Here I wish to take the time to look at Dynamics. DYNAMICS? What do you mean? I'm playing as loud as I can!!!!!!!!!!

I feel that, some of the basic elements of music are missing from a lot of drummers' armouries. One such element is dynamics - i.e. being loud , soft and various levels of loud and soft. Most young players seem to play everything LOUD! Over the years I have learned to listen to and appreciate music as a whole, instead of what I wanted to hear. Some of my favourite DYNAMIC drummers are: Dave Mattacks, Phil Collins, Mark Mondesir, Ian Thomas, Mel Gaynor, Neil Peart, Simon Phillips, Jeff Porcaro and Buddy Rich. I will stop there because the list would go on and on! Check them out!
There are hundreds of songs that show musicians using dynamics well. The following songs are amongst my favourites and have passages where dynamics have been used to great effect:

Bohemian Rhapsody by QUEEN, drummer Roger Taylor.

Teen Spirit by NIRVANA, drummer Dave Grohl.

In The Air Tonight, Written and performed by Phil Collins.

Behind Blue Eyes by The Who, drummer Keith Moon.

Run To You by Bryan Adams, drummer Mickey Curry.

Stairway To Heaven by Led Zeppelin. drummer John Bonham.

If you have the aforementioned songs in your collections, sit back and listen to them and imagine what they would sound like if the internal dynamics demonstrated were left out. If you don't have these particular songs, try and obtain them via the local library. Look though your own CD collection and try to find songs that demonstrate good dynamic playing.
By listening to the above tracks and by scouring your own favourites, you will begin to appreciate how the use of dynamics helps to make the music great. Why not try applying the use of dynamics to your band? When used on a gig, watch the audience dance while you play, and watch their reaction as you lower and raise the volume in certain parts of your songs. You will probably notice that they dance differently as YOU make them respond to the music. Dynamics help to bring excitement to the music and during the course of a gig could help to win over an audience, turning a good gig into a great gig! Using dynamics well helps to make a band sound more professional. It usually follows that the more professional sounding the act, the more work it is likely to get.

Playing music without DYNAMICS is like eating food that has no taste. So make certain your MUSICAL taste buds don't get bored, add spice in the form of DYNAMICS.

Make DY-NAM-ICS your word for the week!