Chad Smith - Without doubt, one of my biggest inspirations as a drummer. For me, Chad has a unique and instantly recognisable style; he’s a powerhouse, yet so dynamic and expressive at the same time. His parts take us on a journey and, in my opinion, Chili Peppers’ songs wouldn’t hit nearly as hard if it wasn’t for this man’s contributions. This is a recent clip of Chad playing a song he’s never heard before on Drumeo and absolutely nailing it. I couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear throughout!
Stewart Copeland - This is an example of a proper fusion drummer incorporating so many musical styles into his playing; rock, pop, punk, jazz, reggae - you name it. I love listening to The Police; not only are they great tunes, but his drum parts are always exciting and inspiring to listen to. He plays with so much creativity and energy, yet also precision. Here’s a clip of them performing “Message in a Bottle”
Carter Beauford - This man is a magician. If I were to attempt playing like Carter, I would be immediately accused of overplaying and receive a lot of raised eyebrows. Not only does this guy get away with it, but his creative freedom adds so much flavour and is a joy to listen to. Here’s a clip of him playing a Dave Matthews’ tune in the studio. I could watch him all day; he makes everything look SO easy:
Ringo Starr - Don’t buy all of this ‘not the best drummer in The Beatles’ nonsense. Not once have I listened to a Beatles track and thought that something doesn’t sound quite right with the drums. All of his arrangements perfectly match the song and groove big time. In my opinion, it’s a big part of why so many Beatles tracks are so catchy and successful. Here’s a great compilation of him playing some of the hits from back in the day
Dave Grohl - Let’s be honest, he’s a rock legend, but also, WHAT a drummer. Although his parts don’t particularly push the technical boundaries and tend to feature pretty standard rock grooves and fills, his execution is absolutely impeccable. There’s no one I would prefer to play me a 16th-note rock fill than this guy. The clip below is a perfect illustration of what he’s all about and really blew me away when I first saw it
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Twenty Five Drummers
Everyone Should Know About!
It constantly surprises us and maybe it shouldn’t, that when you ask many of our students, “Who is your favourite drummer?” - they don’t have one. Worse still, they don’t know any! It was just natural for all of us to find out who the drummers were on our favourite tunes and who played for our favourite bands. After all - if you support a team - you know the players, and you have favourites. Not only that, you know all the players in the teams you don’t support. So what’s going on? We felt we needed to start to remedy that with a page of suggestions from the faculty. So here are five drummers from each of us - with little history and a link to watch them in action:
Pete’s Heroes
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Click on the photos to watch the videos
