MiM 9: Taking a “hands on” approach to drumming

As many of you know, I’ve spent a good part of my career exploring traditional drumming styles. This includes various showmanship techniques: spins, twirls, and other classic “stick tricks” that can be traced to drummers of the Vaudeville-era and beyond.

MiM 8 featured a drum solo that incorporated two of these old-school bits: “stick-on-stick” technique, and playing the sticks on the bass strings (you can check out that episode HERE). In this episode, we’ll look at another popular showbiz element that goes way back: using the hands to play the drum set (as opposed to sticks).  Recently, I've been experimenting quite a bit with this concept, both in my work as a sideman and on the solos I’ve been playing with my own trio (see video above).

Incorporating the hands to play a groove or solo makes for an interesting creative choice. It produces a mellow but percussive sound that is rounder than the sharp attack of the sticks, but not so muted as the “poof” of the mallets.

Playing with one’s hands can create unique and often mysterious moods. Go back and listen to Peggy Lee’s famous version of “Fever." Part of what gives that song its signature sound is drummer Shelly Manne, who uses his hands (along with an AMAZINGLY well recorded bass drum) to play the super hip “fill-ins” that complement Lee’s vocal melody.

Playing with the hands also works well in solos, because it can help cool down the emotional intensity, leaving the drummer room to develop new ideas while simultaneously drawing in his/her audience.

While it seems there would be a long history of drummers playing the kit with their hands, finding early recorded examples of this practice prior to the 1940s is not easy. This could be because the recording technology of the time was simply too primitive to allow it. Loud or explosive sounds could potentially interfere with the recording process, so drummers were primarily relegated to playing only the most minimal of setups in the studio (sometimes literally just a snare drum, woodblock, or very small “choke” cymbal).

To find a well documented example of the “hands on the drum set” approach, it might make sense to start with the great Jonathan “Papa Jo” Jones. The first in a long line of heavy hitters with the Count Basie Orchestra (he anchored the “All American Rhythm Section” from 1934 to 1948), Jones was a former tap-dancer, who had spent time in traveling carnival shows as a youth. Papa Jo understood the value of showmanship as a tool for connecting with his audience, and as a result, used the "hands on" approach frequently.

By the 1950s and ‘60s, the practice had become much more widespread. Many top drummers of the era (among them Chico Hamilton, Philly Joe Jones, Shelly Manne, Ed Thigpen, Jake Hannah and Eddie Locke) integrated elements of “hand playing” into their grooves and solos.

As the baby boom boomers began to hit their stride as a record buying demographic, jazz groups like the Dave Brubeck Quartet (featuring Joe Morello on drums) achieved enormous commercial popularity among young people. Morello’s lengthy and inspired solos on tunes like “Take Five” (from the multi-platinum album Time Out) often included extensive playing with the hands. Here’s an example from 1961.

Morello’s regular appearances with Brubeck on television programs throughout the U.S. and Europe no doubt helped inspire a burgeoning generation of rock drummers to adapt the “hands on” approach into their own work. The most notable of these was Led Zeppelin‘s John Bonham, a drummer who wore his influences clearly on his sleeve (for a more detailed look at Bonham and his influences, check out the two-part podcast I put together on this subject).

You can almost hear how Morello‘s lengthy solo on “Castilian Drums,” (from the 1961 Brubeck live outing At Carnegie Hall) served as the model for the extended excursions that would become Bonham’s trademark in the 1970s. Here’s a classic example, from a Led Zeppelin 1970 concert at the Royal Albert Hall.

Thanks to Jax Ravel for the video clip.

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