It's all about the music

As a sophomore in high school, I was one of two drummers in our school jazz band. This may sound strange, but at our school the band had as much prestige as any of the athletic teams, and the jazz band was the top of the heap. It was an honor, but also a lot of pressure, to be in that band.

For the first couple of months, I struggled to open up in rehearsals. My playing was stiff and not very musical. I had a hard time reading the charts and couldn't see the, "big picture," of the pieces we were playing.

Each fall our band director brought in a clinician to work with us, an amazingly gifted and inspiring educator, the illustrious Dr. Newell Dayley. During the session with Dr. Dayley, I was more than usually nervous. I buried my head in the chart and tried for all I was worth to play every figure, hit, fill and groove to exact specifications. Our band had a very good reputation, and I wanted badly to live up to it.

Near the end of the rehearsal, Dr. Dayley walked over to me, smiled, and said, "How well do you know this piece of music?"

"Pretty well, I guess," I replied.

He smiled again, then took the chart off my music stand and started to kick off the band. I didn't know what to think - didn't know what to do.

How could I play the music without my part? What would I do without the chart?

Something seriously strange happened when we started to play. My entire approach changed. It was as if I had been playing under a cover, in a cave - as if in total darkness - and now the sun had come out, the clouds had lifted, and the drumming sunshine was bright and clear.

While playing without the sheet music to glue my eyes to, I was able to make eye contact with my rhythm section mates, as well as to look around at the other sections - to pay attention to what and how they were playing in a new way - and to take cues from the director.

Now, I'm sure it wasn't my best playing that day, but to my fifteen-year-old mind it was a totally new experience. I was no longer playing notes, figures and rhythms.

I was playing music.

When we finished the tune, one of the trumpet players looked at me and said, "I don't know what that was, or where you found it, but you'd better find it again!"



It was awesome. I loved it. It changed my perspective on playing music forever.

Scott Hagen, Director of Bands at the University of Utah, is fond of saying that the music is what happens between the lines, notes, rhythms and rests. So, next time you sit down to play a piece of music, be sure not to stop where the ink ends.

Happy drumming. 

(UPDATED) Friday Feature: Neil Peart of Rush

I while back, I posted about Neil Peart, expressing my respect for him as a person, even if I have been slow to fall in love with his playing and the music of Rush.

This past week I discovered an article on www.drummagazine.com talking about the new album, "Clockwork Angels." The article is absolutely worth reading in its entirety, but there are two points that immediately struck me.

1. Neil Peart considers himself an athlete. As such, he trains his entire body with intense cardio, stretching and yoga, as well as strength training and weight-lifting. He specifically targets areas where drummers commonly have injuries - such as shoulders and elbows - to prevent an injury to  himself. This, in my opinion, is one of the key reasons he continues to innovate and play at the highest level in Rush's fourth decade.
2. To quote the article directly, "Master Player = Master Student" Peart is one of the great examples of someone who is never satisfied or complacent with their playing. Repeatedly over the course of his very long, illustrious career, Peart has, "surrendered," to great (and I do mean great) teachers who have helped take him to the next level. 

To summarize, treat your body as well as you can, and always be learning. Could it really be that simple?

Neil Peart continues to earn my respect as a human being, and my love of his playing, lyrics and the music of Rush are constantly growing. 

Thank you, Mr. Peart. You're worthy of your rock star and idol status!

Here is the original post:

Friday Feature: Neil Peart of Rush

You know how tall people always get asked if they play basketball? I have twin cousins who are 6’6”, and they do not play basketball, nor do they want to. They humor people all the time who ask the question, and privately want to slap them silly. 

Well, it’s like that for drummers, too. The minute somebody finds out you play, they’re all, “So, hey, what about Neil Peart, huh? You must love Rush, right?” I’m the kid who deliberately avoided all things Rush and Peart for years. No, decades. Religiously, you might say.* 

Up until a couple of years ago, I loved fantasizing about witty remarks I could reply with, but always said something like, “Oh, yeah, well you have to love him/them, right? Great stuff. Yeah, big fan.”

So, here’s the thing: I finally read an interview with Neil. After his first wife died in 1998, he spent an entire year riding a motorcycle around North America, and wrote a book about it - his fourth. The interview, and subsequent other articles I read, revealed Peart as a highly intelligent, well-rounded person, as well as being one of the most respected and emulated musicians of the modern era. I remember being impressed with him as a person, not as a musician. 

