Subscribe or I'll steal your cymbals: bit.ly/2AyH1Fb Get the sheet music here: bit.ly/31qaD5i A note about the playing examples: I play and demonstrate what the basic drum beat is for most of the song. The sheet music will sometimes not match up exactly because what is notated is taken directly from a section of the song. The Beatles are one of the most iconic bands in the world. Ringo Starr and his drumming for The Beatles is a masterclass in pop and rock drumming... and that's exactly what we're looking at in this drum lesson. How Ringo composed the parts, how The Beatles recorded them, the sound of the drums in all of The Beatles songs...groundbreaking on every level for music and drumming. I hope you enjoy this deep dive drum lesson on Ringo Starr, The Beatles, and Ringo's drumming. Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!
Ringo is one of the most musical drummers of all time. Even the best of drummers could take notes listening to him. He let the songs breathe and knows how to play for the song itself.
I think that people who underrate Ringo don’t understand the value of one takes, and don’t understand how expensive studio time was back in the early days of the Beatles and how valuable a skill it was to be able to record in one or two takes. Ringos’s abilities speak for themselves only if one understands the context; no one could meet the standard that unreasonable people demand of Ringo’s technical abilities and it would have ruined the music if he’d tried
Ringo won't play to click tracks either. He says I am the damn click track. LOL. Your so right about letting the songs breathe too. People asked him (and Paul) why they played songs faster or slower than the records live? They said, "well if we were in a really good mood we seemed play faster and that's fine"
Being Cuban I was very surprised as to the amount of Latin percussion Ringo used. It didn't make any sense.. UNTIL I went to Liverpool and spoke to a music teacher and his explanation was amazing. Being a PORT based city , sailors would come with every possible rhythm or groove they heard. Latin was en vogue as Ringo began to play professionally .. AND Ringo shines in his boleros (Besame mucho) (And I love her) using VERY different Bolero grooves that show he had thorough knowledge and Range. He also rode the cup of he ride and had very nice figures on the bell of the crash. Ringo is a LOT more than a drummer. He is a fully experienced PERCUSSIONIST which is fully demonstrated when he plays woogie Boogie piano with Paul in Let it be.
That's very interesting. I didn't know that. Thank you for sharing. I've always been intrigued about how the social surroundings help musicians and music develop...new Orleans is a great example of another port town. Steel drum music is also a great example of situational development within the music and what was going on on a broader world stage. Love these little nuggets. Thanks!
I was taught that the "swishing" motion on the hi hat was a jazz technique that acted as a governor. After trying it, I realized that it works to help keep tempo consistent because I reached physical limitation of how fast that I could play. It helps as a signal to the musicians on stage with me that they are speeding up and I'm trying to hold them on tempo.
Perhaps I missed it, but an important part of Ringo’s playing, particularly fills and tom patterns came from his left hand lead. He is left handed but plays a standard right hand drum set.
Did you notice how Stephen Taylor ran the tom tom's fills starting left handed in Come Together. Although it seems he started the hi-hats fill with his right. I've done it that way, I found it easier for me just starting left from the very beginning.
@@TheSassail Thanks Steve, Appreciate your observations. Seeing The Beatles playing on The Ed Sullivan Show was very exciting. All the girls were screaming for the guys up front, who sang and played so well together, but the guy in the back gave the songs movement. I just wanted to jump up and bounce along ... drummers provide a solid framework that gives the music motion. Tap your foot, clap your hands, snap your fingsers, bob your head, dance, feel the rhythm, but don't sit still ...
Any criticism of Ringo ignores that the crucial role of a drummer is to keep time AND serve the song. And Ringo perfectly served some of the greatest songs ever written and performed.
So why did George Martin insist on session drummers? Do you still believe that Ringo played on please please me, and up to the early recordings? Drums leave a trademark. Listen to the fluidity of motion on day tripper, that's not him!
@@dongiron8879According to information, Martin only used a session drummer on the first song, love me do, because Ringo still had no experience playing in the studio, but this was the only time, all the other recordings it was Ringo!
I LUV Ringo Star. As a drummer-- I'm always afraid of playing beats that are too similar (one song sounding exactly like the next). Ringo was a master at finding that perfect beat totally unique to the tune being played and totally distinct from any other song on the band's roster. It's part of the reason why the Beatles had so many hits. None of their music ever sounded routine or repetitive. Another great drummer who hardly ever gets any credit is John Densmore of the Doors. Super unique and interesting Jazz rhythms.
Nice one Stephen! Ringo is the drummer who got me interested in playing the drums. I remember seeing The Beatles on TV in 1963. Ringo was having so much fun up there and I think he was the 1st drummer to have his drums set up on a drum riser.. So cool.. Massive respect to Ringo... The human metronome! A great timekeeper with tasty fills always in the right place....
Ringo wasn't just a drummer he was very percussive where he wouldn't just play straight beats but lots of accents, breaks and fills......and left handed playing a right handed kit...absolute genius 🤘😁🤘
Ringo's playing style is so simple but it fits so well. No overplaying, just perfectly placed accents Love the breakdowns and the history lessons here!
I have a feeling buddy rich, Thomas Lang and Steve gadd can all play super simple beats that fit super simple music. The difference between them and ringo is that the former can play so much that ringo can’t.
@@JacieNicholson I just never understood the obsession. His playing on rain is sloppy as hell and everyone puts guys like him, Jim keltner and Dave grohl up on a pedestal.
There’s a blown take from the White Album sessions where the bass drum beater got stuck in Ringo’s bellbottoms. When he mentioned that it kept happening John squealed “TAKE EM OFF!” from across the room.
@@alfching2499 - it wasn’t that he was “technical” i believe was the word you were trying to use but failed miserably, it was two things: one he kept good time and two he was inventive, musical on the drums. Something that is often over looked or not done very much in the world of drummers is being musical. Also just because Paul played a couple of drum parts on the white album when Ringo walked off don’t mean he was a better drummer cos he wasn’t.
