where to place cymbal hits?

[FALKEN]

I am learning drums and am to the point where I am doing ok at it. one thing i am curious about is in constructing a song, where do you place cymbal hits? i am looking for some general guidelines. sometimes when i listen to other drummers they will place them where the chord changes are, but other times less often. is there a general set of guidelines?

 

[Greg_L]

I am learning drums and am to the point where I am doing ok at it. one thing i am curious about is in constructing a song, where do you place cymbal hits? i am looking for some general guidelines. sometimes when i listen to other drummers they will place them where the chord changes are, but other times less often. is there a general set of guidelines?

Put em wherever you want them.

But yeah, a chord change, passage from verse to chorus, or wherever an accent is needed are the most common places. There are no rules.

 

[sockswithshoes]

Its usually a feel thing. When does the riff repeat? When does it go back to the I chord? There are no rules just play them when you think it fits.


but, I know you probably want a more precise answer so, usually every four bars is good as in basic music chord progressions will repeat. Also when ever you want to accent something. It doesn't always need to land on beat one.

 

[Rimshot]

There is no hard and fast rule about it. How you place cymbal hits and construct fills and variations is the way the style of one drummer differs from another. If you are doing it badly, people will let you know. It also depends on the tastes of the other musicians that you are working with. Some musicians like real busy drummers with lots of cymbal accents and others like a very sparse presence. This defines the sound and style of the group.

You should be able to feel it. Cymbal crashes add emphasis and drama to the music and belong in those places where it demands drama. Sometimes the music asks for a bell strike or a softer tip hit like on a ride rhythm. Your job besides providing the beat is to add flavor and accents and help to define where the music is going.

Have you ever listened to a recording and felt that the drummer should have used a cymbal crash in one place or a kick pattern or a tom tom roll, cross-stick or a snare hit or roll? Well that's your taste and style talking to you. Listen to that impulse and try applying it.