how do you become a session drummer?

[smythology]

I have a friend who's a good drummer and he's been studying for years but he hates his job, wants to move to sunnier pastures, blahblahblah..

anyone knows how he can become a session drummer and to hopefully live off that eventually within a few years?

any books or websites recommended? Thanks

-s

 

[BrettB]

bad news my friend: websites or books won't help you.

There are several rules when you want to earn money with being a session musician oir even a producer:

rule 1: Know your job superb: there is only room for great professionals, not for mediocre ones.

rule 2: See that you have a sound nobody else has.

rule 3: Don't be a dick. I know great musicians who doesn't have much jobs because no-one can stand them.

rule 4: Know the right ppl. This is maybe the most important rule. A producer will rather use his friend drummer than some stranger he doesn't know.

rule5: Be lucky: be at the right place at the right time.



Your friend only has to try to make contact with the right ppl and has a lot of patience. Being a paid musician doesn't come within 1 day.

 

[Shailat]

I get to work with a lot of different session drummers and I find in the good ones a few common things.

1. As BrettB said - you have to really be able to groove. Theres a difference in playing good and really in the pocket.

2. You should read drum notation well and be able to read charts.

3. Be able to play a large amount of various styles from latin to rock to funk etc....

4. Catch on REAL fast on the clients ideas...nothing worse then a drummer who is slow and wastes precious time.

5. Attitude !! - be patient and accomedating and dont tell the client How it REALLY should be played. Learn to make suggestions in a subtle way but dont push it. Say things like "would you like me to...."

6. Always come on time. Never come with a beer in the hand or drugs.

7. Have him keep his cool at ALL times and never try to act "cool".


8. Always have with you a good snare and cymbals and various sticks of all kinds.

9. Always come to work and not to smoke with the engineer and have a coffee first or tell a story.

10. If this is the first time your hearing the song then sit down and listen and make marks on your notes/papers that will aid you.

11. Nobody and I mean NOBODY wants to hear your excuses..."I'm tired today..." I played all last night...." I was playing Great last night ..today must be a bad day.."A session drummer delivers EVERY day 24 hours a day.

Tell your friend to play for free for a while and if he is good then studios will start to hand his name around. Let him go to studios and tell them he will play for free for a start. Let him make the effort at first to ask for a tape and to meet the client and to learn the song before he walks into the studio. There is nothing people appreciate more then a musician taking interest and sweating over then music.

 

[mikeh]

Both of the previous posts provided very good info.

There is no "secret" to being a session player. Normally, it starts when you work in studios as part of a band. The engineer or producers or other players like your playing and recommend you for other things.

So the main key to getting session work - is to play with as many people as possible. Open jams, freelance gigging, free studio sessions, etc. etc. - it's all about establishing a network. Having business cards to hand out to everyone is a key to getting (and keeping your name out there).

I also call most of my contacts every few weeks to see whats up. Every once in a while I get lucky and call someone just as they are starting to look and I get an "inside shot".

Session players end up on the A list or the B list - the A list people get called first. Obviously the more A lists you get on the more calls you get. What does it take to get on the A list?

1) Be nice, be friendly, be accomodating. You can get just as many (if not more) gigs because people like you

2) Be able to groove (vs. having hot chops). Most recording requires simple parts that are in the pocket and that compliment the song.

3) Know many (if not every) musical styles. At least know them well enough to lay down the proper groove (hell, there are a dozen different latin styles alone).

4) Be able to read charts and drum notation. While there are many recording gigs that don't require reading chops - there are many that do.

5) Be able to communicate musical ideas and be able to understand or interpret what someone wants. Not everyone can explain that they want an 1/8 note triplet feel.

6) Be able to nail your parts in only a few takes - commercial studio time is very costly (in particular if there are other paid players, producers, etc.)

7. Be professional - Always!!! I've gotten more work because I'm professional, dependable and easy to work with - then I would ever get simply from my chops.

Candidly, if you are asking these questions for your friend - maybe he doesn't have his act together enough to be looking for session work. If he does have his act together - he should already have this information.

 

[BrettB]

An important rule I forgot: a good sessiondrummer always stops drumming immediately when someone enters the performance room of the studio when the assistant or the engineer rearranges some mics or when the poroducer talks to them. Nothing so irritating than a drummer that is making lots of noise when it isn't necessary. And really, this isn't a joke.

 

[Fela]

I have done session work.

1.You should be able to play like an absolute mother to a click track.

2.You should be able to play like an absolute mother to a click track.

3.You should be able to play like an absolute mother to a click track.

4. Bring your own click source that the engineer can plug in simply and operate and record to a spare track if neccessary.

5. Be on time.

6. Keep your mouth shut when you should.

7. Don't play when you should not be playing.

8. Know how to get a good sound out of the studio drums with only a roll of tape and a tuning key.

9. Know how the drums should be miked to get a sound. Not all engineers can record drums well.

10. Bring lot's of cymbals and a few different snare drums with no buzzes and rattles. Bring felt and wood bass drum beaters. Bring sticks from 4as to 5bs and always always bring brushes and mallets.

11. Read drum charts, be able to mark up drum charts. Especially if you play with horns.

12. Be able to play in the center of the beat, behind or ahead of the beat consistently.

13. Have really good time and play well with the bassist on the guide track if thats how they do it. That bassist will get you more gigs.

14. Play at a consistent volume, all day long, all year long.

15. Set up fast and nail every tune in 3 takes or less.

In general, if you are waiting on the engineers patiently to get their act together and the dopey songwriters to get their act together and you are nailing your bit in 5 minutes than you are doing good. Being a session drummer is about smiling, knowing people and hurry up and wait if you are doing it correctly IMO.

 

[GuitarLegend]

Look in the local newspaper for ads under "session drummers"

Failing that, you are not just going to walk into a session drummer job. It takes a lot of groundwork and a lot of knowledge as the previous posts have, very helpfully, suggested. It is not unlike getting gigs for your band. You don't (generally) just wander in and say, "Wannaband?"

Takes a lot of refinement in approach and technique and the resilience to bounce back after 20 knockbacks. Always remember that you are not the only one looking. You just have to be the best...