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Drum solo

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A drum solo is an instrumental solo played on a drum kit. A drum solo may be set or improvised, and of any length, up to being the main performance.

In rock, drum solos are unique in that traditionally they are always unaccompanied, whereas other instruments may play solos accompanied or unaccompanied. They are also typically free-form in that they do not necessarily adhere to the tempo, style or structure of the song they accompany.

In jazz, drum solos more typically adhere strictly to the tempo and form of the song, and may be accompanied sporadically by the other instruments; they may also "trade 4's", or take alternating 4 bar solos with the rest of the band. They may also trade 8's, 12's (in the case of a blues), 2's, single bars, or full choruses.

In worship music, a drum lift is a passage in which the singing is backed only by the drums. It is not normally considered a solo, as the primary focus remains on the singing, however it bears some similarity to a solo. A drum lift may be set or improvised, simple or elaborate, and may vary in length from part of a line to an entire verse.

In marching band or drum corps, a drum section feature allows the remainder of the ensemble to create challenging formations without having to play their instruments at the same time.

[edit] Some notable drum solos

  • Dave Cavalier's drum solo (B.A.S) is a good example of an advanced drum solo.
  • Phil Collins and Chester Thompson, while Phil was in Genesis, had their famous "Drum Duets". The idea was first utilized as a segue between the tracks "Dance on a Volcano" and "Los Endos" in live performances for Genesis between 1977 and 1981, before becoming a performance in its own right from 1982 to 1992. Collins has used this in his own solo shows.
  • "Moby Dick", a drum solo by John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) reaching up to 30 minutes in length (in live versions). The song opens and closes with a few bars of instrumental music from the whole band.
  • Buddy Rich's "Stick Trick" solo[1] is considered a must-see by many advanced jazz drummers.
  • ATTO - an album recorded in 1984 by Vladimir Tarasov (jazz drummer), containing only percussion instruments.
  • The Grateful Dead were known to usually have at least one drum solo in the second set of each of their concerts. From 1967 to 1971 they featured drum solos from both of their drummers Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart. Hart left the band in 1971, leaving Kreutzmann to perform the drum solos by himself. Hart returned to the band in 1975 and the two drummers resumed their dual drum solos.
  • KISS Drummer Eric Carr was well known for his live drum solos, utalising electronic pads to synthesise notes.

[edit] See also

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