Is there a name for drumming riff, and what are other examples?

October 11, 2019 10:10 AM

In the (awesome) Stand Atlantic song Roses, there's a quiet section, then two crashes, then the song picks up again (2:23, here). I feel like I've heard this a bunch in rock before. I'm wondering if this "telegraphing with cymbal crashes" of an upcoming tempo change has a name, and what are some other examples.
posted by Gorgik to Media & Arts (7 answers total)

Best answer: As a musician (bass player) I've never heard that called anything (aside from a count-off, which you'll often hear at the beginning of songs, often by the drummer clicking sticks together). Technically, those are hi hats, not cymbal crashes. The tempo isn't changing, either.

Here, it's just serving as an intro to a different section, and it smooths the transition from the quiet part to the louder part by serving as a ramp from one to the other.

if the tempo was changing, it would be a way for the drummer to indicate the new tempo for everyone else (although just two beats wouldn't do a great job of indicating the new tempo). If there were a longer section with no obvious rhythm or meter, it could serve to reestablish the tempo for everyone and get everyone starting at the same spot.

You could probably listen to just about any emo or pop-pink band from the late 90s and hear something similar in one of their songs.
posted by jonathanhughes at 10:39 AM on October 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Coming out of the bridge in Volcano Girls by Veruca Salt you get a couple big cymbal crashes.
posted by Rock Steady at 10:41 AM on October 11, 2019

I'm wondering if this...has a name

loosely, "pick-up", maybe
posted by thelonius at 11:05 AM on October 11, 2019

Best answer: I'd call it a count-in. That one's just 1-2 and you start on 3. They are doing it for effectively a restart of the song in the middle, but it's the same as if you did it at the start.

Original punk bands tended to do 1-2-3-4 (often on vocals) and start on 5.

Uniquely, late 70s indie punk band Swell Maps would often have one drum hit and start on 2, but that's assuming everybody knows the tempo in advance (they were chaotic enough that precision was not required).
posted by w0mbat at 11:13 AM on October 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Yeah, that's just counting off "...three...four..." before the downbeat of the next measure.
posted by notsnot at 11:44 AM on October 11, 2019

Best answer: Generally, it's a pickup, which is a set of notes played before the start of a measure (the measure starts when it gets loud again, after those two cymbal hits); coming from a drummer, and happening right before a change in dynamics, it's counting the band in.

You'd think that sudden changes can be really powerful in music, especially rock and pop, but often they're disorienting and hard to get right, and you don't really know to expect them unless their approach is telegraphed some way. Drum fills (like this count-in) help do this; sometimes you'll hear a guitar squeal some feedback before crashing in with the rest of the band. You don't always notice them when they're there but you definitely notice them when they're not there, by feeling ungrounded in the song.

But those count-ins let you know to expect the crash, so when it happens, you're satisfied, and you're there rocking along with the band.
posted by entropone at 11:45 AM on October 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Best answer: Professional musician here. There is no special name for what you describe and what I heard on the linked song. It's just a lead-in to the next section of the song, is all. Also, there is no tempo change. Sometimes you will hear a drummer make a few rhythmic strikes (sometimes called a "hit") or a sustained sequence of strikes (sometimes called a "fill") to introduce a transition, but I don't hear anything like that here.
posted by slkinsey at 1:01 PM on October 11, 2019