How to be more than just "The Drummer"

There's a joke that goes
Q: what's the last thing the drummer said before he was kicked out of his band?
A: hey guys, I've been writing a few songs. 

     Now although their are many examples of drummers writing songs in various 
bands, in more case than not, the drummer sits silent waiting to sprinkle his 
flavor onto a song that is a semi finished state of being 
    This doesn't have to be these case and probably shouldn't be either. 
Recently i was interviewed by Eric Kamm in DRUM magazine which touched on this 
very topic (Drummers who write/Danny Thompson) As a drummer you have a unique perspective on 

what's happening in a given song. From our listening vantage point we often 
times are in a much better position to notice issues within a given song. I am 
quite often the one to comment on a guitar being out of tune or someone singing 
flat . Now these things don't necessarily make you qualified to all of sudden 
be claiming creative control on your bands next recording, however they are a 
great jumping off point to being more involved in the overall process. 
Before we dice into songwriting let's touch on some other ways you can be more 
involved with the creative process. 
Arranging is a great place to start. Listen to other people's music from a 
vantage point of arrangement. Versed to pre- chorus back to verse and then 
pre-chorus into actual big money chorus. That's the arrangement of the song in a 
very simple form. Your input into how to create an intro for the song based 
around a feel change from the chorus groove or how to flow in and out of a 
bridge are just two examples of how you can influence arrangements. Study the 
masters ( beetles) and take ideas from them. They have hit songs for a reason. 
Don't know where to go with a song? Say to yourself " what would xyz do here" 
      Production is another great area for drummers to expand their base of 
influence. There is a reason that so many good recording engineers are drummers 
. Drummers nature are very good listeners. Although most drummers posses a 
strong creative side, they also have a more pragmatic thought process than say 
the "tortured artist" song writer. 
  Take Rush for example. Neil Peart being a primary song writer in that band. 
Rush is very well thought out and planned " math Rock" . Catchy for sure and 
very well produced, the songs and drum parts are well planned and executed.  
That's not to say that all the members of Rush aren't artistic or exceptionally 
creative, it's just a different starting point than say nirvana. Clearly a more 
artistic approach to start and then being crafted through arrangement and 
production into hit songs. That pragmatic thought process can make you great at 
using recording equipment and digital studio set ups 
      Do you know how to use pro tools or a similar recording format? Get 
yourself invvednin in learning how to use this gear and again make yourself more 
valuable to the overall process. 
      This brings us to actual song writing. What is actually involved in 
songwriting? There music, lyrics and melody. There's many small details to it 
but u think these are the big 3. 
     Most people starting out in songwriting will either start with music or 
lyrics. That's not always the case and of course there are no rules but for most 
people, melody is the toughest part. 
    Let me mention here that you do not need to feel like you have to be able to 
play piano or guitar with a similar ability as you play drums. It would be nice 
and very helpful in the process but only a small amount of understanding is all 
you need to get started. Through the use of digital recording technology you can 
construct a song one chord at a time if needed, purely  by ear. Or take a some 
guitar or piano lessons so you can really take it to the next level. Most likely 
as you start writing songs you will want that knowledge but you don't have to 
wait to get started writing
     There are also song writing classes and workshops offered at music schools 
and colleges . These would also be a great way to really jump in full steam to 
the song writing process

Here is a very simple exercise to get started 
   You will need a guitar or keyboard, a chord book, a drum machine and a simple 
recording device. Your smart phone most likely has an app for both recording for 
the drum machine element. Actually there is probably a keyboard app as well.  
     Start with the music. Put a drum beat together. One beat, nice and simple. 
Think ac/dc here. Put some chords together that will be your verse. Now do the 
same for a chorus. Record this verse chorus pattern several times over. Now 
let's move on to basic melody. One piece at a time here. Let's just try to come 
up with a verse melody. Don't worry about words. Just him or say any words or 
use words from another song. When I played in Material Issue, Jim would quite 
often sings the words to one of his other songs when we were writing new 
material. 
    This is a good time to talk about the song style. At this point don't try to 
write in a particular style. Punk,metal , pop etc. Just write and let it happen. 
If you are a metal fan but your song is sounding country, go with it. As you 
become more experienced you will gravitate to your style. For the purpose of 
this exercise we just want to finish a song. 
     Record your melody parts over the music. 
   Are you hearing a melody that doesn't fit with one of the chord changes? 
That's ok, let's see if you can change that one chord to make it work. 
    After you have established tour melody and chord structure you can start 
working on the lyrics . For me this is the toughest part. A big mistake new song 
writers make is to be too literal in their attempts at lyrics. Try to avoid 
this unless you are writing a country song, in which case just tell a story  
     As you put your parts together you will discover whether or not your chord 
progressions making up your verses and choruses are te right length. Adjust them 
as needed to fit tour lyrical melody. 
     Now let's do one last simple thing. See if you can augment a chorus part to 
use it as an intro to your song. After that let's make that last chorus go twice 
as long as the others
  Record it all and call it a song. It most likely won't be the Wall or 2112 but 
it's a place to start. 
     Start studying and practicing now. My personal goal is to have one song on 
the next face to face cd. We shall see.  

     Drummers who write/Danny Thompson      http://www.drummagazine.com/