NOT JUST CHOPS

In the internet-age of drumming, we’re so focused on how many notes we can fit into each measure. However, any working musician will tell you that chops are usually the LAST thing that got them hired! This week, I’ll talk about 4 things that are WAY more important than having chops. Here we go!

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#1 - HAVING A GREAT SOUNDING DRUM KIT

Seriously… when’s the last time you tuned your entire kit?

For some reason, as drummers we often become lazy when it comes to keeping our kit sounding GREAT. It’s perhaps (ironically) the most overlooked aspect of our sound as we tend to be more focused on our actual playing. Maybe we leave our drum heads on for too long or are afraid to change the tuning of a drum for fear that we might “mess up a good thing.” However, the greats are the ones who constantly maintain the tuning of their kit, make deliberate choices as to WHICH gear is the best fit for the gig at hand, and make decisions on how each drum should be tuned.

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#2 - CONSISTENCY

How consistent is your playing from night to night, song to song, or from section to section?

The next time you listen to your favorite drummers, notice how consistent they are in the way they play. You’ll notice that they feel the pulse consistently throughout the tune (they’re either ahead, behind, or on top of the beat, it usually doesn’t shift in the middle of the song). You’ll also notice that they keep their backbeats consistent (or ride cymbal pattern, clave, etc). Here’s a simple rule to follow when it comes to consistency: anything that is NOT consistent should be INTENTIONALLY different, not ACCIDENTALLY different.

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#3 - RELIABILITY

How reliable are you as a drummer? As a person?

Being reliable means many different things: Showing up on time, responding to emails/calls/texts, honoring commitments made, knowing the material for each gig, being a good traveler, executing your parts well, etc. It’s not enough these days to be a rock-solid musician, you must also be a rock-solid person, reliable both on stage and off.

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#4 - CONFIDENCE

Do you play with confidence?

Possibly more than any other musician on stage, a drummer must be absolutely confident in everything that they do. Where as some musicians may be able to hide behind a song they’re not comfortable with, a drummer simply cannot. A timid drummer can be heard the minute they start playing! Therefore, it’s absolutely crucial that you develop the confidence to be able to handle playing in high-pressure situations. If for some reason things start to fall apart on stage (musically or in any number of other ways), it is YOUR job to drive the bus, be a “problem-solver,” and keep everyone together. Every time you sit down to play, it should be your mission to lay down a strong, confident foundation for the rest of the musicians to comfortably play on top of.

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YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK:

Take a few moments to honestly assess how well you embody the 4 characteristics mentioned above. (Does my kit sound good? Am I consistent? Am I reliable? Do I play with confidence?)

When finished, answer the following questions:

1) Which of these 4 items is your greatest strength?
2) Which of these 4 items is your greatest weakness?
3) For the area you just chose, what is one small, specific action that you could take THIS WEEK to improve on that weakness?
 

Here are some examples:

DRUM KIT SOUND - Focus on the tuning of just ONE drum this week. How can you make it sound better?
CONSISTENCY - Practice only backbeats with a metronome for 15 minutes each day this week. How consistent are you?
RELIABILITY - Intentionally show up to a gig 30 minutes earlier than you need to. How does it feel?
CONFIDENT - Smile more, interact more with the other musicians in your band. Do you feel more confident?

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100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS

Thanks so much for reading this week's article! Each week, I select one person from "100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS” and write an article based on the three-word rule they offered. My goal is to provide questions, thought experiments, and specific action steps you can take in order to improve both your DRUMMING and LIFE!

If you personally found this article helpful, please pay it forward by sharing it with just one person in your life that you think would become inspired from reading it!

Subscribe to 100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS by clicking HERE.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, I’d LOVE to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out anytime using the comments section below or by emailing me at steve@stevesuchdrums.com

Thanks,

-Steve

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ABOUT JAY NORTH

Thank you to Jay North for offering his three words of advice to drummers (NOT JUST CHOPS) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Jay is a music lover currently residing in Los Angeles, CA.

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SHOW DESCRIPTION: 

In this episode, I explain a super-quick "drum hack" on how to get more life out of your drum sticks. All you need is a sharpie marker.
 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:

ONE THING IS CERTAIN...

No matter what path you end up on, it will not always be a smooth trip. You WILL hit road-blocks from time to time… guaranteed! What actually matters is not the actual road-blocks themselves, but what we do about them.

When you've hit a road-block, does the train grind to a halt or do you find a way to keep it moving?

I was recently listening to one of my favorite podcasts, “The Tim Ferriss Show,” and in one particular episode, Tim was offering some advice for what he tries to do when hitting various “road-blocks," the moments where you seem to find yourself banging your head against the wall trying to solve a problem that seems impossible.

His advice? When facing a road-block, Tim simply asks himself the following question:

“What would this look like if it were easy?"

Asking yourself this one, single question acts as an incredibly powerful tool for solving problems, reducing stress, and getting past the various road-blocks we face.

What is it about this question that is so powerful? By imagining the easiest possible scenario first, we often forget about the problem and instead focus on the solution. By imagining an easy scenario, we’re forced to eliminate complexity. It then becomes quite clear which things need to be changed, added, or removed.

In this article, I’ll provide 2 practical examples of “road-blocks” that a musician might face, and how we can use Tim’s strategy to completely eliminate them.

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EXAMPLE 1 - THE LAST-MINUTE GIG

Let’s say you get a call from a band-leader who got your contact information through a mutual musician friend. He explains to you that the drummer in their band is sick and they need a fill-in drummer who can play their entire 30 song catalog, without a rehearsal.

"The gig is in 2 days and pays $400... can you do it?"

Normally, you’d have no problem playing a gig like this because you know how to write out quick charts that you can use on the gig. But, there’s just one problem... you’re completely swamped over the next 2 days and won’t have any time to write out the charts. You’ve hit a roadblock.

Most people, at this point, would turn down the gig.

But what if you stopped and asked yourself: “What would this look like if it were easy?"

Well... if this were easy, the charts would already exist; you could just sight read them on the gig. Because you know how to sight-read charts at a high-level, you’d be able to accept and play the gig.

So, working backwards, how do we use charts on the gig if we’re not able to make them ourselves? Here’s a solid solution: Hire a drummer friend to write out the charts for you and give them part of your pay for the gig. Explain that it would be an easy way for your friend to learn some tunes, they could keep these 30 charts for their own use whenever needed, all while making some cash… not to mention that they would be helping you out tremendously. Everybody wins. You get to play the gig and your friend makes some money out of the process.

Now, let’s take a look at what just happened here. If you’d just stopped at the road-block (in this case, not having enough time to prepare), you would have turned the gig down, missed out on potential income, and also missed out on opportunities for future work with that band. However, because you worked backwards imagining the easiest scenario possible first, you found a way to eliminate the roadblock. You were thus able to play the gig, make some money (for both you and your friend), all while creating the opportunity for future work with that band! How’s that for problem-solving?

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EXAMPLE 2 - THE TOURING MUSICIAN’S HOME

Let’s say you’re a “hired gun,” making your living playing with a number of different bands. You might be hired for several days at a time up to several months on tour. Travel becomes a huge part of this nomadic lifestyle you’ve chosen, which is great! The problem is, when you’re NOT out on tour, you suddenly don’t have a place to live... You want to live in a house/apartment and feel like a “normal person," but it doesn’t necessarily make financial sense to sign a lease or enter into contracts with various utilities like water/cable/internet when you might need to leave town at a moment’s notice. You don’t want to crash on couches, but you also don’t want to be forced into renting a place that you may only live at for a few months each year. We’ve hit another road-block.

Again, we need to turn to our trusty question: “What would this look like if it were easy?"

If housing for traveling musicians were EASY, you wouldn’t have ANY signed leases or contracts. The place you stay would always be furnished (eliminating the need for “moving") You wouldn’t have to pay utilities, and you would easily be able to pack up and leave for a gig without losing money renting a place that you aren’t occupying. You only pay for the days you actually live there.

The solution: Use a service like AirBNB, where you simply pick the days you’d like to stay. When you need to leave town for a gig, simply place all your belongings into storage.

See what we did here? Because we first imagined the easiest possible outcome, it allowed us to work backwards to find a way to get past the housing road-block.

*Side Note: This solution is precisely what I’ve been doing for over a year now. Living through AirBnb has saved me thousands of dollars annually, and has also allowed me to see more of the world in between gigs. I used to need to fly home between gigs, but with the AirBnb solution, I simply choose where it makes the most sense to live next. For example, last year I had an entire week off between gigs and decided to stay in New Orleans, a place I had always wanted to visit. If I had been paying a monthly rent check to a landlord, this kind of one-week trip would not have made financial sense. The AirBnb solution allows me to see the world while actually SAVING money... It’s bonkers!

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SUMMARY

To recap, when we face the inevitable road-blocks of life, the best way to keep moving is to first imagine the easiest possible scenario (“What would this look like if it were easy?”), and then work backwards until you come up with a solution for how to make that scenario become a reality.

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YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK:

1) Take an assessment of any major “road-blocks” in your life: What are the things you encounter regularly that seem be more difficult, inconvenient, or inefficient than they should be?
2) For each of these road-blocks, ask yourself “What would this look like if it were easy?"
3) Once you’ve created the ideal scenario in your mind, work backwards and decide which specific actions will allow you to turn this imagined outcome into a reality.
4) Take action.

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100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS

Thanks so much for reading this week's article! Each week, I select one person from "100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS” and write an article based on the three-word rule they offered. My goal is to provide questions, thought experiments, and specific action steps you can take in order to improve both your DRUMMING and LIFE!

If you personally found this article helpful, please pay it forward by sharing it with just one person in your life that you think would become inspired from reading it!

