guitar players playing drums

[Guitarzan]

had a jam last night (the bass player, other guitar player and i)

i started on guitar and moved to drums when the other GP moved to guitar.

then i remained there until Gil the bass player switched to guitar and Jim switched to bass.

i ended back on guitar eventually.

anyhoo if that made sense, after grabbing the guitar again i found the 11s on my LG felt like 9s!

after getting the feel back i played more relaxed and not as violently (picking hand)

drumming was fun and i got back into it after a bit, but occasionally lost it when i decided to think.

we had some cool things happen.

how many of you dabble in drumming and what kind of benefits and problems do you discover after playing them for awhile before grabbing the guitar?

[Blue Strat]

I have a set of Ludwigs I pound on. I don't see any change in the way I approach guitar after playing drums. Every drummer I know plays different. Not so with every guitarist I know. All the guitarists I know want to play Metallica or AC/DC or SRV or Nirvana stuff. Nothing wrong with that, but everyone sounds the same. The drummers just kind of do what they do, not really trying to follow what a particular drummer in a certain band has done.

[Bluesape]

I'm the world's worst drummer, and have learned to avoid the kit at our jams. I can embarass myself enough on guitar on an off night.

[Guitarzan]

i knew i would hear from you Chris. i don't play drums often (used to play them many years ago).

i would never call myself a drummer though.

this set was hindered by a very sloppy bass pedal.

i had to adjust for that delay. but all in all i locked in mostly. we were "milking riffs and musical ideas" so there was no cover band songs being played.

i did notice it helped me lighten up on my attack when playing guitar. the drums seemed to warm me up.

[Blue Strat]

Yep, a good kick-pedal is key. Most everything else can sound like shit, but you've got to have a good kick-drum sound. It would be nice if I knew more local musicians.

[Guitarzan]

Originally posted by Bluesape:

I'm the world's worst drummer, and have learned to avoid the kit at our jams. I can embarass myself enough on guitar on an off night.

don't say that or someone may try to dethrone you for the title! pun intended

[Darklava]

As long as I have been playing in bands I've always sat and played the drummers kit but I'll

be dam if ever could get good at it.I sho have

a lot of respect for drummers.

[Guitarzan]

i actually think if there was a good kit at our other guitarplayers house, Jim (guitar player) would smoke on it. he was playing the drummers Gretsch kit one day and i was suprised.

i respect drummers in the morning

[Mike Gug]

I have TONS of respect for good drummers.

 

As for the OTHER drummers, I'm surprised when they can't figure out that they are slowing down or speeding up. Some just don't pay attention! It's aggravating! You look at them to give them a signal, and they are staring at the hit hat pedal! ARGH!

 

I think drumming makes me a more solid player for keeping a beat. I seem to be able to hold a better beat on guitar than the drums though.

[LPCustom]

I don't know how drummers do it. Sometimes I think it's the most difficult job on stage. Everyone else depends on the drummer to keep them in time. And playing with both hands AND both feet just seems miraculous to me. I have enough trouble just keeping both hands doing what I want . How some drummers manage to sing, too just boggles my mind.

 

I've dabbled with drums just enough to know I can't do it. I use a drum machine at home to program in rhythms that I can jam to. I come back later with my Alesis (QS8) keyboard and lay down a base line (it has a GREAT set of bass samples).

 

But as for playing an actual drum kit. Nope, I'm a complete klutz at it. I can tap out a rhythm using just the kick drum and the snare. But I'm lost after that. In my view good drummers are very talented and mostly unappreciated.

[A String]

I've got a practise kit at home. Great fun and a good way to blow off steam. I feel it's handy to be able to play several instruments, but I'm not sure if one has effected the other...

[Dr. Ellwood]

Originally posted by Blue Strat:

Yep, a good kick-pedal is key. Most everything else can sound like shit, but you've got to have a good kick-drum sound. It would be nice if I knew more local musicians.

Blue..what are you doing to try to meet other local musicians? do you have a musicians referral sevice down there? do you go to clubs and talk to them on their breaks or look for ads at your local music stores? do you go to auditions or offer to help local bands with equipment or at the gig guitar tech type things? thats if you really want to get with other guys playing in bands.

[Kramer Ferrington III.]

Originally posted by LPCustom:

And playing with both hands AND both feet just seems miraculous to me.

Well, most drummers don't actually have independent control of each limb.

 

They simply get into a "pattern", like a sort of juggling. They move thisleg then that arm and so on in a more or less rigid sequence.

 

I'm not knocking it, I can't do it myself. I can do the KD, I can do the SD but the hats give me a lot of trouble.

 

I've played percussion for months on end (often with just a vocalist), but they were phases I was going through, so I never noticed any difference (short of being rusty) when I went back to strings.

[ihategarybettman]

I consider myself a drummer who plays a little guitar. I started off on drums and was the drummer in every band I was in. I later took up the guitar for several reasons:

 

(1) During band discussions of how to play certain songs I wanted to be able to make more constructive suggestions than "I think that should be, you know, higher and go widdly widdly."

 

(2) Guitars are a hell of a lot more portable.

 

(3) Guitars are a hell of a lot more quiet, which was a serious consideration once the wife and I started having kids. I don't get to play drums much these days because there's always somebody in the house.

 

Drumming has definitely influenced my approach to guitar; when I listen to music, I focus on rhythm guitarists, not lead. Also, I have a very aggressive strumming style; my brother, who was one of the guitarists in my last band, is amazed at how many times I've broken the heavy E string (and I use the heaviest guage strings I can find).

 

Blue Strat, you are spot-on about the kick pedal being key. I can play other people's drums and cymbals, but every pedal has a different feel, and my time isn't the same (at least to me) when I use someone else's. Whenever I played an open mike and used someone else's kit, I brought along sticks and my kick pedal.

[Eric Iverson]

I didn't know it was POSSIBLE to break the low E string!

 

Yes, a good drummer is worth his weight in gold! A crappy one makes you want to take his sticks and ... well, fill in your own, as long as it's anatomically impossible!

 

Sometimes when hearing a good drummer I try to get the same rhythm happening strumming - it's an interesting challenge! It can even cause me to like playing along with a song I would never listen to otherwise!

[Caevan O’Shite]

Once in a blue moon I'll bang around on hand-drums/percussion, but I don't recommend that ANYONE attempt to endure my sitting behind a drumset... !!

[UnderTheGroove_dup2]

I have a lot of respect for drummers. They can make or break a band more than anything other than the vocalist. I will sit behind a kit every once and a while, but it usually sounds pretty painful!

[Museeip]

I started on drums and still love to sit behind my drummers kit. I think that understanding drums helps me alot with everything else. Writing, my rythm playing, and most of all singing and playing at the same time. If you have a good grasp of drums you can write more rythmicly interesting things on guitar. The guitarist in my last band was an AMAZING drummer! He recorded some demos where he played everything and sang...The odd thing is that he tracked the guitar part first then played drums along with that..no click, and if anyone has ever tried to play drums in time to a guitar track you know how hard that is.