I work in Liverpool, later generation but I worked with the older players and they're REALLY hard work. They are SO exact in that beat approach. They don't mind what you play but you HAVE to get it right for THEM. Lovely guys every one & still playing. They ALL know the Beatles. I think I'm the only one that doesn't in this city. I've worked with members of the Mojos, Crying Shames, The Undertakers as a fill in drummer. One thing they have in common as did all the 1960s players is the same experimental approach as the Beatles and a deep knowledge of music and what they do with it. (You would not believe who signed the Beatles autographs after they snuck out the back door of Abbey Rd) At the time of Sgt Peppers it sounds to me they made a sampler album for post pop music careers. There's everything there. Vaudeville, theatre, psychedelia, story songs, drama. It was them saying kick us out and we can do THIS. But it didn't stop. And that rooftop gig. That there is the best British blues band bar none. That was them saying now we can do anything WE want. And they did. It's a wonderful life. Be well.
A lot of Ringo's style came from the fact he was left handed but played as a righty. Because of this he set up his kit differently than other trained drummers, and played his fills from left to right. He also played match-stick (what would become known as "rock" drumming) at a time when almost all drummers played traditional "jazz" style.
This is one of your best videos. Nobody seems to mention that the drum beat in Ticket to Ride mirrors the guitar riff. It didn't come out of nowhere... and it evolves the way it does because the guitar riff is not emphasized so much later in the tune, starting after the first bridge. You can hear Ringo thinking... "Well, he's not playing it, so I might as well straighten this s__t out..." ;-)
Agree! You're wise to recreate the process! You're a drummer? If you are, i have some questions on the item to you! What about the tendency of permanent slowing down the tempo thru out the most of the songs, altho you never even feel it and a song never loses its drive and emphasis? For example: SheLovesYou(bpm161-146),RollOverBeethoven(170-160),AndIloveHer(120-112),Boys(151-141) ...and many many other songs! I think it's a paradox of the Beatles! Most of the drummers have a tendency to speed up the tempo, specially in the early days of rocknroll.
Thanks for this. I've always maintained that Ringo was a far more creative and better drummer than a lot of people give him credit for and I think you've proved that in this video. Entertaining and informative as always, it's one of the reasons I think your tutorials & videos are the best.
Thx so much for a great video! I’ve often thought that All My Loving might be the best example of their collective musicianship, certainly from their early phase. Ringo’s tight wire drumming, George’s Chet-influenced solo, Paul’s sweet walking bassline & John’s sick triplet rhythm part makes for a complete showcase in my opinion!
6:26 - No! The Beatles were NOT "just a part of a larger musical movement..." They WERE the musical movement. They STARTED the movement, which literally changed the world. NO other musical group or singer (apart from Elvis Presley a decade earlier) had this force. Had the Beatles never happened, the world - especially the music world and culture - would be dramatically different today in ways we can never know. I know: I was there in 1964 and witnessed the "British Invasion" - led by The Beatles - that literally almost overnight began the revolution by switching the pop music center of the world from the USA, to the UK. Yes, The Beatles. No one else.
Ok...I'm with you. The Beatles tipped the boat for sure. BUT...we simply cannot discount those that came before them and paved the way for them to so smoothly take over the US charts...groups and artists like Lonnie Donegan, Vera Lynn, Laurie London, Hayley Mills, Kenny Ball, and a slew of others. Again, I agree that the Beatles tipped the scale...but the market had been primed for that. And groups like The Zombies, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, etc. all had a huge impact in the mid 60s as well. But I'm with you...there is always the BIG band of an era, and the Beatles were that for the mid 60s...although...The Rolling Stones...they're pretty huge and still going
@@jefflh11237 young man, I actually lived and experienced that decade...... It's actually more than that, let me tell you.. . My grand children introduced me to the Beatles back in 1965 when I was in hospital on my deathbed and their music made me walk again... Today I run a successful gym who skydives and wrestles sharks!! 🦈💪 So BAM!!!
You just gonna ignore the many huge movements in black music that influenced the all of rock and the Beatles? Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Arthur Alexander etc. The Beatles were bug game changers in many ways, but let's not forget they moat definitely were NOT created in a vacuum
@@horsepuncher95 I totally agree.. To the Beatles credit they sited all of those influential black artist as MAJOR inspirations for their work.. You see countless interviews where all 4 Beatles praise Chuck Berry, Little Richard etc. In fact because of this the Beatles were responsible for increasing their album sales and gaining the recognition they deserved.... 👍👍👍
Stephen, great video about Ringo and the Beatles. I am a certified Beatle freak. One thing about your video is that you did not mention that Ringo is left handed playing a right handed kit. Also, that is why his fills were not necessarily conventional drums fills. They always sounded a little different. For example, on Come Together, the drum pattern is going from the low tom to the high tom instead of the other way around. Anyway, love your drum tutorials. Great job at that, plus you are a terrific drum teacher and player.
Love Ringo and I'm happy to see serious musicians take notice Ringo was actually far better that just a support member. His drumming in many songs takes such front stage he should have been credited as co-witter. Without Ring the Beatles would not have achieve as much as they did.
Tomorrow Never Knows is a study in minimalism. I'm not a drummer, but that simple beat hits me emotionally like a truck every time. Instantly chills me out.
My top 10: 1° I Want You (She's so heavy) 2° Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds 3° I Me Mine 4° Twist and Shout 5° Maxwell's Silver Hammer 6° Helter Skelter 7° A Day in the Life 8° You Never Give Me Your Money 9° Don't Let Me Down 10° Honey Pie
Thanks for not claiming that Ringo’s drum part in TNK was a loop. Some people assume that but if you put a click to it throughout the song, you’ll find that the tempo ebbs and flows
I believe the biggest skill of Ringo’s was letting the band really SPEAK. A lot say he’s vanilla, but switching the kit around to play right handed wouldn’t be easy. I tried to switching left once. Didn’t work out. To play as well as he did with his non-dominant hand would took skill. Edit: can you do a band like Weezer or the Stones in the future? I’d like to see more rock and roll beats like those!
