My most admired instrument
Though I used to play piano during old days (that’s why most of the demo pieces are from piano 
), pianist aren’t the kind of music player I admire most. At least, not as strong as towards drummer. I never said pianist is no good; their virtuosity for difficult (sometimes terrific) pieces keeps me still addicted to concertos like Rachmaninoff’s and Prokofiev’s ones; but there are entirely different challenges for drummers, at least viewed from outsider’s angle. Example?
Sounds familiar? How about this one:
Probably even starters can learn these rhythms very soon, as they are easy ones. Even people who haven’t played drum in their live can tap these rhythms with finger in no time (hey, drum games on game consoles don’t count!). But I haven’t finished: what if one need to:
- Beat these rhythms non-stop for more than 10 minutes
- Make absolutely no single error
- Play at constant speed thoughout the whole passage, without anybody noticing any tempo change
That is not so easy. This is the case for first rhythm, which comes from Ravel’s Boléro. Think about beating the same rhythm again and again and again for 12+ minutes without any error, and controlling tempo / loudness at the same time! Probably even professional drummers can’t do that at single pass. It needs undivided attention and dedication in order to achieve the result.
For 2nd rhythm, which comes from Shostakovich’s 7th Symphony, it’s not so demanding for drummer — just about 7-8 minutes instead of 12+ minutes (in Ravel’s own interpretation probably around 17 minutes). But every other element is the same: repeat the same thing over and over, non-stop, no mistake, very gradual crescendo like Boléro. And again, it’s snare drum’s call.
No, I don’t think I can devote such concentration, that’s why I give my thumbs up to these drummers.