Most drumming is accompaniment. Even on the records the drummer's name is on, 90% of the playing time is supporting somebody else — a singer, a horn player, a guitar solo, a piano comp. Accompaniment is the actual job. It is also the hardest part of the job, because it requires the drummer to do something almost no drum lesson teaches: not play. To leave space. To match volume. To follow energy without leading it. To make the soloist sound like the soloist intended to sound.
The best accompanists in jazz, gospel, R&B, and singer-songwriter contexts share three traits: they listen at a higher resolution than the rest of the band; they have a wide dynamic range and use it; and they understand that the most interesting note they can play is sometimes nothing. This lesson rehearses those three traits as exercises. Some of the bars below contain less notation than every other lesson in the curriculum. That's the point.
The Three Disciplines
- Hold — when the soloist is building, hold the groove. Don't escalate. Don't decorate. Be the floor.
- Match — when the soloist's volume changes, match within one bar. Soft → medium → loud → back. The drummer follows.
- Space — leave silence. A bar with no drums is a powerful arranging choice. Use it.