Subscribe to 100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS by clicking HERE.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, I’d LOVE to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out anytime using the comments section below or by emailing me at steve@stevesuchdrums.com

Thanks,

-Steve

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ABOUT TIM LEFEBVRE

Thank you to Tim Lefebvre for offering his 3 words of advice to drummers (KEEP IT MOVING) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Rocketing between New York and Los Angeles, Tim Lefebvre is quickly carving out a bold and progressive vision of what a contemporary bassist can and should be. Fashioning a leadership role in avant-garde jazz and funk circles, Tim is also a capable and reliable sideman routinely called upon by today’s leading innovators from across the musical spectrum including: Tedeschi Trucks Band (his full-time gig), Chris Botti, Toto, Sting, Uri Caine, Dave Binney, Donny McCaslin, Mark Giuliana and Donald Fagen.

A native of Foxboro, Massachusetts, Tim majored in both political science and economics before earning his gigging stripes, on of all places, a cruise ship, thankfully not the Carnival “Triumph.”

Once back in port, Tim dove headlong into New York’s burgeoning underground live electronica and jazz scenes, exposing himself to some of the city's most progressive players including drummer Zach Danziger and the legendary guitarist and former Steely Dan sessions player Wayne Krantz.

As word spread that a funky new bassist was in town, bridging the gap between James Jamerson’s signature strut and an emerging live-tronica sound, Tim’s opportunities grew. Furiously incorporating the dictates of the avant-garde with a more mainstream and commercially viable sound, Tim emerged from this formative period with a singular style and a trajectory for evolution that has yet to lose steam.

Tim’s career began to skyrocket when he subbed in Saturday Night Live’s house band, quickly catching the eye of television and film executives, soon landing playing and writing roles for shows such as “The Sopranos,” “30 Rock,” “The Apprentice,” and “The Late Show with David Letterman.”

It wasn’t long before Hollywood came calling. Tim performed on a number of movie soundtracks including "Oceans 12," "The Departed,“ “Analyze That!” while composing music for “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle,” “Please Give” and commercials for Microsoft and Chevrolet.

Tim’s good fortune, open mind and willingness to play with anyone and everyone has supercharged his development enabling him to play with genius talents such as the guitarist Wayne Krantz, the neo-classical jazz pianist Uri Caine and scores of other. A recent domestic and European tour with ferocious post-bop saxophonist Donny McCaslin cemented Tim’s status as one of the industry’s most sought-after rhythm partners. Recently he recorded a record with Germany's Michael Wollny ("Weltentraum" ACT music and vision) that was awarded the ECHO trophy for Best Jazz Record of 2014.

He is Endorsed by Moollon Guitars, Callow Hill Guitars, MXR + Jim Dunlop Efx, Ableton Live, TC Electronics, Izotope, M Audio, Ampeg, and DR Strings.

Appearances with/recorded with  Leon Russell, Chris Robinson, RIta Coolidge, Taj Mahal, TOTO, Empire of the Sun, Jon Batiste and Stay Human, Chaka Khan, David Hidalgo, Emmy Rossum,  Nick Cave & Warren Ellis, AR Rahman, , Corinne Bailey Rae, Allessandro Amoroso, JOVANOTTI,  Donald Fagen, Roseanne Cash,Till Broenner, Patti Austin, Mark Isham, Draco Rosa, Tony Orlando, Donny Osmond, Neil Diamond, Barry Manilow, Andy Garcia, Anthony Hamilton, Bette Midler, Drew Barrymore, Snoop Dogg,  Jim Belushi, David Holmes, Pati Yang, Paula Cole, Melissa Errico,  Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Larry Carlton, Deborah Gibson, Abe Laboriel, Jr.,  Karsh Kale, Russell Ferrante, KT Tunstall, Tenacious D, Jill Sobule, Hildegard Knef, Andy Snitzer, Bob James, David Ryan Harris,  Mark Whitfield, Dr. John, Warren Haynes, Chuck Loeb, Les McCann, Bill Frisell, Chris Potter’s Underground, Arif Marden, David Cassidy, David Johanssen & The Harry Smith’s, M People,  Donny McCaslin, Philippe Saisse, Les McCann, Bill Frisell, Angelique Kidjo, Chuck Loeb, Jon Pousette-Dart, Kneebody, Larry John MacNally, Jim Beard, Steve Coleman, Chieli Minucci & Special EFX, Mitch Forman, Eddie Daniels, Tim Berne, Brian Blade, and Jim Black

SHOW DESCRIPTION: 

Our question this week comes from Gino in Toronto Canada, who asks what you should do when working with a sound engineer who seems to be a bit jaded. Unfortunately, these situations do happen from time to time.

In this episode, I'll offer my specific tips for working with difficult sound engineers.

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LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:

1 -  iTunes (Recommended)

STEVE: “Greg, if you had 3 words of advice to give to drummers, what would you tell them?"

GREG: “...Always Play Honestly."

STEVE: “That’s a great one man! What made you decide to say that?"

GREG: "My mentor by the name of Ernie Adams always told me (and still does) that you can’t think about what you’re playing. As soon as you do, you’re not in the music anymore… you get sucked into your own world. You have to feel it. So to me, play honestly means to be in the mental space to just let it come to you… to play what you feel. If you do, it will all come out well."

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THE CRITIC VOICE

Greg is really on to something here... How many times have you overanalyzed your playing DURING the gig? How many times have you had that nagging voice in the back of your head (let’s call it the “Critic Voice”) giving you the play-by-play: “That beat was early! That beat was late! You’re playing too loud! Your time sucks! Stop slouching! Come on man, get it together!"

We’ve all been there before. When you do have the Critic Voice barking at you, there's so much noise in your head that it’s really difficult to play musically, and it’s basically impossible to play HONESTLY (from the heart).

Why? Because in that state, you’re just trying to satisfy the VOICE.

When we’re in the practice room, the Critic Voice is actually important. It’s how we focus on the details, and it’s how we develop our ears so that we can improve on our instrument.

But when we go on stage, the greats are the ones who know how to turn that voice off!

Turning the Critic Voice off means that you FEEL THE MOMENT. It means that you take more risks. It means that you contribute to the musical conversation rather than staying in the background.

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YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK

Ask yourself: "When I play on stage, am I playing honestly, or am I simply trying to satisfy my Critic Voice?"

If you have trouble turning the Critic Voice off, consider the following:

1) Consider that, truthfully, you will not get any better at the drums during this gig. However good you are now, this is how good you’ll be by the end of the gig. Don’t try to get better… just do your thing! Accept where you are at right now in this moment and enjoy it.

2) Which conversations with people do you enjoy more? The conversations that are polite, timid, and cautious, or the conversations that are real, opinionated, and raw? Translate that to your playing. Don’t be cautious on your instrument… be opinionated.

3) Why are you so focused on your drumming in the first place? If you have trouble turning the Critic Voice off, try focusing your attention on your band mates instead. How can you interact with them? Are you really listening to them? How can you compliment or enhance what they are doing? If you’re busy having a musical conversation with your band mates, the Critic Voice will have no room to speak.

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100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS

Thanks so much for reading this week's article! Each week, I select one person from "100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS” and write an article based on the three-word rule they offered. My goal is to provide questions, thought experiments, and specific action steps you can take in order to improve both your DRUMMING and LIFE!

If you personally found this article helpful, please pay it forward by sharing it with just one person in your life that you think would become inspired from reading it!

Subscribe to 100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS by clicking HERE.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, I’d LOVE to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out anytime using the comments section below or by emailing me at steve@stevesuchdrums.com

Thanks,

-Steve

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ABOUT GREG ESSIG

Thank you to drummer Greg Essig for offering his three words of advice to drummers (ALWAYS PLAY HONESTLY) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Greg Essig, drummer, grew up in Plainfield, IL and attended Northern Illinois University for music performance. He has studied with Ernie Adams, Kris Myers, Mark Guiliana, and Chris Coleman. He’s played with notable artists such as Marbin, Sidewalk Chalk, Jonathan Scales Fourchestra, Chicago Afro Latin Jazz Ensemble and more.

SHOW NOTES: 

Nate from Georgia asks about how to improve the sound your bass drum. 

In this episode, I discuss the 6 factors in determining your bass drum sound:

1. Type Of Drum You're Using
2. Type Of Drum Head Used
3. Type Of Tuning Used
4. Type Of Beater
5. Type Of Internal Muffling
6. How You Actually Play The Drum

MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:

---Yamaha Felt Bass Drum Pedal 

---Evans G1 Coated Bass Drum Head

---Evans EQ4 Bass Drum Head 

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:

1) iTunes (recommended)

2) Or, use this player below

When asked to give his single best piece of advice to drummers, the great Bruce Becker responded with the following 3 words:

“ASSIMILATE… IMITATE… INNOVATE…"
 

When we take a look at the true GREATS… the Vinnies, the Gadds, the Weckls, the [insert your favorite drummer here]… what is it exactly that they all seem to share in common with each other?

Besides being incredibly talented, the answer is that they are the ones who have been able to successfully embody each of these three principles at a world-class level.

This week, we'll take a close look at each of these principles; first by defining them and then by explaining how they directly apply to your drumming. However, please keep in mind that these principles don’t just apply to drumming (or even music for that matter)… they can be applied to virtually ANY field of study.

Along the way, we'll complete 3 simple exercises together where you’ll learn to be like the greats while simultaneously developing your own unique "you-ness."

Ready? Let’s get started.

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PRINCIPLE 1 = ASSIMILATE

DEFINITITION

assimilate |əˈsiməˌlāt|
verb [ with obj. ]
-take in (information, ideas, or culture) and understand fully: "Marie tried to assimilate the week's events."

EXPLANATION

Many of us listen to our favorite drummers and think, “Wow, that’s amazing/incredible/insane! If only I could play like that!” The truth is that you really can learn to play ANYTHING… but you have to first have to understand exactly what it is that you’re hearing.

