Charting the Development, Through the 20th Century, of the Drumbeat as a Primary Element

of Popular Music.

The drumbeat has changed significantly over the course of the 20th Century. It is, of course,

impossible to describe the entire history and development of the drumbeat in the discourse of this

essay. Instead, small selections of the drumbeats history from the turn of the 20th Century have

been selected to be discussed in detail. Explored are the ideas of the early ragtime bands, the

importance of Jazz drumbeats, Rock and Roll and the use of the drum machine and sampling in

Hip-Hop. Discussed is; how does the drumbeat evolve in response to these different genre?

To chart the course of the drumbeat in popular music we must first look back to the turn of the 20th

Century, where, the origins of the drumbeat, as the concept we perceive in popular music today,

originates. This drumbeat could be seen as developing from the beat of European military band

percussion.1 This percussion was mainly based around the bass drum, snare drum and cymbal

where, each cymbal or drum was played by an individual player. The bass drum predominantly

kept the beat while the cymbals and snare were used to add extra accentuation or for adding

colour. The development of the trap kit is the beginning of this percussion ensemble moving

towards the popular music idiom we see today. The trap kit was a means for the bass and snare

drums, along with the cymbals to be play by one player rather than three. This technological

development was adopted by smaller bands that played ragtime music as well as some military

bands (in fact, this is still seen today in other ensembles such as brass bands and wind bands).2

Ragtime rhythms were more complicated than that of standard military band repertoire. It was

therefore easier for one player to be in control rather than trying to coordinate them between many

percussionists. From its inception, however, the trap kit still functioned in a similar way to military

percussion where the beat still mainly being in the bass drum. The role of the kit player in this

genre was as a time-keeper while other instruments carried the melodies and solos. This can be

1 Avanti (2013) 482

2 Ibid 482
seen in the application of brushes by players. Melody instruments of this period were acoustic and

so, the drums often tended to dominate in bands in live performance. The application of brushes to

lessen the volume shows that the drum beat was for timekeeping. It was not an expressive aspect

of the music compared to that of its melodic partners in ragtime and early jazz bands.

Recordings such as, Thats When Ill Come Back to You (Louis Armstrong and His Hot Seven,

1927), featuring the drummer Warren Baby Dodds (1898-1959), shows the position of the

drummer and drumbeat at this time.3 Dodds was known as one of the first great Jazz drummers.

He was known for his sympathetic kit playing and making sure his sound was complementary to

whichever soloist or group was playing.4 It is therefore interesting to observe that in this recording

that Dodds is largely inaudible as, recording technology during this period was limited in its ability

to pick up performances compared to that of todays technology. Drummers were often then

located further away from recording devices than other musicians. This may be why Dodds is

mostly inaudible in this recording. In addition, the commerciality and popularity of these recordings

were not affected by the lack of drumbeat being audible. This could mean that the social position of

the drummer, at this time, is of being less important than melody and harmony instruments and, the

drumbeat is of a metronomic rather than expressive quality.5 It is important to note that

occasionally some drum sounds can be heard,in this recording. Timbral accentuations like, the

cymbal clash at the end of the recording are clearly audible. The drumbeat in this instance is not of

as much musical importance as timbral accents. It is very much like the use of percussion

instruments in operas a timbral oddities rather than as rhythmic devices.

The birth of Swing saw the drumbeat move from its time-keeping role to a more expressive role.

From the mid-1920s onwards there was a rise in swing rhythms in Jazz music. A characteristic

3 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQUBughYG4w
4 Burt (2005) 138
5 Jordan (2009) 9
rhythm of Swing music is that of the uneven eighth notes.6 The rise in the popularity of this rhythm

caused a shift in drummers to keep time on (what eventually became known as) the ride cymbal.7

The Swing rhythm is one of the first instances were micro-rhythmic changes can be seen to add an

expressive quality to the drumbeat. In other words, the ratio between the down-beat eighth and up-

beat eighth would vary depending on melodic phrase structure and tempo. Some researchers such

as Vijay Iyer believe this rhythmic inequality facilitates the perception of higher-level rhythmic

structures.8 This idea is looking at how the human ear will pick up on regularity like, the quarter

notes being regularly placed. While, the up-beat eighth is free to be placed at irregular intervals.

This gives the music a strong rhythmic structure focussed on the quarter note rather than the

eighth, while still maintaining a high expression.9 It was also in this period that drummers started to

alter their down beats slightly to give different feels to the music. The would often play fractional

behind the beat, to give the music a more relaxed laid back. Conversely, they may play fractionally

ahead of the beat to give the music urgent feel. Employing these techniques only produced a

temporary effect as, listeners would soon become used to the alteration. The technique also does

not affect the perception of the tempo (i.e it does not sound rushed or late).10 This was often

employed by drummers such as William Henry Chick Webb (1905-1939).

