Loneliness of the Long Distance Drummer - a conversational aside

[beginning in response to advanced word of imminent photographic evidence of a UK-based beat group, 'the hum':]

Hope the drummer ain’t obscured by no swaying mic stand or neck of bass…

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Perhaps ron searly is hiding behind a drumkit in a basement practice room somewhere.

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I wonder if the psychology of a drummer bears any similarity to that of the long distance runner? alone and steady on the road, alone and steady behind the kit - persistance, consistency and an ability to continue in the productive rhythm unfalteringly no matter how adverse the conditions. these are similarites that immediately come to mind. of course, one involves moving about a lot and one involves sitting fairly still, though i guess a runner's torso is almost stationary and all movement is propelled by the limbs - another similarity.

the question is, do drummers make good runners or do runners make good drummers, or are neither indicative of each other?

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The post-end pub rock outro final du-dum-pah crash must then be the collapse onto the ground after sailing through the tape at the finishline.

My new disguise as bassist also has me considering bassist psychology. The Quiet Man. The pulse… The low notes approaching the subliminal dialogue and instructions… Makes me think of walking blind through tall grass for some reason, playing the bass. Intuition…

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I was an ok runner...and a drummer [quality? dunno...].

not sure if it's a definite correlation. but there is a good range of examples of drummers requiring a bit of fitness...

barring mo tucker.

and she didn't look like much a runner come to think of it.

buddy rich though...he had energy.

zzzzz

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Why I ran, man, Why I ran…

Your comparison is astute. Torso ‘motionless’ – I know what you mean – straightline motion only. Like a donut in freefall. Apparent rest state.

A runner has to keep a beat, certainly. The persistence. The endurance. The heart-rate of a drummer is certainly one of the highest in any discipline. I think beyond what the figures say should be endurable. Over 100 BPM I believe, during particularly energetic fills and syncopations.

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indeed. a drummer also takes the song somewhere - from beginning to end. an intro could be described as the song's startline, the outro the finish line. the song/run is the journey in between. a drummer can also build natural rests into his rhythm if required and the 'sprint finish' is analogous to the pub rock ending. in fact, now i think about it, my half marathon training of circa 2004 probably prepared me more for my current role of drummer than 15 years of guitar playing and other musical practices ever did. left, right, left, right, breeeathe, tom fill....

[conversational aside ends]