Looking at the definition of “assimilate” (shown above), sure... we can easily become inspired by what we hear (“take in”) from our favorites, but where many of us fall short is in not taking that crucial next step: learning what’s REALLY going on (“understand fully”).

It IS possible to demystify what seems impossible; we just need to take what we’ve heard and place it under a microscope. We need to ASSIMILATE the idea.

ACTION STEP 1 of 3 - ASSIMILATE: TRANSCRIBE ONE SIMPLE IDEA

- The next time you listen to your favorite drummer, pick something SPECIFIC that you enjoy hearing (or don’t quite understand yet).
- Start small. Choose one bar of a groove you like, or one cool chop/lick that resonates with you.
- Listen to the phrase over and over… and over… and over… and over.
- Be able to sing the idea out loud. Internalize it.
- Once you’ve internalized the idea you’ve chosen, don’t play it on the drums just yet.
- Instead, write it out on staff paper, note for note.
- Make sure to clearly define/notate all details of the idea (accents, stickings, orchestration, etc.). There’s something special about seeing the idea visually that allows you to TRULY assimilate it.

STEVE’S EXAMPLE:

To help put things in context, I’ll complete these action steps with you along the way. Here’s a transcription of a lick I really enjoy by one of my favorite drummers, Adam Deitch. You can hear it on the song “The Last Suppit" by Lettuce when Adam takes a drum solo at the very end.

Okay. We’ve taken an idea that inspires us and have absorbed it fully. We've ASSIMILATED it. We’re ready for the next step: IMITATE.

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PRINCIPLE 2 = IMITATE

DEFINITITION

imitate |ˈiməˌtāt|
verb
-take or follow as a model: "his style was imitated by many other writers."
-copy (a person's speech or mannerisms): "she imitated my Scottish accent."

EXPLANATION

Musicians are CONSTANTLY imitating one another, that’s the beauty of the art form! Music isn’t created in a vacuum, it’s created by musicians who are influenced by other musicians!

The difference is that now, you’re well ahead of the game compared to most…. because you’re not just blindly attempting to imitate what you’ve heard… you’ve placed the idea under a microscope first so that you understand its elements. This will make it much easier to play, and play well.

ACTION STEP 2 of 3: IMITATE: PLAY THE IDEA ON THE DRUMS

-Begin playing the idea on the drums. Start very slowly and just focus on accuracy at first. Speed will come with time.
-Are you using the correct dynamics/phrasing/orchestration/accents of the idea?
-Are you playing the exact sticking used?
-If you recorded yourself and played it back, would it sound exactly the same as the original drummer? If not, how can you better-match the vibe? You’re not trying to be YOU just yet, you’re trying to IMITATE. Be critical and focus on the details.

STEVE’S EXAMPLE:

Here’s a video where I’m playing the Adam Deitch lick in context. (skip to :55)

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PRINCIPLE 3 = INNOVATE

DEFINITITION

innovate |ˈinəˌvāt|
verb [ no obj. ]
make changes in something established, especially by introducing new methods, ideas, or products: "the company's failure to diversify and innovate competitively."

EXPLANATION

Let’s recap briefly. First, you started by identifying an idea you enjoyed hearing, and now can understand it (ASSIMILATE). Next, you spent time learning how to play it note-for-note (IMITATE). You’re finally ready for the last step... How can you take what you’ve learned and apply it to YOUR world? What are the core takeaways from the original idea and how can you make slight changes to turn it into something completely different and unique?

ACTION STEP 3 of 3:  > INNOVATE: COME UP WITH ONE NEW VARIATION OF YOUR OWN

Change just ONE aspect of the idea you’ve learned. Here’s a few ideas of ways to change it up:

-Different tempo
-Different feel (swung, straight)
-Different time signature
-Different/opposite sticking
-Different rhythmic values (if it was triplets, change it to 16th notes, etc.)
-Different dynamic level
-Different accents
-Different orchestration (what drums/cymbals you play the idea on)

STEVE’S EXAMPLE:

Here’s one variation on the Adam Deitch lick that you can use. Which variable did I adjust? I simply changed the orchestration to now include the hi-hats and toms:

See how many variations you can come up with on your own. Don’t try to create a million variations at once… otherwise you will forget them all. Just focus on one variation at a time and allow some time for it to become part of your vocabulary. Remember to be patient… it’s about quality, not quantity.

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ACTION = RESULTS.

Seriously… it’s not enough to just read this article… you have to take action in order to grow.

I can assure you that if you’ve followed the action steps above, you’re most likely feeling awesome right now! Think about everything you’ve accomplished in a very short amount of time: You’ve come to appreciate/understand what the greats have done, you’re now able to channel the vibe of that drummer when needed, and you’ve also come up with brand new grooves/licks of your own!

Imagine if you were to repeat these 3 principles over and over with all of your favorite drummers… you’d soon find yourself becoming better on your instrument than you ever could have imagined. You just have to do it!

Lastly, I want to leave you with this: How can you apply these 3 principles to other areas in your life? (ex: fitness, sports, finance, business, cooking, the list goes on…). For nearly anything you’d like to become great at:  1) study someone who is already great 2) learn how to do what they do, and then 3) innovate by changing the variables and making it your own.

Good luck and happy drumming!

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100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS

Thanks so much for reading this week's article! Each week, I select one person from "100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS” and write an article based on the three-word rule they offered. My goal is to provide questions, thought experiments, and specific action stepsyou can take in order to improve both your DRUMMING and LIFE!

If you personally found this article helpful, please pay it forward by sharing it with just one person in your life that you think would become inspired from reading it!

Subscribe to 100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS by clicking HERE.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, I’d LOVE to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out anytime using the comments section below or by emailing me at steve@stevesuchdrums.com

Thanks,

-Steve

ABOUT BRUCE BECKER

Thanks to Bruce Becker for offering his 3 words of advice to drummers (ASSIMILATE, IMITATE, INNOVATE), and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

What do Neil Peart, Steve Smith, Dave Weckl, and Bruce Becker have in common.....? All of these drummers have sought the unique insights and perspective on balance and motion from drum "guru" Freddie Gruber.
Gruber's reputation rests upon an approach that stresses a more efficient use of the drummer's anatomy. Gruber has often been referred to as the "zen" master of teaching. This rare insight into this approach was spurred on by Freddie's close 40 year friendship with Buddy Rich. It can clearly be seen in Buddy's playing.

Bruce started his studies with Freddie back in 1977. It was at this time when Freddie's activity was at its height. Bruce not only studied for 8 years, but watched Freddie teach. Over the years Bruce was present for hundreds of students and became increasingly aware of the value of Freddie's approach. He was also able to watch the evolution and changes Freddie made in response to musical styles and drum innovations of the time. "I was there at a unique time during the late 70's and mid 80's. The pace at which I saw Mr. Gruber evolve was mind boggling. I would literally spend hours and hang......and this went on for years", Bruce recounts in a June '93 interview in Belgo Beat (Belgian Drum Magazine).

Upon relocating to Europe in 1992, Bruce spent quite a bit of time traveling with Gruber. Together they did a series of Clinic and Masterclasses in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. While Gruber would pontificate, Bruce would demonstrate on the drums. At this time Bruce also became the Head of the Drum Dept. at A.I.M. (American Institute of Music) in Vienna, Austria. There he spent time actively putting his thoughts and concepts together based on all that Gruber had shared with him.

Bruce's conceptual approach and unique ability yields great results. His equation is Balance + Motion = Emotion. He offers the most comprehensive insight into the teachings of Mr. Gruber, and has been teaching since '82. Since returning to Los Angeles, Bruce teaches privately and has a steady stream of working drummers.

Bruce has worked with diverse artists such as Suzanne Somers, Beach Boy Family and Friends, Andy Sheppard, Deborah Henson-Conant, David Becker, Joe DiOrio, Herb Ellis, Barbara Dennerlein, Suns of the Dead, and Frank Gambale.

ATD 001 - My Fills Are Rushing... What Do I Do?

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IN THIS EPISODE: 

Andrew from San Diego asks a question about timing. His time is solid but his fills tend to rush.

In this episode, I'll offer a my strategies for improving timing during fills.

MENTIONED IN THIS PODCAST:

---BENNY GREB'S DVD: THE LANGUAGE OF DRUMMING 

---

LISTEN TO THE EPISODE HERE:

1) iTunes (Recommended)

To a drummer, time is everything… it’s the single most important role we play as a musician.

How do we develop solid time BESIDES working with a metronome? 

In this article, I’ll address 6 common problems that can cause drummers to play with bad time. 

More importantly, I’ll offer specific action steps that you can take in order to fix each of these problems. Enjoy!

---

PROBLEM #1 - ADRENALINE HAS GOTTEN THE BEST OF YOU.

Have you ever played a show where all the songs seem SUPER slow? It’s most likely because your adrenaline or nerves shift the way that you PERCEIVE tempo. This can cause all sorts of timing issues for the working drummer!

The good news is that you don’t have to only experience this phenomenon on the gig; it’s possible to practice playing with adrenaline away from the stage.

YOUR ACTION STEP >  THE “DRUM AND RUN” EXERCISE

During your next practice session:

1) Play any groove along with a metronome.

2) Leave the room immediately and run around the building 2-3 times. Stop when your heart-rate is high.

3) Come back into the room and immediately play the same groove you played earlier.
 

Do you notice a difference? Does the groove feel slower now? Learn how to adapt to adrenaline or it will get the best of you!

---

PROBLEM #2 - ONE OF YOUR LIMBS ARE INCONSISTENT.

Are your backbeats ALWAYS placed on the same part of the pulse, or are some backbeats slightly late? When you crash, does your bass drum foot line up exactly with your right hand or is it a little different each time? It’s these types of subtle inconsistencies that can cause significant fluctuations in solid time-keeping.

