(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.

Turkeys and flying

You've heard this story before, but it bears repeating. And I'm sure there are much better versions out there, but you'll get the point.

There was a group of turkeys that wanted desperately to learn how to fly. As they watched the sky, they saw other birds soaring on the winds, and were envious.

"We're birds, too," they said, "there's no reason we shouldn't fly." So, they asked the mightiest bird in the sky, the eagle, if he would teach them how to fly. He agreed, and invited them over to his home the following afternoon.

The eagle was a great teacher, and the turkeys were quick, enthusiastic learners. Before long they were lifting off and landing, and by the end of the day every one was able to fly and soar on the wind. They thanked the eagle, clapping him on the back and expressing their gratitude. Some even hugged him.

Then they all walked home, just the way they had come.

I remember the first time I ever heard this story. I was thinking, "Seriously?! They WALKED?!" And that's the point of the story. The turkeys learned something that could have had an impact on almost every part of their lives, and they treated it like a toy.

They didn't allow the new skill, knowledge and perspective to make them better - to change their behavior and their lives.

Too many students (including some of mine) learn how to make themselves better, whether it be from a class, a rehearsal, a lesson or even YouTube, but then they go right back to doing things just the way they have been. It's almost like they refuse to adapt and change even when they know what they need to do to improve.

They learn how to fly, then walk home.

Here's to my students - and students everywhere - who take to heart the knowledge that they gain in classes, from their teachers and from their own observations, and allow it to change them for the better.

Happy flying!

The Weight Room: Transcription

One of my favorite expressions about musicians is this, "The good ones borrow, but the great ones steal."

Are you stealing? You should be! Now, I'm not talking about actually physically taking things that aren't yours. I'm talking about learning to play like your favorite artists - to use their licks, fills and grooves.

Why would you want to do this? Don't you want to be an individual, to be unique? Absolutely! But just like babies learn to speak by imitating, so we learn to "speak" music in part by imitating the best "speakers" in the business. You'll never be an exact copy of anybody, but as you learn how others play and think, so to speak, you will diversify and expand your ability to express yourself on the instrument.

In short, theft pays. Uh....you know what I mean.

The word is transcription. To transcribe something, in this case, means to write it down, exactly as it was played. For example, if you listen to a song that you like and write down the words as you hear them, you have transcribed the lyrics.

In fact, all of my Thursday posts of late, called, "Bag of Tricks," are short transcriptions of a section of the drum part of the selected song.

So, how do you get started? I suggest following this process.

• Choose the section you want to transcribe. Keep it short at first, no more than a couple of measures.
• Mark where the section starts and stops. For example, it you're using a media player like iTunes, you can easily see what time you are looking at so you can go back to the exact spot each time.
• Listen to it enough times that you can sing it pretty accurately (okay, at least give it the bah-da-be-dah run through).
• As you start writing it down, focus on one "voice" at a time. What's the kick drum doing? Got it? Move on to the snare drum, or hi-hat, etc. writing down each part as you go. 
• Once you think you've got the whole down, try playing along with it in the air or on your legs. You'll quickly get a feel for whether you're on or not.
• Use pencil (so you can erase your mistakes), and use standard notation.
• Once you know you've got it dialed, get it down permanently. I suggest using a notation software like Noteflight where you can store your work and share it. 

You may find that after you've gotten into the transcription habit, you'll actually start seeing drum parts in your head as you hear them. It's a little weird to think about, but it will move your learning and playing forward in a big way. 

Start with something easy, and keep working at it. It will get easier and more rewarding the more you do it. 

Happy 'scribing!