Friday Feature: Terry Bozzio

I've seen Terry Bozzio (pronounced Bo-zee-oh) perform live twice (thanks Backbeats!), both times as a soloist. The first time, I was a Freshman in college, and I went because the other percussion guys were going. I really didn't have any idea who he was or why he was significant in music and drumming. The second time - needless to say - I attended his performance/clinic as a devoted fan.

If you've seen Bozzio play, you know that he's a totally unique musician with a totally unique approach and a totally unique drum kit. In fact, his tech crew lovingly refers to his setup as the "HMS (His Majesty's Ship) Bozzio."

All of his drums and cymbals are chosen for his specific needs and for their specific tone quality and pitch. The wide selection of drums and cymbals, combined with his meticulous tuning, allow him to play melodically and harmonically - and it's a beautiful thing.

For more amazing pics, check out the Terry Bozzio page on Drummerworld or his own website here.

Two things you'll notice about Terry Bozzio are:

1. His use of ostinato.
2. The various hair styles and lengths with which he rocks at different points in his career. And he always looks like a rock star.

If you don't have time to watch this next video in its entirety, Terry comes on stage at about the 1:10 mark, and starts playing at 2:30. It's worth listening to the introduction and listening to Terry talk. He's a down-to-earth, intelligent and funny guy. 

Lots of fun. He puts an entirely new spin on the term "drum solo." 

As always, I hope this is simply a jumping off place for you. Terry Bozzio is worth checking out and emulating in many ways. 

Happy drumming!

Bag of Tricks: Simple Jazz Fill

Here's a simple idea to get you going. This fill isn't exactly subtle, but if you really lay back on it, it's pretty swingin'.

Try to keep the unaccented snare drum notes down (soft) as much as possible. You can then use the accents to develop the "melody" of the movement around the kit, and you don't have to play loudly. Remember that, in terms of dynamics, the more you can whisper, the more a normal voice will sound like shouting. It's all about contrast.

And, finally, the sticking. I like to play the first triplet alternating, starting with the right hand (so R L R), then play L L R the rest of the way.

Happy drumming!

Guest Blogger: Emily Sorensen - Is your teacher ripping you off?

Guest Blogger: Emily Sorensen*, formerly of Play Music Educational Studios

Are you getting your money’s worth?

Taking music lessons is a big time and money commitment and you should know that you are getting the most for your money. Regardless what you are paying for lessons, at some point during your lesson experience (if it hasn’t happened already) you are going to ask yourself if what you’re paying for lessons is worth what you’re getting out of it. Sometimes $15 can be too much to pay and $25 can be a real bargain for a 30 minute lessons. 

Here are a few questions to think about when deciding if you’re getting your money’s worth from your lessons.

• How much education does your teacher have on the instrument they’re teaching you? 

Most everybody has taken some kind of lesson or was in a band class in school, but didn’t bother to take any further education after high school.  No, not everybody who is talented at playing an instrument has taken lessons or majored or minored in the subject in college.  But as we become adults and start looking for ways to increase our income we often fall back on any skill we think might help. So make sure that you’re comfortable with your teacher’s education. The more they’ve studied their instrument, especially if it’s private lessons, the more likely it is that they will be able to help you become better at playing your instrument.

• What playing experience does your teacher have?

This is a twofold question; experience teaching and playing are important to consider. 

How long has your teacher been teaching lessons? Experience in teaching is important because teachers who have been teaching longer generally have had many students and have learned many ways to help students figure out how to play.  And the longer your teacher has been teaching the more they will have ideas and a “tool box” full of ideas to help you learn the concepts.  Is it okay to take from a beginning teacher? Sure, all teachers were beginners once too, but make sure you are comfortable with their playing and teaching experience. New teachers will gain that experience over time, so don’t let this sway you completely one way or the other on your value of your teacher’s ability to help you.  A good teacher will have a realistic view of their own abilities and will never try to convince you they are more or better than they really are.

Does your teacher still play? Experience in playing is important because teachers who don’t play will be rusty in their skills. Many skills will “come back” as they begin teaching and playing and many of the basic skills will improve as they are teaching or have taught over the years, but it is important that teachers are playing and keeping up on their skills. Continuing to practice on their own is an important key to if they are still playing, but most musicians are driven to continue to play. Even if it’s in community or church groups your teacher is more likely to be able to help you improve your own skills if they are still staying active and relevant on the “gig” scene. 