Great video, switching back and forth between Ringo and how most people would play it so quickly is a great illustration and why so many Beatle covers just aren’t quite right
Check him singing and playing drums on the Buck Owen's classic, 'Act Naturally.' Find the live version of course. The way he lays down the groove and puts the perfect vocal track on top would make Phil Collins and Levon Helm proud.
The most listened to musical performers of all time......I'd suggest listening to every single beat, every note, every accent, every dotted 1/8 rest. And BTW Ringo is one of the funniest people on earth as well.
Ringo planned his parts AFTER giving a thorough listening to the song even from the time of it being created. To me, he appeared to be the most focused Beatle who first listened attentively and then created something that others were forced to take a note of.
Stephen, once again your excellent teaching abilities shine through. Thanks for Breaking these beats down in allowing us to see, hear, read, and feel those Ringo rhythms.
Thanks Steven, Great video! One thing I wanted to mention was that on Come Together, Ringo actually explained that he flows UP the toms from floor to rack, rather than down the toms from rack to floor, due to the fact he was left handed. See video link here at 2:14: th-cam.com/video/vl9188EPdLI/w-d-xo.html It's the bass guitar that gives it that feel of a descending notation. Although most players you see playing this song do play it high to low. Ringo is truly a drumming legend and anyone who disrespects his playing is just plain wrong. Thanks for all the great lessons!
Ringo's drumming fascinated me already at the age of five...I had no clue about drumming but his style was so different and he held the pace so constant and perfect! Just listen how other, even actually good drummers sometimes messed up even studio recordings (e.g. Chris Curtis' work on "Sweets For My Sweet", which is so irregular!) Ringo I immediately could distinguish from any other and so he made me wanna become a drummer too. My favourite Ringo beat is on "She said She Said"
Great video, Stephen! One of the greatest bands ever, and one of the most influential drummers ever! Have you ever seen Ringo's demonstration of how he played Come Together? He actually starts on the floor tom and moves up to the rack tom, not the other way around. Apparently, it is because he's a lefty playing a right handed kit and it was easier for him to do this fill moving from right to left, instead of left to right. Check out the video by searching, "Ringo Starr Shows How to play Ticket to Ride, Come Together and Back off Boogaloo."
I think you and this content are awesome. I must mention that Ringo is left handed and he played Come together on a TV interview and showed the intro drums go ride, hi hat and begins on the lowest floor tom and goes right to left ending on the rack tom. Was no fun for me to master. Thanks again.
THANKS for addressing that change in the flams-rythm on Ticket to Ride! I've often wondered why Ringo changed it up like that mid-way through. When I listen to live performances he always seems to carry that first (syncopated) timing throughout the song. I like that much better and it's how I used to play it too. ;-) Great video- thanks for posting this.
Hi Stephen. I thought everything had already been told about the Beatles in general and Ringo musicality in particular. But in this video you managed to help me to get more accurately what is so unique and innovative in this unfairly underrated art of drumming. Thank you !
The Tomorrow Never knows groove uses a rim-shot on the tom! It doesn't feel the same without it. Also, Come Together starts with the low toms and works its way up, not starting at the high tom.
Great lesson and love the little factoids popping up. It's fascinating just how much of Ringo's "vibe" comes from that hi hat technique. I saw a video where Greg Bisonette was saying the exact same thing, so subtle but immediately recognisable.
I always thought that he was playing a hi-hat in the song Something, and it's one of the reasons I loved playing that fill! I can't believe this... my whole life is a lie...
ACCORDING to ringo on come together its not ascending its a descending starting on the floor tom up to the rack. He said he did it this way because of him being left handed.
Really loved this video buddy. I’m a guitarist, massive beatles fan, and a massive ringo fan. Your video is very interesting, and your drums and drumming sound great. Much love from Sheffield UK.
Excellent video Stephen, as a huge Beatles fan I still learnt quite a lot! Your drumming is absolutely amazing, I could’ve spent ages listening to it! You have also done Ringo very proud! Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End is actually my favourite Beatles song of all time!!!!😃👍☮️❤️
Hey Stephen, so wonderful to see you covering the unique & innovative drumming of Ringo. Thank you! Early on in my YT career I covered over 160 songs of The Beatles because I grew up with this music as I was one of thousands of guys who became musicians due to witnessing seeing Ringo and the group live on TV back in February 11th 1964. Unfortunately after late 2015 those Beatles drum cover videos became blocked on YT after a switch in publisher ownership and sale of their catalog online.
I have never learned so much about drums! I know that it had its music theory but the way this dude explained everything made sense! I’m a rookie at guitar but it helps
Thanks 👍 I'm practicing !!! Seventy n still rockin my drumset !!! I m always teachable n still working on getting my band THE LOKALS together !!! Drumming in Vermont !!! Woohoo !!
As someone else commented, Ringo was Left Handed , playing on a Right Handed drum set. He talked about that on David Letterman appearance (I Think it was Letterman?), he would roll around the drums from left to right against the Grain so to Speak.
I love the super nerdy stuff like this that really digs deep! I've heard Ringo talk about his backbeat being a little late because he was left-handed, but played on a right-handed drum kit. Ringo claims "the genius" was, he just couldn't get back to the snare in time...lol. (Great stuff thanks Stephen)
Help was always my nemesis, I could just never figure out what groove Ringo was playing, even the film footage of him playing this tune really doesn’t show what he was actually playing.
Come together was actually low tom to high tom and Ringo admitted doing that because he was a left handed drummer on a right handed drumset and he didn't know how to reverse it (lacked training in the rudiments which a well executed paradiddle could have remedied) The Beatles are my favorite band, and many Ringo's drum beats are iconic. But nothing any High Schooler couldn't do. (at least all in my school, including me could) Before you go bashing me, I have a music degree with percussion as my major instrument so yeah, I know what I'm talking about. Still, you gotta love Ringo. I know I do.
I Feel Fine is almost a samba kind of. Lately I seem to notice a similarity between Ticket To Ride and She’s Not There by the Zombies . Hugh Grundy is very underrated as is The Zombies in general.
