During Silesia Drum Festival in w Chorzów, Poland, we had the opportunity to interview the artists who performed on stage that day.
Today, Dutch master player, René Creemers, talks about his gear and what to do to become a better drummer.
BeatIt: René Creemers, welcome back to BeatIt.
René Creemers: Thank you.
BeatIt: We’re catching up with you just about four and a half years later, at the Silesia Drum Festival in Chorzów, Poland. Because it’s a drum festival, let’s start with a question about such type of events. What do you think is the most important thing to convey to the audience whilst on stage at an event like this, as opposed to a drum workshop or a drum camp or a lesson?
René Creemers: My biggest goal is always to play the instrument as a complete musical instrument. Drums, of course, have mostly to do with rhythm and groove playing. But I also like to present it as a musical, melodic and even harmonic instrument. So I’ve been working lately, the last 10 years, on getting melody and harmony more into my playing. And hopefully this afternoon I will be able to show that to the people. Because I think melodically, I think harmonically. Besides rhythmically, of course. That’s my biggest goal always, because I like the instrument because of its borders. It is a rhythmical instrument, but when you play melodic on it, it’s a new sound, it’s a new atmosphere, a new vibe. And that’s what I want to show people.
BeatIt: The problem of becoming a better drummer, improving one’s playing. What do you think are the most important factors?
René Creemers: I think, technically, there are lots of things that you can do and everybody knows what you can do. You can find a teacher, you can buy books, you can watch videos and it’s very obvious what you have to do it all the time because you can compare yourself to what you’ve seen. But there is another thing that is music and it has more to do with feeling and listening. And the more you listen, the more you hear, the more ideas you might have, but you can develop ideas by listening to other musicians, bands, different music styles. Become more aware of what is there and then develop your own style. So I think listening is a very big thing. And the technical part is often to do with movement. Because when you don’t move well, it’s hard to get things done.
BeatIt: Since, you say, your approach to drumming and the drums is also melodic and there’s other ways to approach it than just the rhythm. I’m sure your kit must be composed and arranged accordingly as well. So what’s the idea behind the kit? What do you have? Where? How does it function?
René Creemers: First there is the tuning. And now I have tuned my drums in fourths and fifths. But I sometimes increase the tone by pushing a stick into the drum head. Then, I can put it up to a sixth or a fifth. So I have several possibilities in making melodies. Also, the snare drum is involved, so I have four drums, but I have seven possibilities because I can increase the tones. Usually, I study that a lot until, all of a sudden, there is a kind of a melody. And that’s the beginning of my new piece. And a song with a melody needs a groove, of course. So I want to combine groove and melody and then build it up. So the tuning is an important thing, but also my cymbals. I have a Dark China with sizzles, which is the dark sound. I have a High Energy crash cymbal. At this moment, I make use of a stack cymbal as well. A big one, which sounds really… What’s the word? Not beautiful.
BeatIt: Nasty?
René Creemers: Ugly, nasty. Trashy, that’s the word. I have big differences in the sounds of the cymbals. And there are also chimes, the bell trees. I use such kinds of things. So there are some sounds that are really nice, hi-fi sounds and others are trashy.
BeatIt: And those are all Paiste still, right?
René Creemers: Yeah, I’m a Paiste endorser and I love them, really.
BeatIt: And the drums are still Sonor?
René Creemers: Sonor and the drumheads are Remo.
BeatIt: And the sticks?
René Creemers: The sticks are Agner. And the microphones, when I use them, are Beyerdynamic.