Somehow, for me, that opened my ears - and my mind - to the music of Rush. Had I my life to do over, I would have taken that album the first time it was offered, not the 28 billionth. I can’t say that I’m a huge fan, not yet, anyway, but I have finally become an appreciateur, if you will, of Neil Peart and Rush. They take the creation of their music, and musical expression, very seriously. I respect them a great deal, and am coming to know more of their repertoire.

For those of you who have yet to get to know Neil Peart, allow me to suggest a starting point, although I’m probably the only one of his fans who would recommend it. Start with his instructional video, “A Work in Progress.” It’s pretty recent, so it’s thirty or so years into his career, and he talks about reinventing himself. Awesome. That I love.

Happy discovering!

*The way I also avoided the Beatles until about a year ago, I might add. I’m a fool’s fool, so to speak, because I’m now a dedicated student of the Beatles. Wish I had come to them sooner.

What are you bringing to the kitchen?

One of the biggest frustrations for musicians who are starting to develop into good players is often the people around them. I'm sure I'm preaching to the choir, as it were, but here goes.

Think of a rehearsal like a bunch of cooks in the kitchen. Each member of the band or group has the assignment to bring an ingredient to make, say, chocolate chip cookies. You need eggs, milk, flour, chocolate chips and so forth.

So let's say you spend time finding just the right wheat, preparing it, sifting it, grinding it into beautiful flour. You have it ready well ahead of the rehearsal, and you bring extra, just in case there's a spontaneous double batch in the works.

When you get there, the person who was supposed to have the chips says, "Sorry, still making these chocolate chips. I'll have them ready next time. And you're totally going to love them, they'll be so awesome! Let's bake some cookies anyway, and imagine they have chocolate in them."



And the egg guy or girl is like, "Yeah, no eggs yet, but I brought the chickens! Let's try it again, and maybe they'll lay some eggs."

Pretty soon you lose your motivation to work on your flour, or you take it elsewhere, or you give up baking altogether.

The point is that we can spend more time baking a better, tastier cookie if the ingredients are all there very early on in the rehearsal process. You have to ask yourself if you're bringing the highest quality, best produced ingredients that you're capable of, or if you're compromising the end product with your lack of preparation.

Prepare your ingredients well, and you'll find yourself "baking" at a high level with serious pros.

Happy drumming!

Getting "rewired"

When I was in college, I decided to supplement my percussion education by taking drum set lessons from the great Jay Lawrence for a couple of summers. He had (and still has) a huge reputation, and I was beyond excited to get started.

At the same time I was playing in a very fun, Dave Matthews-esque band, and I had been telling my mates how much better I was going to be, and how glad I was that I was taking lessons. Due to the summer schedule, it was about six weeks - and hence, six lessons - before we got back into a rehearsal and I was able to display my newfound skills.

There was only one problem: I had not improved. In fact, I was much worse. Awful. Terrible. Discombobulated.


My band was furious. We had a bright future, and as far as they could see I was throwing a huge wrench in the works by trying to change my approach through lessons. A couple of the band members actually went so far as to tell me that I needed to quit - immediately!

I knew that lessons were the right thing to do. Jay was awesome, I was learning a ton, and it seemed that I was gaining skills. So, at the next lesson, I asked Jay about it. Why would I play so terribly if I was actually making progress?

Jay's answer has stayed with me, and I've passed it along to my own students over the years. It's a paraphrase, to say the least, but here's how he explained it to me:

Have you ever seen the inside of a computer? Imagine what it looks like. There are a lot of set parts - boards and ports and power related components - but, by and large, it's a ton of wires. Wires everywhere that connect everything to everything else. 

Well, basically what we've done over the last six weeks is yank all of the wires out of their places and start to put them in new places, wire by wire. We're "rewiring" you, so to speak, and when we're done, you'll be a much, much better "drumming computer." But for now, there are still a lot of loose wires and parts that aren't functioning totally correctly yet. 

As we keep working on you, more and more "wires" will be put in place, and you'll function and play better and better and better. Just keep practicing, and keep challenging yourself.

That explanation, in addition to making sense, has been proven true over the years. Because of Jay's influence and approach, I've been able to kick some bad habits and develop a lot of techniques, skills and styles that were never a part of my old "wiring."

