Gear Up: Electronic Drums

It's inevitable, I guess. Acoustic drums will go the way of all the earth, then drum machines will replace all of the humans, robots will play guitar and sing - all musicians will be out of work. (It IS 2012, after all.)

Yeah.....blah, blah, blah. We've actually been hearing this type of doomsday proclamation since the late 1970s, and here we are more than 40 years later, and guess what? I played a gig last week. On my acoustic, real wood kit. With two other human beings. And we got paid. Hmmm.......

So what is all the fuss about electronics?

I'll let you make your own decisions, but here are I few of the benefits and drawbacks I see with the way of the future. 

The bad stuff:

• They've gotten good, but they still don't feel or respond like real drums - and especially cymbals. 
• Cables and inputs and plugs, oh my! Seriously, I've always been grateful that when I show up for the gig, I don't have to plug anything in. The electronic drum kit changes all that - and it ain't good. I can't wait for the whole thing to be wireless, power included.
• Again, they're not as bad as they used to be, but electronic drums just look fake. I'm not all about vanity, but you still lose a certain degree of legitimacy if you show up to a high level gig with "fake" drums. 
• Can you say, "expensive?"

The good stuff: 

• They've gotten good, really good. Seriously, have you played one of these things lately? Mesh heads, drum-like shells and realistically raised rims have changed the world. They're getting closer to real drum feel all the time. Not only that, but the different strokes (rim shots, clicks, pings, etc.) have become a real possibility. 
• The cymbals are, erm.....better. At least they're round, they're seated on a cymbal stand so they can move a little, and sticks bounce off of them. You also get bell, flat and edge sounds. 
• The selection of sound samples has exploded, and the quality has improved immensely. You can choose the size, material, configuration, heads, tuning, atmospheric pressure (okay, made that up) and more. You have thousands of sound options at your fingertips, and they all sound great.
• Volume control. Honestly, this should be the top of the list. Not only can you protect your hearing, you can play as hard as you like and not wake the baby - let alone the neighbors. Throw on the headphones, and you're a drumming hero that nobody can hear but you. 
• Triggers, loops and other instrument samples have changed the role of the drummer. Simply put, you can be more than just the drummer. 

Like I said, you have to make your own choices. And when it comes to which brand or configuration to choose, well, that's a subject for another post. 

For now, check out the ol' Rabb-meister.

The Gig Log: Cedar City

Clinic at Canyon View HS

It's a gig of sorts, for my work. Last week I had the good fortune to travel to Cedar City with Ryan Tilby and Aaron Ashton to work with orchestra students at Cedar High and Middle Schools, and Canyon View High and Middle Schools. It was awesome. Great teachers and students, and a lot of fun besides.

Our job was to talk to string players (violin, viola, cello and bass) about folk and Celtic music, and teach them some basic improvisation. Aside from that, I had the opportunity to work on some drum kits.

I've included just a few pics of one of the clinics and a couple of drum kits.

CVHS' Yamaha Kit

Aaron Ashton

Ryan Tilby

CHS' Pearl Masters Custom Kit

Pearl Kit from the back

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!

NAMM Show 101

It's January, and you know what that means - it's NAMM Show time!

So, what the heck is the NAMM Show? Do you hear people talking about it, read about it on music websites, or know people who have gone?

First, you need to know what NAMM is. From Wikipedia, "The acronym NAMM originally stood for the National Association of Music Merchants, but has evolved from a national entity representing the interests of music products retailers to an international association including commercial, reseller members, affiliates and manufacturers."

For a few years, while going to college, I worked at a great music store. The owner took all of his top people to the NAMM Show every year. I had no idea what to expect until I got my turn to go in 2004 and 2005, and it completely changed how I view the business side of the music world.

Simply put, the NAMM Show is an event that allows companies that manufacture and sell music gear and other products (wholesalers) to showcase their offerings to resellers or other companies that offer these products to the public (retailers). Why would they need to do that, you ask? Let me give you an example.

The last time I was at the show, there were over 300 different brands (wow!) of drums. As the drum purchaser (or buyer) for the company, I had to decide on which two or three brands we would carry in our store, and, as you can imagine, every one of those companies tried to convince me that their product was the best and easiest to sell.