This is fantastic! Thank you, Stephen! A Day in The Life has a great drum groove as well! Have you done any videos on Alex Van Halen? He has killer grooves, like Outta Love again, House of Pain, etc...
Great Vid, Thanks for Posting! I Think Most People are Unaware of How Good Ringo Really Was/Is, He Wasn't Flashy, He Didn't Need To Be, For The Reasons You Stated. And Thanks For Mentioning The Jazz Drummers of The Era - Guys Like Art Blakey, and Kenny Clarke ( Who Basically Invented Keeping Time on the Ride Cymbal ) are Criminally Underappreciated IMO....
Good take on them, it could be helpful to young drummers wanting to play them. One things I disagree with. Ticket to ride was not a flam, he was hitting both sticks at the same time. I got that from Ringo on a video where he explains it. Also on come together he is going from the floor tom to the ride tom, he said he did it that way because he is a left handed drummer playing on a right handed kit. My 72 year old brother was in a band when the Beatles were popular. He taught me how to play all those beats then. You have a pretty good take on them.
His work on hi hat is underated Close, mid close, opened... Listen to "with a little help from my friend" while my guitar gently weeps And all rooftop songs
Two songs that should have been included, a day in the life and rain when it comes to great drumming, honorable mention for what your doing for the drum solo intro
Character is so important with drumming. I have not ever heard this mentioned directly. Character, such as humility, selflessness, service. How many drummers are showy, egotistical, flashy, attention seeking ? How many make sure you are conscious of them ? How many are genuinely humble ? Not 'in your face' but content to blend in to the music, complementing it, enhancing it, weaving their magic unobtrusively, even unnoticed ? Ringo served the other three Beatles and their musical compositions in a way that is so very rare. Most drummers if not all would have been a bad fit for the Beatles, it would never have worked, because most do not possess the character of Ringo. He is a sensitive drum artist of rare high character. He was perfect for the most brilliant and influential band of all time.
Great beats, I'm gonna go practice! By the way, I love the editing on this video. Really clean and the trivia and sound effects give this a VH1 feel which I think is neat!
I randomly stumbled upon this video after I happened to purchase a couple nice cymbals after doing a lot of research to make sure that my investment was sound, as nice cymbals are quite expensive. I noticed that your cymbals, and probably the way you’re recording them, sound very nice, even through iPhone speakers!
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Subscribe or I'll steal your cymbals: bit.ly/2AyH1Fb
Get the sheet music here: bit.ly/31qaD5i
A note about the playing examples: I play and demonstrate what the basic drum beat is for most of the song. The sheet music will sometimes not match up exactly because what is notated is taken directly from a section of the song.
The Beatles are one of the most iconic bands in the world. Ringo Starr and his drumming for The Beatles is a masterclass in pop and rock drumming... and that's exactly what we're looking at in this drum lesson. How Ringo composed the parts, how The Beatles recorded them, the sound of the drums in all of The Beatles songs...groundbreaking on every level for music and drumming. I hope you enjoy this deep dive drum lesson on Ringo Starr, The Beatles, and Ringo's drumming.
Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!
I have a electric drum, haha on the rubber rim of the Tom I can program a crash symbol and a ride symbol 😂🤣
Amazing video my guy
Ringo or Charlie Watts ?
Ringo for me. Although I love Charlie
Get your hands on my cymbals and you'd be doing me a favor
Ringo is one of the most musical drummers of all time. Even the best of drummers could take notes listening to him. He let the songs breathe and knows how to play for the song itself.
I think that people who underrate Ringo don’t understand the value of one takes, and don’t understand how expensive studio time was back in the early days of the Beatles and how valuable a skill it was to be able to record in one or two takes. Ringos’s abilities speak for themselves only if one understands the context; no one could meet the standard that unreasonable people demand of Ringo’s technical abilities and it would have ruined the music if he’d tried
Ringo won't play to click tracks either. He says I am the damn click track. LOL. Your so right about letting the songs breathe too. People asked him (and Paul) why they played songs faster or slower than the records live? They said, "well if we were in a really good mood we seemed play faster and that's fine"
Preach!
Ringo rocks!
Ringo rocks!
Being Cuban I was very surprised as to the amount of Latin percussion Ringo used. It didn't make any sense.. UNTIL I went to Liverpool and spoke to a music teacher and his explanation was amazing.
Being a PORT based city , sailors would come with every possible rhythm or groove they heard.
Latin was en vogue as Ringo began to play professionally .. AND Ringo shines in his boleros (Besame mucho) (And I love her) using VERY different Bolero grooves that show he had thorough knowledge and Range. He also rode the cup of he ride and had very nice figures on the bell of the crash. Ringo is a LOT more than a drummer. He is a fully experienced PERCUSSIONIST which is fully demonstrated when he plays woogie Boogie piano with Paul in Let it be.
That's very interesting. I didn't know that. Thank you for sharing. I've always been intrigued about how the social surroundings help musicians and music develop...new Orleans is a great example of another port town. Steel drum music is also a great example of situational development within the music and what was going on on a broader world stage. Love these little nuggets. Thanks!
Great comment
This is game 🔥
Man that swishing motion on the hi-hat is signature Ringo it's so weird and cool. Very cool lesson learned a ton from it
It really is a "vibe" type thing for sure
I’ve been doing that my whole life and I never realized that he did it as well
I was taught that the "swishing" motion on the hi hat was a jazz technique that acted as a governor. After trying it, I realized that it works to help keep tempo consistent because I reached physical limitation of how fast that I could play. It helps as a signal to the musicians on stage with me that they are speeding up and I'm trying to hold them on tempo.
I wonder if it comes at least partially from him being left handed?
I heard Ringo did that because he was left handed and was playing a right handed drum set
I love the real early Beatles stuff where Ringo's hi hats are so dominant. That constant sound is what I think really propelled their songs along.
Agreed. Once it gets into the middle and late stuff his drum are inexplicably badly mixed
"It's the nuance that makes the magic." Yes! Absolutely!
