Seven Seconds of Fire--How a short burst of drumming changed the face of music

[yakers]

This is for Trombone Al and I figure Ha will get it too, probably some other musical people here might find this of interest. It has been part of my music education. My son is in his last year of college getting a music degree specifically in percussion (Can't think of appropriate emoticon for my mixed emotions as a father.) I am not particularly musical and as is common, my son doesn't seriously discuss what is most important to him. An opportunity presented itself when I read an article in The Economist Magazine (my favorite magazine) about a particular event in the history of drumming "'Seven Seconds of Fire' How a short burst of drumming changed the face of music". *Musical history: Seven seconds of fire | The Economist (the link is sometimes uncooperative, I can send the article by message but I suspect there is a copyright issue with posting the whole thing). My son had heard of it, discussed the rif in class and with friends, he sent me a youtube that better presents it as it includes sound bits, not just text as in the magazine article. http://youtube/5SaFTm2bcac

Even better is the whole actual song which now makes more sense to me:

 

[ERD50]

Yakers, you have a typo in your link, pull the "*" out. 5SaFTm2bcac*
should be 5SaFTm2bcac

Interesting, I'm just an amateur musician, and not a percussionist, but I don't really 'get it'. It's a nice break, (~ 1:26 in the song), but is it really a 'stand out' from others? This excerpt from the Economist article describes it well:

Seven seconds of this track were enough to guarantee its immortality. One minute and 26 seconds in, the horns, organ and bass drop out, leaving the drummer, Gregory Coleman, to pound away alone for four bars. For two bars he maintains his previous beat; in the third he delays a snare hit, agitating the groove slightly; and in the fourth he leaves the first beat empty, following up with a brief syncopated pattern that culminates in an unexpectedly early cymbal crash, heralding the band’s re-entry.

Those 3rd and 4th bars are great, they break up the rhythm and then re-introduce the band in a great variation. But haven't I heard that done hundreds of different ways? I don't get why this is considered so special, though it is very good, IMO.

I couldn't listen to the whole documentary. The guy is totally monotone, sounds like a parody (Ben Stein?). And by the time the sampler guys tweak it all around, does it make any difference what they started with? But I don't get most hip-hop and rap either.


Couldn't find a good clip, but Keith Moon doing that break in "Won't Get Fooled Again" is a few seconds of drumming that have always really stood out for me. Something really special sounding about that - and it really stood out when it was in some car commercial, as it was isolated. That really focuses your attention to it.

Thanks for posting, pretty cool.


-ERD50

 

[MichaelB]

Tries to edit but had issues. Is this the link?

 

[HFWR]

Don Brewer from Grand Funk Railroad...

 

[HFWR]

Tommy Aldridge of Black Oak Arkansas (and later Whitesnake)...

 

[HFWR]

John Bonham of Led Zeppelin...

 

[HFWR]

Dave Weckl, Vinnie Colaiuta, and Steve Gadd...

 

[HFWR]

Terry Bozzio and Chad Wackerman (Zappa alumni, among others)...

 

[HFWR]

Billy Cobham of Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, and others...

 

[Nemo2]

Now.....when I was younger:

[youtube]BZ5B7yqDYbA[/youtube]

 

[haha]

There are many awsome drummers. I think what is being pointed out here- at least to my ear- is the short break at about 1:28. That bouncy rhythm is the key to the dance movements in hip hop. I don't remember ever hearing it until I started attending hip hop challenges in the early 90s, although I know it was around before then. It isn't just another good drummer, I think it was a new riff.

Ha

 

[ERD50]

There are many awsone drummers. I think what is being pointed out here- at least to my ear- is the short break at about 1:28. That bouncy rhythm is the key to the dance movements in hip hop. I don't remember ever hearing it until I started attending hip hop challenges in the early 90s, although I know it was around before then. It isn't just another good drummer, I think it was a new riff.

Ha

I think that is their point. Not the technical ability, but the 'sound'/musicality he got in those 4 measures.

It sounds great to me, I'm always amazed at how drummers can pull or push a beat, syncopate something, run some triplets or all sorts of things I'm not sophisticated enough to grasp, and on one hand it seems like if it just isn't on the beat, it should sound 'wrong', but it sounds so right - because they are masters at it.

For the life of me, I can't associate that riff with hip-hop or rap. It just sounds like a jazzy /blues break to me. A great one, but I just can't hear it as standing out from other similar riffs. My loss, I guess?

-ERD50

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

One of my favorite drummers was Joe Morello:
Joe Morello - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I heard him live in the Dave Brubeck Quartet over forty years ago. It was a transcendental experience.

 

[grasshopper]

October 8 1971, Winterland Ballroom San Francisco, Allman Brothers Band. Around 2 AM with the band still playing strong, the Ballroom cut the power to the stage. Jai Johanny Johanson and Butch Trucks, put on a driving 3 hour drum duet. I left Winderland with the sun coming up. The band played 3 more dates and took a break. October 29 1971 Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident.

 

[Amethyst]

Wow, great thread. I love percussion and drums!

Amethyst

 

[ERD50]

One of my favorite drummers was Joe Morello:
Joe Morello - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I heard him live in the Dave Brubeck Quartet over forty years ago. It was a transcendental experience.

One of the live 'Take Five' recordings (Montreux?) just makes my jaw drop, not for any flashy technique, but that drum solo by Morello is just the most 'musical' percussion I've ever heard. It just really stands out for me. Not a lot of banging and thrashing, but real musicality. He maintains the 'sound' of the song all the way through, but still ventures out into the wild, but never too far. Hard to put into words, but I just love it.

Saw Brubeck in the 80's. Morello wasn't with him at the time, he was touring with his sons and one other musician IIRC. Great show, and he was really nice, hanging out at the bar, and he signed the program for us. I was too start struck to say anything intelligent.

-ERD50

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Morello could carry four different beats at the same time. So cerebral. Tres cool!

 

[Birdie Num Nums]

One of my favorites examples of a drum break, that adds to the tension and suspense of the song, is Bill Bruford's brief pause at 1:19 of King Crimson's One More Red Nightmare.

 

[HFWR]

October 8 1971, Winterland Ballroom San Francisco, Allman Brothers Band. Around 2 AM with the band still playing strong, the Ballroom cut the power to the stage. Jai Johanny Johanson and Butch Trucks, put on a driving 3 hour drum duet. I left Winderland with the sun coming up. The band played 3 more dates and took a break. October 29 1971 Duane Allman died in a motorcycle accident.

Would have liked to see that show...

Don't know enough about the evolution of drumming to say whether the original post is true or not, but I've known a fair number of drummers who had excellent "groove", but weren't particularly good at drum solos.