Editing U2 (section)

===Rhythm section===
As a rhythm section, Mullen and Clayton often play the same patterns, giving U2's music a driving,<ref>{{cite news|title=U2 conquers Toronto!|newspaper=[[The Windsor Star]]|first=Owen|last=Jones|date=27 March 1992|page=C1}}</ref><ref name="jan84-mod-drum">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/md51cs-1.pdf|title=Style and Analysis: U2's Larry Mullen|magazine=[[Modern Drummer]]|first=Michael|last=Bettine|date=January 1984|volume=8|issue=1|pages=32–33|access-date=18 August 2020}}</ref> pulsating beat<ref>{{cite news|title=U2 'tore down the walls' in dynamic Atlanta show|newspaper=[[The Greenville News]]|first=Lynne|last=Lucas|date=11 December 1987|at=Motions magazine, p. 2}}</ref> that serves as a foundation for the Edge's guitar work.<ref name="jan84-mod-drum"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://news.abs-cbn.com/life/12/12/19/concert-review-u2-lights-the-way-for-manila-fans|title=Concert review: U2 lights the way for Manila fans|website=[[ABS-CBNnews.com]]|first=Alcuin|last=Papa|date=12 December 2019|access-date=26 August 2020}}</ref> For his drumming, Mullen locks into the Edge's guitar playing, while Clayton locks his bass playing into Mullen's drumming.<ref name="bp-groundcontrol"/> Author [[Bill Flanagan]] said that their playing styles perfectly reflected their personalities: "Larry is right on top of the beat, a bit ahead—as you'd expect from a man who's so ordered and punctual in his life. Adam plays a little behind the beat, waiting till the last moment to slip in, which fits Adam's casual, don't-sweat-it personality."<ref name="flan208"/>

[[File:U2 in Melbourne (49094332793).jpg|thumb|left|Mullen in November 2019]]
Mullen's drumming style is influenced by his experience in marching bands during his adolescence,<ref name="larry-prop22-int">{{cite magazine|title=The Larry Mullen Jr. Interview|magazine=Propaganda|publisher=U2 World Service|last=Cunningham|first=Mark|date=Spring–Summer 1995|issue=22}}</ref><ref name="larry85-mod-drum">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.moderndrummer.com/article/august-1985-u2s-larry-mullen-jr-2/|title=Larry Mullen, Jr.|magazine=[[Modern Drummer]]|first=Connie|last=Fisher|date=August 1985|volume=9|issue=8|pages=8–13, 38, 42, 44, 48, 50–52|access-date=17 June 2020|url-access=subscription}}</ref> which helped contribute to the militaristic beats of songs such as "[[Sunday Bloody Sunday]]".<ref name="mcc135"/> Flanagan said that he plays "with a martial rigidity but uses his kit in a way a properly trained drummer would not"; he tends to transition from the [[snare drum]] onto [[tom-tom drum|tom-toms]] positioned on either side of him, contrasting with how they are traditionally used.<ref name="flan208">Flanagan (1996), pp. 208–209</ref> Mullen occasionally rides a tom-tom the way other drummers would play a cymbal, or rides the [[hi-hat]] how others would play a snare.<ref name="larry85-mod-drum"/> He admitted his [[bass drum]] technique is not a strength, as he mostly played the snare in marching bands and did not learn to properly combine the separate drumming elements together on a full [[drum kit|kit]]. As a result, he uses a [[floor tom]] to his left to create the effect of a bass drum. He said, "I couldn't do what most people would consider a normal beat for the song, so I chose alternatives." He was heavily influenced by [[glam rock]] acts of the 1970s when first learning to play.<ref name="larry-prop22-int" /> In the early days of U2, Mullen had what Bono called a "florid" drumming style, before he pared down his rhythms.<ref name="larry85-mod-drum"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://usa.yamaha.com/artists/l/larry-mullen-jr.html|title=Larry Mullen Jr.|website=[[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]]|access-date=14 August 2020}}</ref> His drumming leaves open space, owing to what ''[[Modern Drummer]]'' described as his understanding of "when to hit and when not to hit".<ref name="larry85-mod-drum"/> As he matured as a timekeeper, he developed an excellent sense of rhythm; Eno recounted one occasion when Mullen noticed that his [[click track]] had been set incorrectly by six milliseconds.<ref name="eno">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/04/25/the-possibilian|title=The Possibilian|magazine=[[The New Yorker]]|first=Burkhard|last=Bilger|date=25 April 2011|access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref> Under the tutelage of Lanois, Mullen learned more about his musical role as the drummer in filling out the band's sound, while Flood helped him learn to play along with electronic elements such as [[drum machine]]s and [[sampling (music)|samples]].<ref name="larry-prop22-int"/> His kit has a tambourine mounted on a cymbal stand,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theblackpage.net/articles/the-almighty-tambourine|title=The Almighty Tambourine|website=TheBlackPage.net|first=Jayson|last=Brinkworth|date=2 March 2010|access-date=24 June 2020|archive-date=26 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200626222702/https://www.theblackpage.net/articles/the-almighty-tambourine|url-status=dead}}</ref> which he uses as an accent on certain beats for songs such as "With or Without You".<ref name="larry85-mod-drum"/><ref>{{cite web|url=https://reverb.com/news/spicing-up-songs-with-hand-percussion|title=Spicing Up Songs with Hand Percussion|website=[[Reverb.com]]|first=Sam|last=Hill|date=3 March 2016|access-date=24 June 2020}}</ref>

