I chose to look at this track because even if it isn’t in the same genre that I’m working with, the drumming is the main focus for me. Larnell Lewis is one of the most influential drummers of the past decade and he is definitely one of my favourites. He plays for Snarky Puppy on occasions, and leading up to the recording of this album, he learnt the songs on the plane to journey there. Which is incredible as his drumming on this album is one of the best on any album I’ve heard. He is one of my biggest influences and this song shows why.
The way the drumming is at the start of this song is really good, as it sticks to the beat effectively, and it doesn’t take over from the rest of the instruments. But whenever there’s a fill, it sounds great and it is the vocal point of the song. But it doesn’t overstay it’s welcome and start to get irritating with constant drum fills. This is something I need to think about, getting the balance between overplaying and playing nice licks and fills. Larnell does a great job with this, as he only shows off and plays his best part when it’s his turn. Many drummers see any opportunity they can get as a drum solo and a chance to show off their talent. Where as it’s best to play something that fits the music better. This happens in the song, most shown in the saxophone solo where the drumming works perfectly with the solo. The drumming never overshadows the solo but works amazingly with it.
This song also shows the importance of listening to the bass of the song, as for the majority of the song the drums are following the bass. This is a pretty common thing, as the rhythm section always work together. This just shows how well they can compliment each other, and in this song the drums follow the bass but they build upon the bass and it sounds great.
This song is also a good example of the drums not having to be constantly playing. That’s another mistake that many of us drummers make is playing when it isn’t needed. Such as in a breakdown, many drummers will forget that in a breakdown the drums shouldn’t be all over the place such as in a solo, they should be a lot less and more concise. Or if there’s a stop for a bar or 2, it isn’t necessary to keep playing. Sometimes less is more, this is definitely the case for drumming. Larnell does this really well, and knows when playing shouldn’t be all over the place, and when playing isn’t needed at all, even if it’s only for a short part.
What I can take away from this is that there’s a lot to learn from drummers such as Larnell Lewis. Such as what I’ve mentioned above. I just need to remember these when playing drums.