Looking into the Basics of Music Theory

Howdy all! It has come to my attention that my last post talking about "Goliath" by the band Karnivool may not be accessible to those without an understanding of musical theory and concepts.

So I would like to get everyone on the same page and define and explain these terms and concepts, which is no easy feat. Understanding a concept well enough to teach it is more difficult than simply understanding it.

First, I'll tackle some of the terms glossary style.

Beat: A flexible subdivision of time

Measure (or bar): A defined group of beats

Time Signature: Has a top number and a bottom number. stylized in text it is 'top number/bottom number' or 3/4 where 3 is the top number and 4 is the bottom number. The top number is how many beats are in a measure and the bottom number is what type of note is worth a beat.

If you have a sheet of music in front of you, the first measure should have a time signature to let the musician know how to count the song. Music is math, simple math, but math nonetheless. Time signatures and beats and measures allow musicians to stay in sync with each other and the intentions of the composer.

A common time signature is 4/4. There are 4 beats, and those beats are quarter notes. You can think of it like there are four 1/4 (one quarter) beats. The 4 quarter notes are referred to as beats 1, 2, 3, and 4. Time signatures set the "feeling" and parameters for the music, but they can be subdivided many ways. Most commonly there are whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenth notes, and thirty-second notes. A measure in 4/4 has 1 whole note, 2 half notes, 4 quarter notes, 8 eighth notes, 16 sixteenth notes, and 32 thirty-second notes. Any combination of the different types of notes can be in a bar of 4/4 as long as the total adds up exactly 4 quarter notes.

Another common time signature is 6/8. There are 6 eighth notes. Therefore 6/8 has 3 quarter notes because a quarter note is worth 2 eighth notes. There cannot be 2 half notes in 6/8 because a half note contains 2 quarter notes, and 6/8 only has 3 quarter notes. In standard music notation exists "dotted" notes, where the dot indicates the value of the note it is attached plus half the value of that note. So, a dotted half note would have 3 quarter notes: 2 for the half note and 1 for the dot. In 6/8, there is one dotted half note per measure.

Hopefully, you were able to follow along and learn something! There is a bunch of material about the basics of music theory so I suggest you go consume as much of it as possible. However, I warn you not to let the theory of the music you enjoy detract from the music itself. Music theory exists to make music communicable, not to create rules. If you find yourself creating music, put the music first not the theory.

A Look into "Goliath" by Karnivool

Karnivool is a progressive rock band from Australia with a "smashing" lineup of talented musicians. The drummer, Steve Judd, has come up with fun and complex compositions that suit the music well. Goliath is the first track off of their 2013 release "Asymmetry" and features some nasty (in a good way) grooves.

Common in his work are catchy but technical drum parts, and Goliath is no exception.

The song opens with six measures of guitar, no metric pulse is obvious. The only part of the song to deviate from the time signature pattern is just before the band enters, in the eighth measure. Instead of playing a measure of 6/8 (the last measure in the repeating pattern) the guitars play a measure of 3/8 and then the drums and bass guitar enter and the pulse is established. Eight bars after that vocalist Ian Kenny starts his first verse with some legato head voice, adding in vibrato and creating a nice contrast to his more aggressive chest voice. He switches between the two frequently in the few parts of the song.

 The song is in eight bar (or measure) phrases. The pattern is as follows: 6/8, 8/8. 6/8, 8/8, 6/8, 8/8, 6/8, 6/8. The entire song follows this pattern. The coolest part of this is how "normal" it feels, for a relatively uncommon time signature.

Steve Judd keeps eighth notes on the hi-hats throughout the first few parts of the track. the kick drum falls pretty consistently on the "1"s and "3"s. The snare drum falls on beats "4" in the 6/8 measures and beat "6" in the 8/8 measures. On some of the bars of 8/8, Judd will drop a note on the hi-hat and open the hi-hats when he does hit them to really exaggerate the extra length of time, which is two beats, creating a turnaround into the following measure of 6/8. This makes it feel like that is the beginning of a new phrase, however, the real "beginning" is after the two measures back-to-back 6/8.

There is an "A" and a "B" that alternate twice, followed by two "C"s. A, B, A, B, C, C is the pattern for the first part of the song. after that the texture, feel, and lyrical groupings change while maintaining the 6/8 and 8/8 alternating time signature.

This song is an absolute blast to play and one of my go-to's when I need to warm up on the drum kit. It is a technically challenging song that has atmosphere and dynamics, a winning combination. Analyzing it has made me love it even more. If you don't like the song, which is perfectly fine, I hope you also can at least appreciate the  musicianship that went into creating it.

Welcome to A Blog About Drums, where we learn about percussionists, playing percussion, and life as we know it (It's mostly about percussion though). I will be going through popular clips of impressive and interesting drumming, parts of cool and fun songs to play, and the art of the music and the instruments in the drumming realm.

In the age of social media and virality, every industry is affected, with drumming being no exception. Videos of hip and current drummers spread through Facebook posts like wildfire that we can appreciate and analyze.We will also take a look at drummers I am inspired by and in awe of, from a range of genres from jazz to progressive metal. We'll break down some of their compositions in songs and explain why they're worth pointing out and how to play them. Lastly, we will oogle at and learn about the drums themselves, like which combination of materials and structure lead to what kinds of sounds.

I was inspired to play the drums mainly by my dad, who played in a rock band in the 80's doing covers of popular songs at the time as well as some original pieces. He kept his drums packed away in a corner of our basement until I decided to start playing at 11 years old. I have been taking lessons since then, but drums and playing music in general has taken a backseat to other things in my life. This blog is a way for me to dedicate time and brain power to an art and craft I fell in love with long ago.