Thanks, Jay.

As always, happy drumming!

The "hot air balloon" principle

I've said it before, but I'd rather have my students practice for five solid, focused minutes per day than to get in ten hours on only one day per week.

Why? Because your skills are sort of like a hot-air balloon. You're either getting higher, or you're getting lower.

Let's take a closer look, shall we?*

You see, there's this force called gravity. It's constantly pulling on everything, including the hot air balloon. When heated by a burner, the air inside the balloon lifts the balloon, the basket and anything in it up into the air. When the burner is firing, the balloon is lifting.

But just as soon as the burner is turned off, the air inside begins to cool, and the balloon slowly begins to fall. From a distance, it looks like the balloon is keeping steady at a certain altitude, but that's because the balloonist knows just when to turn the burner on and off to keep the craft from getting too high or low.

How does this compare to technique and skill development in music? Well, it's not a perfect comparison, but you're either getting better or you're getting worse. If you practice in a focused, systematic matter - even if it's only one thing and for a short period of time - for the next five days, you will be better than you are today. Conversely, if you don't practice for the next five days, you will not be as good as you are today.

This may not be the message you want to hear, but there is simply no "static" or standstill position for music skills. In fact, some of your daily practice is what is called, "maintenance practice." It's the time you need to invest just to get you back to where you were yesterday.

One other way to think about this is your physical health and fitness level. If you're not exercising, and you start working out every day, you will improve your overall health in a relatively short period of time. But if you aren't exercising, then you're health and fitness are actually deteriorating a little bit every single day. In fact, it takes as little as twelve days for your muscles to start losing strength and mass if they aren't being exercised.

(Well. Aren't I a little ray of sunshine?)

Here's the good news. Just like the hot air balloon, it doesn't take a huge amount of effort to consistently increase your altitude. What it takes is consistency. Practice on most days of the week in a focused, systematic way - with specific goals in mind - and you will make progress.

Happy drumming!

*For all you balloonists out there - look - I know I'm butchering this. It's a metaphor, okay? You can correct me and clarify in the comments below. Thanks much!

Friday Feature: Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez

This video was my first introduction to Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez. You'll want to watch the whole thing.....multiple times.

The very first time I saw this I had no idea who any of these musicians were. I was completely floored (still am!) by their virtuosity, musicianship and flat out heart. I had to know more. I started looking for everything I could find related to any of these three, and became fascinated with their musical careers and backgrounds.

Luckily for me, Michel Camilo visits Salt Lake City on a fairly frequent basis, so I've had the opportunity to hear and see him several times, once with Anthony Jackson and Horacio Hernandez. We also have one of the best drum shops in the world, and they brought in Horacio to do a live clinic several years ago. 

At the clinic, he came out on stage and, without a word, began playing. His opening solo/performance was over 45 minutes long. And nobody got bored. Nobody even breathed! His playing was (and still is) so exciting, engaging, unique and - above all - musical, that I think the whole room was disappointed when he got done playing.

Hernandez is a great example to me of how one pursues a goal - at all costs! He gave up his home country for a chance to make music at the highest levels and become the best version of himself. He has also given countless hours to practice, study, listening and experimenting to become one of - if not the - leaders in the afro-cuban drumming world.

Hopefully you'll take the time to do some studying and listening, and let "El Negro" influence your musical world. 

Happy drumming!

Gear Up: Music Stand (Repost)

This has been on my mind of late, so here it is again. Originally posted October 29, 2011.

Too often we don't think about things we need to be successful that aren't a drum, cymbal or stick.

One of the most important? A good music stand.

There are many good choices, but this one is my favorite: http://www.manhasset-specialty.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=page&pageID=3

Well worth the money in terms of stability, durability and ease of use. I can't stress enough how important your music stand is to your success.

Despite its all-metal construction, this stand is relatively light-weight and has few parts. Less parts means less parts that can break or fail. Also, the stand is sturdy enough to hold some percussion goodies - like a triangle clipped to the desk, or sticks and mallets on a towel with the desk set flat.

Get a good music stand, put it where you practice, and use it every day.

Happy drumming!

Friday Feature: Carter Beauford

It's time for this post. It's been time for a long time.

Carter Beauford of the Dave Matthews Band is one of the reasons I play drums.