• Does your teacher come with high recommendation?

How did you find your teacher? Did a band/orchestra/choir teacher recommend your teacher to you? A great way to find a teacher is to talk to your music teacher at school and to check with your friends. A personal reference from someone you know and trust is usually a reliable way to find a teacher. However, let that be a first step in choosing your teacher. Everyone has different learning styles and teachers are not one-size-fits-all. 

If you have found a teacher through an advertisement service make sure to check any website or blogs listed and when you call or email feel free to ask for references or comments from their current or past students. Just remember if you made a “cold” contact with this teacher the information they send back with their references will always be their “best side.” But that doesn’t invalidate the information, just a reminder to take all recommendations from someone you don’t know with a grain of salt. Ask about some of their methods of teaching; do they lecture and pass off music, does the teacher play along during the lesson, are lessons a kinetic (hands on) experience encouraging you to challenge, stretch and try new things? 

Many teachers offer a free first lesson. This is a great opportunity to “try out” your teacher. When you go to the store to purchase a piece of clothing it is unwise to just grab the item, pay for it and leave unless you are absolutely sure it’s the right fit for you. If you don’t like it in the store you won’t wear it once you get it home. So it is with lessons and teachers. If you don’t feel comfortable with their teaching style during that first lesson, it most likely isn’t going to get much easier the longer you take; that’s not always the case but most of the time you have a really good feel for the fit after that first lesson.

• Does your teacher focus on technique and mastering the basics or jump right to “showboating” and moving you through the method book as fast as possible?

Your teacher should be talented. But the time you are paying for is to help you learn and improve. When you are struggling to grasp a technique or skill does your teacher break it down and help you to run through it over and over and over until you can do it, or is your teacher quick to jump in and “show you how to do it?” Seeing an example can help, but sometimes struggling through the process with your teacher as a guide and mentor is a more effective method for mastering the technique.

Does your teacher make sure you have mastered one technique before moving to the next technique? One of the hardest parts of being a private music teacher is to make sure your students have mastered a skill before moving on to the next one. Sometimes it seems you are doing the same thing over and over in a lesson and all you want to do is move on, but music is a skill that is comprehensive. If you haven’t mastered a skill before moving on to the next one, it will be much more difficult to learn the next skill. A good music teacher will make sure you are actually learning the skill before teaching you more and harder skills. This sometimes involves slowing down and focusing on skills that are weaker and many times it means reviewing each week even after you have moved to the next skill. You might even have “pop review” session in a lesson sometime to make sure you’ve got it down. But rest assured this is all to make sure you are learning and mastering the skills necessary to make long term progress.

• Are you making progress?

Are you any better than when you started taking lessons? Are you constantly learning new things and being challenged? If you are not getting any better then don’t continue to take lessons. But taking lessons isn’t a magic, I’m amazing at music, get better quick pill. You have to do what your teacher asks you to do and YOU have to practice. If you are practicing at least 5 days a week for a minimum of 20 minutes per practice session, doing what your teacher asks you to do and THEN you’re not getting any better, find a new teacher. If you’re doing your part and you can’t make any progress (which sometimes can seem imperceptible) then you’re definitely not getting your money’s worth and you need to find a new teacher or take a break.

• Are lessons enjoyable?

At the end of the day if you are not motivated to improve and you don’t enjoy going to lessons maybe you’re really not getting your money’s worth. If you would rather do almost anything other than go to your lesson and you look for ways to miss or cancel your lesson - you should probably find another teacher. Good rapport between student and teacher and parent and teacher is important. While sometimes you may not like a lesson or are having a difficult time learning a concept and lessons can be hard, you should always enjoy yourself. Learning is supposed to be fun, why should learning a musical instrument be any different? Progress and having a good time go hand in hand. If we can’t enjoy what we’re doing/learning, then we aren’t motivated to be better and we avoid the things that will help us to improve. Bottom line, if you can’t enjoy learning the instrument and the lessons, nothing else really matters in deciding if you’re getting your money’s worth.

Music lessons are a great investment and should be viewed as an investment. But make sure your investment is working for you and you are getting the most benefit for your money. Getting your money’s worth from music lessons is a win-win situation for everyone involved. Good luck, and may you find the teacher worth the investment of your time and money! 

