Drums For One and All - Tutorial page

If you've ever had the opportunity to see a concert of taiko drumming, you know that these ensembles usually have some kind of enormous drum as their center piece. Visually, the very presence of a six foot diameter drum on a pedestal that could support a siege cannon is a statement of latent power. The players, often one on either side of the double-headed drum, may be stripped to the waist, rippling with muscle, wielding mallets the size of baseball bats. When they play, it's as much a display of martial arts as it is musicianship; they concentrate every ounce of their strength into precise strikes with impeccable timing that drives the rest of the ensemble.

I've had an opportunity to play one of these drums at a taiko workshop. When you step up to the drum, it fills your entire field of vision. The drum becomes your world. When you strike the drum, you feel it as much as you hear it. The vibrations emanating from the head are like a wind blowing back in your face. You are utterly enveloped in the waves of sound, to the point where you feel like you're dissolving in it. It's intoxicating and overwhelming at the same time.

But as the size of the drum is pushed to its extreme, so are the problems that could arise from playing such an instrument incorrectly. Because the sound of the drum so dominates the ensemble, one must use caution not to lose track of how much that one drum is influencing all the others. It would be easy to think "I am the center of the universe, so everyone else should adapt their drumming to whatever I'm doing".

The truth is, a taiko performance troupe is a well balanced machine. Every instrument has its role and every player knows how he or she is supposed to make their sound support the rest of the group so that the rhythms flow seamlessly.

The same kind of thinking is central to any musical performance ensemble. Each member must be aware of what the entire group is doing and must also know how to tailor their volume and playing style to blend with what everyone else is doing so that the overall affect is musically appealing to an audience and to the musicians themselves.

I know that a community drum circle is different from a performance troupe. You can't have the same expectations for both. In a community group, the level of training is sporadic at best and the cast of characters is always changing. But I still feel it is worthwhile to educate people about some of the basic concepts of ensemble playing that can make their experience more enjoyable. One of the common rough spots that I have observed time and time again is how people approach playing large drums in a drum circle (if there are any). The occasions when this is done well are rare indeed, but it need not be so.

Partly in jest and partly serious, I have coined my own phenomenon, called "The Big Drum Conundrum". Simply put, it claims that...

The person with the greatest potential for creating rhythmic mayhem
will invariably gravitate to the largest and loudest drum available,
and once there, will proceed to play it nonstop.

I'll admit there have been times when I've literally wanted wrestle such a person away from the large African dunun drums that I bring to my community circles. This is the fine line a drum circle facilitator must tread: a) being fair to the person who gets excited about playing a large drum, and b) being fair to the rest of the circle if that person's excitement outweighs their talent.

So all of what I've just written is a long way of getting around to what I really wanted to share: a list of suggested guidelines for playing large drums in a community drum circle, in an attempt to raise awareness about some common problems.

1) Only play the large drums for one round at a time
When the rhythm is over, let someone else step up to the drums. Not only does this give everyone a chance to try the drums, but it also helps to limit a shaky drummer from holding the circle hostage for too long. If no-one steps up for the next round, then let the next round go on without the big drums (the change in sound may be refreshing for the ears).

2) Remember the cardinal rule of playing big drums: "Less is more"
What makes any rhythm more exciting is when the various drummers leave space for each other to be heard. Big drums are designed to fill their sonic space, so in order to leave room for the other players, the big drums simply have to play less notes.

3) Balance your volume with the rest of the group
For the person sitting next to a large drum that is being struck too hard, it can be like having a cannon exploding in your ear -- over and over and over. A big drum should be played firmly so that it provides a foundation for the rest of the group, but not so loudly that it dominates the group. If you are playing a large drum, you may want to ask someone on the other side of the circle about your volume. Or, if you see people wincing, cramming in earplugs or scooting their chairs away -- take this as a sign!

4) Pay attention to the rest of the group
As I mentioned above, it's easy to get lost in what you're playing on the big drums and lose track of what the overall sound of the circle is. The role of the big drums is to support the circle, not control it. Yes, the big drums can propel the rhythm, but the big drum player has the responsibility of being sensitive to where the circle wants to go as a whole. Only get louder if the group needs it. Only get faster if the group wants it.

5) Be consistent with your playing
Most musicians understand the term "playing in the pocket". This means finding the sweet spot where your timing is perfectly matched with the timing of the group. Once you find the pocket, get into that groove and stay there for as long as you can. Some of the most satisfying drum rounds happen when a rhythm gets drawn out for such a long time that everyone is sucked into the groove and gets carried along by it.

6) Keep it simple (but not stupid)
Big drums are not meant to be solo instruments. Playing fast and furiously on big drums tends to make everything sound like mud, as the notes blur together into a mushy, indistinct sound. When in doubt, play the simplest pulse possible, even if it's nothing more than playing the "one" of a four beat pattern. But on the flipside, I strongly suggest avoiding the temptation to strike the drum on every single beat possible. The resulting "machine gun" drumming (ba-da-ba-da-ba-da-ba-da...) is what I call the ultimate "groove killer". As I said earlier, rhythms are exciting when they have room in the sonic space for everyone to be heard. But if the big drums are playing every single beat, then the sonic space gets overly crowded. This squeezes the life out of a rhythm and drags the rest of the circle down to the lowest common denominator, i.e. everyone playing like a machine gun. Not much fun.

7) Learn how to play with syncopation
The topic of syncopation is more than I can talk about in a short paragraph, so maybe the quicker suggestion would be to "think funky". By that, I mean a groove will be more interesting if you don't play right on the primary beats (i.e. one, two, three, four...). By playing around the primary beats, you'll put more life into the rhythm. The funkiest bass drum rhythms are usually the ones that get folks up dancing!

8) Mix it up
The best drum circles are the ones that have a variety of rhythmic styles at different tempos and with different moods. To prevent the circle from being overcome by fatigue, try shifting gears maybe every 3rd round into something slower and/or quieter. This gives people a chance to recharge a little bit so that when the next high energy round comes, they'll be fresh and ready to go.

With all that said, I don't want to discourage people from trying out the big drums. They really are fun to play. But unlike the other drums in the circle, the big drums have a special role and a special responsibility, so they deserve some extra attention.