The rise of Bebop in the late 1930s to its prominence in the 1940s led to vital changes in the role of

the drummer and the drumbeat. Bebop was a reaction by younger jazz artists against the previous

styles of Jazz. It lead to the use of more expansive harmonies, irregular rhythms and a stripped

down ensembles (compared to that of the swing and big band ensembles). It, however, is a move

away from the popular music idiom. Until this point in history, Jazz and popular music were almost

synonymous with swing styles being favoured in dance halls. Bebops influence on the drumbeat in

6 Butterfield (2011) 3
7 Avanti (2013) 496
8 Butterfield (2011) 4
9 Ibid.
10 Butterfield (2010) 302
popular music however, is still important. Bebop saw the drummer develop further as a soloist. This

affected drumbeat considerably, developing it into a more complicated polyrhythmic entity. The

basic drumbeat moved further away from being based in the bass drum to the ride cymbal. If we

take the basic ride rhythm which can be phonetically expressed as ding-ding-a-ding and add the

hi-hat being snapped shut on the back beats (beats two and four of a standard 4/4 bar) we gain a

very peculiar drum beat.11 The standard ride rhythm has the emphasis on the first and third beats.

This accent is caused by an anacrusis effect from the uneven eighth present on the second beat.

By introducing the hi-hat snap on beats two and four introduces a secondary anacrusis at the

quarter note level. This accentuation drives the music forward by the sense of anticipation caused

by accenting back beats. It could also theorised that drummers were creating a basic polyrhythm in

which, their first beat was the rest of the ensembles second beat. The drummer was also free

along with the pianist to comp. This was the term given to the improvised rhythmic

accompaniment that was a staple within Bebop. Again, this accompaniment was incredibly

polyrhythmic but like Burt Korall says in his Drummin Men, The Heart of Jazz - The Bebop Years

about crucial Bepop drummers like Kenny Clarke (1914-1985): (Kenny) Clarke broke time and

moved afield. But there was never any doubt where 1 was.12

In Shaw nuff , recorded in 1945 but Dizzy Gillespie and his All Star Quintette, we hear the use of

polyrhythms by the piano and drums.13 True to Korall, we can definitely hear where 1 is but with

the entrance of the leads we can feel how the rhythm section and leads have a different down

beat. Note as well how the drummer plays the exact same rhythm as the lead at around 00:18. The

drum is participating as part of the ensemble with the lead - it is no longer just a time-keeping

device but a participatory member. Throughout the track we can perceive how the comping of the

piano and drums is often against the main leads solos to create the tension associated with bebop.

11 Ibid. 322
12 Burt (2002) 6
13 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNHUZmTmj-8
The idea of Rock and Roll in music has its roots as early as the 1920s but doesnt truly come to

fruition until the 1950s. It sees the adoption of many African-American styles as well country music

and, is seen as the coming together of African-American and white American music.It was most

popular with teenagers of the time. The drumbeat of this music was typically characterised by, like

Bebop, having the back beats accentuated. In Rock and Roll this was typically accentuated by the

snare drum. The groove of the drummer is fairly steady and influenced more from styles such as

that of the Blues. In the Blues style the drummer takes on a less melodic role than drummer from

the earlier bebop and swing styles.14 In Tony Colmans The Art of Blues Playing he says Ironically,

in the world of the blues, most drummers go unnoticed because they are doing their job the right

way.15 He also warns drummers to keep it simple with too many fills and breaks detracting from

the groove.

Rock and Roll clearly adopted this idea of the simpler drumbeat present in Blues rather than the

more complicated beat of later Jazz styles. We can hear this in the return of the bass drum as a

main time-keeper and, the regularity of the rhythms in its continuity. This may seem like a

regression of the drumbeat, after such complicated rhythmic styles as Bebop. Yet, the basic beat

we associate with Rock and Roll of bass drum on the down-beats and snare on the ups has

pervaded its way through a large proportion of popular music today. This could be to do with the

popularity of dance halls in the 1950s. Dance was an opportunity for people to escape certain

social decorums.16 In the 1950s the mediation of Rock and Roll through the Radio and Television

helped secure its popularity. Rock and Roll created a sense of community by having disk jockeys

touring and putting on dance events for teens while, alongside televisions shows, teaching dances

moves.17 By teaching dance moves, in particular, truly strengthened its influence as dance has

always been a community bonding experience. Take for example Scottish Ceilidh dancing and its

14 Coleman (2003) 132

15 Ibid. 131
16 Straw (2001) 159
17 Ibid. 163
prescribed steps creating an engaging community experience. This whole experience only works,

however, it there is a regular beat and grove. The polyrhythms in the drumbeat of later Jazz were

not as suitable for dance as there was no clear regular beat for dancer to latch onto.

Rock and Roll Music covered by the Beach Boys in 1976 (original by Chuck Berry in 1957) is an

interesting example of Rock and Roll.18 Even in 1976 this single still reached number five in the US

charts that year. This popularity shows the Rock and Roll aesthetic was still popular into the 1970s

and, therefore, the drumbeat of Rock and Roll is still influential and popular. The lyrics also go

someway into showing the idea of how Rock and Roll was a more popular form than Jazz. Phrases

like: Its got a backbeat you cant lose; I have no kicks against modern jazz, Unless they try to

play it too darned fast and It's gotta be rock and roll music If you wanna dance with me.19 These

phrases show something in particular about the importance of the drum beat in Rock and Roll.

