Insight via Industry Professionals
I interviewed 2 separate industry professionals across individual corners of the music scene in order to gain a proper understanding of how the drummer can exist in the modern music scene with the forever advancing technologies surrounding drums and music in general.
Gordon McNeil
Gordo is currently the owner of Red-Eye Studios in Clydebank. He has played many gigs as a drummer, recorded songs across several genres and has a plethora of experience in the more rock adjacent genres. He has great insight onto his past experiences with the drums, along with future expectations and whether he expects the role to adapt further as technology continues to advance.
Amy Louise
Amy is an up-and-coming artist who covers dance/pop music, and has had plethora of experiences, from running her own tour to constantly releasing music. She gives her own experiences of playing solo in that side of the music scene, and shows her thoughts on the role of a drummer across different genres, including the ones she is active in.
Other Comments
The following statements were from participants to answer on the importance to drums in music.
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"Music would not be anywhere near as good without drums"
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​"Drums are an important part of any band or or orchestra. They appear to be the heartbeat providing a constant rhythm for any music. Also if played properly they are an excellent instrument on their own."
"Personally, drums have played a massive part in humanity. Throughout all of history for thousands of years, drums have been a source of connection and community. I personally believe drums carry a form of rhythm that pull modern songs together."
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​​​​​​​"Drums make the music. The beat is what gets you moving."
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​​"I think authenticity is a big thing in many genres, as well as very slight human imperfection. This will be heard on every other instrument played by a person, and there would be an audible mismatch if one instrument was perfectly on time with every beat the same when the other instruments are very slightly out of time with differing timbre"​
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"The importance of drums is that they are the most vital part of any type of music, they define the beat, tempo and overall feel of the song. Take the song Take on Me by a-Ha if I played the drums at half the speed with a more samba groove it would completely change the song even if everyone else played the same things."
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​​"Drums are integral to a band as they keep the music moving. They are the heartbeat of the band"​
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"Drums are important as an it carries the heart beat of a song, they determine the vibe of a song. Particular songs dont require drums but drums are important to particular genres like jazz, metal and EDM. without drums, I feel these genres would not be the same and would lack in emotion"