How to Play a Good Drum Solo
Treat a solo like a story, complete with characters, tension, and plot., Start slowly and rhythmically, often repeating the basic groove of the song., Keep time with either the hi-hats, bass drum(s), both, or none., Figure out 2-3 "safe spots" that...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Treat a solo like a story
A good solo doesn't have to be blazing fast, technically showy, or immaculately planned
-- it has to entertain the audience.
Jazz instrumentalists have known for decades that a good solo, improvised or otherwise, is like a short story.
It must grab the audience with a simple, recognizable groove, grow in suspense or intrigue, then explode with a triumphant climax.
While this may seem silly, taking a holistic, story-telling mentality will do wonders for your work:
Think of each drum as a character.
Which one is the protagonist, holding everything together? Most often than this is a snare, kick drum, or high-hat keeping time.
Like a good thriller or dramatic scene, how can you use silence to increase the tension? What about a burst of volume and power roaring in like a sudden plot twist? Movies and stories get repetitive if they show the same scenes or conflicts over and over again
-- how can you get off of your favorite drums and introduce a new "character?" -
Step 2: complete with characters
Starting with your most impressive or fast stuff leaves you nowhere to go but down, so save the technical flash for the end.
For starters, you want to help the audience get into the groove of the solo.
Don't forget that, up until this point, you provided the entire rhythmic backbone of the song.
Beginning with 1-2 bars of the basic groove establishes the rhythm for the audience and the fact that you're about to go it alone.
It also is a simple starting ground, allowing everything after it to get more and more impressive.
Have the rest of the band drop out or stick to very basic rhythm duties.
Drums solos get complex and don't mesh well if the rest of the band is trying to be impressive as well., Not all drum solos need to keep time throughout, and many will flicker in and out of keeping time.
But for beginners keeping one hand or foot as a metronome is a great way to stay grounded while you explore the kit.
It may be a good idea to use different foot patterns, tempos, and time signatures throughout your solo, but this can only happen once you've established the song's "normal" rhythm., Even advanced drummers can get caught up in a solo, taking them into strange patterns, tricks, and new ideas.
But you still need to keep the basic groove of the song alive.
A good way to do this is to memorize a few basic grooves that you can use to "ground the solo." You play 1 bar of the groove, then 2 bars of out-there improv.
You can then come back to the groove for a bar, re-establishing the rhythm, before diving back off the deep end.
When practicing, master a few "mini-solos" or sections that you enjoy playing.
If you're ever not sure what to play next in a solo you can fall back on these building blocks. , Good solos are not all about speed, and too much speed may actively ruin a solo.
Think of a roller coaster
-- if they all started with the high-speed drop and never did anything else, then every ride would be the same and they'd get boring quickly.
You want to build the suspense by varying speed, timing, and fun tricks so that each one feels more exciting than the last, which will guarantee the best response once you finally do show off your top speed.
Remember
-- the goal is to entertain, not to show off your skills. , A good place to start soloing is by mimicking other solos, finding common patterns and ideas shared by many drummers.
You can, and should, try to imitate the solos you admire.
Keep an ear out for the following forms, which can give your solos instant shape and structure:
Call and Response:
Made famous by the blues, this is when you imagine two "voices" in the drums
-- one that "asks" a question, the other that answers it.
One voice might be your toms and the other a snare, or you can let the other instruments be the call while the drums respond.
Theme and Variation:
You play one common lick or riff over and over again.
However, with each bar you subtly change things, so that by the middle of the solo you're playing a completely different lick than when you started.
You can then bring it full circle back to the original theme., If the song is going to continue after your solo, many drummers will use the last 3-4 bars to quiet down, signaling closure and helping the band hop back in time.
Other songs need to end with your best stuff-- a triumphant finale that brings everything to a close.
Talk to your bandmates ahead of time and organize a "cue" for them to come back in.
It could be a simple silence or a recognizable cymbal pattern
-- anything to cue them that they need to play again. -
Step 3: tension
-
Step 4: and plot.
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Step 5: Start slowly and rhythmically
-
Step 6: often repeating the basic groove of the song.
