Learn How To Play Heavy Metal Drums
Heavy metal music also referred to as metal belongs to the rock music genre. It was developed in the 1960s and early 1970s. Heavy metal music is considered to be very extreme in context of machismo, theatre and volume. Traditionally this form of music is characterized by emphatic rhythms, distorted guitars, vigorous vocals and dense drum and bass sound. The main essence of metal drumming is to create a constant, loud beat with speed, precision and power. Exceptional endurance is also required for metal drumming and as a drummer you will have to develop co-ordination, dexterity and speed for playing the intricate patterns with ease, used especially in metal drumming. The cymbal choke is one of the characteristic techniques of metal drumming and in this technique the cymbal is struck and then silenced immediately by grabbing it with the other hand. This produces a burst of sound.
As far as set up is concerned, heavy metal drumming has a larger set up as compared to other rock music forms. In some cases the drum kit is so huge that it envelops the backline of the stage completely. In most of the rock drum kits, besides the standard toms, snare, bass drums, ride, crash cymbals and hi hat, additional toms, additional cymbals and double bass drums are also used. When it comes to the tempo and rhythm, metal song beats are emphatic and there are some deliberate stresses too. Bass drum speed is an important factor when first starting to play heavy metal drums.
Heavy metal drumming has also been considered one of the most popular styles of drumming, but sometimes it is completely misunderstood. If you learn how to play heavy metal on drums, it can be an extremely rewarding experience. There are several types of metal music that you can learn, like thrasher metal, heavy metal or dash metal. No matter what type you learn, the techniques are almost the same for all. There are many people who feel that heavy metal drumming is all about playing the drums extra loud and the drummers must have long hair! Even though these characteristics have been taken up by this music genre, they are not essential. If you are determined and ready to put in a lot of effort, no one can stop you from becoming a successful heavy metal drummer.
Metallica is most probably the first band that might come to your mind when you hear the term metal music. In fact this band was the first to frontier the “heavy metal” style. Most of the drumbeats played by this band are perfect basic metal groove examples for any learner’s drum kit. The main factors that drive heavy metal music are powerful riffs from the guitar with distortion and full drum beats. Full drumbeats need not be very fast and technical, but constant and loud. A lot of cymbals with open hi hats can be used in order to get this feel and a sloshy sound. Since there are so many sub genres in metal music, first you need to concentrate on one genre of your choice and once you are able to master it, move on to the other.
As a matter of fact, basic metal grooves are not very technical. The grooves are not only played in common time but these are designed for accenting the rhythm of the guitar as well. The quarter notes are accented in many metal songs in order to get the head-banging feel to it. In case you are adding too much to the drumbeat, you might land up losing attention and the feeling won’t be there.
A basic quarter note drumbeat like the “money beat” might not sound heavy at all. In fact it may sound boring but all you have to do from this point is to take your foot off the hi-hat pedal so the hi-hat cymbals stay open. This beat is one of the very basic metal drumbeats that has a lot of similarities to other beats. But then you must be wondering, why is it called metal? The answer is, in many such cases, the song is not defined so much by the beats as the other instruments. This groove can be played for a rock song as well and at the same time it can have a completely different feel to it when you play it to a metal song. It is always a good idea to add in a crash cymbal and it is better to have a heavier drum beat each time. There are several other heavy metal drumming techniques that ought to be mastered. You can find several learning material and free online classes to learn heavy metal drumming.