So how does a retailer decide what to offer their customers? Well, a lot of factors go into this sort of choice. Among other things, they might consider:

• What is already popular? In other words, is this something people want? Spending less marketing dollars can mean more profit. And offering a product that people already know about and want can make the store more popular and lead to sales of other products and accessories.
• What's going to become popular? Especially in the music biz, being first usually means making the most money. Innovative products can be a risk, but purchasers get very good at seeing something great and snapping it up. Again, how fast and easy it is to sell a product is a major consideration.
• How fast can the manufacturer ship? Doesn't matter how great or cheap something is if it takes six months to get there.
• What is the profit margin? Some of the coolest products on the market will never get really popular, because stores have a hard time justifying making little or no profit when they sell them. And as much as the public (you and me, pal) want stuff at the lowest possible prices, retailers have got to make money, or they'll go away.
• What is the quality and durability of the product, and how good is the warranty? Because if you're not happy after you buy it, you're probably not going to be happy with the store, either.

How do the wholesalers convince retailers to buy? It's a very detailed, well thought out and - usually - expensive process. 

The basic tactic is to display products in a booth setting, sort of like shops in a mall, but much smaller and much more compact. There are thousands of booths, and hundreds of thousands of individual products. And each seller goes to great lengths to make their booth seem hip, cool, trendy, flashy or classy, and to demonstrate why their product is so great. 

Another tactic is product demonstrations by somebody famous. For example, you might see (like I did) Will Calhoun at the Sonor Drums booth showing off the new line of snare drums, or Russ Miller giving a lesson example at Yamaha Drums. 

In addition, many companies will host concerts, parties, jams and contests to woo buyers. One such concert I attended was Yamaha's Groove Night 2004. It was an unbelievable show, and I walked out thinking, "Man, I can't believe how many of my favorite players use Yamaha." Score one for the marketing team, because that year we bought over $40,000 in Yamaha products for our store. 

Oh, and another thing? It's called "swag," and I came home with a ton of it both times I went. Swag is free stuff covered with logos of brands and products, and sellers pass it out by the truckload, especially to important buyers. Some common swag items are shirts, hats, stickers, drum keys, heads, lanyards, and in some cases, jackets and real product samples like microphones and cymbals. It's awesome!

Finally, this post would be incomplete with mentioning maybe the best thing about the show - the people you get to meet. Not only your favorite musical celebrities, amazing players and other famous types, but the people who know the most about gear and how to get the best out of it.

In 2005, we made a point of finding the best sounding drums at the show and asking the highest ranking person we could find to tell us how they got such great sound. In addition to discussions about shell materials, hoops, heads and sticks, we got a ton of advice about how to tune heads and treat drums to get world class tone and sound. Again, awesome!

In short, the NAMM Show is the place to see what's new - and everything else - in the music products world. If you ever get the chance to go, don't pass it up.

Happy shopping!

Gear Up: Drum Dial

I'm having a serious conundrum. To Drum Dial or not to Drum Dial?

The Drum Dial is a relatively simple tool (similar to a durometer) that measures the tension of a drumhead. You use it by placing it on the drumhead next to each tension rod, relatively close to the hoop.

In theory, when you get the tension exactly the same around the entire head, it's in tune. Of course, you have to take into account the type of drum, its depth, the type of heads, and the relationship of the heads to each other (resonant to batter).

Drum tuning purists (yep, there really are such people - including me, to a degree) argue that tools like the Drum Dial are "cheating," for lack of a better term. They say that you should be able to tune your drums yourself, by ear. And if you can't, well, then you don't deserve to sound good. And I know plenty of skilled drummers who have never learned to tune their own drums. They play great, but sound awful.


I mean, hey, if Peter Erskine* uses it, it can't be all bad, right?

My DW Kit

About six months ago I put all new batter heads on my DW drum kit. As an experiment, I used the Drum Dial on all of the heads, both sides. Also, I used the recommended tensions from the Drum Dial web site.  I was pretty happy with the results in my studio, but I needed to get out on a gig with them, so I took them to the very next show I had.

I got an interesting reaction from the bass player on the gig (Ryan Tilby). While we were sound checking, he turned to me and said, "Wow. That sounds exactly like a backline kit."**

Truth be told, the heads required quite a bit of fine tuning after using the Drum Dial. Just having the dial read the same number at each lug wasn't enough to get the head to sound "clear" (without waves or beats) and open. That part had to be done by ear. But the dial did drastically speed up the process of getting the drumheads to the fine tuning phase.