-
Step 7: Keep time with either the hi-hats
-
Step 8: bass drum(s)
-
Step 9: or none.
-
Step 10: Figure out 2-3 "safe spots" that you can always come back to if you get lost.
-
Step 11: Remember that more notes don't always equal a better solo.
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Step 12: Consider common "compositional ideas" to start practicing with structure.
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Step 13: End the solo by coming back in time
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Step 14: either softly or with a climactic bang.
Detailed Guide
A good solo doesn't have to be blazing fast, technically showy, or immaculately planned
-- it has to entertain the audience.
Jazz instrumentalists have known for decades that a good solo, improvised or otherwise, is like a short story.
It must grab the audience with a simple, recognizable groove, grow in suspense or intrigue, then explode with a triumphant climax.
While this may seem silly, taking a holistic, story-telling mentality will do wonders for your work:
Think of each drum as a character.
Which one is the protagonist, holding everything together? Most often than this is a snare, kick drum, or high-hat keeping time.
Like a good thriller or dramatic scene, how can you use silence to increase the tension? What about a burst of volume and power roaring in like a sudden plot twist? Movies and stories get repetitive if they show the same scenes or conflicts over and over again
-- how can you get off of your favorite drums and introduce a new "character?"
Starting with your most impressive or fast stuff leaves you nowhere to go but down, so save the technical flash for the end.
For starters, you want to help the audience get into the groove of the solo.
Don't forget that, up until this point, you provided the entire rhythmic backbone of the song.
Beginning with 1-2 bars of the basic groove establishes the rhythm for the audience and the fact that you're about to go it alone.
It also is a simple starting ground, allowing everything after it to get more and more impressive.
Have the rest of the band drop out or stick to very basic rhythm duties.
Drums solos get complex and don't mesh well if the rest of the band is trying to be impressive as well., Not all drum solos need to keep time throughout, and many will flicker in and out of keeping time.
But for beginners keeping one hand or foot as a metronome is a great way to stay grounded while you explore the kit.
It may be a good idea to use different foot patterns, tempos, and time signatures throughout your solo, but this can only happen once you've established the song's "normal" rhythm., Even advanced drummers can get caught up in a solo, taking them into strange patterns, tricks, and new ideas.
But you still need to keep the basic groove of the song alive.
A good way to do this is to memorize a few basic grooves that you can use to "ground the solo." You play 1 bar of the groove, then 2 bars of out-there improv.
You can then come back to the groove for a bar, re-establishing the rhythm, before diving back off the deep end.
When practicing, master a few "mini-solos" or sections that you enjoy playing.
If you're ever not sure what to play next in a solo you can fall back on these building blocks. , Good solos are not all about speed, and too much speed may actively ruin a solo.
Think of a roller coaster
-- if they all started with the high-speed drop and never did anything else, then every ride would be the same and they'd get boring quickly.
You want to build the suspense by varying speed, timing, and fun tricks so that each one feels more exciting than the last, which will guarantee the best response once you finally do show off your top speed.
Remember
-- the goal is to entertain, not to show off your skills. , A good place to start soloing is by mimicking other solos, finding common patterns and ideas shared by many drummers.
You can, and should, try to imitate the solos you admire.
Keep an ear out for the following forms, which can give your solos instant shape and structure:
Call and Response:
Made famous by the blues, this is when you imagine two "voices" in the drums
-- one that "asks" a question, the other that answers it.
One voice might be your toms and the other a snare, or you can let the other instruments be the call while the drums respond.
Theme and Variation:
You play one common lick or riff over and over again.
However, with each bar you subtly change things, so that by the middle of the solo you're playing a completely different lick than when you started.
You can then bring it full circle back to the original theme., If the song is going to continue after your solo, many drummers will use the last 3-4 bars to quiet down, signaling closure and helping the band hop back in time.
Other songs need to end with your best stuff-- a triumphant finale that brings everything to a close.
Talk to your bandmates ahead of time and organize a "cue" for them to come back in.
It could be a simple silence or a recognizable cymbal pattern
-- anything to cue them that they need to play again.
About the Author
Michael Lee
Enthusiastic about teaching hobbies techniques through clear, step-by-step guides.
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