This guy is adding modern drums to classical melodies and creating legit masterpieces
17 August 2021, 11:05
‘The Barber of Seville’, but make it Phil Collins...
Some of the most inspired musical creations being produced in 2021 are coming from TikTok. Take the composer painstakingly setting every name to beautiful piano music, this full-blown Ratatouille musical created entirely by the TikTok community – and of course, sea shanties, which flooded the platform for months.
And here’s a new one. A drummer, stage name rat-trick, is taking masterpieces from the classical world and adding a modern drum line.
Patrick Santos is a Canadian percussionist, who is uniting his love for Vivaldi and Rossini with his skills on a drum kit to create his magna opera.
In his most recent video, he takes on Beethoven’s Symphony No.9 – specifically, the resplendent ‘Ode to Joy’ section from a recording by great American conductor, David Zinman. Appropriately clad in a Ludwig van Beethoven t-shirt, Patrick accompanies the triumphant hymnal melody with a solid bit of rock percussion.
It’s as if this is how Beethoven wanted it to be played…
Drummer accompanies different classical tunes with percussion beats in cool clip
It goes without saying that everyone is going nuts for Patrick’s harmonious hybrids. He is currently, it seems, inundated with requests for full versions of the creations.
“Soooo when’s the album gonna drop?” one TikTok user asks.
Patrick has reassured his new fanbase that while he is uploading some full versions to YouTube, “It’ll just take me some time to get more uploaded!”.
Read more: 20 classical music TikToks to distract you from all the practice you should be doing
Never fear, Patrick. People will happily twiddle their thumbs and wait, when the content is as strong as this.
One TikToker added: “We classical string players actually “hear” (feel?) those beats in our heads. It’s how we keep track of 1 another. To make it audible is magic!”
Patrick’s best-performer so far is a modern drum take on Vivaldi’s ‘Winter’, the melody made familiar to many by its appearance on talent shows.
You can support Patrick’s work here. Perhaps he’ll even take requests – the William Tell Overture, from us, please...
