Can You Play The Drums Quietly?

I had a gig yesterday where they wanted a band but they still wanted to be able to converse whilst we played. It’s not too frequent an occurrence for me but it does happen.

It doesn’t mate what you think about the style of music you’re playing and what a band should sound like because if they’ve hired you, especially as a function band, if they say “jump” you should say “how high?”.

In this instance meant for me playing quietly.

But I want to deliver exactly what I would normally play, all the same parts, fills and intensity but without the volume.

I can still improve on this but I can do it.

I think it is a skill every drummer needs and without cheating the system like pulling out a set of hot rods or brushes. Whether it’s a function or your underscoring dialogue on a theatre show. It is as important to be able to play quietly as it is play loudly.