*Yep, Emily is my wife and best friend. She's also an experienced musician and was the administrator at our music teaching studio where she worked with about 20 teachers and over 100 students. She dealt with all of the day-to-day operations, including interfacing with parents and students. In short, she knows her stuff.

The Weight Room: More Diddle Work

Here's another simple exercise that can bring great results.

First, try to play this exercise at a comfortable tempo, then gradually increase it until you start to get a little uncomfortable.

Now - same sticking, different interpretation. Once you get this one back up to your discomfort level, try switching between the two interpretations without stopping or changing tempo.

Apply this one to your improvisation - tons of fun!

Happy drumming!

Gear Up: Remote Hats

I'm writing this post mostly to convince myself that this needs to be my next gear purchase.

About a hundred years ago (maybe a little longer), bass drum and hi-hat pedals were the height of drum set technology innovation. They sort of still are - but with some very cool improvements.

In the old days of drumming, the position and playability of your drums and cymbals was limited to straight line access. Even with traditional double bass drum pedals, you have a straight metal linkage. If anything gets in the way, it simply won't work.

Luckily for us, companies like Gibraltar, DW and Yamaha have been allowing for remote location of drums and cymbals for a good long while now. This means that you can basically mount the hi-hat anywhere you want, and put the pedal wherever it's convenient for you.

You want to play open handed without switching hands? No problem. You want hi-hats on both sides of the kit, but pedals right next to each other? You got it.

For me, these are the reasons to get excited about remote hats and other innovations. You can put the instrument(s) where they make sense for you, your playing and your music. And, of course, when you change the kit, you'll undoubtedly change your approach and open up more possibilities for being expressive and creative on the kit.


Awesome. Remotely awesome, in fact.

Happy drumming!

Friday Feature: John Bonham of Led Zeppelin

The band Led Zeppelin changed the course of rock and roll forever, and legendary drummer John Bonham played an enormous role.

According to Drummerworld, "John Bonham is the most influential Rock Drummer of all time." That's a very bold statement, but I can't argue it. Not only did Led Zeppelin change the course of rock music, millions of drummers around the world were influenced by the sometimes bombastic, and always passionate, playing of Bonham.

My first exposure to Led Zeppelin was fairly pedestrian. I wasn't a very experienced listener or musician, so I didn't know that what I was hearing was extraordinary. It was only years later, after much more listening and playing - and trying to imitate what I heard - that I realized how unique and powerful the playing of John Bonham really was and is.

Today there are many great players who have achieved skill and notoriety approaching the level of John Bonham. And I'm willing to bet that most of them would list him among their influences.

"Moby Dick" was one of the songs that caught my attention when I first started listening to Zeppelin. Of course, I convinced my own band to cover the song, and I gave my very best Bonham impersonation (sans timpani, unfortunately). 

It's interesting as you listen to this clip to hear the sound and tone choices that he makes. Even more interesting are his melodic, rhythmic and compositional choices. This is a drum solo for musicians. Of course there are a bazillion notes, lightning fast chops, and the like. 

But honestly, doesn't this sound more like a jazz drummer than a hard rocker? It's amazing to me.

At any rate, if you're not familiar with John Bonham and/or Led Zeppelin (you're living under the proverbial rock, of course), you owe it to yourself to check him/them out. Even if you don't like the music, be a student of their ingenuity, virtuosity and innovation. The effort will reward you generously.

Happy drumming!

Bag of Tricks: Hemiola (3 : 2)

This is a very fun trick to have in your bag. You can use it all over the place.

A hemiola is simply a figure where three equal notes are played over two equal notes. It's also a handy way to give the feeling of speeding up or slowing down without actually changing the tempo. Hemiola is fairly common in some African traditional music.

We'll think of it in two ways.

Counting in triple meter - 3/4.

And counting in duple meter - in this case, 6/8, but counted as if it were triplets in 2/4 (one-and-ah, two-and-ah, OR one-la-li, two-la-li).

Practice this on two different voices. Even playing your bare hands on your thighs will work. Practice playing it slowly enough times that you start to hear the two hands as separate, distinct voices. It's also fun to remove one voice or the other, switch back and forth, emphasize one or the other, and so on. If you can think of both parts as separate, interdependent voices, you're there.

Really, that's all there is to it. Practice it at various tempi and with various feels, over foot patterns, break it up around various orchestrations or voicings, etc. Once you've got it mastered, listen for appropriate places to use it to enhance your ability to be expressive and musical.

Happy drumming!