone control (to reduce some harmonies) :
Since this answer is appreciated, I'...
- 480
21
votes
Accepted
Which would benefit my band the most, learning covers or writing originals?
You should do both! When I just start working with other musicians, I like to get a cover or two under our belts so we can feel each other out and learn to play as a group. Literally at the same time, ...
- 51k
19
votes
Can the bass be used instead of drums?
In general "classical" music usually has less of a "strict time" feeling than music that typically uses percussion heavily. That's one reason that a conductor is there - to define the time feel, cue ...
- 3,421
16
votes
Accepted
How to choose drum pitches?
Drums have pitches, but by the time they are in the track, then unless it is for very specific purposes, to complement a melodic line etc, then those actual pitches should not be truly apparent to the ...
- 22.5k
15
votes
Is it OK to watch TV while practicing speed?
Well, the problem is that as you practice, your subconscious mechanism picks up repeated tasks. If you are still "fully present" (I'd call it "trying hard") once your subconscious ...
- 3,883
14
votes
Accepted
What is a paradiddle?
You're close!
A paradiddle is a four-articulation pattern that alternates hands for the first three articulations but then repeats the third hand. The two patterns are L R L L and R L R R. Fancier ...
- 78.7k
13
votes
How to play proper time when another instrument is playing out of time?
It's a tough situation. Even if you're able to stubbornly stay right on the beat, it will sound like you're dragging or something is wrong. If you go with the flow, the whole group will speed up or ...
- 24.1k
12
votes
Which would benefit my band the most, learning covers or writing originals?
I agree 100% with everything Todd Wilcox stated in his excellent answer!
To add to what he said - as a songwriter myself, I find that learning covers is a great way to improve not only my skills as ...
- 26.8k
12
votes
Drums in Apartment
Sites like this always get lots of questions about how to soundproof thin walls, and the answer is always that you can't do much. Soundproofing is achieved by having a lot of mass in the walls (and ...
- 21.2k
12
votes
Why can't drums produce melody?
In contrast to the question, the timpani are a drum set that can play melodies (although they are almost always given accompaniment parts only). Indeed, they are tuned to pitches (one pitch per drum) ...
- 11.5k
12
votes
Accepted
Crash cymbal turned green
For your first question. Your cymbal is oxidized, and the green color is called patina
Initially, bare Cu metal atoms react with air to form the pink oxide,
cuprite, Cu2O, which has Cu+1 cations. ...
- 607
12
votes
Is the main role of the bass guitar to give a pitch to the kick drum?
The main role of a Bass is going to be different depending on the style. My answer is going to relate to Pop/rock.
Rhythm:
The Bass guitar is part of the rhythm section. Obviously the drums are also ...
- 6,990
11
votes
Accepted
Why do drumsticks break?
As any material, wood/plastic/carbon fiber will become more and more breakable when they take some damages. You don't only hit the drum with the shaft when you do a rimshot. On cymbals (crash or ...
- 619
11
votes
Accepted
What is the technique called where you hold a crash cymbal while hitting it?
It's called "choking" or "cymbal choke".
Another name for it is "muting". Unfortunately that term is overloaded since it also means putting materials on cymbals to make them sound quieter for ...
- 51k
10
votes
Why are there many guitarists, but only one drummer in a band?
I can certainly explain why there aren't many rock bands with multiple drummers.
Because every garage band practices in the drummer's garage.
The drummer can't fit the drum set in the back of his ...
- 209
10
votes
Accepted
How does one place a beat 'on' a given note/rest value?
Now I know what values notes can have and what they look like and all that, but what I don't get is how you can place somthing... on them?
The author is saying "place a sound every X": as in every ...
- 15.9k
10
votes
How do I get a short snare sound?
Snare resonator heads are supposed to be ridiculously thin. Don't worry about that.
The best way to control the sustain of any drum is with tuning (it's also important for best tone). Snares also ...
- 51k
10
votes
Accepted
Common reasons for poor drummer swing feel?
There are many things that could be going wrong, but in my experience, not swinging (or having a bad swing feel) is usually a result of small technique-related issues. In particular, it can include: (...
- 11k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible