The Importance of Musical Structure

In working with a lot of younger students (and some older ones too), I've found that most of them have no concept about phrasing & song structure. Yes, they can play a wide variety of drum beats, often very technical ones. But they have little or no concept of what to do with those beats and how to put them together into musical phrases. I see part of this problem stemming from the fact that as drummers, we don't play melodies, chord progressions, or bass lines. Even some students who play a lot of mallets just play what is on the paper in front of them, without giving any thought to how all those notes are arranged on that paper. The other part of the problem is that rarely do any drum instruction books talk about structure. Instead, they give us endless rhythmic exercises, but without a context for how to use them in a musical application. So let's take a basic look at structure and how to bring it into our drumming.

 If you play a melodic instrument, the chances are you work on playing the melody and/or chord progression. Both of these have a built in structure, say 8 or 12 bars. In playing drums, you need to create structure to work from. Here is an excerpt from my drum instruction book, THE THINKING DRUMMER - ENERGY & MOTION. These ideas will work with almost any drum book, whether it be for drum set, snare drum, hand drums, etc.

 Most drum books are set up as a series of numbered exercises. For example, drum set books are often set up like this:


Using Phrasing and Structure
  1. Play each exercise on the ride/HH/etc. Count and feel things in 4-bar phrases. 
  2. Play 4/8 bar phrases, changing from Ride to HH/etc. when you play the next phrase. Make sure that there is continuity and flow when you change. 
  3. Play 4/8 bar phrases changing both the cymbal and beat. For example: play Ride Cymbal for 4-bars on beat #14, then HH for 4-bars on beat #15, then repeat (or change to another beat). 
  4. Play each page as one long exercise, using the above ideas and 4 or 8-bar phrases. 
  5. Always play with varied dynamics (see Dynamics & Phrasing) 
  6. Be creative and change things each time you sit down and work on them.


More ways to work with these exercises:

  • When you are done playing through all the exercises with an 8 note ride, go back and play through them with a quarter note ride. 
  • Then alternate 4/8 bars of 8 ride with 4/8 bars of quarter note ride. First play 1 beat, and change the cymbal pattern. Then change the beat and the cymbal pattern.
You can do the same sort of thing with snare drum books. Play each exercise as a 4 or 8 bar phrase, then go on to the next one. Play 2 or more together as a longer structure, much like you would in a song. 

No matter what type of music you play, it's important to always be aware of the structure & phrasing of the music. Only then can we have the freedom to become an integral part of things and play with authority.

~ MB

      Examples © Intuitive Arts Media (IAM) and used with permission.

      Comments

      Post a Comment

      Popular posts from this blog

      Tam Tam vs Gong

      Image
      I can't tell you how many times this argument of "A tam tam is not a Gong" comes up. It came my way no less than 3 different times this week. Actually, 'tam tam' (also tam-tam) was 1st used in symphonic music back in the 1800s to differentiate a flat faced Gong from a Gong with a raised center 'boss.' (There is no definitive answer as to where the term tam tam originated - some say it's Chinese, some say it's Hindi, still others say it's something else…) To add to the confusion, 'tam-tam' is a term often used for either an   African  djembe or talking drum. When a score calls for a 'tam tam' (like Messiaen’s 'Et exspecto resurrectionem mortuorum' or various works of Richard Wagner), then a flat faced Gong, like a Chinese Chau, is used. Flat Faced Chinese Chau Gong/Tam Tam When a score calls for a 'Gong' (like Puccini’s 'Madame Butterfly', or 'Turandot'), then a bossed Gon
      Read more

      What to Look for When Buying a Gong

      Image
      Today's blog is a revised & updated blog I posted 3 years ago on my old website. I'm always having people ask me about buying a Gong. Well, here's some tips: •••••••• So you’ve decided to get a Gong. The first thing to ask is, what will I use a Gong for? What type of music do you play? Do you want to use it in a rock band, a jazz band, solo? Are you looking for a meditation device? These are important questions and will help determine what type and size of Gong to get.  One important thing to look at is how big a Gong do you want? Gongs are heavy. Gongs are not easy to transport. If this Gong will stay in your house/studio, then that makes it easy to have a larger size. But if you plan to travel in a band with it,  you need to look at the impact a different size Gong will have on transporting it.  A lot of drummers want a Gong because they look cool and sound cool. They also want that type of sound in their percussive arsenal.  A good place to star
      Read more

      Music Notation for Gongs

      Image
      Recently, I was asked a question about how Gongs are notated in a musical score. Here are various examples of different ways they have been notated, from traditional classical, to modern musical forms. The first thing is to differentiate the 2 main types of Gongs: the flat faced, usually termed Tam Tam in a classical score, and the Bossed Gong, with a raised center boss (AKA cup, nipple). A good example of a traditional symphonic Tam Tam part would be from Gustav Holst’s, The Planets . This example is from Mars, the Bringer of War : We can see the Gong/Tam Tam notated traditionally on a single staff line.  The next example is from Puccini’s opera, Turandot . This is the Tam Tam part, notated on the bottom line. Example #3 is also from Turandot. The score also calls for Tuned Bossed Gongs. Unfortunately I was unable to find a score example of them. John Cage used various Gongs in his percussion music. This is an example of how he notated the
      Read more