Thread: Help with Drum solos

I really dont know what it is, but doing drum solos really intimadate me. What can I work on to improve my drum solos. Any specific drills I can be working on. thanks

Sonia & Issam of the Bellydance Superstars have a good beginner drum solo DVD. It's inexpensive. Issam demonstrates a rhythm and Sonia shows a move that can be done to it. Then she teaches a choreography.

Another good thing to do is to watch lots of drum solos. Hit youtube.com or browse dancer websites. It helps to see how other dancers do it.

Listen to lots of drum solo music. I mean REALLY listen. And think about what the sounds might look like in terms of bellydance moves.

So for example a drum roll might sound round and the sound may go upwards or downwards. So you can show that in your hips. Or it might sound like an undulation going up or down. And strong 'dums' are perfect for hits or locks.

and like Dima says, the different rhythms suggest different moves - like a Fellahi is great for fast 3/4 shimmies. A maqsoum is perfect for hip drops.

I'm convinced that the more we really, really listen to the music and try to hear what it is telling us to do, the easier it is to dance.

I've always been partial to drum solos, probably because I tend to instinctually dance to the rhythm rather than the melody with regular music.

I absolutely agree with sunshine's advice. For me, certain patterens suggest a circular motion (like an ommi) rather than an up and down movement, for example. For a saidi rhythm, I'll often do a hip drop with a kick, or a combination I learned from Morocco that's a hip twist back and forth followed by an up and down on the same hip.

Just remember you don't have to hit every single accent with a pop or a lock. Find movements that bridge over a pattern comfortably like a turn or an undulation. It's easy for a drum solo to get too busy.

drum solos by good drummers are usually pretty predictable, everything is in 4's, listen to the first bit, it then repeats 3 more times. listen to enough and the the pattern emerges, most drumers also follow a set series of rhythms, Nourhan Sharif has a fantastic instructional cd for rhythms.

Lots of good advice already - I think the only thing I can add is don't be afraid of pauses. If you're dancing to the accents in the music, there may be short gaps, and pauses can be just as dramatic as movement if done correctly. Often there will be several rhythms playing at once - make sure you know which one you're dancing to! When you get clever with drum solos you might be able to embody more than one drum track at once, but that can be tricky.

Rania is great at drum solos, IMO. Check out her drum solos on youtube or on her website - her movements are so sharp she almost looks like she is playing the drums with her body, if that makes sense.

You can buy lots of drum solo albums with a variety of rhythms that repeat for several minutes, which helps your ear get used to them and helps your body interpret. You really need that repetition for drills, otherwise it can get too "busy".

the best thing I've found to help is actually taking drum lessons.

This is all really good advice. Any way drills to get better at locks and pops. I seem to find them tricky.

drill the lock. Do them over and over again. I find a nice monotonous song and drill, upper chest lock, upper chest lock, upper chest lock, until the muscles are fatiqued. that's about it, wish there was a trick to them :-)

Drum solos are my favorite part of the dance. I consider it the time in your routine to really showcase all of your fast isolations.

As everyone else had said, it really helps to listen to a ton of drum solos. There are certain patterns that ALL drummers use and repeat when they play you a solo so it really just makes life easier.

I get a ton of comments on my shimmies. I find shimmies SO important and think that they should be as natural as walking for a belly dancer. Its so great to play with different speeds and sizes of shimmies when doing a drum solos.

When doing a drum solo with a live drummer at least a little interaction should happen between the two of you, even if its just you going over and standing next to him.

And always in dance make sure you have graceful arms and cute facial expressions to go with all of your moves :3

A really cute drum solo by Asmahan:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=H55sOz_pf4Y

Originally Posted by kina

drill the lock. Do them over and over again. I find a nice monotonous song and drill, upper chest lock, upper chest lock, upper chest lock, until the muscles are fatiqued. that's about it, wish there was a trick to them :-)

I totally agree with Kina. The thing that makes isolations crisp is 1) being aware of where the muscles are that you are going to be isolating; 2) having control over them, so that you can start and stop the movement on demand and 3) have the strength developed in the muscles to make controlling them possible. As far as I know, drilling is the only way to achieve this.

