A Day In the Life of Nolan: Music! Music! Music! Music! Music.

So...
I'm sitting in the computer lab (which is where I spend my off-periods because I can play video games in peace), but I have forgotten my headphones today.

):
I was really unhappy about that.

So I feel like I should try and maybe get started on a blog post, since I'm not in the mood to play video games.
(That's crazy o.o)

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Honestly, I have no idea what to even talk about.
I'm just kind of sitting and thinking about a lot of things.

I kind of want to talk about music in this post, which means it'll be a long, drawn-out ordeal that people will have to spend time reading.

Only problem is, I don't know what I should focus on.
All my musical thoughts wouldn't really fit in a single blog post.

But I can sit and decide what to focus on.
Here we go.
Brainstorming.

..
..

Maybe I have something.
Maybe not.
I'll start writing and see what happens.

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I was talking with Caleb about this a couple days ago. When someone asks you "Who's your favorite band?"
It's hard to know what to say.
I often have to clarify, "What genre?"
Then they pick a genre, then you have to give them your top five because each has their own style, and you like a certain style more than some others.

Like I've said, I used to be musically sheltered.
For a long time, I assumed that rap took no talent because all it was was "talking to a beat".
(Obviously now, I know different. But at that time, I thought I was right).

However, the way I look at it now is,
1. You can't claim a band is the best.
2. You can't decide which genre is the BEST.
3. I often find it hard to call a musician "untalented".

In drummers specifically,
1. You can't decide who is the BEST DRUMMER OF ALL TIME.
2. It's hard to decide between multiple genres, who has more talent.
3. In order to get a feel for drumming, you can't just listen to ONE specific genre (Unless you ONLY want to play 1 genre for your entire life, which there's nothing really WRONG with, I just don't understand why you'd want that.

I will try to address each of these opinions in this blog.
It might be a long blog, so you've been warned.
Don't read it unless you're willing to have an open mind about this, and listen to someone else's opinion without freaking out.

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1. You can't claim a band is the best.

There are so many factors that fit into a band. Each member's talent, past musical experience, the way they listen to music, the way they write music, the reason they play the instrument they do, how long they've played that instrument, etc.
There are so many variables, and you have to consider that before you judge their music.
Sure, some people will listen for specific parts in a band that they like, and analyze their music based on that.

But everyone has an opinion.
There's nothing wrong in saying, "I like this band the best."
But if you claim, "This band is the best."
You better be able to explain why you believe that. There are certain things that different bands excel at that not many others can claim to be as good as.
Here's a couple examples.
(Keep in mind, I have not even scratched the surface on music. There are millions of bands I have yet to listen to, and tens of millions songs that I need to hear before I can truly claim this. This is my personal opinion based on WHAT I'VE HEARD, and the type of thing that I like.)

Right now, I believe the band Periphery has the most complex metal beats that I've listened to, to date.
Their rhythms are so irregular, and the syncopation is covered by each instrument, independent of each other, yet working together for the same goal, which gives their music a distinct sound.

I personally think that Disturbed has phenomenal tom work. So many of the fills that the drummer uses are carried out with the deep, booming toms that makes them instantly recognizable. Take Down With The Sickness.
Many people know the song just based off the first measure of the drums.
Similarly, the drum part in the chorus of Indestructible is carried out almost completely by a china cymbal, toms, snare, and the bass drum.

I also love Dave Matthews Band. I was brought up listening to them.
The long fill across the toms in the song Kit Kat Jam is what made me pick up drum sticks and start hitting things.
In my opinion, I believe that they definitely excel at improvisation and individual solos.
If you didn't know, they don't really play brand new songs at their concerts.
They play songs that everyone has heard before. Not just because people like them, but because they play the songs differently each time. They always switch something up. I adore them. And Carter Beauford.

In summary, I think that many different bands can excel in different ways, in ways that no other band can.
However, claiming that one band is superior to all others in every way kind of eliminates the whole point of forming a band, or listening to other music.
Everyone has different musical tastes, and no one is more "right" than others.