[[File:U2 performing in Belfast 10-27-18 (31789918068).jpg|thumb|Clayton in October 2018]]
Clayton's style of bass guitar playing is noted for what instructor Patrick Pfeiffer called "harmonic [[syncopation]]". With this technique, Clayton plays a consistent rhythm that stresses the [[eighth note]] of each [[bar (music)|bar]], but he "anticipates the harmony by shifting the [[tonality]]" before the guitar chords do. This gives the music a feeling of "forward motion".<ref>Jobling (2014), p. 243</ref> In the band's early years, Clayton had no formal musical training,<ref>McCormick (2006), pp. 30, 34</ref> and he generally played simple bass parts in [[4/4 time|{{music|time|4|4}} time]] consisting of steady eighth notes emphasising the roots of chords.<ref name="bassplayer-dec00">{{cite magazine|title=Reluctant Rock Star: How U2's Adam Clayton Learned to Play – and Conquer the World Onstage |magazine=[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]|first=Gregory|last=Isola|date=December 2000 |volume=11|issue=12|pages=54+}}</ref> Over time, he incorporated influences from [[Motown#Motown sound|Motown]] and [[reggae]] into his playing style, and as he became a better timekeeper, his playing became more melodic.<ref name="bassplayer-dec00"/> Flanagan said that he "often plays with the swollen, vibrating bottom sound of a Jamaican [[Dub music|dub]] bassist, covering the most sonic space with the smallest number of notes".<ref name="flan208"/> Clayton relies on his own instincts when developing [[bassline]]s, deciding whether to follow the chord progressions of the guitars or play a [[counter-melody]], and when to play an octave higher or lower.<ref name="bp-groundcontrol">{{cite magazine|title=U2's Ground Control|magazine=[[Bass Player (magazine)|Bass Player]]|first=Brian|last=Fox|date=January 2006|volume=17|issue=1|pages=34–41, 43}}</ref> He cites bassists such as [[Paul Simonon]], [[Bruce Foxton]], [[Peter Hook]], [[Jean-Jacques Burnel]],<ref name="bassplayer-dec00"/> and [[James Jamerson]] as major influences on him.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/may/22/adam-clayton-u2-soundtrack-of-my-life|title=Adam Clayton: Soundtrack of my life|website=[[The Guardian]]|last=Grundy |first=Gareth |date=22 May 2011|access-date=26 October 2018}}</ref> Describing his role in the rhythm section, Clayton said, "Larry's drums have always told me what to play, and then the chords tell me where to go".<ref name="bassplayer-dec00"/>