As a non Drummer, I am particularly impressed by Ringo's drumming on Ticket to Ride, it appears to be an exercise in restraint.
Much of Ringo's playing is an exercise in restraint.
It gives songs a beautiful tension, doesn't it?
Perhaps I missed it, but an important part of Ringo’s playing, particularly fills and tom patterns came from his left hand lead. He is left handed but plays a standard right hand drum set.
You are correct sir! 👍
Did you notice how Stephen Taylor ran the tom tom's fills starting left handed in Come Together. Although it seems he started the hi-hats fill with his right. I've done it that way, I found it easier for me just starting left from the very beginning.
exactly
He also played from the floor Tom up to the high Tom on come together. Ringo explained this in a video I saw on TH-cam.
@@TheSassail Thanks Steve, Appreciate your observations. Seeing The Beatles playing on The Ed Sullivan Show was very exciting.
All the girls were screaming for the guys up front, who sang and played so well together, but the guy in the back gave the songs movement.
I just wanted to jump up and bounce along ... drummers provide a solid framework that gives the music motion.
Tap your foot, clap your hands, snap your fingsers, bob your head, dance, feel the rhythm, but don't sit still ...
Any criticism of Ringo ignores that the crucial role of a drummer is to keep time AND serve the song. And Ringo perfectly served some of the greatest songs ever written and performed.
So why did George Martin insist on session drummers? Do you still believe that Ringo played on please please me, and up to the early recordings? Drums leave a trademark. Listen to the fluidity of motion on day tripper, that's not him!
@@dongiron8879 i don't have any evidence of George Martin using session drummers on any specific song: do you?
@@musamusashiAndy White in love me do, but it was only in this song!
@@dongiron8879According to information, Martin only used a session drummer on the first song, love me do, because Ringo still had no experience playing in the studio, but this was the only time, all the other recordings it was Ringo!
I LUV Ringo Star. As a drummer-- I'm always afraid of playing beats that are too similar (one song sounding exactly like the next). Ringo was a master at finding that perfect beat totally unique to the tune being played and totally distinct from any other song on the band's roster. It's part of the reason why the Beatles had so many hits. None of their music ever sounded routine or repetitive. Another great drummer who hardly ever gets any credit is John Densmore of the Doors. Super unique and interesting Jazz rhythms.
Love John Densmore. Powerful drummer as well.
Nice one Stephen!
Ringo is the drummer who got me interested in playing the drums.
I remember seeing The Beatles on TV in 1963. Ringo was having so much fun up there and I think he was the 1st drummer to have his drums set up on a drum riser..
So cool..
Massive respect to Ringo...
The human metronome!
A great timekeeper with tasty fills always in the right place....
Me too I started playing drums because of Ringo
Me too! Before the Ed Sullivan Show on 9th February 1964, I wanted to be a Gemini astronaut. After that night, I wanted to be a drummer!
Ringo wasn't just a drummer he was very percussive where he wouldn't just play straight beats but lots of accents, breaks and fills......and left handed playing a right handed kit...absolute genius 🤘😁🤘
This is so cool to see Ringo's genius layed out in such a way a that a non-musician can get it. Ringo's contribution to the music was priceless.
Ringo's playing style is so simple but it fits so well. No overplaying, just perfectly placed accents
Love the breakdowns and the history lessons here!
I have a feeling buddy rich, Thomas Lang and Steve gadd can all play super simple beats that fit super simple music. The difference between them and ringo is that the former can play so much that ringo can’t.
@@ghiblinerd6196 While I am sure that no one of these - nonetheless fantastic - drummers could have made all those great songs SOUND as Ringo did.
@@ghiblinerd6196None of them had the feel Ringo did though. No drummer did.
@@JacieNicholson I just never understood the obsession. His playing on rain is sloppy as hell and everyone puts guys like him, Jim keltner and Dave grohl up on a pedestal.
@@ghiblinerd6196 Ok you don't know anything about drumming lol
According to Mark Lewisohn's "Sessions", Ringo never missed a beat, and no Beatles "take" broke down because of him.
George Martin was able to splice together multiple takes of the same song into one because Ringo was so accurate take to take
There’s a blown take from the White Album sessions where the bass drum beater got stuck in Ringo’s bellbottoms. When he mentioned that it kept happening John squealed “TAKE EM OFF!” from across the room.
@@averyetvspecial1487 Nice one. Thanks!
Come on,don’t try to make out he was a technician on the drums.He weren’t,probably Paul done most of it anyway.
@@alfching2499 - it wasn’t that he was “technical” i believe was the word you were trying to use but failed miserably, it was two things: one he kept good time and two he was inventive, musical on the drums. Something that is often over looked or not done very much in the world of drummers is being musical. Also just because Paul played a couple of drum parts on the white album when Ringo walked off don’t mean he was a better drummer cos he wasn’t.
Ringo was such an influential drummer, Phil Rudd from AC/DC credits him for his feel 😳😳👍🏽❤️
I work in Liverpool, later generation but I worked with the older players and they're REALLY hard work. They are SO exact in that beat approach. They don't mind what you play but you HAVE to get it right for THEM. Lovely guys every one & still playing. They ALL know the Beatles. I think I'm the only one that doesn't in this city. I've worked with members of the Mojos, Crying Shames, The Undertakers as a fill in drummer. One thing they have in common as did all the 1960s players is the same experimental approach as the Beatles and a deep knowledge of music and what they do with it. (You would not believe who signed the Beatles autographs after they snuck out the back door of Abbey Rd) At the time of Sgt Peppers it sounds to me they made a sampler album for post pop music careers. There's everything there. Vaudeville, theatre, psychedelia, story songs, drama. It was them saying kick us out and we can do THIS. But it didn't stop. And that rooftop gig. That there is the best British blues band bar none. That was them saying now we can do anything WE want. And they did. It's a wonderful life. Be well.