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2. You can't claim a certain genre is the best.

This kind of has a lot in common with my last opinion. Every genre is different.
There are similarities, for sure.
But even then, you can't assume that one takes more talent to play than another.
Caleb and I kind of covered a little about that.

There are definitely some genres that would be comparatively easy to switch over from.
(Notice the comparatively easy).

For example, switching from a Jazz drummer into a Big Band drummer would be more simple say, than switching from Black Metal to Pop.
I'm not completely sure how it is for other instruments, but I would kind of assume that's the case.

A singer that used to growl and scream would probably find it hard to become a pop singer.
(Unless you're Maximum the Hormone. Japanese Pop Metal. Their own genre. Winning).

I'm REALLY not sure about guitarists, as I'm still figuring out that a guitar has 6 strings. Not as easy as the Ukulele to just pick up and play.
But I mean... Listening to a Tex Mex guitarist and a Heavy Metal guitarist makes you realize that each genre is drastically different.
The way they solo is so far apart!
In my experience, Los Lonely Boys are one of my favorite Tex Mex band.
(I look at Tex Mex as latin music with western influences. That might be completely off, but it's what I see).

The solos in metal are often fairly straightforward (hah!).
But I don't mean easy to play. I'm saying that they are often kind of...
I don't know how to explain it.
They kind of can be a straight, unbroken line of scales and harmonics.
Whereas Los Lonely Boys, the solos are single notes held at different times, various scales being played almost tentatively, kind of focusing on adding the solos into the song when they feel they should go.
Keep in mind, I'm not an expert on guitars at all.
This is just what I see from a drummer's perspective.
(Even then, I'm not really a good, or experience drummer. All these opinions are based off of how I listen to music).

Each genre of music requires certain skill sets to play.
The way a Jazz band creates improvisation is different than the way a Latin musician creates an improvised solo.
The way a metal band chooses chords and strumming patterns is different than a rock or punk band.
Even pop music has diversity in the genre.
Singers will slide through notes, or hold them differently than others would.
Choosing background effects such as synthesizers require certain sounds that need to compliment the singer, or even choose to sound different than the singer, in order to create a different, unique sound.
Rap is drastically different. Each rapper is unique in the way they choose.
Different vocal inflections, speed, topic, everything is unique from one rapper to the next.
I don't know enough about country to really differentiate between the artists, as I just don't enjoy listening to country music as much as other genres.
But I still can appreciate the musical talent.

I just can't call one genre better than the others.
I can explain that I prefer listening to one genre over another, but you can't claim that it is better than the rest. It simply isn't an intelligent decision.
Every genre is different.
They require different skills that some other genres couldn't play in the same way.

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3. I find it hard to call a musician 'untalented'.

This kind of goes along with the last point I made.
Each genre requires different skill sets, and some musicians have those skill sets, some don't.

I can't call a musician untalented. It just doesn't seem right.
The only way you can claim that a musician 'isn't very good', is only in objective ways.
For example, if a drummer constantly speeds up, they're not an EXCELLENT drummer, but they're still learning.

You can dislike a singer because they can't find or hold the proper note.
You can dislike a guitarist because they miss their cues, they can't play a solo correctly or smoothly, or they just can't play a constant rhythm.

I think you can say a musician isn't good. I don't think it's right to say they have no talent.
If they've spent the time to learn an instrument, and they are constantly learning, that, in and of itself, is talent (in my opinion).

If you call a musician untalented, I consider it to be an insult. A big insult.
It's a lot more harsh than necessary.
I said it already. You can dislike a musician for objective differences.
If they can't play based on objective factors, you can say they aren't a very good musician.
But they still are learning.
Musicians are always learning.

Just don't say that someone has no talent. It just..
It just is much too negative.
Not a good thing to say.

