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Having a drummer who can play keep the rhythm on steel drums well is more important than having a drummer who can do all kinds of drum solos and make interesting noises. The fact is that drum solos come only every once in a while, however the rhythm must be kept throughout every song.
In order to be able to keep the rhythm when playing steel drums, a person should:
• Start with a melody – It is best for a drummer to start off with the melody of a song with which he is familiar. Steel drums are a bit different from other types of drums, so it could take some time for a drummer to get used to them. By playing a simple melody, a drummer can get a better feel for how to play the drums.
• Expand – The simple melody should continue to be played, but the drummer can fill in the spaces in between these simple notes. A steel drum includes only three octaves, but there is still a wide range of notes that can be played on these drums.
• Let hands play off each other – After a person gets comfortable with expanding to new notes, he or she should imagine it is as if each hand is playing its own song. A drummer’s hands should play off of each other until there is a fusion of what they are doing. Sometimes this fusion results in both hands doing the same thing, while other times one hand provides a balance to the other hand.
By practicing these steps, a person should be able to get comfortable at playing on steel drums.
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