YOUR ACTION STEP >  THE “RECORD AND ISOLATE” EXERCISE

1) Record your next performance. When listening back, DON'T listen to the big picture but instead, focus on each limb SEPARATELY.

2) Being honest with yourself, answer the following question: "For each limb, what are my timing tendencies?" Work to adjust these tendencies. (EX. My bass drum foot always plays ahead of the beat)

---

PROBLEM #3 - THERE’S A BETTER WAY TO FEEL THE TIME.

Yes, it’s possible that the way you FEEL the time is preventing you from playing solid time! Billy Ward’s DVD “BIG TIME” is an EXCELLENT resource as he goes into this concept in great detail. For instance, in the DVD, he discusses the example of playing extremely fast up-tempo swing and how rather than counting each quarter note individually (1234123412341234!!!), he will count/feel every half note, every bar, or even every 4 bars. (1……..2………3……..4…….). This mental shift will make your time-feel much smoother overall, and free you up to see the big picture rather than focusing on each quarter note. This is hard to explain in an article, so I'd really recommend checking out the DVD.

YOUR ACTION STEP > THE “BIG TIME COUNTING” EXERCISE

1) Play up-tempo swing time (~200bpm)

2) Feel each quarter note on the ride cymbal individually as the pulse (Say out loud: “1234”)

3) Feel each half note as the pulse (Say out loud: “1.2.3.4.”)

4) Count each bar as the pulse (Say out loud: “1…2…3…4…”)

5) Count every 2 bars as the pulse (Say out loud: “1…….2…….3…….4…….”)

6) Once comfortable with all variations, practice shifting between all 4 without stopping.

---

---

PROBLEM #4 - YOU AREN’T REAAAAALLY SUBDIVIDING THE PULSE IN YOUR HEAD.

Yes, we know that subdividing is important… however when’s the last time you consciously FOCUSED on subdividing in your head during the gig?

Sometimes the reason our time isn’t solid is because we’re not paying close enough attention to subdividing the pulse! We know we should be doing it, but we often forget to subdivide in the moment.

When we actively focus on subdivisions, it becomes quite difficult for our time to fluctuate because the subdivisions act as frequent “checkpoints” that keep us in time.

YOUR ACTION STEP > THE “BRAIN-METRONOME” EXERCISE

1) Imagine that you’re turning a metronome on in your brain. Before playing your first note, hear the subdivisions looping in your head. For example, if you’re playing a swing tune, feel the triplets running in your head first. When ready, begin playing.

2) While playing, verbally count these subdivisions out loud ( “1 E A 2 E A 3 E A 4 E A”).
 

You will be surprised at how quickly this exercise can expose fluctuations in time.

---

PROBLEM #5 - YOUR KIT SETUP SUCKS.

It’s possible that the way you’ve set up your kit makes it difficult to play in time because the amount of energy required to move from piece to piece is more than necessary.

YOUR ACTION STEP > COMPLETE A “DRUM KIT MAKEOVER"

Yep... we’re going to re-build your kit from scratch. Remove all drums, cymbals and hardware from your setup area.

1) Start with the throne. Is the seat height set comfortably?

2) When seated, notice where your feet naturally rest. Add the bass drum and hi hat stand in these spots (you may find this goes against the conventional setup as the bass drum may now be angled a bit).

3) Next, set up your snare drum comfortably between your legs.

4) Set up your toms. How can you position them so that it’s easy to move between the snare drum and the toms?

5) Set up your cymbals. How can you position them so that you don’t have to spend a lot of energy in order to reach them?

---

PROBLEM #6 - YOU HAVE TROUBLE DRIVING THE TRAIN.

In a dream world, everyone in your band has metronomically perfect, rock-solid time. Hooray!

But in the real world, it’s not that simple. Let’s face it… everyone feels time differently. Maybe a bassist tends to lay back while a singer tends to be on top of the beat. We all have our own tendencies, and we have to remember that everyone else does as well.

But, we’ve all been in a situation at least once in our career where someone in the band just seems to have terrible time. When these situations happen, it’s YOUR job as the drummer to become the unstoppable train that keeps going no matter what!

YOUR ACTION STEP > THE “SILENT METRONOME EXERCISE"

INSTRUCTIONS: If you’re in a band, try playing a song you usually play, however this time, you’ll be playing along to a click track / metronome.  The twist: the rest of the band will NOT hear this metronome, only you will. No matter what, your job is to stay locked in with the metronome and the rest of the band is to follow you.
 

This will not only help the other members in your band to improve their ability to lock in with you, but it will train you to develop the confidence to LAY IT DOWN when you need to keep the band locked in.

BONUS EXERCISE: “LISTENING EXERCISE"

It’s important for us to know how to LEAD, but it’s also equally important for us to know how to FOLLOW.

INSTRUCTIONS: Repeat the above exercise but have another bandmate listening to the click this time. Now your job is to follow THAT band member!
 

This exercise can be extremely difficult for a drummer, and many embarrassing train-wrecks will ensue… but after a bit of practice, you’ll notice your ears opening up and will find that you and your band mates are locking in with each other like never before.

---

100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS

Thanks so much for reading this week's article! Each week, I select one person from "100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS” and write an article based on the three-word rule they offered. My goal is to provide questions, thought experiments, and specific action stepsyou can take in order to improve both your DRUMMING and LIFE!

If you personally found this article helpful, please pay it forward by sharing it with just one person in your life that you think would become inspired from reading it!

Subscribe to 100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS by clicking HERE.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, I’d LOVE to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out anytime using the comments section below or by emailing me at steve@stevesuchdrums.com

Thanks,

-Steve

---

ABOUT FRANCISCO DEAN

Thank you to Francisco Dean for offering his 3 words of advice for drummers (TIME IS EVERYTHING) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

A native of San Antonio, Texas, Francisco Dean now resides and teaches in Chicago, where he has served on the music faculty of the University of Chicago Lab School since 2010. Receiving his Bachelors in music education from Texas State University and his Masters in jazz studies from Indiana University, his performing ensembles have received numerous awards. At the Lab School, he conducts the high school concert band and jazz ensembles, as well as teaches music technology courses in music production, recording, mixing, and film scoring. In collaboration with other electronic musicians, Francisco currently performs as a guest artist for Chicago’s house music label, S&S Records.

---

 

To a drummer, time is everything… it’s the single most important role we play as a musician.

How do we develop solid time BESIDES working with a metronome? 

In this article, I’ll address 6 common problems that can cause drummers to play with bad time.

---

PROBLEM #1 - ADRENALINE HAS GOTTEN THE BEST OF YOU.

Have you ever played a show where all the songs seem SUPER slow? It’s most likely because your adrenaline or nerves shift the way that you PERCEIVE tempo. This can cause all sorts of timing issues for the working drummer!

The good news is that you don’t have to only experience this phenomenon on the gig; it’s possible to practice playing with adrenaline away from the stage.

YOUR ACTION STEP:  THE “DRUM AND RUN” EXERCISE

During your next practice session:

1) Play any groove along with a metronome.

2) Leave the room immediately and run around the building 2-3 times. Stop when your heart-rate is high.

3) Come back into the room and immediately play the same groove you played earlier.
 

Do you notice a difference? Does the groove feel slower now? Learn how to adapt to adrenaline or it will get the best of you!

---

PROBLEM #2 - ONE OF YOUR LIMBS ARE INCONSISTENT.

Are your backbeats ALWAYS placed on the same part of the pulse, or are some backbeats slightly late? When you crash, does your bass drum foot line up exactly with your right hand or is it a little different each time? It’s these types of subtle inconsistencies that can cause significant fluctuations in solid time-keeping.

YOUR ACTION STEP:  THE “RECORD AND ISOLATE” EXERCISE

1) Record your next performance. When listening back, DON'T listen to the big picture but instead, focus on each limb SEPARATELY.

2) Being honest with yourself, answer the following question: "For each limb, what are my timing tendencies?" Work to adjust these tendencies. (EX. My bass drum foot always plays ahead of the beat)

---

PROBLEM #3 - THERE’S A BETTER WAY TO FEEL THE TIME.

Yes, it’s possible that the way you FEEL the time is preventing you from playing solid time! Billy Ward’s DVD “BIG TIME” is an EXCELLENT resource as he goes into this concept in great detail. For instance, in the DVD, he discusses the example of playing extremely fast up-tempo swing and how rather than counting each quarter note individually (1234123412341234!!!), he will count/feel every half note, every bar, or even every 4 bars. (1……..2………3……..4…….). This mental shift will make your time-feel much smoother overall, and free you up to see the big picture rather than focusing on each quarter note. This is hard to explain in an article, so I'd really recommend checking out the DVD.

YOUR ACTION STEP: THE “BIG TIME COUNTING” EXERCISE

1) Play up-tempo swing time (~200bpm)

2) Feel each quarter note on the ride cymbal individually as the pulse (Say out loud: “1234”)

3) Feel each half note as the pulse (Say out loud: “1.2.3.4.”)

4) Count each bar as the pulse (Say out loud: “1…2…3…4…”)

5) Count every 2 bars as the pulse (Say out loud: “1…….2…….3…….4…….”)

6) Once comfortable with all variations, practice shifting between all 4 without stopping.

---

PROBLEM #4 - YOU AREN’T REAAAAALLY SUBDIVIDING THE PULSE IN YOUR HEAD.

Yes, we know that subdividing is important… however when’s the last time you consciously FOCUSED on subdividing in your head during the gig?

Sometimes the reason our time isn’t solid is because we’re not paying close enough attention to subdividing the pulse! We know we should be doing it, but we often forget to subdivide in the moment.

When we actively focus on subdivisions, it becomes quite difficult for our time to fluctuate because the subdivisions act as frequent “checkpoints” that keep us in time.

