Do it right!

I have used many basketball metaphors and analogies in writing for this blog, and it's time I share some of the reasons why.

For starters, sports and music have a lot of elements in common. They're both about a long term commitment to mastery of a certain set of skills. And that involves always learning, practicing and being willing to adjust.

Another reason - probably the main one - is my high school basketball coach, the late Steve Hodson. Coach Hodson was a stickler for proper technique. He would absolutely blow a gasket if you shot the ball incorrectly, make or miss. But if your form was good - even if you shot an air ball at a critical time - he'd give you a nod and a clap and encourage you to shoot again.

So, why was the coach such a technique stickler? He believed that sacrificing good technique for any reason, even for a critical basket now, would rob you of future scores.* That always using the proper technique would, over time, garner a player more points and, therefore, more wins.

This is one of my fundamental educational philosophies: If you do it right, every time, you'll get consistent results in terms of sound, execution and musicality.

Of course, there is much more to be said about technique, but that's for more future blog posts. For now, just remember to do it right every time if you want to get consistent, long term results.

Happy drumming, and make the most of it!

*Not to mention the fact that poor technique can increase your risk of injury.

The Technique Dilemma

Technique. What is it, anyway? Simply put, technique for percussionists boils down to a couple of things. How do you hold the stick or mallet, and how does it move? How do you approach the instrument or the pedals, etc?

For other instruments, there are other issues, but the bottom line is that there are ways to play that work and keep you safe (free from injury, etc.) and those that will keep you from achieving your potential or are flat out going to cause you injury*. Now, the technique itself is a topic for many, many other blog posts, so we'll just take a look at whether or not your technique actually matters all that much.

So, here's the scenario. Imagine that you are a baseball coach. You have filled all of your positions but one, and you are down to two possible players. Everything is equal between the two players except for one thing - their running technique. They both make the sprint from home to first in the exact same amount of time, but their technique couldn't be more different.

Player A has flawless running technique. The gait is smooth, footfalls are perfect, etc. The running is a thing of beauty. Player B, however, runs like a pregnant yak - nothing looks right and the motions are awkward.

It's up to you, Coach. Who do you choose?

If you're lazy or impatient, you choose Player A. But if you're a teacher and can help Player B improve their running technique, the speed will increase. Theoretically, if Player A may already be running as fast as possible, but Player B can only get faster - maybe much faster.

So, what does that mean for drummers? It's simple - good technique unlocks your potential. Conversely, like the baseball player in our example, bad technique may be slowing you down.

Honestly, I get tired of young musicians who say, "It's just how I play." Or, they'll tell their band teacher (who's a sax player or something), "Well, my friend's older brother is a real drummer, and this is how he said to do it."

You know what both of those statements translate into? "I'm lazy. It's too hard for me to do it right, so I'm just going to make excuses and not try."

Now, I'm not saying there aren't successful players with, shall we say, interesting technique. There are some variations between every single player because we're not all carbon copies of each other. But, if you carefully study the top drummers in the world, you'll notice that almost all of them - while they may not look exactly the same - are applying the same technical concepts. In other words, the main ideas are the same.

To continue the baseball example, no two throwing motions are the same, but you're not seeing anybody pitch underhand. If you wanna play baseball at the highest levels, underhand simply won't work. You also won't see people use techniques that are too far out of the norm. Athletes know that there are motions and practices that will hurt them, and those that won't.

*It's crazy how little most drummers know about their own bodies, in terms of muscles, joints, bones, ligaments and tendons. Think about how many strokes you play in an average practice session - thousands! And yet athletes, who may only shoot a few baskets in a game or throw several dozen pitches over a few innings, take great care to warm up, stretch, use proper technique, cool down, ice and strengthen all of the parts of their bodies that they use. 

How do I know I'm making progress?

I used to give my high school students a hard time when they would say somebody was a "good" musician, or a certain band was, "awesome." I'd ask how they determined if a certain musician or band was "good," and I'd get blank stares.

Honestly, most of us know when a player or group is "good," but we do we have concrete reasons to think so? Closer to home, how do we know when we are getting good ourselves?

