Get the Insights on Drum Soloing

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We all envy drummers such as Bill Bruford, Carl Palmer, John Bonham, Neil Peart, and Mike Mangini. The performances these drummers are capable of are astounding. The leave our hearts slamming in our chests and our envy meters in the red.

How do drummers craft such amazing drum solos?

The answer is easy; they practice.

Don’t worry, we aren’t here to just simply tell you to practice and send you along on your way without any advice.

With these drum soloing ideas, we hope to give you enough know how to properly construct your own earth shattering, jaw dropping, sweat inducing performance that will captivate your audience and make them think you are the greatest musician to ever walk the planet.

The first step to creating your own drum solo is to study the drum solos of your favorite musicians. Look for patterns, as their will surely be many. Also, look for techniques; a lot of drum solos involve not-so-impressive sections made extravagant by twirling drum sticks, hopping around, or standing and involving the crowd.

Charisma is the first step in creating a great drum solo. Many audience members won’t understand the techniques you are performing. Don’t be offended by this, but learn to use it to your advantage, as sometimes playing simple rhythms fairly quickly with added cymbal work and some faces can help reach out to your crowd in a way that 400bmp blast beats won’t.

The next drum soloing idea bases itself off of the first, just like a drum solos structure is built using each previous section as foundation for the next. Take a simple rhythm, throw in some extra voices, and create a mountain out of that anthill.

If you have a favorite pattern that you are very familiar with, try experimenting by adding rests, cymbals, accents, ghost notes, anything that will lend the pattern extra dynamics.

As stated above, keep in mind that not all of your audience will consist of musicians, so you want to also cater to those who have little to no knowledge of music from a technical aspect. Involve yourself in your pattern. Don’t be afraid to flail around a bit; being theatrical has gotten bands such as KISS a long way, so use that knowledge to your advantage.

Sometimes the best drum solos are ones that involve the audience. Accent a cymbal choke and then point out at your audience with your drum stick. This will encourage them to scream a response. This call and response tactic has been used for years, and the reason is that audiences love interacting with you, the musician. Help them feel involved, and in turn they will give you the welcome you desire.

Try to construct at least one section of your drum solo around audience interaction.

The last drum soloing idea we have for you is to not use all of your tricks at once. Many musicians make this mistake; instead of gradually building up, disclosing one secret at a time, they get overeager and spill all of their techniques at once, leaving nothing else for the audience. Once all of your techniques are out and used, your drum solo will become little more than a repetitive practice session, of which most of the audience will not want to view.

Keeping those ideas in mind, try to construct a drum solo that would not only catch your attention as a musician, but the attention of your friends who don’t listen to much music. Have fun!

Get Lessons to Improvise With Drum Solo Videos:

1. 4 Tips to Help You Improvise Drums
   
   Learning to improvise on the drums is one of the most satisfying skills that drummers would love. Not only will it make your play refreshing, it will also define your style and personality.
2. Secrets to Building an Extended Drums Solo
   
   While most drummers love to show off their skills that were honed through years of hardwork, have you ever thought of the performance from an audience’s point of view? Building an extended drum solo with the same repeated rudiments will bore your audience to death. Read this article to find out how you can keep things fresh.
3. Free Form Drums Improvisation to Get Your Hands Wet
   
   Free form drums improvisation literally means playing whatever you like. Well, that is provided that you improvise in time and not confuse the other members of your band and confuse everyone in the process.
4. How to Create Your Own Drum Solos
   
   A popular misconception whenever we watch someone play a solo live is that it comes to them naturally. Well, the answer is no. The truth is, most solos are planned and with the right guidance, you too, can create your own drum solos.
5. Proper Ways to Incorporate a Drums Solo Over Song Form
   
   Playing a drum solo over a song has to have more consideration than what you would normally give it. The thing is, not every song will sound good with a solo. So, how do you decide when or where to play one over a song form?
6. When is a Drum Fill Appropriate?
   
   While we all love to show off and draw attention to ourselves as drummer, the truth is, your role as the drummer is to keep time and maintain a steady beat for other members of the band. Playing drum fills in appropriate places will allow you to share the limelight occasionally in the song and also keep the momentum in check.
7. 5 Great Drum Solos Tips to Bear in Mind
   
   Yep. We will keep things short and concise here. Read through this article to get some of our insights and recommendations that will help you create nice sounding drum solos.
8. Tips And Strategies for Constructing an Engaging Drum Solo
   
   Constructing a nice drum sound that will leave a memorable impression in the minds of your audience require tons of planning and practice. Here’s some tips and strategies to get you going.
9. How to Add Triplet Fills to Your Playing
   
   Learning to play simple triplets can do wonders to mixing up and adding new voices to your fills. Check out this lesson to see some examples and exercises you can use.