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Drummers Specifically

1. You can't claim a drummer is the BEST DRUMMER OF ALL TIME.

This has a lot in common with my other points.
Every drummer is different.
They all interpret music in a different way.
If you had 50 drummers listen to a song, you would get 50 different rhythms, 50 different types of fills.
A drummer is (in my opinion), one of the greatest improvisational musicians.
There is so much to change.
Drum solos aren't limited by chords or chord progressions.
You can truly play whatever rhythm you can hear in your head.
Keep in mind, this is still my opinion.
I could be completely wrong.
But it's how I feel.

Like the band point, every drummer is different.
Some are better at certain things than others.
For example, I had a conversation with a non-drummer that was trying to convince me that one drummer was more complex than another.

It just wasn't easy to explain to him, and he wouldn't listen.
He defined 'complex' as, 'how many separate pieces of the drum set that he could play on.'
I defined 'complex' as, 'being able to play separate syncopated beats with each limb, playing a rhythm that involves off-beats, fills that are put in unusual places but fit the song, and the ability to keep time with the song".

Obviously we didn't take the time and actually define it to each other.
He just was completely sure he was right, because the more pieces you have on your set, the more complex you are.
We were comparing the drummer from August Burns Red and the drummer for Periphery.
They are parts of completely different genres!
You can't judge one genre while looking at it through another genre's 'glasses', so to speak.

I keep reminding you, but this is still my opinion. It's how I see these topics.
I am in no way claiming I'm right about everything.
I'm just trying to be candid about how I feel about this.

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2. It's hard to decide, over all genres, who is the best drummer.

Pretty much all of my points have the same sound to it.
Different genres require different skill sets!
A metal drummer would probably have a hard time adjusting to a jazz setting.
And vice-versa.

Yeah.
That's basically that.

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3. In order to get a feel for drumming, I believe you should listen to all the genres you can stand to listen to.

I think that drums are certainly one of the most interesting instruments.
To really fully understand the drums (I haven't reached that point. I'm not trying to sound like an expert here. I'm barely a decent drummer, and I just want to explain it how I see it), I believe one should listen to multiple genres.
It's definitely something I'll be learning for the rest of my life.
You can always find something to change, or to learn something new.

The more genres you listen to, the more ways you'll be able to interpret music.

In my personal experience, it has certainly helped me grow musically to listen to a variety of music.
For example, in classic rock, the fills are often straight, 4/4, snare to tom fills.

Some songs require that sort of fill.
Even metal can benefit from a simple fill.

Listening to Dave Matthews has also changed how I play A LOT.
Carter does this amazing broken beat.
It's hard to explain.
I'll try to explain it the way he did.

If you take a simple 8th note constant tapping, and slowly start removing beats from it, it sounds much more varied and interesting.
It's hard to explain without a high hat.
He plays open-handed, which is much more difficult than it works.
And he can play different rhythms with each limb, and make it sound amazing.
He isn't just a drummer.
If you listen to him enough, you slowly will realize he is a musician. His drumming accompanies the music with such beauty that he's an instrument by himself, and he just adds so much to his music.
He's my favorite drummer.

But anyway.

Jazz drumming helps with every genre. At least I think so.
I never really was a true jazz drummer.
I enjoy listening to jazz and emulating some of the rhythms they make.
Jazz drummers are generally phenomenal with snare beats.
Using rolls and various techniques to fill the song with dynamics and texture.
I love jazz.

And yes, heavy metal IS music.
And the drumming is insanely diverse.
Take Slipknot.
Joey Jordison is ALL over the place in his fills. He's so fast it's ridiculous.
But he also can control his sound, and some of his beats are amazing!
For example, the song Purity has one of the most interesting beats I've heard.
He keeps the beat using snare fills, tom work, and the high hat.
But it's not just a straight up 4/4 beat..
It's composed of various fills, emphasizing various points with the high hat.
It's AMAZING.
I love it.

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That's all I can really think of right now.
That's all I got.

Yup yup.
I hope you enjoyed reading this!

And I hope it affected you in some way.

Don't forget to mention this to a friend (:

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Top Five Songs