Todd Sucherman Drum Solo Composition at Drumeo 2022

In 2022 I performed a drum solo composition while I was at Drumeo that touched on a few themes. The beginning and ending themes are flams phrased 5-5-3-3, 5-5-3-3. The idea was to then take a trip to a few different landscapes and then return home to the main theme. I hope you enjoy the full six minute piece!

[@BaconIsNotBiceps]

Herein lay the line between good and great. I can count on one hand the amount of drummers whose solos I can sit through from start finish - Weckl being one, Dicenso being another, Smith being another, Sucherman being another. These are musical soloist which is very rare. They build upon a theme and take you through hills and valleys with their storytelling abilities. This is just another in a long list of masterpieces by Todd. No shocker whatsoever from the master.

[@nickgiron3573]

So totally agree. I played drums 55+ years and drum solos bore me. This is musicality on display. Just as you said, storytelling. There's a narrative he follows that's set up in his phrasing. Each new phrase reveals more of the story with his variations. Masterful

[@Prog4Prog]

I’d add maestro Simon Phillips to this awesome list too!

[@thomaschesterfield9459]

The other thing 5:30 to notice is he is playing with traditional grip and not a strong grip. A rarity with someone soloing. I have to agree as a drummer for almost 50 years drum solos bore me too. This solo is an education on how to solo. I would add Neil Peart as someone I could watch/hear solo all day.

[@kriskollmar9728]

Peart?

[@BaconIsNotBiceps]

@@Prog4Prog Absolutely agree. Simon is one of my all-time favorite drummers.

[@Keith_KC8TCQ]

Nothing i enjoy more than a well-structured solo that is musical in nature.

[@user-iv1hd6ex2l]

This is a real complete piece of music, not just a drum solo.

[@Tomtamo1]

Todd is one of my favorite drummers of all time.

[@FAKusch]

This guy is next level in terms of power, dynamics, touch, technique, and musical story-telling.

[@JasonBock]

This is what makes a drum solo interesting. Different beats, different dynamics - it makes it engaging.

[@Vor_Tex_Sun]

Yes, and he uses the drums as a tonal instrument. With dynamics and musicality

[@jasonsmouse6570]

This isn't a drum solo, it's a musical composition executed perfectly

[@lhprimate69]

Thank goodness for a drum solo that is enjoyable for drummers to watch. Usually I can't stand to watch 2 minutes of a drum solo. I watched this one twice in a row. Also, the drums sound absolutely amazing!

[@lucantonin2650]

I'm discovering this drummer today on this solo, and although the man be praised for his complete array of techniques, skills and chops, there is one quality above all else that stands out when listening to him: Extraordinary musicality, the ability to blend colors, stories, phrases together! The man tells us a wonderful story through his drumset and chops, with mastery and magic... You can see that's it's all in him, within him, and from him... Amazing! Drum solos can be so boring (very often), but listening to Todd Sucherman was a delight from beginning to end!

[@stevenfederico2594]

This is what you can do when your drums have tonality and it’s actually a musical instrument instead of having them tuned where it sounds like you’re hitting a mattress this is how drums should sound

[@Michael-xw4er]

Wow what a drummer! Long drum solos can often get boring but this one had composition, musicality, dynamics and power that kept me riveted right till the end!

[@chrisglover4102]

He never ventured from the groove! Fricking loved that! Great solo!

[@jamescaliendo1030]

No one solos like Todd. He takes years of percussive studies, and rudiments and turns it into a beautiful musical symphony that warms your inner soul and gets your feet tapping at the same time! Love watching him play!!!

[@alkingborn4620]

I love your playing Todd. The perfect blend of musicality, technique, finesse, power. This solo should be taught in any drumming academy. You percussive approach reminds one of my favourite drummers ever: Phil Collins. Well done my friend!

[@scottyahney8565]

one of the most musical drummers on the planet..........thank you todd for your impeccable skillz on your amazing sounding kit !!!!

[@agustinferrari64]

Hello dear Todd!! I'm Agustín from Chacabuco (Buenos Aires, Argentina). I admire you sooo much, you are such a great inspiration!! Master Drummer, awesome technique, very musical, with good taste and creativity! A send you a big hug!

[@lemigrant]

thats how every drum should sound. Great mix.

[@Rythym4god]

Telling a musical “story” is what separates a great solo apart Well done sir!

[@aluzionsimql7335]

Hands down. The best solo I have ever witnessed 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@markmasztal2253]

Fantastic!. Love the three floor toms and the orchestral bass drum.

[@Joshezellentrepreneur]

So musical, this is a musical journey. It makes sense, is all over the place, and keeps us engaged. This is true drumming mastery. Love it!