Although the backbeats in later Jazz were important, they were not very clear all the time due to

the comping of the piano and drums. The speed of styles like Bebop were too fast for dancers and

something slower and more regular was needed. It can also be heard that the drummer is playing

more on the beat with very little discrepancy. This is unlike Jazz drumming where the drummer

would move behind or in front of the beat occasionally to change the mood of the track.

The use of drum machines and sampling some songs in the Hip-Hop show an interesting

development in the drumbeat. One of the first drum machine was originally designed to accompany

live performances of the Wurlitzer digital organs.20 The original intention of the drum machine was

to provide a rhythmic accompaniment to songs played on the organ. They were programmed with

generic styles of drumbeats like Cha-Cha or Samba. They were not originally designed to be

used in the recording of pop music. Drum machines became an inexpensive way to produce

18 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vS3h5oGEuqk
19 Lyrics found at: http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/beachboys/rockandrollmusic.html
20 Wang (2014) 220
drumbeats.21 They also changed accessibility to drumbeats as anyone could create drumbeats

without being a drummer. It sees a shift from the musical drummer in control of the beat to the

producer and the breaking up of the ensemble. With the rise of computer technology and studio

editing it would be possible to create a track featuring musicians without the musicians ever

meeting. Sampling is also a crucial part of the drumbeat in Hip-Hop. The use of sampled beats

adds a new depth to the drumbeat. Sampled beats can evoke memory responses from the

audience and give a secondary level of context to the song. Tricia Rose says on this: [samples in

rap add] a desired textual dimension uncommon in other genres and that programmed drum

machines cannot duplicate.22 Often sampled beats were transferred into drum machines as well to

subtly alter accents to change grooves to create different feels. The rhythmic capacity these

techniques created altered the drumbeat by making it vastly more rhythmic. To some it felt

reminiscent of Bebop. Max Roach said of Hip-Hop [t]he thing that frightened people about hip hop

was that they heard rhythm - Rhythm for rhythms sake.23 Unlike bebop however, Hip-Hops drum

beat was cyclical where, samples, drummer or machine would play the same measure exactly over

and over. This gives Hip-Hop its idiomatic feel. It is more rhythmically varied than some Rock and

Roll beats but the regular looping keeps the regularity for dance which, is a key element of Hip-

Hop.

The history of the drumbeat during the 20th century is incredibly complex. From its origins at the

turn of the century to the drum machines of Hip-Hop it has transformed dramatically. We can

conclude from the discourse of this essay that the drumbeat has been heavily influenced by

popular tastes as well as developments by drummers themselves. We have seen the drumbeat

change from basic time-keeper to the complicated rhythmic structures of the comping drumbeat in

Bebop. All of this through the exploration and development of the drum kit at the hands of

drummers such as Baby Dodds, Chick Webb and Max Roach. We have seen the reaction of Rock

21 Arditi (2014) 504

22 Greenwald (2002) 226
23 Ibid. 226
and Roll to these complicated rhythmic structure in songs such as Rock and Roll Music. The return

of the drumbeat to basic time-keeper, from its soloist Jazz past, to enable communal dancing had a

lasting success as we still see today with music in Nightclubs. Finally the role of Hip-Hop

popularising sampling and drum machines to create a new electronic dimension in popular music.

Its rhythmic accuracy far beyond what is human gives an unwavering beat to dance to which again

can still be heard today.

Bibliography

Avanti, Peter. Black Musics, Technology, and Modernity: Exhibit A, the Drum Kit. Popular Music

in Society Vol.36 No.4 (2013): 476-504.

Butterfield, Matthew W.. Race and Rhythm: The Social component of the Swing Groove Jazz

Perspectives Vol.4 No.3 (2010) 301-335

Butterfield, Matthew W.. Why do Jazz Musicians Swing Their Eighth Notes Music Theory

Spectrum Vol. 33, No.1 (2011) 3-26

Coleman, Tony. The Rhythm of Blues: The Art of Blues Drumming. Modern Drumming Vol.27

(2003) 133-139

Greenwald, Jeff. Hip-Hop Drumming: The Rhyme May Define, but the Groove Makes You

Move. Black Music research Journal Vol.22 No.2 (2002) 259-271

Jordan, Michael. Melodic Drummin in Contemporary Popular Music: An Investigation into

Melodic Drum-Kit Performance Practices and Repertoire MA diss., RMIT University, 2009.

Korall, Burt. Drummin Men: The Heartbeat of Jazz; The Bebop Years. Oxford: Oxford University

Press, 2002

Korall, Burt. From the Past: Baby Dodds: The First Great Jazz Drummer. Modern Drummer

Vol.29 (2005): 138-140

Straw, Will. Dance Music In The Cambridge Companion to Pop and Rock, ed. Simon Frith, Will

Straw and John Street, 158-175. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001

Wang, Oliver. Hear the Drum Machine Get Wicked. Journal of Popular Music Studies. Volume

26 No.2-3 (2014) 220-225