YOUR ACTION STEP: THE “BRAIN-METRONOME” EXERCISE

1) Imagine that you’re turning a metronome on in your brain. Before playing your first note, hear the subdivisions looping in your head. For example, if you’re playing a swing tune, feel the triplets running in your head first. When ready, begin playing.

2) While playing, verbally count these subdivisions out loud ( “1 E A 2 E A 3 E A 4 E A”).
 

You will be surprised at how quickly this exercise can expose fluctuations in time.

---

PROBLEM #5 - YOUR KIT SETUP SUCKS.

It’s possible that the way you’ve set up your kit makes it difficult to play in time because the amount of energy required to move from piece to piece is more than necessary.

YOUR ACTION STEP: COMPLETE A “DRUM KIT MAKEOVER"

Yep... we’re going to re-build your kit from scratch. Remove all drums, cymbals and hardware from your setup area.

1) Start with the throne. Is the seat height set comfortably?

2) When seated, notice where your feet naturally rest. Add the bass drum and hi hat stand in these spots (you may find this goes against the conventional setup as the bass drum may now be angled a bit).

3) Next, set up your snare drum comfortably between your legs.

4) Set up your toms. How can you position them so that it’s easy to move between the snare drum and the toms?

5) Set up your cymbals. How can you position them so that you don’t have to spend a lot of energy in order to reach them?

---

PROBLEM #6 - YOU HAVE TROUBLE DRIVING THE TRAIN.

In a dream world, everyone in your band has metronomically perfect, rock-solid time. Hooray!

But in the real world, it’s not that simple. Let’s face it… everyone feels time differently. Maybe a bassist tends to lay back while a singer tends to be on top of the beat. We all have our own tendencies, and we have to remember that everyone else does as well.

But, we’ve all been in a situation at least once in our career where someone in the band just seems to have terrible time. When these situations happen, it’s YOUR job as the drummer to become the unstoppable train that keeps going no matter what!

YOUR ACTION STEP: THE “SILENT METRONOME EXERCISE"

INSTRUCTIONS: If you’re in a band, try playing a song you usually play, however this time, you’ll be playing along to a click track / metronome.  The twist: the rest of the band will NOT hear this metronome, only you will. No matter what, your job is to stay locked in with the metronome and the rest of the band is to follow you.
 

This will not only help the other members in your band to improve their ability to lock in with you, but it will train you to develop the confidence to LAY IT DOWN when you need to keep the band locked in.

BONUS EXERCISE: “LISTENING EXERCISE"

It’s important for us to know how to LEAD, but it’s also equally important for us to know how to FOLLOW.

INSTRUCTIONS: Repeat the above exercise but have another bandmate listening to the click this time. Now your job is to follow THAT band member!
 

This exercise can be extremely difficult for a drummer, and many embarrassing train-wrecks will ensue… but after a bit of practice, you’ll notice your ears opening up and will find that you and your band mates are locking in with each other like never before.

Ari Hoenig is well-known as one of the most musical jazz drummers on the planet today. When asked to give his top piece of advice to drummers, he responded by using three individual words:

"LISTEN, PRACTICE, PLAY."

---

---

The advice he offers gives us a list of 3 crucial “ingredients”…. a fail-proof recipe for developing musicianship. Sure, these ingredients are important by themselves; however, the magic happens when the 3 are equally combined in the proper amounts. Like any recipe, if even one ingredient is missing, your whole dish may be ruined!

Let’s take a look at how each of these 3 ingredients, combined together, can create the perfect recipe for musicianship:

---

INGREDIENT 1: “LISTEN"

It’s often said that the most effective way to learn any language is to go to the country where that native language is spoken and immerse yourself. The same holds true in music. If you want to be great at playing any given style, you NEED to be listening to as much of that style of music as possible, period! Listen to the greats (of the past AND of today) to see how they made/make their mark in that style. What are the key characteristics that make them sound the way they sound? Learn how to speak the “language” of the greats. Once you understand how to speak, only then you can come up with new phrases of your own.

Too little of this ingredient, and you’ll feel UNINSPIRED. You’ll feel like you’re playing isn’t progressing, and you’ll continue to play the same way day after day, month after month, year after year….

---

INGREDIENT 2: “PRACTICE"

The purpose of practice is to take what you hear in your head and be able to translate that physically on your instrument. If you’re LISTENING and PLAYING (gigging) but not spending enough time PRACTICING your instrument, you won’t be able to execute all the great ideas you have in your head! For example, if you’ve been LISTENING to a ton of intricate double bass drum footwork, you’ll need to PRACTICE it so that you're able to eventually PLAY it when the music calls for it.

Too little of this ingredient and you’ll feel UNREFINED. You’ll become frustrated that you’re not able to pull off what you hear in your head.

---

INGREDIENT 3: “PLAY"

You need to be out there PLAYING in front of people in order to improve your overall musicianship, so heavy use of this ingredient is crucial! When you're PLAYING, you’re gaining valuable experience on so many levels: interacting with other musicians, gaining confidence performing in front of crowds, learning to be a showman, dealing with adrenaline/nerves, etc.

Too little of this ingredient and you’ll feel UNPREPARED.

---

Remember the following:

Not Enough LISTENING = We become UNINSPIRED.
Not Enough PRACTICE = We become UNREFINED.
Not Enough PLAYING = We become UNPREPARED.

---

---

YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK

1) Take a moment to think of how many total hours you devote to music each week. How balanced are you when it comes to these 3 crucial ingredients?

2) If you could make a pie chart illustrating how much you're utilizing these 3 ingredients, what would it look like? (ex: 20% listening, 10% practicing, 70% playing)

3) What ingredient(s) are you currently lacking the most?

4) What specific actions could you take to add more of these ingredients to your overall musicianship?

---

100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS

Thanks so much for reading this week's article! Each week, I select one person from "100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS” and write an article based on the three-word rule they offered. My goal is to provide questions, thought experiments, and specific action steps you can take in order to improve both your DRUMMING and LIFE!

If you personally found this article helpful, please pay it forward by sharing it with just one person in your life that you think would become inspired from reading it!

Subscribe to 100 RULES FOR DRUMMERS by clicking HERE.

If you have any questions, comments, or feedback, I’d LOVE to hear from you! Please feel free to reach out anytime using the comments section below or by emailing me at steve@stevesuchdrums.com

Thanks,

-Steve

---

---

ABOUT ARI HOENIG

Thank you to Ari Hoenig for offering his piece of advice for drummers (LISTEN, PRACTICE, PLAY) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Born on November 13, 1973 in Philadelphia, Ari Hoenig, was exposed at an early age to a variety of musical experiences.  His father is a conductor and classical singer, his mother a violinist and pianist.  Accordingly, at 4 years of age, Ari began studying the violin and piano.  He began playing drums at age twelve, and by age fourteen he was honing his skills with other young jazz musicians at Philly clubs such as Ortlieb’s JazzHaus.

Ari attended the prestigious University of North Texas for three years, where he studied with Ed Soph while playing with the “One O’Clock” Lab Band.  Wanting to be closer to New York City, in 1995 Ari transferred to William Patterson College in northern New Jersey.  He soon found himself playing for legendary Philadelphia organist Shirley Scott and working regularly in New York City.

Shortly thereafter, Ari moved into Brooklyn and found himself started playing extensively with a variety of groups, including Jean Michel Pilc Trio, Kenny Werner Trio, Chris Potter Underground, Kurt Rosenwinkel Group, Joshua Redman Elastic band, Jazz Mandolin Project and bands led by Wayne Krantz, Mike Stern, Richard Bona, Pat Martino, and Bojan Z.  He has also shared the stage with such artists as Herbie Hancock, Ivan Linz, Wynton Marsalis, Toots Thielemans, Dave Holland, Joe Lovano, and Gerry Mulligan, although he got kicked off the stage by security shortly thereafter.

Both of Ari’s self-produced solo drum CDs, “Time Travels” (2000) and “The Life Of A Day” (2002), document his exploratory nature and they represent an ambitious tribute to the melodic possibilities of the drum set.  Today, Ari continues to build on the concepts of these two records by playing largely improvised solo concerts using a regular four piece drum kit and no percussion. 

The Ari Hoenig Quartet was formed at the end of 2002 while playing every Monday night at the New York Village jazz club Fat Cat.  The band featured Jacques Schwarz-Bart on tenor sax, Jean Michel Pilc on piano, and Matt Penman on bass.  They released two records on the Smalls Records label: “The Painter” (2004) and the DVD “Kinetic Hues” (2005)

In 2006 Ari signed a multi record deal with Dreyfus Records and released his first record for them called “Inversations” (2006) which features the trio of Jean Michel Pilc and Johannes Weidenmueller. “Bert’s Playground” (2008), Ari’s second record for Dreyfus, features Ari’s Punk Bop Band joined by Chris Potter. Highlights of this record include Chris’s solo on Moments Notice and Ari jumping around in red pants on the cover.  Jonathan Kreisberg, Matt Penman, Will Vinson, Gilad Hekselman and Orlando le Fleming also represent on this one.

The next record project was for “Smalls Live”, a record label set up in 2009 to document some of the music being performed at the “Smalls Jazz Club” in New York where Ari has had a residency since 2003.  Ari chose his Punk Bop Band to make this live record “Punk Bop Live at Smalls”. The Punk Bop Band features Will Vinson on alto, Jonathan Kreisberg on guitar and fellow Jazz Mandolin Project alumni, Danton Boller on bass. Tigran Hamasyan is a special guest on 4 tracks as well. 

Ari’s Quartet with Tigran Hamasyan, Gilad Hekselman, Orlando le Fleming and Chris Tordini released “Lines of Oppression” (2011) on the Naïve label. This record represents a culmination of Ari’s bandleading, composing and accounting skills. 