A lot of Ringo's style came from the fact he was left handed but played as a righty. Because of this he set up his kit differently than other trained drummers, and played his fills from left to right. He also played match-stick (what would become known as "rock" drumming) at a time when almost all drummers played traditional "jazz" style.
ABSOLUELY! Ringo's ability to vary the beat was incredible. Human music, not computer
The Beatles are the best and most influential Band of all times.
This is one of your best videos. Nobody seems to mention that the drum beat in Ticket to Ride mirrors the guitar riff. It didn't come out of nowhere... and it evolves the way it does because the guitar riff is not emphasized so much later in the tune, starting after the first bridge. You can hear Ringo thinking... "Well, he's not playing it, so I might as well straighten this s__t out..." ;-)
Agree! You're wise to recreate the process! You're a drummer? If you are, i have some questions on the item to you! What about the tendency of permanent slowing down the tempo thru out the most of the songs, altho you never even feel it and a song never loses its drive and emphasis? For example: SheLovesYou(bpm161-146),RollOverBeethoven(170-160),AndIloveHer(120-112),Boys(151-141) ...and many many other songs! I think it's a paradox of the Beatles! Most of the drummers have a tendency to speed up the tempo, specially in the early days of rocknroll.
i am 65 and have retired, just learning and my instructors has me working on In My Life. My 2nd song in.
Welcome to the drum fam!
Get Together has almost has the same drum beat.
@@jasonpp1973 Cool. Yes I hear it. Now listening to music a little differently.
Thanks for this. I've always maintained that Ringo was a far more creative and better drummer than a lot of people give him credit for and I think you've proved that in this video. Entertaining and informative as always, it's one of the reasons I think your tutorials & videos are the best.
Thanks!
Thx so much for a great video! I’ve often thought that All My Loving might be the best example of their collective musicianship, certainly from their early phase. Ringo’s tight wire drumming, George’s Chet-influenced solo, Paul’s sweet walking bassline & John’s sick triplet rhythm part makes for a complete showcase in my opinion!
AGREED!!!
My favorite drum was always “In my life”; once I figured it out it was fun to play.
What makes Ringo a Great Drummer - Tribute by Sina does a great job of explaining and demonstrating Ringo's style and beats.
6:26 - No! The Beatles were NOT "just a part of a larger musical movement..." They WERE the musical movement. They STARTED the movement, which literally changed the world. NO other musical group or singer (apart from Elvis Presley a decade earlier) had this force. Had the Beatles never happened, the world - especially the music world and culture - would be dramatically different today in ways we can never know. I know: I was there in 1964 and witnessed the "British Invasion" - led by The Beatles - that literally almost overnight began the revolution by switching the pop music center of the world from the USA, to the UK. Yes, The Beatles. No one else.
Ok...I'm with you. The Beatles tipped the boat for sure. BUT...we simply cannot discount those that came before them and paved the way for them to so smoothly take over the US charts...groups and artists like Lonnie Donegan, Vera Lynn, Laurie London, Hayley Mills, Kenny Ball, and a slew of others. Again, I agree that the Beatles tipped the scale...but the market had been primed for that. And groups like The Zombies, The Rolling Stones, Herman's Hermits, etc. all had a huge impact in the mid 60s as well. But I'm with you...there is always the BIG band of an era, and the Beatles were that for the mid 60s...although...The Rolling Stones...they're pretty huge and still going
Well there were also the black artists which both the Beatles and Elvis stole from
@@jefflh11237 young man, I actually lived and experienced that decade...... It's actually more than that, let me tell you..
. My grand children introduced me to the Beatles back in 1965 when I was in hospital on my deathbed and their music made me walk again...
Today I run a successful gym who skydives and wrestles sharks!! 🦈💪
So BAM!!!
You just gonna ignore the many huge movements in black music that influenced the all of rock and the Beatles? Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Bo Diddley, Arthur Alexander etc. The Beatles were bug game changers in many ways, but let's not forget they moat definitely were NOT created in a vacuum
@@horsepuncher95 I totally agree.. To the Beatles credit they sited all of those influential black artist as MAJOR inspirations for their work.. You see countless interviews where all 4 Beatles praise Chuck Berry, Little Richard etc. In fact because of this the Beatles were responsible for increasing their album sales and gaining the recognition they deserved.... 👍👍👍
I'm not even a drummer but I found this fascinating and I'm looking forward to watching more of your videos :)
THE BEATLES best that ever was! Disagree? Hey it's 2021 & we are still talking about them
Yeah because 50 years from now artist will still do a cover of a Beatles song, that is why
Ringo has been severely underrated.... he was perfect for the Beatles!
"Things We Said Today" was always my favorite display of Ringo genius.
Yep my era , Ringo is a great drummer , south paw but his style was and is one in a million.No Buddy Rich but unbelievable. I saw them in person once.
Ringo is why I play drums. Also why I love cymbals. The Beatles recorded the drums and CYMBALS so damn well. Love!!!
Stephen, great video about Ringo and the Beatles. I am a certified Beatle freak. One thing about your video is that you did not mention that Ringo is left handed playing a right handed kit. Also, that is why his fills were not necessarily conventional drums fills. They always sounded a little different. For example, on Come Together, the drum pattern is going from the low tom to the high tom instead of the other way around. Anyway, love your drum tutorials. Great job at that, plus you are a terrific drum teacher and player.
Love Ringo and I'm happy to see serious musicians take notice Ringo was actually far better that just a support member. His drumming in many songs takes such front stage he should have been credited as co-witter. Without Ring the Beatles would not have achieve as much as they did.
Tomorrow Never Knows is a study in minimalism. I'm not a drummer, but that simple beat hits me emotionally like a truck every time. Instantly chills me out.
I am not a drummer but this was obviously full of insight and generosity and I reckon I got the message. Thanks a lot!
Thank you for including "Act Naturally". Great Video!