[@luvmedrums4057]

It's Title a Composition.Hes telling a story,that's what I here.Idk how this one slipped by me.Happy it popped up.Todd,thanks for sharing your knowledge not just of the drums,also of how to be a working drummer. Drumeo thank you

[@miodragradovic2794]

This is, exactly, what drum solo is all about! Thank you Mr. Sucherman!👍👍👍👍👍👍

[@ArchieBC]

That is how an artist composes a solo. Bravo, Todd!

[@dkelban]

GREAT drumming: great tone, melodic patterns, and not repetitious... endlessly creative.

[@francescodante4275]

Maybe an underrated drummer, but for me one of the most musical ones. Congratulations from Italy 👍👏👏👏 I really like your drumming

[@robertogentile8374]

Finalmemte un solo bello,tecnico,di gusto,quasi da canticchiare,mai banale,dinamico.Finalmente,non il classico solo della serie "adesso vi faccio sentire quanto sono veloce" rullate su rullate casse sparate a velocità super.no,preferisco i soli come questo dove c'è un uso del gusto e della melodia.Bravissimo.🥁👍

[@sanityinaseaofmadness7353]

This is simply a great song. Yeah, it's a drum solo, but the composition and voicing making it genuinely fun to listen to. What really sells this (for me) is that while impressive technique/licks were necessary to play some of the parts, they took a backseat to the music. Kudos, Todd; this is fantastic.

[@woodshed_moments]

All with no double pedal, 😮 nice... I like the way that he waited several bars before he added the first symbol accent in the form of the Bell first.... and then two bars later and you get that crack from a couple of splash cymbals, this guy is nuanced, fun to listen to

[@kevsta67]

saw him play with the band Styx at the Beacon Theater in Manhattan in 2023. fantastic drummer.

[@user-ke8mp4zf7i]

Todd is definitely a top notch drummer! Everything he plays is so creative and appropriate

[@ladyshiva69]

sound of the drums sound nice and deep

[@dhoop4052]

Amazing. There’s only 2 drummers that blow me away. Todd and Eric.

[@Augfordpdoggie]

not even remotely blown away by this

[@Idiot_stick]

@@Augfordpdoggie 👆🏻being that guy

[@Frontdesk99]

@@Augfordpdoggie Where's your earth-shattering video?

[@yusufsupriyadi9406]

So captivated . . Nice drum solo, Uncle Todd 👍👏👏👏

[@yusufsupriyadi9406]

I'm sorry I don't use Telegram

[@actionfigureschannel]

Todd's phrasing and musicality in this solo is not something you see often. Salute sir!

[@JohnPaulsEuropa]

Great conversation Todd! ....all 6min of it!

[@gumby3057]

Drumming that sings a tune anyone can hear and move to. First rate!

[@scottrowland8295]

Todd your the man!!!!!

[@LanceCampeau]

This is one of the best drum solo recordings I've ever seen/heard. Everything is perfect, the playing, the tuning, the cymbal voices, the mix. Insanely good stuff here all around. I would LOVE to see you play something with Barbara Dennerlein. That would be a real treat.

[@CeeHimself]

And That Ladies And Gentleman Is How You Build Up An Excitin' Drum Solo! Them Big Boys Are Lights Ahead Of All These Social Media Drummers! Ps: I Hear Some Massive Simon Phillips And Steve Smith Influences, Brother Todd;

[@johnbolongo9978]

Tasty stuff....love the way he plays.

[@elseemi]

one of the grooviest solos i ever heard, nice done Todd! 😊🎉

[@MB-uw6eh]

He makes the drums sing, tap, march and dance and the lightning triplet fills electrify the thematic rhythms.

[@micheletripaldi1966]

It is a speach...not a only a fantastic drums solo! ;)

[@edellis515]

Great composition technique everything!!!!!!!!!

[@giuliodematteis1631]

❤Opptimum eccellent very good❤

[@Metragnome_Images]

One word.... BEAST!!!

[@Vor_Tex_Sun]

Todd, your dynamics and musicality are simply stunning. That's how you do a solo, using the drums as a musical instrument and bringing all your skills to the table

[@jameshall1648]

Incredible playing and tone of the drums. Very nice!

[@zildjianpearl23]

Awesome use of rudiments and musical phrasing! Great variety of sounds too!

[@Georgios-ft5nm]

Noch mehr als die grandiose Virtuosität des Schlagzeugers beeindruckt mich der satte Sound seines Schlagzeugs.

[@hotstix7014]

Excellent…. Done with taste and finesse

[@thiagodovaledrum]

Olha só, jogando um SAMBA no meio! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼🥁 🇧🇷

[@duanedamaceno]

É engraçado que a gente vê muitos bateras gringos valorizando o samba e vários daqui deixando de lado.

