Musician Forum - Band Discussion Board - BandMix

its friday folks so lets ask the question that has troubled mankind for eons.

are drummers musicians? the point im making is this, i could listen to a(very good) guitar player for an hour or singer or piano or even bass but i dont think i could listen to a drummer for an hour.there is a long running joke in europe aka "drummer jokes" and i wonder if its the same in the states?
here are a few of the best...

1.what do you call those people who hang around musicians.....drummers
2.how do you know when a drummer is at your door...he doesnt know when to come in.
3.whats the last thing a drummer says before hes kicked out of a band.."hey guys.. you know i have songs"

believe me having a rock steady drummer(and ive played with quite a few) makes all the difference to a drummer who couldnt carry a beat in a bucket and i know its a rare skill(i cant drum to save my life) but does drumming to music that 9 time out of 10 is written by another make them musicians?

and i know im setting myself up for an onslaught of abuse from everyone who even owns a set of drum sticks but what do you guys think?

I consider them musicians. I must admit a steady drum that goes on without any guitars or anything to back it up is very annoying at times. It can blow your ear drums out, I went to Sam Ash a couple of weeks back, nearly went deaf. Lol.

But you are a dead man, any message I should leave anybody when the guys here murder you for asking that?

Peace out, GuitarAnatomy.

Nice topic! I play with a drummer who was 13 when we gigged out for the first time. And that was 2 weeks after he got his first kit! He had insane rhythm and great musical sense BEFORE he got his kit. The kid wrote great songs from the get go and and I am super picky. He can also nail melodies and harmonies on the first try. He is an exception however. I've known many drummers, good and bad, and most have a huge ego that comes from knowing they are the backbone of the music. But in my opinion even the tone deaf drummers are musicians simply because the drums are such a huge part of most music.

of course they are not.
they hang out with bassists...

celticpiping wrote:of course they are not.
they hang out with bassists...

OUCH

Thats going to leave a mark

celticpiping wrote:of course they are not.
they hang out with bassists...

Lmao.

But wait a minute, how can we say they are not musicians? After all are people who control synthesizers and make strange effects musicians? If we are questioning drummers (Who are a major component in bands) then we might as well question people who sit behind synthesizers. Strange flange effects are not necessarily considered music but, simply, effects. Same with these DJ's, like Linkin Park uses "Mr. Hahn."

They do weird effects, but are they really doing music...

Regular keyboardists are one thing, that is music, but it is another when it is just synthesizers and sounds.

Instigator wrote:

celticpiping wrote:of course they are not.
they hang out with bassists...

OUCH

Thats going to leave a mark

that made me laugh out loud

Musicians.. no

Instrumentalists.. yes



Drums alone is noise, not music therefore the answer has to be noise.

But you could go further and not call them drummers but "Percussionists" and that would lead you to a whole slew of instruments that are percussion instruments but make music and not just noise eg; xylophone, bells and stuff like that.

So Percussionists can be musicians IF they know how to play all percussion instruments.

I disagree!!!

Will be seeing these guys in Coventry soon and looking forward to it

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dn1FgA5 ... re=related

And you are forgetting this chappy too, one of the greats

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NO_fx1WshCA

Well it would be crazy to say that we are not musicians. I look at it like this we create the pulse that keeps everyone alive. Music is like the human body if u don't have a pulse you can't live! That's why it's so hard to find a good drummer because to you want to feel alive. You want that steady pulse like a heart beat. So you look for a drummer that can blend and set the tone for the atmosphere and has the capabilty to help keep the body moving the same as a heart does!

Hey Gang,

How a person respnds to this will be directly related to how he/she defines music...Drums produce waveforms just like any other voice or instrument...I rememeber there was a post a while back about Vocalist being musicians..It was a mixed bag just like this will be....Most drummers who came up through HS and college jazz ensembles and stage/marching bands HAD to learn to read...Tympani and Quads, which I played, had to be tuned just like a guitar...Drummers get their bad rap socially because they're flightly,(band jump alot),usually alcoholics,cant keep a girlfriend , severe mood swings , delusions of grandeur, must I go on... Now thats been MY exp the last 30yrs...I know there are exceptions...Noise also produces a wave...Is it art? Music?....In closing , Ill say YES..... all drummers over 35 are musicians......Now is that fair? .....Im very careful who I call a musician....Someone very dedicated to their art, always progressing, producing the emotion of music gets my vote to be called a ?"Musician"

John

I was just being stupid with my first response... of course drummers are musicians.

What would music be without drums...

music without drums.

They can be. Stewart Copeland (was with a little lounge act called "The Police" I think) writes movie scores.

I can't "sight read" music, therefore,I don't consider myself a "musician".I would be of no use to a symphony orchestra. This fact hasn't prevented me from "rockin my ass off" for much of the last four decades.I did manage to learn to read "Written Drum Music" for purposes of synthisizer programming. I've played with a few drummers who CAN sight read drum music, therefor, by my definition ,they're "Musicans".
Drummers work harder then any one in the band.Whatever ya call 'em, I like 'em!

First the Blues. Now drummers?

Can't wait to see what you post for an encore! LOL


Well, of course drummers are musicians. A musician is a performer of music. Drums are considered a musical instrument, and drums do produce musical notes. That's why they have to tune their drums to the pitches they want. Various toms, the snare and bass drum, all resonate at different pitches, which we can easily distinguish audibly. Just because their instrument has a more limited number of pitches potentially, compared with an 88 note grand, does not mean they are not musicians.