"Intuition"

Let's see: How do I put this mess all together? Hmm... Some parts of drumming are subjective and it is sometimes a mystery as to how one drummer is favored over another. For one band, one drummer is the best. For another, well, they will get by with or without him/her.

I was talking with a music friend yesterday about this issue. He brought up the term "intuition." He defined it as "just being able to hear a suggestion, and then giving something back." Sort of like a music conversation.

For example, the worship leader, thoroughly a fine musician but never a drummer, turns around and tells you, "I really want more of a driving beat." Now, at that point, us drummers have the opportunity to reach into our bag of tricks and pull out something that we would describe as "driving." Then the worship leader says, "Well, not like that. More like..." and then he flails his arms and makes drum noises with his mouth, apparently unaware of the blank stare that has come across your face.

Intuition is the ability to reach for many options in that moment. For example, driving might mean four on the floor with a low tom mimic, heavy backbeat and a washy crash ride combo. Maybe it's the low tom, interspersed with a backbeat and the other toms thrown inbetween. Maybe it's open hi-hat 8th notes, accents on the backbeat (2 & 4) with a cymbal...

You see what I mean? Reaching into your bag of tricks, trying to make a term come to life which will serve the music.

But then, there's that bag of tricks. You might just be a one trick pony, which is never good in the musical context.

Before I move on, this is probably the most subjective part of music. One part of you might say, "I am what I am and that's all that I am." Well thank you Popeye! The other part will say, "I need to learn and expand that bag of tricks, but how?" It's to you that I write.

Our proverbial bags will be expanded when we open our minds to other types of music and truly explore the nuances of what makes that type of music special. For example, an R&B drummer has certain sound and feel. Same goes for the Heavy Metal drummer or the Jazz drummer.

The point is to be able to reach down and at the very least, fake a feel for any given song. That is what intuition is about. It is part negotiation, in that you should be able to provide several examples for a nebulous, magical part. But the other part of intuition, is to reach down into the bag of tricks and confidently copy some one else's work!

I told my shuffle story, so I won't repeat it. But there have been many other experiences where I was able to provide my "drum term illiterate" worship leader with something close to what he was hearing.

I hope this helps.

Blessings,
Frank