(Start here, then go listen to some tunes. It may be helpful to start with the band's first major release, 1994's "Under the Table and Dreaming." )

I started playing drums in the sixth grade in the middle school band. By the seventh grade, I had a drum set in the basement and was jamming with a friend (a once-in-a-lifetime guitar talent, it turns out). By the ninth grade, everything I heard on the radio just made me mad. I'd constantly think to myself - or complain aloud to anyone who would listen - "I can do anything any of these guys do! Why am I not famous and making loads of cash as a drummer?" (Reason number one is probably that I was fifteen years old, but I wasn't really thinking of that.) Anyway, long story short is that I wasn't hearing anything that I thought was creative or sophisticated, and I was pretty frustrated with what I thought was the height of modern pop-rock drumming.

The summer after my junior year I had to borrow a car from my boss (cool boss, no?) to run an errand. Her car was a late model Acura with a killer sound system, and the disc that was playing was the aforementioned "Under the Table" album. I had heard of DMB but never actually listened to them, so I didn't even know who I was listening to. When I got back I was actually a little disappointed when I found out (skeptical kid!), but it was too late. I was hooked. I had never heard a drummer do things like Carter did/does with the backbeat, fills, set-ups and pulse*. It was like going from black and white to color.

Fast forward about six years and I owned everything then available from DMB and played in a band that had a fiddle player. And since then I've done more studying and listening and loved every minute of it. Carter B is the man, and his playing has only gotten better and more musical.

After you've had a chance to just get immersed in the music, it's worth checking out Carter's instructional video, "Under the Table and Drumming." There's not a ton of nuts and bolts instruction, but a lot of, "This is what I was doing on this part," and a few great conceptual things.

There are a million videos I could choose from to give you a sample of Carter's playing, but I've always believed that's all about the music - the song as a whole - and that the drummer has to contribute to that. So this track is my all-time favorite DMB tune, and one of Carter's grooviest and most musical performances.

One caveat: this video conforms to the radio edit of this track. Do yourself the favor of tracking down the album version and giving it a thorough listen. It's almost double in length to this version. No offense to Dave, but the best music happens after the singing stops. See if you can count the number of instruments being used during this track.

Alright, enough talk (er...type). Let's get to the tune.

As always, happy drumming!


*It doesn't hurt that Carter plays an unusually large and complex drum kit. You can check out his current configuration of gear here. 

Bag of Tricks: KT Tunstall - "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree"

I'm fascinated by how musical and powerful a simple lick can be. Here's one from another favorite modern pop tune. (Did I mention that I love any kind of hi-hat fill?) This may be the simplest fill I've ever posted, and it's still one of my favorites.

It occurs at about the 2:30 mark.

One thing I love about this music video is that KT plays all of the percussion instruments - bass drum, snare drum, tambourine, chair, hand claps, etc. Tons of energy and a lot of fun.


Happy drumming!

Pro musician Ryan Tilby dishes on drummers

I asked Ryan Tilby, one of my favorite musicians - not to mention one of the smartest guys I know - to answer a few questions about drummers. Here's how it went down:

Here are my opinions on drummers.  I'll bet, as a bassist, I've worked with more drummers than any drummer.  I call my drummer friends when I need the low-down on a bassist.

What characteristics and attributes make a drummer "good?"

No matter the genre, style, or stage size, every drummer has a job.  The bass player (me!), has a job.  The front man has a job.  My favorite drummers have this uncanny ability to know just what their job is, do it effortlessly, and not step on the toes of the bassist, singer, etc. who's trying to do his job.  It takes a lot of listening, and a lot of knowing how the guys around you are thinking.

Aside from playing ability and musical skills, what makes a drummer easy to work with?

Stereotypes would have you believe that drummers, if they show up at all, will be late, lazy, loud, or drunk.  You'll notice that none of those have much to do with time, technique, or tone. While those things are important, remember that the guys you're playing with (or that hired you!) don't know much about your bearing edges and hand-hammering.  They just know what it feels like to play with you, and more of those feelings come from off-stage than on it.

What's the best compliment you could give a drummer?

As a bass player, if a drummer is listening to my lines and either locking in with me (with his kick!) or syncing with something complimentary, I'm super impressed.  Flattered, even.  Drummers that listen seem almost "invisible".  In my opinion, an invisible drummer is doing his job.

What's your most frequent complaint about drummers?