To me, I think that's the answer. The tools we have are still only tools, so the actual work of getting your drums to sound the way you want them to is still up to you. It's like fixing cars. Sure, we have power tools, hydraulic equipment and sophisticated computers, but the work is still in the hands of the mechanic.

The Drum Dial, and tools like it, are just a part of your arsenal to achieve great sounding drums.

That being said, I'd love to have a spreadsheet of every drummer in the world that showed which drum they're using, what heads, and at what tension. Then I could sound like anybody I want. Does that seem like giving up too many trade secrets?

What do you think?

As always, happy drumming!

*If you don't know who Peter Erskine is or aren't familiar with his work, click his name above. He has been a huge, positive influence on many a drummer, including me.


**A backline kit refers to a rented drum set that is tuned in a very standard, generic way. The drums will sound good, but usually not distinctive. It is left up to the drummer or tech to individualize the sounds to the specific style or venue. 

The Plan - Five Days a Week

All right, ya'll. This blog is growing, and I'm grateful! It has been my goal to get up to posting five days a week. I'm not there yet, but I do have a plan. I'll lay it out below, but I wanted to get my readers' perspective and input.

So let me know what you'd like to see on this blog. In fact, if you want to share your insight or knowledge, I'll also be looking for some guest posts from friends and other musicians and drummers. Let me know if you're up for it.

Here's the plan:

• Mondays: "Gear Up" - All things related to gear. Maintenance, purchasing, cleaning, tuning, repairing, modifying, etc. If it has to do with gear, you'll get it on Monday mornings.
• Tuesdays: "The Weight Room" - Exercises, drills, rudiments, coordination, independence, etc. I hope to share some of the exercises that will develop all parts of your technique so you'll be prepared to tackle all kinds of musical opportunities.
• Wednesday: "Beyond the Kit" - For the most part, these posts will be from outside of the drum set world. It may be percussion or another instrument (or instruments), and a wide variety of styles. Expect weird, but interesting, education.
• Thursday: "The Bag of Tricks" - Every drummer has a toolkit. I'll try to help you fill it up with licks, tricks, kicks, fills and transcriptions that you can immediately apply to your playing. We'll go beyond exercises to actual music.
• Friday: "Friday Features" - I gave you a taste of this a couple of days ago with my nod to Justin Bieber.  On Fridays I'll be giving you my perspective on albums, artists, performances, videos, books, or products that are interesting, ground breaking or just plain awesome. 
• Extras: In addition to the five days a week posts, I'll occasionally throw in random stuff (as if I'm not doing that already) on weekends, holidays or just to substitute for one of the regular posts. This is where I'll also try to fill any requests that I get.

So, that's the plan. I welcome any suggestions or requests, so let me have 'em. 

Happy drumming!

Hardware Maintenance 101

I have always been proud of how I take care of my gear. I have some hardware that is more than a decade old and is still in good working order. In fact, I have a handful of Yamaha cymbal boom stands that I purchased in 1999, and I'm always looking to see if anybody else has stands that old that are still working. Mine are a little dinged up and have some scratches from living in my hardware bag, but all the moving parts, screws, etc. are all just fine.

Last week I mentioned that I played in the percussion section for AFCO's Christmas Concerts. There was also a drum set player, an amazing player by the name of Bobby James.  As I usually do, I took a look at his drums, hardware and cymbals. I was amazed (shocked, actually) to see him pull out Yamaha cymbal stands that were the model before the ones that I'm so proud of. These stands are easily 15+ years old, and they look and function like new.

It's my view that somewhere along the way, one learns to appreciate the equipment almost as much as the music. It's like a racer with cars or a jockey with horses, or a million other examples. If you want to do it well, your equipment must function at its best.

So, let's get down to it. There's probably one issue above all the rest when it comes to taking care of percussion gear: stripped out bolts, nuts, screws and ball joints (as in tom mounts). To fix this one issue is so easy!! Just follow these two simple rules:

1. ALWAYS loosen it before you move it. The place I see this abused the most is with tom-toms and cymbals. Students, if they don't like the angle or position of something, will just force it to go where they want it. This weakens the bolts, nuts, etc. that hold it in place, so they have to be screwed even tighter next time to hold the instrument in place. Over time, this forcing and over-tightening will ruin the equipment so that it has to be repaired or replaced. Not fun, and usually not cheap. 
2. NEVER over-tighten it. For most things - cymbal stands, tom mounts, etc. - the difference between loose and tight is somewhere around a quarter of a turn. Try this one at home: Take a cymbal stand, snare stand or another piece of hardware (make sure it doesn't have anything on it like a cymbal or a drum), and loosen one of the joints just barely enough to move it freely. Then, slowly tighten it just barely to the point that it won't move easily. You want it just tight enough to do the job and no tighter. Especially if your gear is fairly new, you'll notice that there's not much room to turn the screw from "loose enough to move" to "tight enough to hold."