In 2016, Ari Released The Pauper and the Magician on AH-HA Records. It features the quintet of Shai Maestro on piano, Gilad Hekselman on guitar, Tivon Pennicott on Sax and Orlando Le Fleming on bass.  On this record, Ari explores the link between story telling and jazz by creating a soundtrack to the improvised and sometimes twisted stories he tells his two small children.

Besides the quintet, Ari leads 2 other groups which play his original music.  

Ari Hoenig Nonet and Trio.  The Nonet performs Ari’s original compositions arranged by Noam Wiesenberg and features various high caliber players in the New York area. The trio is with Gilad Hekselman and Orlando le Flemming and has toured extensively in Europe, Japan and South America.  Ari also co-leads a variety of projects including Pilc, Moutin, Hoenig (“the three headed monster”), jazz electronica project “Nasty Factorz” with Gael Horellou and various duo’s with Chris Potter, Edmar Casteneda or Dan Weiss. 

In 2013 Ari won the prestigious BMW Welt (World) award in Munich, an international competition for best band led by a drummer.

---

Have you ever overheard a group conversation where one person in the group seems to be talking way louder than everyone else? Awkward, right?

Have you ever been in the middle of conversation with someone only to find that you have to start talking loudly over the blaring sound of a firetruck passing by? Not very fun.

Have you ever been someplace quiet (like a library) to find a person walking in the room, talking loudly, and not respecting the unwritten rule of staying quiet? Annoying.

---

In the same way, drummers are often guilty of the same deadly sin, not matching the dynamic (volume) level of our bandmates.

99.99% of the time, it comes down to one thing, and one thing only… playing WAY. TOO. LOUD.

Why do drummers like to play loud? There’s a few obvious reasons:

1) Our instrument doesn’t have volume knobs. Drums are acoustic and therefore are very easy to overpower an amp.

2) We get excited! The harder we kit, the louder the volume. Drums are fun! BOOM BOOM BOOM! :)

3) Sometimes it just FEELS right to play a song with a certain amount of oomph, which usually translates into more volume.

If you’re in a band which constantly plays large venues, you may be able to get away with not controlling your volume. Besides, in a large venue, most of the sound is actually coming from the speakers, not the acoustic room sound.

---

But what happens when you take that same drummer and place him/her in a tiny bar?

PROBLEM: Drummer Too Loud.
SOLUTION: Sound guy turns down/off microphones.
RESULT: People don’t hear an EQ’d mix of your drums, they hear it raw from the kit. Sound quality suffers.

PROBLEM: Drummer Too Loud.
SOLUTION: Everyone else in the band turns up.
RESULT: The sound is noisy. Everyone is competing with themselves on stage for volume. Frustration ensues.

PROBLEM: Drummer Too Loud.
SOLUTION: Everyone else in the band tries to match intensity.
RESULT: The vocalist feels uncomfortable, the instrumentalists can’t compete with the volume of a kit, so they’re forced to play their parts harder. The band can’t settle in. The overall performance suffers.

PROBLEM: Drummer Too Loud.
SOLUTION: The audience, not able to stand the volume, walks farther away from band or leaves all-together to go somewhere quieter.
RESULT: People aren’t engaged in what you’re doing… instead, they’re trying to get away!

---

These are just a few examples of how when a drummer plays too loud, he/she can create a host of problems for everyone else… the sound guy, the band, and the audience.

Often times, especially in playing pop music, we’re so focused on playing PARTS that we forget about dynamics completely! If you’re constantly playing at one volume level, after a while it gets boring. Let me put it this way… How long would you want to listen to someone talk if all they did was SHOUT AT THE TOP OF THEIR LUUUUUNGS!!!! Wouldn’t be pleasant, would it?

What kind of venue are you playing? What is the function of this venue? If you’re playing a restaurant, people should be able to have conversations with each other at the table. It’s not always about YOU!

Matching band dynamics really comes down to awareness. Awareness of how your playing is heard by other people. Awareness of your environment, and awareness of Are you adding to the music or are you detracting from the music?

YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK:

Here are a few strategies for improving your ability to match band dynamics:

-TURN YOUR MONITORS DOWN. Perhaps your monitors are so loud that you have the PERCEPTION of needing to play louder.

-EXPERIMENT WITH DIFFERENT STICKS. For example, on quiet gigs I’ll often use brushes, hot rods, or broomsticks, so that I can still play normally with my hands, but with a fraction of the volume being transmitted to the audience.

-USE SOFTER DYNAMIC LEVELS IN THE PRACTICE ROOM. Drummers are all guilty of playing loud, Loud!, LOUD!!! in the practice room. Playing loud is fun! Playing loud is also easier than playing soft because playing soft requires more finesse, more control, and more precision. Devote much of your time to practicing various dynamics.

-CREATE A "DYNAMICS ROADMAP" FOR YOUR PERFORMANCE. Take a minute to review the material you’re playing. In what sections could you bring the volume down? In doing this, you’ll create a much more dynamic (no pun intended) arc to your show! If you were taking the audience on a "road trip", would you want the road to be flat the whole time or would you want interesting hills and turns along the way?

-PLAY QUIETER. Well… duh. This seems super obvious, huh? But really… the next time you’re on a gig, try playing with a more relaxed touch. This doesn’t mean you have to play with less INTENSITY, it simply means that you can place more trust in the microphones doing the work, rather than feeling like you need to create the volume yourself. Remember, the audience doesn’t hear the sound of the actual guitar, they're hearing the sound of the AMP. Try to keep this in mind when playing a gig where the drum kit is mic’d.

-OPEN UP YOUR EARS. Stop focusing on your drumming. Can you really HEAR your bandmates around you? Can you isolate each band member and hear exactly what he/she is playing? If not, you’re probably playing way too loud.

ABOUT ED KORNHAUSER

Thanks to Ed Kornhauser for offering his 3 words of advice to drummers (MATCH BAND DYNAMIC) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

San Diego-based pianist Ed Kornhauser holds a Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies from San Diego State University.  Primarily a jazz pianist, he has studied the language, vocabulary, and repertoire of classic jazz, as well as those of the modern.  Working as a freelance musician in the greater San Diego area,  Ed can be found backing a variety of local musicians and playing a diverse selection of music.  He holds the piano chair the the drummer-led Matt Smith Neu Jazz trio, which fuses swinging jazz with an indie-pop vibe.  The group has produced two albums of original music: "Shorthanded" and the soon-to-be-released "Retrograde."  In addition, he plays keyboards for several local bands including Jesse Lamonaca and the Dime Novels, Juice Box, Nexus 4000.  He is the staff accompanist at Unity Way Church in Vista, CA, and plays frequently at weddings and other private events.

A few years ago I had a night off between gigs in LA and decided to go see Alex Acuna play at the Baked Potato. That particular night, Abe Laboriel Sr. was playing bass (he’s played with everyone, check him out).

Though I went there to get some drumming inspiration, I had no idea that Abe Laboriel would end up completely stealing the show! Was it because he was showing off his bass chops or trying to get attention?

No. It was because Abe was simply PLAYING WITH LOVE. I don’t mean this in a cheesy sense. I mean that he truly LOVED what he was doing in that moment, so much that he was radiating with joy. Abe was playing with a huge smile on his face, and during his solos he’d get so animated that he’d literally start jumping up and down, as if he was experience the kind of joy you’d have playing the instrument for the very first time! His amount of love for the music was so magnetic that he forced everyone in the room to rise up to his level. It was amazing and I’ve honestly never seen anything like it in my whole life. I came to the Baked Potato that night to watch Alex, but ended up mezmorized watching Abe the whole night!

To me, playing with love means that you’re playing from the heart, not from the brain. You’re not trying to gain approval from the audience or your bandmates. You’re not trying to play “correctly”. Instead, you're expressing yourself through the instrument and giving that gift of love to others. How lucky we really are as musicians to be able to do this for other people!

YOUR ACTION STEPS

This week, I’d like to challenge you to answer some difficult questions:

-When you sit down behind the kit, are you really playing with love for the music? If not, why? Be honest with yourself, what needs to change?

-If you didn’t care about what others thought about your playing, how would your playing be different than it is right now? If your playing came from the heart, would it mean more to other people?

-If you feel you’ve hit a rut musically, how can you inspire yourself to fall back in love with your instrument? (Some ideas: buy a new piece of gear, try new setups/tunings, learn a new style of music, take a lesson, play with new musicians, watch drumming videos, etc.)

-What are the 3 things you love doing the most in life? How can you allow yourself to be in a position to experience these things more often?

-How can you "PLAY WITH LOVE" in areas outside of music?

ABOUT VICTOR INDRIZZO

Thanks to Victor Indrizzo for offering his 3 words of advice to drummers (PLAY WITH LOVE) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Victor has toured, recorded and worked with an amazing variety of artists, such as: Beck, Dave Gahan, Sheryl Crow, Macy Gray, Alanis Morissette, Willie Nelson, Gnarls Barkley, Colbie Caillat, Juanes, Avril Lavigne, Melissa Etheridge, Brandon Flowers, Sara Bareilles and many more. He was also the drummer for Infant Sorrow in the movie "Get Him To The Greek" starring Russell Brand.

 

This week’s rule for drummers (SHOW UP PREPARED) comes from the talented violinist and entertainer, Doug Cameron. I remember playing drums for Doug’s show back in my cruise ship show band days. As a show band musician, typically this is how it went: the entertainer would arrive to the ship the day of the show, hand us a stack of charts in the afternoon, and we’d perform the material just hours later in front of an audience. Doug Cameron was one of about 50+ artists that I would back up during my time as a show band drummer.

