hi im a drummer from leicester and have been playing for 10 years now. i started when i was 7 and reached grade 8 when i was thirteen. i was trained in most styles and was complimented by everyone who heard me. funk is my thing but i have been in a gigging band since i was 10. i have secretly wanted to be a session musician since i started and especially when i got grade 8 so early but i have always told myself that its just too hard to make a living at. after grade 8 i continued to improve and now i really have my own feel for the music i play . i guess i just wanted some feedback on whenther to go for it and mostly HOW! im now 17 and soon appliying for uni but im seriously considering my options again i dont wana regret not doing it. i got offered some theatre work when i was too young by my teacher but it obviously didnt happen. im not so much doubting my ability (although i will have to polish my reading after not using this skill often after g8) more a case of wondering f its possible to get a dream job.
any feedback welcome be honest i dont mind!

thanks


Aaron

www.platinumjar.co.uk

As a 20 odd year session drummer in the UK, I had to chip in.
I don't think anyone can really expect to be to be a session drummer. You can but say 'I want to be a session drummer' and hope for the best.
I can't fault Bart's advice.
I've rarely read any charts in 20 yrs, but I have the skill, I do write my own cheat sheets and I agree with Bart, why not give yourself every advantage (over the competition).
One of Bart's other bits of advice, to be aware of and capable in many different forms of music, is very important IMO.
I think I can only really cut it as a 'pop' or 'alt rock' drummer. Incidentally, I think US drummers are far more capable in many different styles than their European counterparts.....but I digress.
Even playing pop and rock, I can't tell you the amount of times I've been referenced towards some completely unrelated musical style.
As I've mentioned before, I got a long term gig once by playing 50's rock and roll, even though the job didn't require that skill at all.
Session players are most often hired by record producers. It is they you must impress and/or bond with. They most often have a lot of experience and wide musical tastes. If you can demonstrate likewise, you will have one foot in the door to fulfilling your dream.
Going back to my first point.....
If you haven't done much recording, but have the ambition to become a session pro, the only thing to do is to prepare yourself as well as possible. Play as often as you can, immerse yourself in many musical genre's, learn about drum craft (maintenance, tuning, recording techniques etc...).
Then all you can do is wait and hope someone gives you a break and asks you to record one day.
Once you are asked, you may get one or two recording dates to prove you can 'cut it'.
If you can, you are well on your way to becoming a session drummer.

I moved this thread from my Q&A so everyone can respond.


Just to elaborate on this ...  

I personally know several guys (not just drummers mind you) who are great players ... but were humiliated when the producer sent them home RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A SESSION because they couldn't read well enough.

Sure, you can skate all through life and may never NEED to read in a recording session. But what's going to happen the ONE TIME that someone puts a chart in front of the drummer, and the guy can't read it. What happens to the session? Does the drummer get called back again?



Everyone should write that quote down and post it in your practice room!

There are countless retired police officers who have never had to use their gun. Does that mean they should know how to use a gun? What about that one time they need to use? Not having constant training and understanding of their equipment ... well, they just might wind up dead one day.

The same applies to session drumming ... and just about any vocation really. If there is a potential element that may be used or come up in your line of work, you better be familar with it. That's why most professionals maintain a high standard by constantly taking classes and getting training to stay current on the latest __________ . The day you show your weakness is the day someone else is going to eat your lunch!

I just did a session last night where I didn't have to read. But it was an orchestral project, so I was tracking hand drums over an orchestrated arrangement (strings, horns, etc.). The arranger wanted me to play a particular figure and asked me to look at the score. Now, if I went in there and couldn't read his score, I would look like an idiot. You think they are going to hire me or want to take the time to teach me what it is they want me to play? Please. They would never, ever call me again ... not when there are other players who CAN read.

You want to make a good living as a studio musician? You want to work with a lot of producers, arrangers, record labels, musicians and studios? You better have, at the very least, a basic understanding of music notation and rhythm charts.

