THE WANTON SONG John Bonham Led Zeppelin Drums Terry Keating

[AllBallSports1]

...so this weeks to do list now includes ghost notes, thank you TK

[yonatawodi]

I couldn't agree more about keeping the bass drum less busy even though it's busy enough to begin with. If he overplayed the bass drum like it's misconceived by many, the groove wouldn't work like it does so well. The way the snare falls in the groove has that power that couldn't be better.

So again, good work my friend!

[angelacevedo2112]

dahnadalana fart! dahnadalanadada fart! lol funny guy

[spudseals]

:(

[drumr4hire]

Exactly what Bonham's "Kick" pattern is, in this song, is debatable up and down the board... and why we don't have any isolated drum track for THIS song, particularly, like we do for a few other 'Zep' tunes is beyond me! I play the kick pattern as you do, however I also play ghost notes on the "ee" of 1, and 2, and sometimes (as 'feel' dictates) on the "da" of 4. The ghost note played on the "ee" of 2 is what I believe gives the impression of all three notes being played with the foot....

[fatchoppers01]

love the vids . never realized how much ghost strokes Bonzo does to get his groove.

[dahMusicDude]

superb and entertaining lesson!

[LeopoldGold1]

If you really dig into this, you're going to hear a lot of ghost notes that almost everyone misses...they're not here either. Sounds cool though man! I'd like to throw my version on here and get some critique and maybe find some new approaches to it. This has always been one of my favorite Bonham grooves and his sound, as it almost always was, is incredible. I say "almost always" because a couple of tunes like "Heartbreaker" and "The Ocean" don't quite have that huge sound, but work great.

[drumr4hire]

@LeopoldGold1 -

Absolutely!! The ghost notes are what give the impression of all three notes ("ee" "an" & "da") being played on the kick! He ghost's the "ee" of 1 and 2... so "two"-"ee" is played on the snare, and following is "an"-"da" played with the foot. I think he also occasionally ghost's the "da" of 4, as feel dictates.... Search Drumrdude1973 (which is me) here on YouTube, check out my interpretation of this song, and let me know how it compares to what you play....

[BandanaBatman]

You're awesome

[ChoppiProductions]

Hey, im probably wrong or not hearing the bd notes, but in the recording i can only hear one bass drum note after the "2" on the snare. The bd note from my hearing is on the "a" of 2. Here it shows it is on the "and-a" of 2. What do you think?

[bonzoleum]

@ChoppiProductions That could be-especially in certain spots.. I've seen folks here on YT crowd up that part so that the "e-and-a" is all BD notes! Though that's difficult to play it's way too notey and definitely not what Bonham is doing. Putting just the BD note on the "a" works great. The guitars (both bass and reg) add the "e-and-a" filling, so it's difficult to nail it down every time.

[bonzoleum]

@cottonfever1221 I always say, I wasn't there when he laid the groove down so your opinion is as good as mine. I'd like to have a grasp of EQing tracks to emphasize/isolate the drums parts, but I'm a technical buffoon. Thanks for the info!

[cottonfever1221]

@bonzoleum No your not,you still carry the torch bro,did'nt mean to sound off color,I just am passionate about Zep,and few realize what Bonham did on most songs and I appologize if I was off,your doing a great job my bad

[bonzoleum]

@ChoppiProductions I just listened again to the recording and he definitely is playing it at times with just that "a". It's hard to say for sure about each and every time what he plays, and the frequencies of the guitars (both bass and reg) crowd that area. I do know that even in that I said before (above) about Bonham not doing the "e-and-a" AT ALL is too much to say too, as in the very intro it does sound like he crams all three notes in there once or twice!

[ChoppiProductions]

@bonzoleum hmm yea that clarifies things! thanks for your help, ill probably go try playing it the way this video shows :)

[TheDrumChannel]

Well I'm glad you cleared it up . Someone said I was doing it wrong. Sounds right to me. Great lesson

[bonzoleum]

@TheDrumChannel Thank you for the comment!

[lonegrooover]

Nice one, Terry, spot on as always. Completely agree about the simplicity, it's like "ghost notes" on the bass drum. Can you clarify what you mean about "two in the first verse" ?  . And I'm sure if they played it a lot live JHB would have done it differently every night.

[Bonzosbadgeholder]

You are playing that exactly right! He did some neat stuff in some of the rehearsal jams that were different, but the studio version is exactly what you described. Don't forget the cool snare drum part in the last verse before the ending. Feel my fire needs a brand new flame....

[jodgey4]

what snare is that? and are all of the drums in the back yours as well? great video, and thank you for addressing the muddiness of having too many notes - I couldn't agree more!

[sticksbass]

@jodgey4 i could. listen to lenard haze in 'come on over' or '25 hours a day', etc. 1st 2 albums. multible single bd notes but its bleeping awesome! even doing the 2 note thing for wanton [more appropriate since its kind of a theme w that occasional double kick note fill] sounds cluddered if its too loud for the rest of the volumes.

[bonzoleum]

@jodgey4 That is a Ludwig Standard snare from the early 70s. It is essentially an unbeaded 8 lug version of a Supraphonic. (Same gauge aluminum) Great drums!

All the drums are mine, but if I don't get rid of some soon I'll be sleeping on the sofa!

[sticksbass]

@jodgey4 i was just listening to a guitar cover of this and it sounds like jb was kicking 2 before the snare and 1 w the last note.

[jodgey4]

@sticksbass that's true for part of the song, but if you listen closely there is a quieter note after the snare and before the 'one' note you are hearing occasionally

[BassDude50000]

Awesome

[rhythmantic]

You got a great right foot. Good stuff. thanks.

[sticksbass]

yeah, i did the three notes since the rest of the instuments are even though i thought bonham did the 2 and it is much more comfortable just doing 2. i think it sounds fine either way as long as the bd isnt too loud for the rest of the music.

[cnewman99]

Yay I've been playing it right!