Under Pressure Drum Solo

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The passage transcribes a drum solo by Roger Taylor from the song 'Under Pressure' and discusses how Taylor's phrasing and ability to make the playing sound loose despite crashing on every bar is impressive.

The passage transcribes a drum solo played by Roger Taylor on the song 'Under Pressure'.

Roger Taylor is able to make the playing sound loose and swinging despite crashing on the beginning of every bar.

Roger Taylor’s Drum Solo On

“Under Pressure” Transcribed


JULY 21, 2013 BY MARK FELDMAN 4 COMMENTS

I’ve always loved Queen. But I have a new-found admiration for


drummer Roger Taylor now. Check out his drumming on the track
“Under Pressure” and you’ll see why. He’s an under appreciated gem
of a drummer, so I wanted to make sure I gave him some props by
presenting this transcription.

Background On Why I Transcribed This


Part of why I am so open to playing all kinds of gigs with all kinds of
people is because of the unexpected things you learn along the way.
In this case, for the show I played today, I had to learn Queen and
David Bowie’s tune, “Under Pressure.” As I reviewed the songs for the
gig, this one in particular stood out because of the semi-crazy drum
break in the middle.
It’s so cool! And I really wanted to get it right. So I transcribed it.
Now, as a small disclaimer: Since Roger Taylor had a fairly big drum
kit (see photo) and I am fond of using a four-piece kit, I took some
liberties with the transcription to make it useful for me on this gig. I
had to re-work what he played so it would work on a smaller set-up.
This is NOT a note-for-note transcription.

However, the rhythms and phrasing of what’s presented are spot on,
so I feel comfortable that I’ve captured the spirit of his drumming in
this section of the song. Perhaps this notion can be instructive as
well….it is not always necessary to learn things note-for-note.
Sometimes, it is far more productive to learn a piece of music in the
manner that I did here: for one’s specific use.

The Transcription
So here it is. Click on this link to download the PDF: Under Pressure
Drum Solo

I like what Roger did here. He really goes off, and although there are
some chops here–in particular the sixteenth note triplets sound
impressive–the real king of the piece is his phrasing. Like a great jazz
drummer, he leaves space. And there is one phrase that he repeats
frequently that adds a very syncopated feeling to the entire piece. I’m
not going to tell you what that phrase is, but if you study the
transcription, you’ll know…it is definitely a jazzy phrase.
The other interesting thing is that despite the big crashes on the “one”
of almost every single bar, the playing does not sound linear or stiff.
That is one my favorite things about the drumming in this section–
Roger is crashing on the beginning of every bar and it STILL sounds
loose and swinging.

That alone makes this worth learning.

Have at it.

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