Much has been written and discussed on this topic, but I'm going to try to boil it down to a few key indicators that you can look to when assessing your own playing and musicianship. Keep in mind that these are only a few of the ways you can tell if you're "getting better."

-----

Keep excellent time.

This means that everything you play - every groove, fill, chop, lick or kick - is in time with the metronome. You are able to play freely at the same time that you are a dependable time-keeper and can "groove" with the rest of the band or group.

Play within the texture.
Another way to say this is that you should almost be "invisible." Great musicians are great because they contribute to - and fit within - the sound of the band. If you ever stick out, it's either because you're the soloist, or you're playing something that doesn't fit.

Check out a recent recording (ideally a video) of yourself playing with a band. Do you do anything that detracts from the music or performance?


Develop consistent technique.
Do you have a good sound? Are your hands even? Are you comfortable playing the notes and music that you need to play to make good music? This isn't the most immediately gratifying part of being a musician, but you need to spend enough time practicing that performances are easy.

Make fewer mistakes. 
Not that you shouldn't push yourself and play past your boundaries from time to time, but you should be continually mastering the instrument, pulse, fills, grooves and music to the point that you can start to tell that you're playing more and more mistake-free.

Sound like a drummer.
Yes, eventually you should have your own sound, and that sound should be unique. But even then you should sound like you know what you're doing on in the instrument, within the style, and in any given moment. Again, check out a recording of yourself, and note the things you play that you like and that you don't like. You're a musician, you're familiar with drummers and you have ears.

We're all still learning to play, and as the old saying goes, "The good ones borrow, but the great ones steal." It is okay to play what your favorite drummers play, as long as you're using it as a tool to improve, and not a crutch to hide your weaknesses.

Play what you want to play.
Here's another old cliche: "Most people play whatever they can, but some play whatever they want."


I notice that as I practice and perform more - little by little - I'm able to be more expressive on the instrument. I get closer to executing what I'm hearing in my head. In other words, I can "say" what I want with the drums and music, instead of being limited by "vocabulary."

Imagine someone who is learning English as a second language. At first, they can only say a few things, and only one way. But as they gain fluency, they can not only say much more, but in different ways. Think of how many different choices you have when saying something as simple as a greeting, and you'll get the idea.

It's no different with music. This is why - without having to invent a new "language" - every person, every musician is different.



-----

Obviously, there are myriad ways to determine whether you're making progress as a musician. I offer these as a starting point. As you set your own goals and benchmarks, you'll begin to see which tactics produce results and which are a waste of time.

Share your best ideas below.

As always, happy drumming!

The Weight Room: Practicing for consistency

The philosophy behind this one is simple: If you want to do it well in performance, you've got to do it really, really, really well in practice.

Before you start, you need to determine a couple of things. First, choose a small chunk of music - a measure, phrase or fill, etc. Clearly define how/where it starts and ends. Then set up your parameters. What are you practicing for? Rhythms or pitches? Dynamics, articulation or phrasing? All of the above?



In short, you need to know how to determine if you got it "right" after each repetition or attempt. It's an oversimplification, but I use basketball as an example. If it went through the hoop, it's a make. If it didn't, it's not. So you've got to know what the "hoop" is before you start. Once you've decided what that is, don't back down. Hold yourself to that standard each time, with no slacking off. Remember, the harder you push yourself in practice, the easier the performance will be.

Okay, done with the preliminaries. Here are two ways I help myself develop consistency.

Get it right a total number of times.
With this technique, you don't worry about how many attempts you make, or how many mistakes for that matter, but the total number of times you can play it right. Using the free throw example, don't worry if it takes you 283 attempts. As long as the ball goes through the hoop a total of 10 times (or whatever you've determined the magic number to be) you're done!

Get right a number of times consecutively, or "in a row." This one's a little more demanding, because every time you make a mistake, you start back over at zero. Again, with free throws, it doesn't matter how many total makes you have, you have to make 10 (or whatever number) consecutively, with no misses in between.

Honestly, when I'm learning a new concept I usually start out with the total number of times idea, and progress to the consecutive times technique as I get better. Pretty soon, you're developing the sense of what it takes to get it right each time. And, as you do it over a period of several days (or weeks, months, whatever) you will train your brain and body to do the motion(s) correctly by default. You will, in essence, "program" yourself to perform whatever it is correctly, almost without thinking about it.

