HOW TO BUILD A DRUM SOLO

BUILDING A DRUM SOLO

The best way to look at a drum solo is by thinking of it as its own song. With a song, it starts out with a bit of an intro, and slowly starts to build. Towards the end, the song will build and build, giving off more energy to keep you the audience intrigued. You would not want a song to start with a heavy bridge and end with a slow, softer feel would you? The same is with a drum solo. A lot of drummers will throw their best chops, rolls, and drum rudiments in right at the beginning, realizing they have nothing left for a solid outro. This being said don’t think this is the only way to do a drum solo. A drum solo should be an expression of the drummer, if you want to do a solo with slow rolls for five minutes that is totally fine. Drum solos should always be unique and personal, but try your best to make them as innovative as possible!
Building A Drum Solo

It is very important to keep a solo in time. That being said, most times you can change the tempo to achieve a certain feel during your drum solo. A good way to keep time is by using a metronome, and playing a solid quarter note beat on your bass drum
Now its time to fill in the rest. There are many ways in going about doing this, so do not feel limited, this is only a very basic solo idea. Try adding some toms over top of your bass drum pattern. One example would be to add a 16th note roll on your toms.
All that is left is to add some cymbals in, and expand on the beat a bit. There’s no limit to how long you can’t go for, as long as you keep people interested. You don't want to keep repeating the same roll over and over. The audience will get bored very fast. You have to keep changing different techniques and feels, while keeping them all related. Just like a song, you wouldn't totally change the feel every time you go from verse to chorus, you always need something relative to tie everything together. Make sure that all elements of your drum solo all have the same type of feel. You can get a lot of ideas from going on websites like YouTube or Google-Video, these websites have home made video's from many talented drummers that you can learn drum solo techniques from.

Finishing A Drum Solo

There are many ways to finish off a drum solo. One way is to bring it down to a soft stop. This can be done by bringing the dynamics down, and slowing the beat down a bit. You may like this technique if you are doing a long solo, where all attention is on you. It will bring closure to your beat. The other way is to go out with a bang. This is a great method if you are ending a show, or song. Crash away at your cymbals, while playing on the set as fast as you can. Fast drum rudiments going around the toms are sure to impress your crowd. End with a final blow to your crash.

Like I said before, a drum solo does not have to be too technical. They just have to be able to keep the listener intrigued. I cannot express enough how important it is that you continue to be creative with your solos.To add some spice to any solo, try playing it with brushes. Make sure that every solo you create is unique to your style, the audience can easily sense if the drummer is bored, or dissatisfied with a performance. Soloing is very fun and rewarding, so always try new tricks, and never stop learning! Try to add some spice to your soloing by playing some patterns in a linear style

THE RIGHT WAY TO HOLD YOUR DRUMSTICKS

Learn How To Hold Drumsticks

Learning the right way to hold your drumsticks is one of the most often neglected aspects of drumming. When you play the drums, the stick should become a part of you, and not an accessory. To achieve this, you must start with the way you hold your sticks. It is important to determine the correct grip style early on, so you do not end up hurting yourself, or you’re training in the long run. Now don’t worry, if you have not been following the “correct” technique at all, it’s not the end of the world. Any way you practice will improve your skill; however, holding your stick different ways will increase your drumming productivity by offering more bounce, movement, and control.

Matched Grip

The most popular style is the Matched Grip. With this, both hands hold the stick the same way. Matched grip is very popular with all styles of drumming, and can be applied in more than just the drum kit. Timpani, mallets, and other percussion instruments use the matched grip as well. It allows for fast movement around the kit, and offers maximum control. 

This grip is played with your palms facing downward. every finger tip is lightly rested on the drumstick. Make sure you do not grip the stick too tightly, or you will limit its’ rebound. It is debated which finger is used to grip the stick. Some will use their thumb and index finger; others will use their thumb and middle finger. Both are fine, as long as you chose one early and stick to it!

Traditional Grip

The next grip we will look at is called the traditional grip. You may see a lot of jazz drummers using this style, for it is extremely popular with that style. With this, you hold the stick with your palms facing up, gripping the stick from underneath. This gives you a whole new feel of the stick. It allows for quick strokes, and better dynamic control; Perfect for brushes and brooms. One problem with this grip is moving it around the drum kit. With a bigger drum kit, you may find it hard to move quickly around the toms, and with the angle of the stick in your hands, hitting cymbals can be tricky. 

To achieve this grip, simply start by sticking your first two fingers out, with your thumb sticking straight up. Then simply place your stick between your thumb, and your other fingers 

After the stick is in place, simply close your top two fingers gently on the top of the stick. The stick should be loose in your hand.

French grip

Finally, there is the French grip. This technique is not as popular, but is still used a lot. It offers speed and endurance, with a totally different feel than any other grip. The French grip uses your fingers to control your stick. Because you do not use your wrists as much, you will save a lot of energy. Using your fingers can be a great plus; however, it does have its minuses. You may find it hard to get enough power in some of your strokes. 

 the stick is very lose in the hand. It’s a good idea to use your index finger and thumb to pinch the stick. You want to be able to use your other fingers to act as a spring on the stick. 

Be sure to try out every one of these techniques. Each grip is different and have their own benefits. If you are educated in all styles, you will be much more attractive as a drummer. Remember, these are not the only ways to grip your stick! There are many varieties of these basic techniques. These are just examples of the three most common ways to hold your drum sticks!