Anyways, I received Doug’s music the day before the rehearsal (usually we’d get it the day of). As I opened up the packet, I found a cd, dvd, and one-page letter placed in front of the music. I don’t remember exactly what the letter said, but it was something along the lines of: “This show is DIFFICULT. If you do not prepare the music ahead of time, you will fail.” I was terrified.

The reason why Doug’s show differed from the other shows we played was not just that the music was much more challenging to execute, but that there were also frequent visual cues that could cause immediate problems, especially for a drummer. For example, Doug would often cue tempo changes with his left foot, all while you’re reading the chart ( and ignoring the distracting lights/fog on stage). Your eyes have to be in 2 places at once; the slightest mistake could cause the whole show to completely derail! Talk about pressure.

With the fear of the warning letter in my mind, I made sure to prepare my butt off! I spent that entire night listening to the music, watching the dvd, and drumming the parts on my legs. I was as ready as I was going to be. The next day, I nailed the rehearsal! The show ended up a huge success and Doug thanked me for my preparation. I remember feeling proud to have tackled such a difficult show.

On the other hand, Doug’s show also taught me a lesson in how a lack of preparation not only makes you look really bad, but is also disrespectful to the others around you who HAVE prepared. It could even cost you the gig!

Several months later, Doug returned to the ship. We had a new keyboardist in the band who sadly, had not prepared for Doug’s show. The rehearsal was a disaster… almost 4 hours of starting, stopping, and frustration. Ultimately, the keyboardist was fired and sent home the following week. He was a talented musician, but because he had not prepared properly, it cost him his job!

If we don’t show up prepared (at a gig or in other aspects of our lives), we risk the possibility of caving under pressure when it matters the most.

Preparation is the key to success.

So… how can we work to develop our level of preparedness?

YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK

Here are 5 tips to consider the next time you’re preparing for a gig:

1) Find out what material is being played - You might think it looks “cool” to walk in and wing it, but nailing the setlist because you prepared the music ahead of time is WAY cooler in the long run.

2) Listen to original recordings - If you’re playing original music, ask for a demo track to listen to. If there’s none available, ask the band-leader for what vibe they’re looking for. If you’re playing a cover song, listen to the original recording. How can you best match the VIBE of the song?

3) If charts aren’t available, make them yourself. - Even if you don’t write everything out note for note, making a simple form chart for each tune on your set will accelerate your learning process. Often times, I find myself accidentally memorizing a song because I’m visualizing the chart in my head as I’m playing it!

4) Eliminate the most common "failure points" - This is critical, and trumps all other tips. What are the moments in the show/songs where problems are MOST likely to occur? Rehearse THOSE moments ahead of time. Let’s take one example: tempo. In order to prevent starting a tune too fast/slow, write the tempo markings down for each song and bring a metronome to the gig for reference. Adrenaline often shifts your perspective, so a quick 3-second tempo check before you start a song could prevent a major disaster! Other “failure points”  can include tempo changes mid-song, odd meter songs, song endings/beginnings, the “bridge” of a song, visual cues, etc.
5) Logistics are everything - The key to being truly prepared is not in simply learning the music, but also thinking about the non-musical variables of your performance ahead of time. I’ve listed a few examples below:
-Will there be a click track used?
-Will there be a sound check?
-What kind of room will I be playing? How will I need to change my playing to best suit the room?
-If using my own drum set, will I be setting up before the show or during the show? How can I make this process easiest on myself?
-What will I be wearing to the gig? Will this affect how comfortable I am on stage?
-How much time will we have in between tunes? How can I arrange my charts for quicker transitions?

ABOUT DOUG CAMERON

Thanks to Doug Cameron for offering his 3 words of advice to drummers (SHOW UP PREPARED) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Doug Cameron is one of the true innovators of the contemporary and electric violin.  With eight CDs to his credit, Cameron has long been a favorite on jazz radio internationally.  An arranger and composer as well, Doug’s CDs feature many of his own compositions. A veteran of the Los Angeles studio Scene, Doug has recorded and performed with a wide range of artists, including George Benson, Doc Severinsen, Tom Petty, Cher, The Allman Brothers, Dionne Warwick and many others as well as numerous motion pictures and commercials.  Doug lives and records in Los Angeles, where he has a full recording studio in his home and also enjoys having the talents of many of L.A’s top studio musicians and recording artists at his disposal. Many jazz luminaries appear as special guests on Doug’s Various CDs, including David Benoit, Lee Ritenour, Boney James, Gerald Albright, Joe Sample, Russ Freeman from “The Rippingtons” and Russ Ferrante from “The Yellowjackets”.

His latest project, Different Hats is a two CD collection which contains music recorded in Sydney, Australia where Doug performs regularly, as well as other previously un-released material.  Also included on the project are tracks from each of Doug’s previous seven releases.  “I’m excited about this new release as it will be a departure from my previous album projects.  Doug’s previous release, Celtic Crossroads-The Uncharted Path was a unique departure from his other recordings.  One of Doug’s original compositions on the CD was produced by multi grammy award winning producer, David Foster. Doug has also just released his first concert DVD, Doug Cameron Live.  The DVD contains video from five different performances.

Doug appears regularly as a soloist with symphony orchestra.   His innovative program features over two hours of Doug’s arrangements, and has been received with overwhelming response.  “I really enjoy performing with symphony orchestra.  It’s always a thrill to hear a great symphony behind you when you’re performing.”

Cameron has been exposed to the music and entertainment industry from a very young age. In the golden days of live radio, his mother, singer-songwriter Barbara Cameron had her own radio show on WLW in Cincinnati where she replaced Doris Day and often sang with Rosemary Clooney and The Clooney Sisters. She is best known however for writing and singing The Road Runner cartoon theme (beep beep!)  and is featured on Different Hats in a jazz arrangement of the tune.

Doug is an avid tennis sportsman and loves tennnis, skiing, and golf.  If you see Doug’s coming to your area and you share the passion, you never know when he’s looking for a game!  Send him an e-mail!  For those tennis buffs, Doug is a 4.5.

One of Doug’s focuses has been working with young musicians in an inspirational master class/workshop environment.  “This has truly been some of the most satisfying work I’ve ever done.  I believe it is more important than ever that young people become exposed and involved in music.  Music is a gift that I am grateful to have in my life, and it’s my hope to be able to share it with as many young people as possible.”

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Want to develop true authenticity in almost any style of music? Stop focusing on the WHAT and instead focus on the WHY.

I once spent 6 months studying with legendary percussionist Michael Spiro (check him out, he’s played with everybody). Though we barely played any drum set, he was able to transform my drum set playing completely when it came to playing Afro-Cuban music. How was this possible?

We focused on two critical percussion instruments: Timbales and Congas. We dove into the history of these instruments, the essential rhythms typically played on these instruments, and most importantly, covered the “rules” of Afro-cuban music.

A quick primer here: Just as we feel the backbeat on 2+4 in most American pop music, Afro-Cuban music is felt in what’s called “clave,” which is a deep topic that requires a separate article. However, just as you’d never clap your hands on 1+3 in American pop music, you’d also never want to do something called “crossing the clave” in Afro-Cuban music).

Once you know the WHY, the WHAT becomes much more apparent.

Prior to studying with Spiro, I had basically approached playing Latin styles with a “WHAT" mentality. In other words, I had memorized a few basic patterns when I was younger (as many of us do) and would simply pull them out when a latin tune was called.

However, when I spent dedicated time to studying congas and timbales, I finally understood WHY I was playing those drum set grooves in the first place.

In other words: once you understand what the rules (commonalities) of a given style are, only then can you know how to break them (aka: playing something other than memorized patterns).

To give you a specific example, I knew that when I played with the right hand on the shell of the floor tom (or hi-hat), I was really mimicking a timbalero getting that same sound on the side of a timbale. When I played the toms during a cha cha groove, I realized it was really in order to mimic the sound of a conga player. You get the idea.

My point is that if we view the drum set with a “beginner’s eye” (imagining what it was like to see something for the very first time again), we realize that the drum set itself is simply an arrangement of various percussion instruments. As drummers, we often forget that our instrument, in relation to all other instruments, is relatively young, and was designed as a way for one person to fill the role of what used to require several percussionists.

YOUR ACTION STEPS

On top of practicing drum set, devote some time to learning how to play other percussion instruments. Counter-intuitively, this time away from the drum set will actually improve your kit playing exponentially (for the reasons explained above).

Seek out an expert, take lessons, and soak up as much knowledge that you can about other percussion instruments. It will deepen your groove and provide valuable knowledge/perspective that you can then directly apply to the drum set. As a working drummer, you’ll find that this knowledge comes in handy more often than you’d think.

Here’s a quick, at-a-glance look at some of the immediate benefits of studying various percussion instruments.

CONGAS: Learn how different key sound sources are made. Mimic these sounds on the drum set. Latin grooves on the kit will start sounding more appropriate. If playing with a percussionist down the road, you’ll learn how to not get in the way of his/her playing, and instead start playing more complimentary.
TIMBALES: Many transferrable skills to the drum set here. First, you’ll learn essential rhythms used in Salsa music. You’ll develop an understanding of clave, and the “rules” of Salsa music (not crossing the clave, soloing in clave, etc.).
AUXILIARY CLASSICAL PERCUSSION: You’ll develop touch/sensitivity not often emphasized in drum set playing. You’ll develop a deeper understanding of phrasing and dynamics. Musical theater work will often require that you mimic percussion parts on the drum kit.
TIMPANI : Pitch awareness, develops ear training skills.
XYLO, VIBES, or MARIMBA: Basic melodic/harmonic knowledge that will allow you to speak the language with your fellow musicians and will also put your own playing in perspective (what role am I playing on the drum set?)

THE NEXT LEVEL

How can we apply this concept beyond the drums and into the rest of our lives?