[@dlg521]

Pretty much says it all.........Perfection.

[@rickyvecchio7774]

Impecable musicalmente!!!!!

[@mwintersteinsmith]

Words fail me.... AWESOME! 😎

[@ddbyrd2001]

Speechless

[@mxracer158]

I can hear a little Neil Peart in there. I like he he's telling a story or painting a picture with his structure

[@dougcreekmore3930]

Talent, experience, imagination! And a traditional sticking style! Wow! He's great!

[@revyu6754]

Go Todd! Great! That was pretty damn masterful.

[@Yuuki-PUREI]

Todd makes the drums sing. Very happy to hear it. 🥁🎶🎧

[@gd7561]

Brilliant work amigo!!! Inventive and fascinating solo, an epic journey!!!

[@gd7561]

I don't have Telegram, my friend, but listening to your solo is an inspiration!!! Simply brilliant and inventive display of drum mastery!!!

[@scottrowland8295]

Todd your the man. NICE

[@James-pl4bu]

Watching videos like this inspires me to run down stairs and flam myself into a coma. Beautiful job 👏 also in the future if you could break a sweat it would be dope 😉

[@tor2112]

Absolutely phenomenal! Perfect display of technique and musicality. Todd is one of the greatest ever!

[@drumschool950]

Questo non è un solo di Batteria, è un racconto passionale straordinario. Grande, grandissimo.

[@fabriciochispim]

He takes the samba and make this over great! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

[@kpec3]

So clean when he he does fills that alternate between bd and hands. Just awesome.

[@stevenjones618]

This guy and Simon Philips should have a sit down together.. such close in styles I like it

[@MrRezRising]

Man, I love those long sticks!

[@ThomasThunder]

Always amazing!

[@RodrigoMAlves1980]

Absolutely amazing

[@user-ez3kz4ml7e]

Great technique, musicality - doesn't get much better than this. Up there with the best ever!

[@tommysonnier9848]

I love Todd's solos. Like others have said here they tell a story each with a particular phrasing used as a home base throughout. All his solos start at that base phrasing and end with it using a distinct punctuation at conclusion. It's a musical journey!

[@edkrstic6423]

Thank you Todd. I love your commitment it shows every time I watch. ROCK ON DRUMMER BROTHER

[@Rocksoup77]

Definitely one of my favorite drummers to watch. The solos are very interesting and musical. Technique is abundant and clean.

[@GhANeC]

So tasty A drum kit sounding and being played like drum kits should sound and be played

[@stevefoutty530]

Music to my ears 💥🕺 Thanks to you and your crew for all the great content 👍😎

[@yoavdvash4141]

It's always fun to watch him playing. 👍👍👍

[@w4tkn]

I've never heard of this guy, this is magical.

[@walkerb1734]

Amzing work! Simply amazing!

[@natazer]

When I imagine what drums should sound like, it's this right here.

[@scottrowland8295]

World class art work at its best!!!!

[@rick3747]

Todd is my age. He has greyed nicely over the years. Todd to me as he gets older reminds me of the late Joe Morello and his love of playing and teaching drums. ❤

[@mikestern2drumz]

His drum sound is still one of my favorites... His creativity and imagination has no ceiling this piece is definitely alot more than a drum solo he really explains the drum kit in a language like no other...Amazing!! Beautiful work Todd... 🤟😎👌

[@hammerstonemusic]

Drummer, musician, teacher and overall good dude. Attended a clinic of his back before the shutdown from Covid. He had me raise my snare drum up about 3" and it made a huge difference in my snare technique...solving an issue I'd had with my left wrist for years.

[@wladimirfighera1999]

Que maravilha de solo. Com ingredientes de samba! Parabéns mestre! Um dos maiores bateristas do mundo! Hug from Brasil 🤘

[@user-ye1co9tx1k]

Wow!! Amazing!!!

[@bensexton254]

That was one of the most musical and understandable drum solos I've ever heard. Thanks for sharing!

[@Timconnorsis]

always an inspiration watching you.

[@johnpastor1427]

Very captivating!

[@EdsonGW]

beautiful! Thank you for the inspiration!

[@wilkinsnl]

Holy hell!!! Todd, man, I’m just speechless

[@greengelacid2061]

Beautiful kit brother…it sounds amazing

[@sebastianorlando7275]

monumental!!!!

[@Marreroortiz]

AMAZING!

[@sweetpetenol7335]

It's so nice to watch you and hear this melody that you do so well with your drums. you are sublime…😀

[@stevewilcock4767]

Todd can swing! Perfect!

[@FazMaTaz]

So musical.

[@hendrixon]

I can sing-a-long with this. Great playing, it's a hit... 💥🥁🙂