The Bear Drum Breakdown
Added 2023-10-13 00:15:58 +0000 UTCHi everyone! In this video I break down some of the grooves in our song The Bear. I'll be talking about how I came up with my parts for the introduction, the first prechorus and the solo section. I've attached a PDF with the score of each section so that you can follow along my playing and explanations. I will be doing videos for many of the songs on The Fox and the Bird so let me know which song you'd want me to do next! If you have any questions write them down in the comments and I'll make sure I get back to you as best as I can.
Comments
this is such a great breakdown! I really love your musical idea of a steady beat that disregards the time signature (5s into 7s or quarters/2s into alternating 7 and 6) because, based on context, it can feel like it's a beat "over" the track OR a beat "under" the track. in the intro when the riff and harsh vocals come in, it feels like the cymbal is "over" the track insofar as a listener can latch onto that as the pulse as you mentioned (stabilization). whereas in the prechorus, the 2-2-3 in the 7/8 is pretty clear and easy to follow, so playing the ride bell on 5s gives you some really interesting texture (destabilization). next time I listen through I'll definitely be on the lookout for stable beats on top of non-matching time signatures! I definitely feel like the record has plenty and I just can't point them out off the top of my head... the only thing I can think of is 4:58 in The Falcon - we are in I think 12/8? with the guitar accents on 4-2-3-3 and you're just slamming quarter notes on the cymbals which sounds super raw. not to mention the part after at 5:15 where after like 2 minutes of playing super tight to help the listener follow along to that crazy breakdown, you use the aforementioned technique of a steady pulse on top of a time signature I still cannot parse. and then you cut the cymbal and do this "dut - digut" thing at 5:23 that makes the listener feel like they just tripped and face-planted. such a cool part there and I'm looking forward to more drum breakdowns, especially falcon and mountain!
JunkZero
2023-12-17 20:03:57 +0000 UTCI used to play the drums, but I got distracted with life and college. Maybe when I get my hands in a drumset, I'll try and learn this song! Great video!
Nathan Schmerker
2023-10-16 18:51:25 +0000 UTC