It's always interesting to read from the working pros on this topic, because I can only view the topic from a failed perspective. That said, here are some things I've learned in my lack of success:

- Strive to be a professional musician, not a studio musician. You can't be the latter (at least for the long haul) before you become the former. If you're not sure what it means to be a professional, search for the many excellent threads on the topic here on this board.

- Be serious about the music but not about yourself. It will always be to your advantage to be likeable, positive and fun/easy to work with. People who spend a lot of time in the cramped confines of a studio almost always have that in mind when hiring a session guy.

- Never turn down a paying gig based on money. You never know when that cheapy casual is going to introduce you to the next virtuoso bassist/keyboardist/guitarist/whatever who will open heaven's gates for you.

I've also run into technical chopmeisters who couldn't play 1 & 3 on the BD and 2 & 4 on the snare in convincing enough fashion to hold down a session career.
A couple or three other factors worth talking about....
1) Location, location, location.
I suspect Langywangy will have to move to London sooner or later. That's when the going gets tough and the tough get going.
Unless you are lucky, you are going to have to endure a certain amount of poverty and rejection when trying to break into a scene such as London, Nashville or Los Angeles.
2) Mercenary attitude.
You just can't pick and choose your work, especially if you haven't reached legendary status yet as a session musician. One day you might be tracking with the next big thing (and proud of it), the next playing on a novelty record, or radio jingle for Duracell batteries.
I'm sure the likes of Gadd and Aronoff have tall tales to tell about the surreal recording dates they've endured. Incidentally, if you want to be successful, you have to play the radio jingle like you're backing Paul McCartney in front of 100,000 people.
3) Sound.
Having a recordable sound is at least 50% of being a session musician. An average Joe drummer who can play in one style, but has a fantastic drum sound will always work. A technically gifted player, with chops and every genre under their belt will struggle if their sound is not deemed suitable for a record.
That 'sound' is dictated by the market, the record company and/or the record producer.
How do you find that sound?
I'm interested to hear other people's experiences.
For me it was a 5 year struggle.
I gigged and toured from my teens onwards and everyone complimented me on my playing and sound.
However, the first couple of recording sessions I did I could see a lot of head scratching going on in the control room. The producer and engineer would come out into the room and agree that the drums sounded great acoustically. I had to admit though that they didn't sound as good, or exactly as I perceived them, coming back off tape.
It remained a mystery to me and increasingly I would spend hours tuning my drums, experimenting with heads and getting more and more uptight as the recording opportunities came and went. My session career was in danger of slipping away. My saving grace was a good friend (record producer) who stuck with me and consistently hired me to play on albums he was working on. It was he who facilitated my final breakthrough.
He hired me to record an album, even though the artist wanted Jerry Marotta. The compromise was to hire both of us.
I sat in the control room and watched everything Marotta did. When he started playing I heard the sound I'd been looking for.
In addition he rattled off four songs in the first few hours of the session. It was an object lesson in recording craft (up close and personal) and changed my life forever.
Initially I just copied Marotta's entire style and set up. Over the next year or two I refined it to suit my own playing, but I never had any more awkward recording sessions from that day on.
Two factors that come part and parcel....
Confidence: It just comes with experience and successfully completed jobs. These days I just don't worry about getting a drum sound (or tuning). I don't think I'm a million times better than I was when I used to spend an hour tuning a set before recording, but I'm less worried about buzzes and overtones and that confidence spreads to the recording engineer. Once they see a chink in your armour, the microscope will come out and every little part of your kit will come under extreme scrutiny. By the time you have a sound you are too stressed and exhausted to perform the job.
Thinking about it, one solution would be to rent 'recording' drums from a reliable source, at least until you know what you need to do.
4) Equipment.
I agree with Mr Acrolite, it helps to dedicate a kit to the recording process. The beauty is, it doesn't have to look pretty, it doesn't even have to be new. Some of the greatest studio musicians are using beat up, old 60's kits.
I think you need to have two snares and a couple of ride cymbal and hi-hat choices at least. I guess four or five snares would be an average recording arsenal. There is always the option however for the producer to rent drums and many studios have house kits with snare and cymbal collections on offer.
Anyway, I'd be interested to hear from other drummers on achieving that 'sound'.
Maybe I just found it unusually hard.  

