punk drum

PUNK DRUMMING-
Alright - I've been playing drums now for 2 years or so, and I always played jazz, blues, and rock/alternative stuff off of the radio. Recently, a good friend of mine invited me to join a punk band that he'd started. Not being used to this style of drumming, which tends to be more complex than it sounds, I have enclosed some helpful recommendations that helped me to learn the style.

Tip #1: You can always go cut time on the high-hat if you can't keep up with the speed. Make sure you're not changing the beat, but the energy will be the same if you use cut time.

Tip #2: Just because the music is fast doesn't mean you can't be creative or do interesting fills. Listen to bands like the Dead Kennedy's for some interesting fill work.

Tip #3: Use a lot of energy! Punk music is based on energy. Wrestle with your buds before a show, build up some serious energy and then just go nuts! If you screw up your beat a little bit, its not as bad as if you lose your energy, so really get into the energy of the music.

Tip #4: As with lots of energy, go nuts with the bass drum. I myself don't use a double-bass drum pedal, but I find that with one pedal, a healthy distribution of bass drumming definitely works.

Finally; Don’t think you have to be boring with a simple bass-snare-bass-snare beat. You can still have creativity in punk music. PUNK DRUMMERS UNITE! KEEP ROCKING, KEEP THE ENERGY ALIVE. GO PUNK ROCK!

-KillYourTelevision Drummer
Charlie Platt