About Minus You drums

Most drummers love to solo. Of course, it's great if you can play a fantastic solo. but that's not what will get you the gig or the record date. What's most important is how well you fit in with the other musicians as you comp for melody sections and soloists. You're supposed to make them sound good and the music feel good! For practicing comping, our Minus You tracks are ideal.

As you might guess, a lengthy drum solo isn't going to work in a Minus You track, so we don't have them. However, a lot of our tracks do have exchanges (4s, 8s, etc.—with added 2 & 4 snaps or, at faster tempos, downbeat snaps, to help hold things together). With our Minus You tracks, you're not the leader, so you've got to fit into what's going on around you, learning to deal with the rest of the rhythm section and comping for the melody and soloists. Almost like real life.

My neighbor, master drummer Victor Lewis, was the first one to see and hear any of our Minus Drums tracks, and his initial one-word comment ("Finally!") has really inspired me to keep creating more.

Don Sickler