Feel the rhythm

Tom Pinney

Of all the instruments I play, I have the most fun when I’m sitting behind the drum set.

Don’t get me wrong, I can create some great music on the piano, I can drive a song on guitar, and playing bass is cool as well, but when I’m behind the drum set, the world around me is different.

For those of you who don’t know what the dynamic of a band is, I’ll explain it. Band peeps, back me up.

When the band at C3 is all there, we have two people on acoustic guitars, one on a bass, one behind the keys, and one on the drums. Both acoustic guitarists sing lead vocals and split the duties, sometimes I have a mic as well for tenor harmonies, and we’re joined by a soprano who also sings lead and an alto who provides more harmonies.

There’s a lot of moving parts in that band, but the dynamic works because everyone knows their roles.

Nick is the fearless leader, and his guitar never plays anything but the rhythm part. He is the driver, and his nods and looks guide everyone else.

Danny is more of a lead guitar, and while he sometimes joins on the rhythm, he’s more prone to soloing or riffing in any given song. He’s riding shotgun, ready to take over driving whenever he needs to.

Barb and Amber occupy the front two rows. Barb, singing lead, sits right behind Nick to feel the melody, and Amber sits behind her to follow up with the alto harmony.

Luke sits in the middle, as the keyboardist. He is the perfect bridge between the percussive and the lead; the left hand drives the melody while the right hand riffs where necessary.

Stephen is in the back, right over one of the wheels. As the bassist, he follows the rhythm, providing an extra “oomph” to it.

I’m the overdrive option in the engine. You don’t need me to succeed, per se, but when you add me, the experience gains fullness.

Bands can go unplugged without any traditional percussion and still sound great. Even adding in a cajon or djembe adds an extra layer to the music that makes it that much better, though.

When used correctly, drums add to the experience without distracting from the overall performance. Children 18:3 rides this line very carefully, as their extremely talented drummer sometimes draws focus to himself during a song.

But the biggest reason I love playing the drums is that, as I’ve said before, I feel music in my bones as I’m listening. It rushes through my blood, it drives the rhythm of my heart, it moves me in ways that only music can.

So when I’m playing the drums, I’m able to engage the music in a different way than when I’m playing any other instrument.

Any instrument in a band is highly intuitive, but as a drummer, if your intuition is wrong, everything feels off. It’s like disengaging the clutch before you’ve secured your car in the next gear.

Guitars can change chords quickly if they mess up. Sour notes on a bass aren’t that bad because no matter how noticeable, it’s a quick change. Even keyboardists who hit stray keys can come back and stay within the rhythm.

Drummers are the rhythm. And if the rhythm is off, the song goes off the rails.

That’s the best part about the drums, though, that it’s so important to feel the song. It causes you to go deeper than the words, deeper than the notes, and feel the pulse of the song itself.

Why is this solo necessary? Why are we softer here? Why are we louder here? Why are we playing at this speed?

This isn’t a bash on any other instrument, because on any given Sunday, I could be playing any other instrument. Every instrument is important to the overall product, and every instrument has its place in the arrangement.

But I feel the music more when I’m drumming than when I’m playing any other instrument. And you could tell it, too.

I’m hyper focused, my facial expressions morph with the beat, sometimes my tongue sticks out. The notes pour out of my hands and feet, bleeding into the song, as if adding my own DNA to it.

And yes, sometimes I mess up. I would need several hands to count the times I’ve accidentally dropped or thrown a stick during a song, and every once in awhile, I’ll hit a rim instead of the head and miss the sound.

But regardless, when the day is done, I’m worn out, and my Sunday nap is always appropriate. It’s not because I’ve been flailing my appendages on and off for the past hour and a half (though that’s definitely part of the cause), it’s because the music has filled me and poured out of me, leaving me just a little breathless.

Tom Pinney is a news reporter for the Maryville Daily Forum.