Really and truly, that's about it. Follow those two rules, and your gear will last a long time and serve you well.

Happy drumming!

Timpani

Timpani are, in my opinion, the heavyweights of the percussion section. With the power of drums, but also pitch, they are known in the orchestra as the "second conductor."

They've also been used in many other settings, including in the rock band Led Zeppelin, by one of the most famous drummers of all time, John Bonham.

My first real experience with timps came when I was a senior in high school and made the All-State Band. I was the only percussionist to show up with a tuner, so I was "elected" the timpanist. It was an adventure, to say the least.

When I got to college I began to learn how amazing and fun playing timpani can be. We spent a long time learning proper strokes, dampening and getting great tone, as well as learning to tune the drums by ear. Along with ear training and sight singing classes, my private percussion lessons helped me to be able to "hear" the pitches in my head and get the drums in tune with the ensemble - usually the band.

For two of my years at college I was the timpanist for the Symphony Orchestra. It was challenging and very enjoyable. I learned to be connected with the conductor in a new way, and also learned to listen and align with other sections of the ensemble. In short, playing timpani made me a much better, more mature musician. These days I take the opportunity to play timpani any time I can get it!

Along with a rapidly growing collection of solo timpani literature, orchestral timpani is a high profile and very prestigious position for any percussionist. In most professional groups, the timpanist -while a part of the percussion section - usually plays only timpani. No snare drum, mallets or auxiliary parts.

A few tools are required to be a timpanist. I recommend at least three pairs of timpani mallets - soft, medium and hard. A tuning fork and a digital tuner are also not a bad idea. Most of all, get some lessons with somebody who knows a great deal about timpani and can teach you fundamentals.

Be a complete percussionist-musician. Learn how to play timpani well.

Happy drumming!

Want to be a session player?

This is a blog I read pretty regularly, and it is always full of good advice and inside tips for aspiring musicians. Find it here.

Over the years I have had the opportunity to play on many projects as a session musician. I've played everything from a single suspended cymbal roll (not kidding!) to all of the drum kit and percussion parts for the entire album.

Probably my biggest piece of advice is to get comfortable with a very wide selection of styles. Know how to sound like you were born country, or rock, rap, hip hop, etc.

Oh, and remember this post?  If you're going to play in the studio, get real comfy with chart reading and playing with a click.

Happy drumming!

Keyboard Percussion 5: Odds and Ends

There are a couple more keyboard* instruments that percussionists are occasionally called on to play. These aren't standard, but they're common enough that you need to be familiar with them.

First, crotales. (Cro-tall-ehs) Simply put, they're super-compact, small, pitched cymbals. Again, they're set up like a keyboard, and you usually play them with a hard plastic or phenolic mallet.

Seriously, though, you won't play these very often. But even as I type that I have to tell you that all of the orchestral sections I've played with in the last year have used crotales.

If you're a band director, and you're thinking about buying a set - borrow first! If you need them more than once per year, you might think about getting some. But until them, find a band director friend and do the borrow/trade thing.




Next up: celeste. Another instrument you won't play frequently, but you do need to be familiar. One classic example of a place you'll use them is in "The Nutcracker: Dance of the Sugar-Plum Fairy." We played this in college (seemingly) every year, and we had to drag the ol' celeste up from the percussion dungeon to get it done.

Here's a WikiPedia article about celeste that is very clear about the origins, mechanics and uses of celeste.

Again, before you buy this thing, make sure you really need one - or get a great deal!





There are many more pitched and/or keyboard percussion instruments, but they're either really similar to what we've already covered, or they're so rarely used that it's not really worth mentioning them here.

Happy percussion-ing!
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*It's worth mentioning that traditional keyboard instruments can fall into the realm of percussion, too. Like piano and harpsichord, although usually percussionists aren't asked to cover those parts. You should, however, do what you can to shore up your piano playing skills. Not only will it prepare you to cover some of these odd instruments, but there is also no better way to work on your sight reading skills than to play piano and learn some new music on a regular basis.