One drilling techniqe I use for upper body isolations is to do a "broken" ribcage circle. See how many small locks you can fit into one complete circle. If you visualize the face of a clock, see if you can stop the circle at every 5 minute mark - :05, :10, :15, etc.

I wouldn't say there's any specific drills that will improve things overall. Because there are several things happening at once. Improving isolations and moves is only one aspect of the drum solo. You may have the swankiest moves, but unless you know how and when to apply them within the music, you still won't have a nice drum solo.

My advice, like others here, is to listen to a lot of drum solo music and watch a lot of drum solo videos.

2. Take a class on rhythms and drum solo dancing; then apply your knowledge; see if you can begin to identify what you are hearing. This knowledge will trickle over into your dancing because once you are able to recognize what the drummer is playing you will be able to anticipate what comes next.

3. Pal up with a knowledgable local drummer and practice with them. Glean some of their knowledge about drum solo format. Usually they want to practice with LIVE dancers too.

4. Start simple. First focus on the doums (the deepest bass sounds). Then build on the teks (the higher pitched sounds). Then work with the accents that are great with "pops" and "locks". Don't try to tackle them all at once. You'll get to a point where this will become instinctual, but cut yourself some slack. No one is drum solo diva out of the box. You need some time to internalize the common (and not so common) rhythmic phrases used in drum solos, while you learn how to apply your dance moves within their context...This takes time...

5. Practice makes perfect. Keep it up and you will succeed and improve over time, if you just keep practicing.

i have found the most important thing is to know the rythms. really know them. not just in your head, but in your muscle memory.

i would advise [some may disagree] to stay away from choreography for drum solos b/c if your dummer misses a beat or changes something, you will be thrown. also, there is nothing quite as fabulous as a live, unrehersed drum solo where the drummer and dancer work completely off each others "vibe" on stage. of course this is the goal and not the starting point.

improve with lots of different recorded drum solos until you know the rythmes and patterns of rythms. also pay attention to the transitions because they will be a hint as to what is coming next, if the drummer is good.

and most importantly confidence! depending on your style, you don't have to hit every accent to give a great performance. it is not all about pops and locks, it is primarily about feeling the music and giving energy to the audience in the form of interpreting the music with your body.

some of the best dancers from egypt are not "pop and lock" so much as "shimmy and accent". look at some old egyptian videos and you will see there is more to a drum solo than "pop and lock". dance along with them and it will be like a priceless lesson.

<<<and most importantly confidence! depending on your style, you don't have to hit every accent to give a great performance. it is not all about pops and locks, it is primarily about feeling the music and giving energy to the audience in the form of interpreting the music with your body.

some of the best dancers from egypt are not "pop and lock" so much as "shimmy and accent". look at some old egyptian videos and you will see there is more to a drum solo than "pop and lock". dance along with them and it will be like a priceless lesson>>


I agree! Also, the classic egyptian style is accents & shimmies. It's actually not until we travel to the western world where technique pop lock style is crucial for hitting every beat. One can shimmy pop-lock, then accent then hold with an attitude, but it's basically up to you as a dancer if you would prefer to keep it simple or make it complex. I personally don;t need to shimmy with a hip circle & have a simultaneous chest circle, to me it's too much. Just enjoy the drumming & have fun!

If you have an open drum circle near you, then you can go & practice. I have a background in west african dance so I just love drum circles & throw-downs. The west african dancers can really connect with the rhythm & the drummer & that's basically the same with middle-eastern drum solo's.
-T

The first dance CD I bought was nothing but drum solos by Gobek Danslari (I may have spelled that wrong).
Each track repeats a few rhythms in varying complexity and tempo - but rhythms are repeated often.
When I taught a basic beginner course I used this CD a lot when teaching shimmies and locks, because of the repetition and because it was easy to pick out rhythms for the students unfamiliar with ME music.
See if you can get Gobek Danslari on Amazon or ebay.