I am so very tempted to make a drum track to this. The drumming you have, by the way, is quite unorthodox.
Unorthodoxy isn't a bad thing, but it kinda bugs me a little. To explain it would take forever. It's not something I can actually teach, but can only give in the form of examples found in just about every single rock song out there.

I will admit however that my drumming style conforms to some common standards of drumming, but I do try to break off from following time signatures and placing rhythms according to how I feel in the song.

I don't know, I've been awake for like 20+ hours after an 8-hour workday.

Hopefully you didn't see my other message, otherwise I look like an asshole. But anyway:

Yeah, I know what you mean, I think. Honestly, I just sorta do whatever beat happens to be going in my head at the time, which I think is the main problem.

Although if ya could, I'd love to know how you think it is unorthodox so I can properly understand what ya meant. :)

Nope, didn't see the other post, but whatever...I guess it's okay?

Here's unorthodox drumming: Further Seems Forever - I Am, We Came As Romans - Broken Statues, Jimmy Eat World - Goodbye Sky Harbor (intro + verses), The Dear Hunter - Oracles on the Delphi.

As opposed to orthodox drumming: Green Day - Redundant, Jimmy Eat World - Always Be, Thrice - Stare at the Sun.

In general, what I call "unorthodox drumming" is drumming that's put to a song that isn't exactly what the average person would expect if they had to put a beat to something. It's not putting the snare on beats 2 and 4, with cymbals on 1, 2, 3, and 4, with the bass drum filling in the spaces between snare hits. It's playing each drum and cymbal not for rhythm's sake, but also because each drum and cymbal note carries purpose. Unorthodoxy is by no means a bad thing, but to me, it's something that's very welcome when the opportunity is there.

Lots of songs however require that the drums carry only rhythm, such as Green Day's "Redundant," since syncopated notes would simply destroy the song. I learned this during my wind ensemble class in high school; I tried being all progressive and experimental while playing "Jingle Bell Rock," and my teacher kept telling me not to do it. I had to keep the rhythm ONLY. And in retrospect, he was absolutely right. So these songs don't lend themselves to "unorthodox drumming."

Further Seems Forever's "I Am" is a prime example of what I consider to be "unorthodox drumming." I'm using the video I recorded many years ago to prove this point, since I'm not sure how trained you are in being able to pick out drums. Instead of using my right hand for the ride/crash/hi-hats and left hand for snare drum, I had to use my left hand to hit the crash cymbal much more often during the verses, since there is a lack of snare usage in the beginning of each "phrase," if that makes any sense.

The Dear Hunter's "Oracles on the Delphi" however is interesting because instead of using hi-hats, snare, and bass during the verses at the beginning, the drummer plays the hi-hats in place of the snare drum and the floor tom in place of the bass drum. This almost never happens in rock music, since using hi-hats as an accent within a rhythm predominantly filled with syncopated floor tom notes is somewhat minimalistic and unnecessary if you were to play the song all the way through that way. However, when the refrain/chorus ("you've been stuck in the middle of patience and animosity") comes in, it gives the snare drum more power and significance despite that he plays the drums in a way that sounds like it can be found in any other rock song; if you were to take the refrain out of the context of this song, it wouldn't sound very spectacular at all. But in the context of this song, it packs much more punch because of how the rest of the song is played. And that's why I consider it a song with "unorthodox drumming."

Nothing mean. I wasn't really thinking when I posted it, so it was three paragraphs of speculation. Incorrect speculation to boot. So....

Anyway I gotta say I like all of those! xD Except Jimmy Eat World cuz I never really liked him.

I also really liked your drumming on FSF - I Am. It was very good. I hope you get the time and space to make a drum track soon. I'd very much like to hear it! ^^

I can see now what you meant - I think I understand what you said and it makes a lot of sense to me too. I can get into sort of a thing with syncopation. My band director used to tell me how good at it I was, despite trying. Though I also tend to syncopate too much, which is one of my smaller problems. Since the syncopation, in my opinion, isn't horrible, it just needs a little work. But I think I'm finally at that point where there are only three options left to me. I can either get better, stay the same forever, or get worse. Honestly I'm not sure how I could get too terribly worse than this, but anyway.

I like how these are very good examples of awesomely syncopated songs, which is a very good reference material in the future when I am having doubts about a song. I also like how [email=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62ZSQUyU00s]Sing Sing Sing (With a Swing).[/email] sounds similar in some ways to the drumming in The Dear Hunter's "Oracles on the Delphi", which I think is why I like it the most, despite how much I am liking We Came As Romans - Broken Statues. Very jazzy. xD

All-in-all I very much appreciate you took the time out of your assuredly busy day to respond so much in length what you meant. There is so much helpful information in all of it that I am sure I will use in the future it makes me so very happy!

Thank you so much!

Oops, copied the wrong BB code. :x

Shame on me! SHAME ON ME!

SHAME ON YOU

But yeah, that's what I learned in my 10-ish years as a drummer. In addition to other things.

I very much like it. You're quite good at the drums. I could never really make it past playing all the drums (snare, hi-hat, bass drum) at once, let alone with all that syncopation in thar.

Eh, I don't think I'm all that good. I've never recorded a good take; I always mess up somewhere in every song I play, unless it's extremely easy, like The Ramones, Green Day, or Jimmy Eat World. Or if I'm not even recording.

Jack DeJohnette however is a total and complete beast behind the set. I have absolutely nothing on him.

Also, may I have a drum-less version of "Potent Drug?"

Yes, let me go ahead and mix out the drums and then I'll note ya with a link to it.