Stewart Copeland

About

Stewart Copeland is an American musician, multi-instrumentalist and composer best known as the drummer for the band The Police and for his film music soundtracks. He has also written various pieces of music for ballet, opera and orchestra. Copeland is known for precise, energetic, and creative reggae-influenced drumming along with a Lebanese-influenced style.His distinctive sound centers on a hard, high-pitched crack on a snare or rimshot, and subtle hi-hat work with understated flourishes. Despite being left-handed, Copeland plays drums like a right-handed drummer, with the hi-hat on his left and ride cymbal and floor toms on his right. He played his snare drum in a very peculiar way: from big booming hits to jazzy counter-tempo to soft beating on the ridge. During his years with The Police, he became known for engaging only the hi-hat with bass drum to keep the beat on many Police tracks. Copeland is a master of the syncopated beat, and his distinct approach consolidates his position as an important drummer on the world stage, subsequently influencing generations of drummers.