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Compress Yourself... A Little

By Philip Hendrickson

An old saying goes, “All things in moderation.” For drummers this means: be neither boring nor bombastic. Like a compressor on a microphone, don’t let your groove be too quiet nor too aggressive. How does this look? The problem goes two ways.

A drummer who plays too little causes their band to lack energy. Nobody dances. Listeners get bored. The sound is too far in the background to make an impact. Not good.

On the other hand, a drummer who plays too much causes chaos and covers up what the other musicians are trying to say. Excessive energy makes listeners nervous. Rather than relaxing and fun, listening to music that is constantly in-your-face feels like work. People tune out.

Don’t be boring, don’t overpower; play with moderation. But here is the real trick: “all things in moderation” also applies to moderation. Once in a while we need to break the rule and go big or very small. Major disruption can signal a change of feel, support dramatic moments, or warn musicians who are going astray. Dynamic extremes are useful; just don’t stay there.

Keep listeners (including the rest of the band) within earshot of their comfort zone. Then, once in a while, show them what lies beyond. The occasional poke (and return) reminds us why our happy place makes us happy!