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Tips and Strategies For Constructing a Drum Solo
Writing something original is typically not something you can quantify with hard and fast rules or guidelines. However, having said that, in this article I'd like to offer up some tips and strategies you may find useful when it comes time for you to rock the crowd with a solo on your kit.
1) Keep something constant. It can be highly useful to keep a particular element constant throughout most or all of your drum solo. This could be a simple pounding quarter note beat on the kick drum or perhaps a repeating motif on the toms or the ride. Whatever it is, your "constant" will give the audience something to hang onto and help keep their interest throughout the solo as you gradually add to and embellish your beats and rhythms.
2) Keep your solo in time. Even though you're soloing, you still have to remember the primary function of the drummer: to keep time. As a result, you should make sure that your drum solo stays in time throughout. Of course you can speed up or slow down the tempo as your solo progresses but you want to maintain tight timekeeping for each section. Employing the "constant" I mentioned above provides a useful way to do this. Keeping, for instance, a steady beat on the kick drum will help you stay on tempo and in time as your solo becomes more and more complicated.
3) Start simple and build. A good way to start your solo is to begin with something pretty simple and then gradually add elements as the solo progresses. Perhaps begin with the "constant" motif, then work that repeating element into a simple drum beat. After grooving on that for awhile, gradually begin to add in additional elements like cymbal hits, tom fills, or syncopated rhythms on the ride. Throw in whatever drum rudiments you're comfortable with...try playing them on the snare and then repeating the same rudiments on various toms as you move through the solo (in this way you can establish repeating motifs that the crowd can identify). If you're comfortable with it, you might try jamming in some odd meters. Doing this can really add some flare and an interesting feel to the solo, especially if you're skilled enough to switch from the more uncommon time signatures and back to a standard 4/4 effortlessly.
4) Keep your solo the proper length. Although many people enjoy a good drum solo and you'll often please the crowd by pounding the kit into oblivion, you should still keep your solo a reasonable length. Make the solo long enough to be interesting, but not so long that people begin to doze off and wish you would just stop playing. This can require some planning beforehand so you can structure your solo in a musical way while still staying within the allotted time period.
There are multiple ways to end your drum solo. For instance, you could break down the solo that you just constructed, bringing things to a soft stop. When finished this way, your solo could be thought of as a bell curve. It starts out simple, then gradually builds to a climax in the middle, and then slowly breaks down and slows to a stop, perhaps ending with the same simple beat or "constant" you began it with. Another way to finish up your solo is to go out with a bang and hit the crowd with everything you have. You might think of the finale of a fireworks display where the crew sets off everything they have and tries to wow the audience with tons of fast and furious explosions. Make liberal use of your cymbals, play as fast as you can, and throw in tons of fast rudiments on your toms, ending with a resounding crash to your cymbals.
I hope these stategies and tips can help you construct a fun and impressive solo that'll blow the crowd away when you're in the spotlight. I'll let you take it from here and have fun!
Rob Wariner is a guitarist, drummer, and composer that has recorded with several well-known progressive rock musicians. He is currently teaching himself to play drums at home and is chronicling his self-taught drumming lessons on his blog, Drum Lessons at Home. He is using the Complete Drumming System as a resource and has published a review of Mike Michalkow's Complete Drumming System on his blog.
About the Author
BOON DOC: Drum Programming Tips (To Quantize Or Not To Quantize) PART TWO