This is one of the reasons teachers ask you to perform basic exercises (think 8 On A Hand) every day. Not because you need work on your eighth notes, but because you'll reinforce correct grip, path, travel, etc. about a thousand times in the first five minutes of your practice session.

And finally, remember that developing skills and technique that will last is sort of like watching your hair grow. You won't notice the progress day by day, but if you keep at it, after a few weeks, months and years, you've gone from a buzz cut to Rapunzel.

Happy drumming!

Friday Feature: Steve Jordan

Another favorite drummer who is much, much more than that. Steve Jordan is an artist. He is a producer, musical director, composer, drummer....you get the picture. For a fairly complete look at his career and musical works, visit the Drummerworld site.

One of the things I admire most about Steve is that he's multi-faceted, and approaches music from a variety of angles. He never thinks about music - or performs, writes, etc. - from only one aspect. He seems to always consider what his contribution will do in terms of affecting the whole. He's thoughtful about his choice of sounds, grooves, fills and overall style to make sure that the music achieves the desired affect.

In short, he's a musician. He listens. Communicates with his band mates. Plays well with others. Again, you get the idea.

Two of my favorite Steve Jordan moments are his appearance in the documentary film, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," and his work with John Mayer and Pino Palladino. I just can't get over the "Try" album. It's one that I can listen to for many reasons and for many hours.

And as I've said about some other players, you won't do any harm to yourself by learning some of his techniques and tricks.

Happy drumming!

Beyond the Kit: Shaker

It may seem really simple, but playing shaker well is an art. Just like you need to have great hi-hat technique with super-solid time and feel, solid shaker  technique is a critical tool in your arsenal.

While shakers come in an increasing variety of shapes and sizes, the basic form is a tube, capped at both ends, with beads, pellets or other small objects inside. The shaker makes sound as the contents come in contact with the tube. My favorite is the LP Soft Shake, filled with sand.


Here's a basic shaker technique: hold the shaker like a can of soda turned on its side, palm up. Hold the shaker up at eye or top-of-head level. Move the shaker forward and back in time - usually forward on the beat, and backward on the offbeat. Be sure to keep the shaker level - don't let it go up or down, just forward and backward. You can control the articulation and dynamic by how fast and hard you move the shaker.

Give it a go. You'll like it. When you get pretty comfortable with the basic eighth note pattern, try playing a basic rock beat with a shaker in hand. Play kick and snare as normal, but use the shaker instead of playing hat or ride with a stick. It's a cool groove/technique that can be used for ballads, bossas, or soft sections.

Happy.....drumming?

Friday Feature: Steve Smith

Steve Smith is AWESOME. I've seen him play live a number of times, enjoyed his recordings and DVDs, and been inspired by his playing for years. And, yes, I've stolen quite a few of his ideas, grooves and licks. You should, too!


But I didn't truly have an appreciation for who Steve Smith is until I came across his "Drumset Technique and History of the US Beat" DVD set a few years ago. I highly recommend it.

His take on technique and practicing is one with which I thoroughly agree. And his setup is the most similar to mine of any top-level drummer I've seen.

One of Steve's ideas that really rings true with me has to do with the idea of not forcing a new concept or idea into your playing. He says that you should practice an idea very slowly at first (sound familiar?), and repeat it every day over as long a period of time as it takes for the idea to, "naturally enter your playing."

I've tried this approach, and it's rewarding. It took me a long time (several weeks), but one particularly difficult (but super cool!) lick I'd been working on surprised me at a gig by just flowing out of me during a fill. I'd never used the idea in a live situation before, and didn't try to! It just happened because I'd finally convinced my brain that it was a natural part of who I am as a player.

Yep, Steve Smith is awesome.



Oh, and he also rocks. (Ever hear of Journey?)


* Do you have an artist, band, song, album, video, website or other resource you'd like to share with the "To Drums" community? Send me an email or list it in the comments below and we'll get it up. I'm pretty open to anything, so let me have it!