Just read Chrisso's post above for all you need to know about getting into session work. It really is spot on.

There is no set career path into studio work but you will have to relocate to London. I got into session work via a series of arranged accidents but these pointers might help: be available, be punctual, be ready to accept that any situation could lead to the 'dream' gig, be as good as you can be but remain economic with your fills, don't be flash, be confident and inspire confidence in others, be able to lock into a click track but still groove, be ready and able to play any musical style, but above all be someone people like to be around in the studio - enthusiasm is infectious.

So, just curious, what exactly is grade 8?

I think it is just a bi-product of the unacademic and trendy nature of the UK music scene.
The 'best' musicians have traditionally come out of art school rather than a musical training. I'm talking John Lennon, Brian Eno etc...
A lot of other popular bands have come straight out of secondary school (high school in the US) with no specific musical training, like Genesis, U2 and the current faves Coldplay.
The UK session scene is based largely on the
rock and pop scene. There isn't a big session market in advertising jingles or easy listening albums (which are traditionally scored for charts). The only genre's where reading would be essential would be film music and jazz.
The jazz scene is small and under resourced, but the film soundtrack scene is quite significant and second only to LA (IMHO).
I found that I had built up prejudices during my music education which took a while to shake off before I was accepted by many artists.
The emphasis is on innovation and raw talent in the UK (in my experience). It's not unusual for a bass part to 'clash' against the drum part you are being asked to play, or for some notes in a melody to not fit the harmonic structure of the chords (in a traditional way).
This makes the UK scene one of the most innovative in the world. Session musicians have to fit into that mindset, or they will fail to survive.
For example, I spent 4 years at music school and in 20 odd years as a session musician I've most often worked with musicians who know less about music theory than me. I mean people who can't describe chords and harmony, let alone describe what drum parts or rhythms they want. The exceptions are the record producers who are generally very well educated (in music theory, as well as life experiences).
There are few drummers in the UK scene (IMO) who match guys like Kenny Aronoff and Gregg Bissonette in terms of musical education and genuine all round ability.
The priorities in the UK are your playing ability (that's groove, feel and taste not 'chops' btw) and a deep knowledge of many musical genre's.
However, as I said before, I agree with Bart that it just doesn't make sense to neglect such an important area as music theory and reading skills, especially in such a competative career as session drumming.

Just to talk about the financial side of things (which came up in Bart's Corner).
In the UK there is an established minimum rate which has been agreed by the Musicians Union. I think it's something like £75 for 3 hours work (with a guaranteed 20 minute break every session - a session being 3 hours).
The rate value changes depending on the type of work (album session, advertising, film score etc....). The rates are easy to find out about btw, just phone the Musicians Union.
Once you start working in rock and pop, most musicians agree a price with the producer or record company A&R. Also, once you are established you can name your own price. Obviously if it's high, the producer has the option to look elsewhere.
I most often used to charge per day. Other musicians charge per song. If it was an album I would give them a weekly rate option (including a bit of discount).
Whether you can make a good living at it ddepends more on how often you work.
I tended to charge more, but steered away from the more commercial sessions (ads or tv music). Someone who worked every day - at the basic rate - would probably earn more than me (even at my higher rate).
I would often go a couple of months without a recording gig. So the higher rates I charged actually paid for my 'down time'.
Talking about variable rates and deals.......
I established a daily rate with a few record producers. One day I got a call from a regular client asking if I could do him a cheap deal on an unknown bands' first album.
It's hard to say no in those circumstances, as the producer was a good contact.
I did the work and the album went on to be a pretty big seller. I didn't get any more money for that though.
 
Still, you can't complain. Thems are the breaks. Plus, any successful album increases your reputation and boosts your earning power.