I'm scared by the number of drummers that don't know anything about bass playing, and vice-versa.  The relationship between kick and bass is CRUCIAL to any song, any genre.  There seems to be an influx of younger drummers right now that place kicks wherever they want them, and never in the same place twice.  Go spend $10 on the John Mayer Trio TRY! album and have your life changed.

Name the top thing that will keep a drummer from getting called for another gig.

Too many notes played too loudly.

Anything else you want to add, warn against or point out?

No matter what you play, expand your toolbox of true-to-the-style techniques and LISTEN!

Signed,

A working bassist.

Friday Feature: Will Champion of Coldplay

It's a topic for another day, but I absolutely love Coldplay. Every member of that band is a talented musician and performer. But, this is a drum blog, so we'll take a look at their drummer, Will Champion.

Start here:

Was there ever a more solid backbeat? I submit that there was not! 

One of the things that I appreciate about Will Champion is his ability to feel and fit into the music. He's there to support the message of the music, the feel, the texture, not to showboat or try to stick out. Will is the quintessential "band" drummer. 

He does have chops, he is creative - but he does exactly what he feels the music needs. He follows the old Tommy Igoe mantra, "I will never play a fill just because I can." In other words, he doesn't get in the way. 

(Here's another sweet little axiom that a band director buddy of mine tells his students all the time, "You're either the thing, you're supporting the thing, or you're in the way." This is what drummers need to remember. Your job is to support the music, to blend into the music - to give the audience the best experience possible. You don't do that by overplaying, playing out of context or showboating - that's what gets in the way of great music.)

Will Champion is as good as any drummer alive today at supporting the thing. And the thing is usually a heart-warming or soul-wrenching work of art that I can listen to time and time again. 

I can remember a time when I wasn't exactly a Coldplay fan. It was shortly after they started to get really popular in the States, and they only thing I'd heard was, "Yellow," from the album Parachutes. Not that I disliked the tune, mind you, I just wasn't all that blown away by the track. 

Shortly after, Coldplay came to my city on tour and I was given a ticket to the show by a friend. I went to the show because of said friend and had my mind absolutely blown. I've been to many a live show in my time, and I can count on one hand the number of those shows that I was actually pained when it was over. They could have played all night, and I would have listened.

One thing I noticed about Will - and all of the band, really - is that he was into the music all night long. He played relatively simple, straightforward stuff, but he felt every single note. He wasn't just playing drums, he was playing music. 

Anyway, suffice it to say, Coldplay was - and still is - solidly on my radar. I could give you a list of my favorite tunes (most of them) and albums (all of them), but I'll let you discover for yourself. You're probably already familiar with the band, so as you listen to your next Coldplay tune, listen to the drums - just the drums. I challenge you to stay focused on the sounds and feel of the drumming, but you're going to get distracted - that's how good Will Champion is at just blending in and making music. 

Here's a parting shot:

Even if you don't like Chris Martin, Jonny Buckland and Guy Berryman, you've got to respect Will Champion.

Happy watching, listening and feeling. 

Friday Feature: Sara Bareilles

This blog is all about percussionists and drumming and things you can hit.

Well, what about people who create hits? I know you're already familiar with Sara Bareilles (because if you're not, you've literally been under a rock for the past five years), but I thought I'd just share a couple of tracks you may not have heard.

First is an unbelievably convincing cover of a tune that you also know (and if not, see the preceding comment about 'under-rock dwelling').

Seriously, Sara B covering Beyonce's "Single Ladies?" What could be better? Even though I'd heard the original tune about a billion times, I never really liked it (sorry, B) until I heard Sara's version. But now every time I hear any version of the tune, I remember this video and smile. It's awesome. 

Another cover, this one a classic tune that would have been easy to desecrate, that Sara handled with heartfelt class and grace. I heard it on Pandora one day, and it literally stopped me in my tracks. 

It's worth listening to that again, don't you think? C'mon. Press play one more time. 

And, lest you think I only like Sara covering other people's stuff, here's one that almost made me drive my car off the road when I first heard it. Clever, witty and cutting - a modern era classic. 

For me, what makes Sara a great artist is her ability to create her own art with her own, distinct style, whether it be a song of her own, or a fresh take on somebody else's. 

As always, I'm not trying to tell you Sara Bareilles' story, just give you a brief introduction and jumping off point. 