My top 10:
1° I Want You (She's so heavy)
2° Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds
3° I Me Mine
4° Twist and Shout
5° Maxwell's Silver Hammer
6° Helter Skelter
7° A Day in the Life
8° You Never Give Me Your Money
9° Don't Let Me Down
10° Honey Pie
Thanks for not claiming that Ringo’s drum part in TNK was a loop. Some people assume that but if you put a click to it throughout the song, you’ll find that the tempo ebbs and flows
I believe the biggest skill of Ringo’s was letting the band really SPEAK. A lot say he’s vanilla, but switching the kit around to play right handed wouldn’t be easy. I tried to switching left once. Didn’t work out. To play as well as he did with his non-dominant hand would took skill.
Edit: can you do a band like Weezer or the Stones in the future? I’d like to see more rock and roll beats like those!
One of the greatest to ever do it. One of the most underestimated artists of all time.
Great video, switching back and forth between Ringo and how most people would play it so quickly is a great illustration and why so many Beatle covers just aren’t quite right
Check him singing and playing drums on the Buck Owen's classic, 'Act Naturally.' Find the live version of course. The way he lays down the groove and puts the perfect vocal track on top would make Phil Collins and Levon Helm proud.
One of the reasons I was hooked by this band back in the days is because of Ringo's drumming style❤
The most listened to musical performers of all time......I'd suggest listening to every single beat, every note, every accent, every dotted 1/8 rest. And BTW Ringo is one of the funniest people on earth as well.
Ringo planned his parts AFTER giving a thorough listening to the song even from the time of it being created. To me, he appeared to be the most focused Beatle who first listened attentively and then created something that others were forced to take a note of.
I LOVE RINGO!!!!!! His style is incredibly unique and totally distinctive. As a new drummer I can't get enough!
13:30 the Beatles recorded 1 cover song after Act Naturally and it was Maggie Mae
Oh yeah!!!😃👍☮️❤️
What about till there was you?
@@Bigfartss that song was on With The Beatles, Act Naturally was on Help! Maggie Mae was on Let It Be
@@Bigfartss till there was you is from 63. way before act naturally
Ringo is the greatest!!! Thanks for giving me a lifetime of fun and part time job as YOU!
Stephen, once again your excellent teaching abilities shine through. Thanks for Breaking these beats down in allowing us to see, hear, read, and feel those Ringo rhythms.
Thanks Steven, Great video! One thing I wanted to mention was that on Come Together, Ringo actually explained that he flows UP the toms from floor to rack, rather than down the toms from rack to floor, due to the fact he was left handed. See video link here at 2:14: th-cam.com/video/vl9188EPdLI/w-d-xo.html It's the bass guitar that gives it that feel of a descending notation. Although most players you see playing this song do play it high to low. Ringo is truly a drumming legend and anyone who disrespects his playing is just plain wrong. Thanks for all the great lessons!
Ringo's drumming fascinated me already at the age of five...I had no clue about drumming but his style was so different and he held the pace so constant and perfect! Just listen how other, even actually good drummers sometimes messed up even studio recordings (e.g. Chris Curtis' work on "Sweets For My Sweet", which is so irregular!) Ringo I immediately could distinguish from any other and so he made me wanna become a drummer too. My favourite Ringo beat is on "She said She Said"
Great video, Stephen! One of the greatest bands ever, and one of the most influential drummers ever! Have you ever seen Ringo's demonstration of how he played Come Together? He actually starts on the floor tom and moves up to the rack tom, not the other way around. Apparently, it is because he's a lefty playing a right handed kit and it was easier for him to do this fill moving from right to left, instead of left to right. Check out the video by searching, "Ringo Starr Shows How to play Ticket to Ride, Come Together and Back off Boogaloo."
On the record he plays high to low but with a left hand lead. Sometimes in live performances he plays low to high.
I think you and this content are awesome. I must mention that Ringo is left handed and he played Come together on a TV interview and showed the intro drums go ride, hi hat and begins on the lowest floor tom and goes right to left ending on the rack tom. Was no fun for me to master. Thanks again.
The explanation about "Ticket To Ride"'s (lack of) pattern was magnificent. Thanks!
Thank you...dissecting Ringo's drum patterns has helped me learn how really great he is.
THANKS for addressing that change in the flams-rythm on Ticket to Ride! I've often wondered why Ringo changed it up like that mid-way through. When I listen to live performances he always seems to carry that first (syncopated) timing throughout the song. I like that much better and it's how I used to play it too. ;-) Great video- thanks for posting this.
Hi Stephen. I thought everything had already been told about the Beatles in general and Ringo musicality in particular. But in this video you managed to help me to get more accurately what is so unique and innovative in this unfairly underrated art of drumming. Thank you !
Glad you dug!
The Tomorrow Never knows groove uses a rim-shot on the tom! It doesn't feel the same without it. Also, Come Together starts with the low toms and works its way up, not starting at the high tom.
Great lesson and love the little factoids popping up. It's fascinating just how much of Ringo's "vibe" comes from that hi hat technique. I saw a video where Greg Bisonette was saying the exact same thing, so subtle but immediately recognisable.
I always thought that he was playing a hi-hat in the song Something, and it's one of the reasons I loved playing that fill! I can't believe this... my whole life is a lie...
ACCORDING to ringo on come together its not ascending its a descending starting on the floor tom up to the rack. He said he did it this way because of him being left handed.
On the record he plays high to low but with a left hand lead. Sometimes in live performances he plays low to high.
Many musicians think Beatles music is easy to play but very few can play it and do it justice.
Really loved this video buddy. I’m a guitarist, massive beatles fan, and a massive ringo fan. Your video is very interesting, and your drums and drumming sound great. Much love from Sheffield UK.
Was hoping you would have put Rain on the list ..the fills sort of make up the beat as well ....
Excellent video Stephen, as a huge Beatles fan I still learnt quite a lot! Your drumming is absolutely amazing, I could’ve spent ages listening to it! You have also done Ringo very proud! Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End is actually my favourite Beatles song of all time!!!!😃👍☮️❤️
Thank you!
This is such an excellent video. I love how you broke down each beat and gave a history behind it and how to play and why. Thank you.
Thanks!
Hey Stephen,
so wonderful to see you covering the unique & innovative drumming of Ringo. Thank you!
