Started from this discussion in the "Underrated rhythm section corner" thread here: http://premierrockforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=25&t=70112

twelvepoint wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 4:45 pm

ErikG wrote: Fri Jun 24, 2022 5:20 pm I think a lot about how bands approach 'who follows whom'.

Drummers that follow bass vs. those that follow guitar, drummer leads everyone, etc.

I (bass) have played in bands where the guitarist was the rhythmic linchpin and it worked wonderfully.

In another group that same approach did not work at all.

Maybe this should be a new thread.

I think this is a fundamental concept of playing in bands and while I have feelings about what works for me, there's no right or wrong way to approach this.

Do please make this its own thread!

Anthony Flack wrote: Sat Jun 25, 2022 5:34 pm As a bass player I feel like this is something I have to establish with every drummer I'm playing with. Who's driving? Some want to lead, some want to follow. Some need to be pulled back, some need to be pushed. If you both follow each other you can end up in a feedback loop playing slower and slower, like a couple of guys stuck in a doorway saying "after you".

Other drummers bulldoze their way through and can't be tamed. It's then up to you to figure out whether you should be playing on top or behind the beat that they give you. This is not always a bad thing either as it allows you to play with the feel without provoking the drummer to speed up or slow down.

Feel free to share your experiences on who is the conductor in your own band(s) and/or discuss the conductors of other bands..

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In my own band, the three of us each play different conductor roles:

The drummer is very much the one who sets and drives the tempo.

I (bass player) tend to be the one who does the counting and gives cues as far as indicating changes to the songs. (I do most of the song arrangements.)

The guitar player tends to be the one who controls the volume.

Some mental templates come to mind:

Bass leads: Promise Ring- Nothing Feels Good
Drums lead: Jawbox -s/t

I suspect the guitar leads in a lot of rock music but maybe the average band is the sound of some kind of consensus. I know in terms of overall feel and tempo I'm largely at the mercy of my drummer except where guitar sets a tempo or starts a part. But the shape of the rhythms were dictated by parts written on the guitar (also typical and the opposite of the Jawbox approach).

When I played in an afrobeat/latin band my guitar was often like a chordal tambourine or clave. It had to fit in subservient to the more complex rhythm section.

I'm a drummer, primarily, and I don't know that I've ever thought of my playing as a lead instrument, but nor have I considered myself a follower. I consider myself an ingredient in the musical soup and try and fit inside what everyone else is doing. I wouldn't want to be in a situation where drums were considered a foundational instrument that would be tracked independently and everyone else plays along to. Not that I think it's wrong to do that.

Before I played trap drums, I played classical percussion in band and orchestra, and once I started playing kit I was in in the school jazz band before doing rock. So that pre-rock experience was all very "listen to what other people are doing" and I think created an approach that complements other players and not be a part onto with other things are layered. I don't think "listen to the other members" is itself a binary thing and wouldn't imply that's exclusive to a "leaderless" approach to playing.

I also don't feel like songs need to have hard-and-fast right/wrong ways to play them, and if, in the moment, band members want to make tempo changes or vary feel, note choices etc, that's totally valid, and if it doesn't always land, that's ok.