Enjoy!

The Weight Room: Single Stroke Mayhem

We all know the "Eight On A Hand" exercise. It's a staple of drumming life. So, let's take it to the next level, shall we?

Much of the music we play on the drum kit (and really all percussion, for that matter) requires a fair amount of endurance. To meet that need, use a simple, "Sixteen On A Hand" exercise. Just take "Eight On A Hand," and extend the form to two measures (sixteen consecutive notes) on each hand, and change the time signature to cut time or 2/2.

Even simpler, just think of the exercise as one measure of sixteenth notes for each hand.

As always, remember to start slow, stay relaxed, and gradually increase the tempo. It should take weeks, if not months, to work up to obscene tempos (tempi?), so just work it up one or two clicks per day.

As an added bonus, this will increase your single stroke speed (I know - duh! Didn't I just say that?). Think about this: alternating sixteenths are really just Eight On A Hand. If you start the left hand one sixteenth note after the right hand, then both hands are playing eighth notes, but the result is single stroke sixteenths.

When you start with Sixteen On A Hand, the same idea (left starts one 32nd note after the right) applies, and you get alternating 32nds. Sweet, no?!

Hopefully that all makes sense. Try it. You'll like it. And you'll be faster in no time.

Happy drumming!

Beyond the Kit: The Art of Performance (Repost)

On the road this week, so I'm recycling a post that I thought was appropriate going into festival season.

Occasionally I have the opportunity to serve as a judge or adjudicator at festivals and competitions. It's a great learning experience for me, as well, as I'm often looking for indicators of a musician's preparation beyond the music.

Here's what I mean.

Many times a musician is playing very well, but not performing well at all. The music may be really great, but performing means going beyond the music and presenting yourself well in all areas.

In a formal or school-type setting, like a recital, here are a few factors to consider:

1. Appropriate dress. You wouldn't show up to a rock concert in a tux, so why would you show up to a recital in a t-shirt? If there are any questions as to what is appropriate dress, ask the teacher or conductor - or your bandmates - or go online for some pictures or guidelines for the type of event you're playing at.

2. Speak clearly. Many a good performance has been ruined by sloppy language before the music starts. Again, ask your teacher for help or find some information online. A good place is to simply tell the audience clearly who you are and what you will be performing. If you don't know what to say, just  smile and play your piece. Let your music speak for you.

3. Stay in 'character.' Keep your composure! Keep a pleasant expression on your face, don't react to mistakes, and - unless it's part of your performance - don't let the audience affect you. Things are bound to happen - someone will sneeze, a baby will cry, you'll drop a stick, or whatever. Don't get frustrated, just keep playing.  If you have to stop (to pick up the stick!), just start back where you stopped and move forward as if nothing happened. If you don't make a big deal of it, chances are, neither will your audience.

4. Don't apologize. Before, during and after the performance, keep your game face on. Don't say things like, "I really didn't practice that much," or, "I'm not ready yet, so this isn't going to be that good," or anything before you play. Even if you know it's going to be terrible, refer to number 2 above.

During the performance, no matter how many mistakes you make, keep playing. Do not say, "Sorry," or, "Let me start over." Just keep going. Don't acknowledge your mistakes. If the absolute worst happens and you just can't finish, simply smile at your audience, bow or say, "Thank you," then walk off the stage. When the applause happens, acknowledge it with a nod, or bow and smile.

5. Accept compliments. Even when you feel like you've had the worst performance of your life, someone is bound to tell you how great you did. You'll want to say something like, "What?! Didn't you hear that? I was horrible!" But don't! Just say, "Thank you," and leave it at that.

6. Be prepared. Maybe the best way to build confidence is to be very well prepared. If you've practiced and polished your music until it shines, and you know you can play it very well, you'll have no trouble feeling good about the performance, and you'll have no reason to be awkward or ungracious.

7. Stay engaged. If you're not playing solo, make sure to support the other performer(s). Never give any impression that you're bored, tired or distracted in any way - even if you have to rest for 168 measures. If there is a solo going on, watch the soloist. If someone is singing, look in their direction. Try to let the audience and your fellow performers know that you are supporting them in any way that you can, even if you're not playing.