Early on in my YT career I covered over 160 songs of The Beatles because I grew up with this music as I was one of thousands of guys who became musicians due to witnessing seeing Ringo and the group live on TV back in February 11th 1964.
Unfortunately after late 2015 those Beatles drum cover videos became blocked on YT after a switch in publisher ownership and sale of their catalog online.
You're a pretty damn good drummer yourself too dude, Ringo wasn't just a drummer, he was magic.
I thought you were going to mention the Ringo solo transition from "Carry That Weight" to "The End". One of my faves.
Mine too!
Great lesson man! You nailed all the grooves. I've seen so many drummers playing Beatles without the Ringo feel and they waste the songs.
I have never learned so much about drums! I know that it had its music theory but the way this dude explained everything made sense! I’m a rookie at guitar but it helps
Thanks 👍 I'm practicing !!! Seventy n still rockin my drumset !!! I m always teachable n still working on getting my band THE LOKALS together !!! Drumming in Vermont !!! Woohoo !!
After watching Get Back, came to this conclusion. Ringo is a magical, drum machine that works without fail.
I like drummers that play for the song, not for other drummers envy. Ringo is the man.
As someone else commented, Ringo was Left Handed , playing on a Right Handed drum set. He talked about that on David Letterman appearance (I Think it was Letterman?), he would roll around the drums from left to right against the Grain so to Speak.
I love the super nerdy stuff like this that really digs deep! I've heard Ringo talk about his backbeat being a little late because he was left-handed, but played on a right-handed drum kit. Ringo claims "the genius" was, he just couldn't get back to the snare in time...lol. (Great stuff thanks Stephen)
Ringo truly was the *Beat* in Beatles.
Help was always my nemesis, I could just never figure out what groove Ringo was playing, even the film footage of him playing this tune really doesn’t show what he was actually playing.
Great video Stephen, the tips on the screen were a very nice touch.
Come together was actually low tom to high tom and Ringo admitted doing that because he was a left handed drummer on a right handed drumset and he didn't know how to reverse it (lacked training in the rudiments which a well executed paradiddle could have remedied) The Beatles are my favorite band, and many Ringo's drum beats are iconic. But nothing any High Schooler couldn't do. (at least all in my school, including me could) Before you go bashing me, I have a music degree with percussion as my major instrument so yeah, I know what I'm talking about. Still, you gotta love Ringo. I know I do.
You should do the top 5 Jeff Porcaro Drum Beats
Rosanna, Africa, Black Friday, My Gold Teeth 2, and Gaucho.
Revolver is my favorite Beatles album…often reminded why that is.
I Feel Fine is almost a samba kind of. Lately I seem to notice a similarity between Ticket To Ride and She’s Not There by the Zombies . Hugh Grundy is very underrated as is The Zombies in general.
Stephen, Come Together is an ascending tom pattern. Watch Ringo play it sometime.
This is fantastic! Thank you, Stephen! A Day in The Life has a great drum groove as well! Have you done any videos on Alex Van Halen? He has killer grooves, like Outta Love again, House of Pain, etc...
That's such a great song and groove. Haven't done van Halen...yet...
Great Vid, Thanks for Posting! I Think Most People are Unaware of How Good Ringo Really Was/Is, He Wasn't Flashy, He Didn't Need To Be, For The Reasons You Stated. And Thanks For Mentioning The Jazz Drummers of The Era - Guys Like Art Blakey, and Kenny Clarke ( Who Basically Invented Keeping Time on the Ride Cymbal ) are Criminally Underappreciated IMO....
Good take on them, it could be helpful to young drummers wanting to play them. One things I disagree with. Ticket to ride was not a flam, he was hitting both sticks at the same time. I got that from Ringo on a video where he explains it. Also on come together he is going from the floor tom to the ride tom, he said he did it that way because he is a left handed drummer playing on a right handed kit. My 72 year old brother was in a band when the Beatles were popular. He taught me how to play all those beats then. You have a pretty good take on them.
His work on hi hat is underated
Close, mid close, opened...
Listen to "with a little help from my friend" while my guitar gently weeps
And all rooftop songs
Best hi hats rock ever.
Very very insightful analysis. Ringo was a genius - all the while being a left handed person playing right handed drum parts. Thanks for the video
Two songs that should have been included, a day in the life and rain when it comes to great drumming, honorable mention for what your doing for the drum solo intro
Rain is soooo damn good. The drums and bass in that song are inseparable
Character is so important with drumming. I have not ever heard this mentioned directly. Character, such as humility, selflessness, service. How many drummers are showy, egotistical, flashy, attention seeking ? How many make sure you are conscious of them ? How many are genuinely humble ? Not 'in your face' but content to blend in to the music, complementing it, enhancing it, weaving their magic unobtrusively, even unnoticed ? Ringo served the other three Beatles and their musical compositions in a way that is so very rare. Most drummers if not all would have been a bad fit for the Beatles, it would never have worked, because most do not possess the character of Ringo. He is a sensitive drum artist of rare high character. He was perfect for the most brilliant and influential band of all time.
Great stuff. Could have watched hours of it. 👍🏻👍🏻 love Ringo . So underrated.
On “ticket to ride”, the 1st snare flam, 1stick does rimshot, other stick hits center of head. 2nd snare flam is both sticks hit center of head.
Excellent breakdown of the subtleties of Ticket to Ride
I was waiting for him to sing “Act Naturally” too!
Ha!
Such a great review and effort. Ringo is always underrated.
Great beats, I'm gonna go practice! By the way, I love the editing on this video. Really clean and the trivia and sound effects give this a VH1 feel which I think is neat!
Thanks! I'm trying to up the edit quality and do some different things.
I’m going to practice as well!
I randomly stumbled upon this video after I happened to purchase a couple nice cymbals after doing a lot of research to make sure that my investment was sound, as nice cymbals are quite expensive. I noticed that your cymbals, and probably the way you’re recording them, sound very nice, even through iPhone speakers!
Thank you!