Dynamics In A Band

There are three primary traits in choosing musicians Skill, Talent, and Imagination.  It is rare to find all three in one person and it not necessary to have all three in one person for success although it certainly can’t hurt.

I only score Medium in Skill, but High in Talent and Imagination.  I am technically not stellar but I can hit the target on emotion.  This means I can sometimes make a piece sound better than a more skilled musician who has less feeling and emotional depth.

Most studio musicians score Skill - High, Talent - Medium, and Imagination - Low.  Jimmy Page became wealthy and owned a bookstore in London as a studio player because he scored Skill - High, Talent - High, and Imagination - High.  This was before ever moving on to The Yardbirds which eventually became The New Yardbirds and then became Led Zeppelin.

Below is an analysis of three world famous bands based upon this dynamic.

All of the three were groundbreaking acts.  All of the three had hit songs.  All of the guitarists and singers never did anything of any significance after their drummers, all triple Highs, either died or left the band.  Jimi Hendrix only played with Buddy Miles for a short period before bringing back Mitch Mitchell.

All of them had at least two members who scored High in combinations of either Skill, Talent, and Imagination.  Most of the players were High in Talent which like Imagination cannot be learned.  Many musicians who have some Skill believe they also have Talent on a level which they do not possess.  This is similar to believing you have discriminating taste based upon something you learned from a magazine rather than a book.

Led Zeppelin was finished after the death of Bonham.  Bonham is widely regarded as the #1 drummer of all time by many drummers and was equally as important as Page for their sound and direction.

The Who trudged on playing their hits after Moon died but was artistically dead as Townsend had Talent and Imagination but Moon was too much of a driving artistic force behind the band even though Townsend wrote the material.  Townsend has talked about this in interviews.

One lesson to be learned from this is a the wrong drummer will kill your act faster than almost anything else other than a wandering lead player or a poor vocalist.  Ringo Starr was an excellent drummer although his sound only really worked well with The Beatles.  He later had hit songs but not because of his drumming.  Charlie Watts had very un-flashy drumming but was the backbone of the Stones because he understood, as did all the others mentioned, that the purpose of a drummer is to accent the other players not act as a metronome for them.

The majority of drummers do not understand this and fall into rigid regimentation.  This makes them worthless in a sophisticated, progressive setting unless all you want is a tapping in the background

Remember you are not your audience and you are not your potential career promotion professional.  Your buddy, the rambling lead guitarist you think sounds great because he has a little Skill but no Talent, will kill your record deal in a heartbeat.  What Music Business people look for is professionalism, solid, clear direction in playing.  They generally know nothing about musical talent and imagination but they know what works in widespread practice for selling things.

So when you pick a musician what are you really looking for?  Do you want someone capable of contribution and expansion?  Do you want a highly skilled person to raise your sound quality or as a soloist?  Or do you simply want someone to fill in the space because you believe you are a star in your own right?

Donald Fagan and Walter Becker of Steely Dan were only Medium in Skill but very High in Talent and Imagination.  Through a succession of lineups they surrounded themselves with some of the most highly skilled players available.  There are many different roads to choose from.  Discrimination in who you are willing to play with and why will most likely be one of the biggest deciding factors for success.