There are many different styles of music and a different style of drumming to complement each of them. Over my few posts, I will be diving the style of bop jazz. But before I do, I should give a little of the history behind it. Be-Bop, or Bop for short, is a variation of musical style of jazz. Bop is different than your standard jazz big band in several ways. Firstly, bop groups are usually small groups ranging from 3 to 7 (of course, there are a few exceptions). Bop groups consist of a rhythm section (drums, bass, piano, and occasionally guitar) and the featured soloists (sax, trombone, trumpet). Secondly, Bop is a more complicated and improvisational style than swing. Swing was very popular because it was easy and fun dance to. Bop on the other hand is hard to dance to because of the more complicated melodies. Bop is more oriented towards the technical mastery of the instrument and the emotion behind the music. It demands a much higher level of creativity and skill than swing. The Bop era began around the 1940s and continued into the mid 50s (Riley 5). More innovations were made in 1960s-70s.
 | |
| A rough diagram of music during the 1920s-1970s |
 |
| Thelonious Monk |
Some of the most famous musicians who invented and innovated the style where people like Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, Gene Krupa, Jo Jones, and others. (Riley, 4) With this knowledge of the history of the style and musicians, I better my playing skills and feel.
What are some of your favorite styles of music? (Be specific)
Riley, John, and Dan Thress. The Art of Bop Drumming. Place of Publication Not Identified: Manhattan Music Publications, 1998. Print.
This I a really great blog. I didn't even know there was this type of drumming, and I'm a drummer. But I will start listening to some of this type of drumming and see if I can learn the different types of beats it has.
ReplyDelete