68
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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 ...
- 11.2k
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 ...
- 2,568
45
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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 ...
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29
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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 ...
- 54.8k
26
votes
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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/...
- 55.7k
25
votes
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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 ...
- 2,054
25
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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 ...
- 55.7k
22
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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 ...
- 188k
22
votes
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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 ...
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21
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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, ...
- 55.7k
19
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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 ...
- 3,438
15
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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 ...
- 3,933
14
votes
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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 ...
- 83.7k
14
votes
Accepted
Is timing with left foot (weak foot) a fundamental skill?
The body "learns" motor skills in ways that are specific to body parts. Think about handwriting: If you try to write with your non-dominant hand, you write terribly and it's challenging. ...
- 15k
13
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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 ...
- 22.2k
13
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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 ...
- 26.4k
13
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What do the labels on drumsticks (5A, 7B, etc.) mean?
I have found the following information on this website:
The letters will tell you the weight of the stick( A, B, S or D):
A (orchestra) is the lightest type of stick out there. This was the
type of ...
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12
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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 ...
- 27.1k
12
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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) ...
- 13.5k
12
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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. ...
- 687
12
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Accepted
Why does American traditional music (e.g. old-time fiddle, folk, bluegrass, etc.) exclude drumming?
I’m sorry you don’t find “spoons, washboards, and flatfoot dancing” an acceptable answer. I would invite you to consider that spoons, washboards, and feet all feature some things in common that drums ...
- 20.8k
12
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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 ...
- 7,110
11
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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 ...
- 55.7k
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 ...
- 55.7k
10
votes
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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: (...
- 11.2k
10
votes
Accepted
What does the double 3s mean in these patterns?
Let me focus on the first rhythm only:
The sixteenth triplet takes the place of an eighth note, which together with the quarter note sits in a triplet. Thus, the quarter takes up 2/3rds of a ...
- 747
10
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Should I use PA speakers for a full band all the time?
I went down a similar path to eventually starting a full band to accompany me on stage in paying gigs vs playing just for fun. My band has bass, two guitars, drums and vocal mics for all four ...
- 27.1k
9
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Is the main role of the bass guitar to give a pitch to the kick drum?
Certainly not the main role! It's going to depend a lot on the style of music played.
In a couple of bands I work in, there are what I call 'listening drummers'. Not every band is lucky enough to ...
- 188k
9
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Is anything that doesn't have a pitch considered noise?
I think when an instrument doesn't have a clear pitch, the musician's go-to word is 'unpitched', rather than 'noise'. Noise in a musical context often refers to something extraneous or unwanted - e.g. ...
- 45.8k
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