Composing

 When composing,  or creating, there are a few elements that we can consider to help create something that conveys meaning and makes sense to the person listening.  We should also think about these same elements when creating a drum solo.  The  difference is that it is been created on the fly.  This preparation and pre-thought has already been done in the practice room.
 
PHRASING
 
Music is a form of communication. So to help people to understand what we are saying we need to use good phrasing.  This  would commonly be 2, 4, 8, or 16 bar lengths.
 
We can also use questions and answers to create phrasing.
 
CONTRASTS 
To make our creations interesting we need to use contrasts.
 
Pitch                                High vs Low
Rhythm                           Long vs short
Tempo                             Fast vs  slow
Density                           Lots of notes notes vs few notes
Space                              sparse vs dense
Volume                          Quiet  vs  loud
Sound colour                Use of different parts of the drum .  
                                        i.e. Different parts of the head, rims or  shells 
                                               Use of brushes, mallets or hands
                                               Cymbals vs drums
 
FORM 
There are many different song structures that we can use.  Some examples are: 
 
Binary          AB  
Ternary        ABA  
Rondo           ABACA
Sequential   ABCD
Song Form   Intro  - Verse - Chorus  -Verse - Chorus - Bridge - Verse - CH - Ending

Jazz Form     
Intro 
Melody
Play through the whole form of the tune. In Jazz standard tunes, usually an 8 bar A section played twice.  An 8 bar B section, followed by the repeat of the A.   AABA. 
Solos
Players take turns to solo over the form while the rhythm section plays the harmonic changes. 
Melody
After the last solo, the melody is played again. 
Ending
Often a tag ending where the last phrases is repeated 3 times. 
​Then the end.  usually either an abrupt stop, or a long hang.
 
​Drum Solo Form
When creating a drum solo, a common form is a sequential form with an intro and an ending.
                                            Intro         A  B C D etc     Ending
​
Sometime each section is quite separate or sometimes we can make the ideas develop into each other.  Sort of like a club remix where the songs gradually overlap, and before you know if you are in a new place or song.

 This is sometimes called Thematic Development