DRUMMING - THAT NEW ORLEANS SOUND

With so much of America's new art form being formed in New Orleans, that city's music began to have its own sound.  New Orleans music has its own sound to this day.  One main genre coming out of New Orleans that created that "sound" is something called Second Line drumming.

The Second Line in New Orleans marching bands was the line of musicians that was literally the second line of musicians behind the marching band.  Included in that second line were the two main drummers: snare and bass drum players. 

The rhythmic feel of second line drumming was an early forerunner to the swung rhythmic feel in jazz playing.  The second line feel has had a sort of re-discovery by recent jazz drummers.  The way I learned about second line drumming rhythm is that the "swing" is somewhere between playing "straight" and playing fully swung music, like one hears in much jazz music.  Personally, when I try to play this style, I try to imagine the rhythm a train makes while chugging down the track.  Here's an example of that sound in the second line format: New Orleans Second Line Band

Here's that second line rhythm in a modern format - this is a cool variation on drum set using a tambourine.  Listen for that in between straight and fully swung rhythm...chugga chugga chugga: Second Line Groove on Drum Set

I will get into the later history of drum set in the next blog.  Until then, play some music, and you if don't know how, take some lessons at Earthtone School of Music: earthtonemusic.org

Tim Kurteff-Schatz