8. Don't distract. Even if it's a rock concert, there's a time to play and a time to keep quiet. Especially in between songs, don't practice or "noodle" on your instrument. Start together as a group, and end together as a group. Let all of the sounds you make be part of the music, and on purpose. You may think that everybody knows that you're making sure your snare drum is working, but all the audience hears is unnecessary noise.

Next time you go to a live concert, pay attention to what the performers do aside from playing music. You'll start to notice pretty quickly that some things make the performance better, and other things make it much worse.

With a little effort, you can not only play great music, but have a great performance, as well.

Happy drumming!

The Weight Room: Advanced Slow-Fast

At a certain point you'll work one of the Slow-Fast exercises up to an obscene speed. What do you do at this point?

It's simple: turn the click down to half of its tempo, and instead of 8ths and 16ths, play 16ths and 32nds.

It looks like this.

Or think of it like cut time. You're still playing slow fast, but the click is now on the half note.

It looks like this.

So now, with the click at a manageable tempo, you can keep working faster and faster. Just remember to keep it under control, relaxed and clean.

Sorry to use the P word, but, uh, happy practicing!

Friday Feature: Standing in the Shadows of Motown

If I hadn't already made this clear in an earlier post, I'm a huge fan of documentaries, especially music documentaries.

One of my favorites is, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," telling the story of the session musicians who brought the classic Motown sound to life, the Funk Brothers.

From IMDB:

 "The film is an extremely moving account made exponentially more so by the deeply felt faithful renditions of some classic hits performed by contemporary young artists during the film. Never was the term 'unsung' more appropriate than it is for the Funk Brothers."

When I saw this film, it was newly (although not widely) released, but was mostly playing in art houses and the like. And, honestly, I had no idea what I was walking into, having gone with a friend. But in the two hours it took to watch the film, I had my eyes opened and my ears attuned to something I had been missing. 

I think everybody's heard of Motown - Marvin Gaye, The Four Tops, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Stevie Wonder and many more - but until you see this film you won't have a real understanding of what it took to create that sound, genre and era of modern popular music.

This film is worth your time. I've purchased it and given it away many times, I own the soundtrack, and I've made a whole lotta people sit down and watch it. Even if it's not your style, or you don't like any of the artists, enjoy it for the history lesson and education that it is. 

Enjoy!

Bag of Tricks: Rock and Funk Grooves

Not gonna lie, I'm a little short on time today, so I'm going to recycle some old material in a new format. I think I've posted all of these grooves at one time or another, but here they are in a single sheet.

This is a handout that I give my private students comprised of grooves I've learned along the way as I've studied with teachers, from books, etc. So nothing too original, but lots of fun and useful to learn.

Enjoy!

Friday Feature: Tony Williams

Just start here.

Are you back? Good. Not much more I can tell you about Tony Williams except that he's one of the great players of all time, and has had as much influence on modern drumming as any other player, and more than the vast majority.

I saw Tony Williams play a clinic in Salt Lake City shortly before he died. It was one of the experiences that helped to shape my view of what drumming is, and what's possible. He was very classy, a fiery performer, and very willing to pass on what he knew.

Thanks, Tony, for giving us your gift. We still miss you!

Happy drumming!

Bag of Tricks: Keane, "Somewhere Only We Know"

A very cool, simple fill. At the 2:24 mark in the video, you can watch it played it so there's no question about how it's done. The drummer is Richard Hughes, who also sings.

I've loved this album since I first heard it in 2003, especially this tune. It's the kind of music you can listen to loud on a long drive by yourself. Or with a close friend that doesn't require a lot of conversation, just the occasional glance and nod that says, "Yep. Good tune, man. Love this tune."

Truth be told, though, I was introduced to Keane by a friend who shares my love of the pseudo-simplicity of pop music. It's easy to "get it," which is what makes it so popular. So I've spent more time analyzing and appreciating than just listening. But still, good tune, man. Love this tune.

Happy drumming.....man.

Bag of Tricks: Ben Wysocki (The Fray) Song Ending

It's always a challenge to figure out how to end a recording (or live performance, for that matter) in a classy, interesting and clean way.

Because it fits all of the above descriptors, I have always loved this simple, clever lick from Ben Wysocki on the title track of The Fray's album, "How To Save A Life." Along with many other very cool, very musical ideas, Wysocki drops this one without hesitation.

This measure starts at about the 4:19 mark, and is the final measure of the piece.

Happy drumming!