ABOUT RICHIE GARCIA

Thanks to Richie Garcia for offering his 3 words of advice (ALSO PLAY PERCUSSION) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Richie Gajate-Garcia is a drummer, percussionist, clinician and educator.  He has traveled the world and recorded with many renowned artists.  His nickname is "El Pulpo" (which means the octopus in Spanish) a nickname given to him for his unique independence and ability to play multiple percussion instruments simultaneously.

Richie was voted to be one of the top Latin percussionists by his peers in the Modern Drummer Reader's Poll and one of the top Rock percussionists in DRUM! Magazine by its readers this year.

Gajete, who is Puerto Rican, grew up on the island with friends of his father which included Tito Puente and Armando Peraza and an appreciation for salsa and a love for Latin percussion.  Gajete obtained his bachelor's degree in Music Education from the Conservatory of Music in Chicago, as well as his teaching credentials.  

Richie Gajate-Garcia is a drummer, percussionist, clinician and educator.  has accompanied artists such as Phil Collins, Sting, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Diana Ross, Hiroshima, Patti Labelle, Amy Grant, Brooks and Dunn, Luis Miguel, John Denver, Art Garfunkel and many, many more.

He has recorded on soundtracks to films such as "The Italian Job", "Maid in Manhattan" with Jennifer Lopez, "I-Spy" with Eddie Murphy and the classic "The Mummy Returns" with the London Symphony.  He is the percussionist of choice for the Disney studios and has played on many of the Disney Animated films such as; Kronk's New Groove, Emperor's New Groove, Brother Bear, Robots.

Richie has toured the world as a top clinician for Latin Percussion Inc. and Sabian Cymbals Ltd. HE has two instructional videos produced by LP and distributed by Warner Bros. entitled "Close-Up on Congas" and "Close-Up on Bongos and Timbales" from the Adventures in Rhythm series.

He is an author and has three instructional books on the market published by Warner Bros.  Publication entitled "Play Timbales Now", "Play Congas Now" and "Play Bongos and Hand Percussion Now".  Richie is also a contributing author to DRUM! Magazine.

Richie has three solo projects out.  His "Entre Amigos" c.d. celebrates his Latin roots and showcases Richie and his musician friends.  This c.d. is a celebration of Richie's life.

His c.d. "Mis Tres Hijos" is an instrumental work of art, which showcases his ability to master the finesse of graceful percussion.

His third CD Reggaeson con tumbao with R & T, Richie and Thania.  Reggaeson con tumbao is a  hybred of today's popular style Reaggaeton.

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Several years ago, I was playing a regular jazz gig every Tuesday night at a local music venue in San Diego. After many weeks playing at this venue, I had really gotten into a nice routine… I knew exactly when to leave the house, I knew where to park, I knew which doors to use, I knew where to set up the drums, I knew where I’d put the cases, etc. I knew that arriving 30 minutes before the gig gave me about 20 minutes to set up and some extra time to hang out before playing the first song.

One particular night, I arrived 30 minutes prior to the gig, just as I had done every week prior. I set up my drums. I placed the bags in the corner. I said hi to the band / staff, and ordered a pre-show cocktail. When it was time to play, I sat behind the drums and right as the band leader was counting the first tune off, my heart skipped a beat as I looked down to see that something was really, really wrong.. my stick bag was nowhere to be found!

You see, I had always had my stick bag attached to my cymbal bag... but the night before, I played a gig which required me to use a different set of cymbals… hence, a different cymbal bag. I had forgotten to re-pack the stick bag. I was screwed!

I realized at that moment that I 1) had no drum sticks 2) had no time to fix the problem, 3) was about to play a 2 hour jazz gig.

What did I do? As the band leader counted off the tune I started by playing the snare drum with my hands like a hand drum. I used my hands to sweep across the drums. I would crash on the ride cymbal with my hands, or flick the bell to create accents. I used the hi-hats in ways other than just keeping the pulse. I was exploring all sorts of new sounds… clapping, body percussion, vocal percussion, you name it! All because I did the most embarrassing thing a drummer can do: forget to bring their drum sticks to the gig.

To my surprise, however, not having sticks that night did a LOT of things: I was forced to play much more creatively, we all interacted with each other on a deeper level (everybody could now hear each other much clearer with a lower volume), and it caused us to play our tunes with a completely different feel. Everyone stretched out and took more chances. It all felt fresh. The band even complimented me on my sonic choices as if I had CHOSEN not to use sticks that night! 

What a valuable lesson I learned. When things don’t go as planned, you have two choices: You give up or you MAKE IT HAPPEN.

The reason I share this story is that when you get out of the practice room and onto the stage (in music or in life), you learn something very quickly: rarely do things happen exactly how we plan. Rarely are conditions ideal. Because of this, we must learn to adapt on the fly.

When do we have to MAKE IT HAPPEN? We’ve all had our own variation of one of these experiences: The sound on stage is horrible and you play the show with a bad mix, the guitarist breaks a string and you need to fill time while he changes the string, your stick breaks during the song, a drumhead breaks at the beginning of the show, the kick drum starts sliding, you have to sit in on someone else’s drum kit, the stage lights are blinding, you’re playing in less-than-ideal weather conditions, a fight breaks out in the crowd, the venue cuts your set short and you have to change the setlist on the fly, you're dealing with drunk fans, or… in my case, when you forget your drum sticks… there’s just so many things that can happen unexpectedly! 

If we know that things will never completely go as planned, how can we better prepare ourselves for these situations?

YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK:

The answer is to start becoming comfortable with the uncomfortable. How do we do that? By actually PRACTICING the unknown!

Here’s some exercises you can try on the drum kit:

1) Regularly tear down / set up your practice kit. Each time you do, change something in the way you set up. 

2) Change the angles/heights of your hardware. Move a tom inconveniently out of the way. Move a cymbal stand much too high. etc.

2) Regularly sit in on someone else’s drum kit. Make it a challenge to play without adjusting anything (something you should generally do anyway)

3) Change the height of your throne (this simple tweak will make your whole kit feel different!)

4) Practice with the lights off.

5) Practice a groove at one tempo while listening to something with a completely different tempo.

6) Remove all cymbals from your kit.

7) Remove all toms from your kit.

8) Remove the snare drum from your kit.

9) Remove all foot pedals from your kit.

Hopefully you’re seeing the big picture here… intentionally change things up as much as possible… practice adapting to INCONSISTENCY rather than only practicing in ideal conditions. If we train this muscle, things like breaking a stick during a show will not stress us out at all because we’ve already practiced how to MAKE IT HAPPEN.

The musicians I admire the most seem to be able to do this seamlessly. They can play an amazing show in almost any environment and under any condition. They don’t seem frazzled by technical problems or less-than-ideal conditions. They know  how to MAKE IT HAPPEN.

THE NEXT LEVEL

The need to MAKE IT HAPPEN is around us constantly. When life hands you a lemon, do you give up or do you make a lemonade out of it?

There’s so many applications for MAKING IT HAPPEN beyond the kit and into our every day lives: MAKING IT HAPPEN is what causes a quarterback to get the first down after being rushed by the defense, what causes a safe driver to avoid accidents, what causes a traveler to be able to navigate in a foreign country, what allows us to complete a project at work by the deadline, or what allows us to come up with solutions to the problems we face in life.

Begin regularly practicing things that make you uncomfortable. You’ll develop new layers of confidence, agility, quick-thinking, and adaptability. 

With all of this said… whenever possible…. ALWAYS remember to bring your drumsticks to the gig! :) 

ABOUT COREY CHRISTIANSEN

Thank you to Corey Christiansen for offering his 3 words of advice (MAKE IT HAPPEN) and for inspiring me to write this week's article!  

Corey is becoming recognized as one of the preeminent jazz guitarists in the world. A recording artist, writer, educator and performer, he has played and taught in literally every type of situation around the globe for the last decade.

“Awakening,” Corey’s first CD as a leader, was the initial release on Mel Bay Records in 2004 and received critical acclaim throughout the jazz community. MB3: Jazz Hits Vol. 1 marked a great leap in his national and international visibility as a player and producer. Jazz Hits Vol. 1 spent three weeks as the No. 1 jazz recording on North American jazz radio.His first performance DVD – “Vic Juris & Corey Christiansen: Live at the Smithsonian Jazz Café” – was released in July 2006.  Jazzwise-reviewer Mike Flynn gave the recording four stars, noting that “…Christiansen is well versed in the guitar’s sonic heritage and his judicious sense of phrasing finds him light-fingered even on the densest of changes and positively euphoric on his ballad work.”

Corey has written several method books for Mel Bay Publications as well as articles for many of the major guitar magazines and Downbeat Magazine. Corey currently teaches at Utah State University and the famed Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. He is also an artist-in-residence at Atlanta Institute of Music (Atlanta, GA), and Broadway Music School (Denver, CO)

His latest record, Factory Girl (Origin Records) will drop on June 17, 2016

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FEEL THE MOMENT: STEVE'S THOUGHTS

Before we dive into today’s theme of the week (FEEL THE MOMENT), we’re going to perform a quick, 5 minute experiment.

You can do this wherever you happen to be sitting right now and you don’t need to grab anything. Let’s begin.

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BOX BREATHING EXPERIMENT

STEP 1: INHALE - For 5 counts, take a full inhale through the nose. Inhale as evenly as possible (don’t just gasp, it should take the entire 5 counts for your lungs to be completely full) Inhale at an even rate and strive to get as much air entering the lungs as possible; your stomach should expand outward fully.

STEP 2: HOLD - Hold your breath at the top for 5 counts.

STEP 3: EXHALE - For 5 counts, exhale deeply through the nose. Your exhale should take the entire 5 counts and your lungs should be completely empty on the last count (often times beginners will not empty the lungs completely).

STEP 4: HOLD - Hold your breath at the bottom for 5 counts.

Repeat this cycle of breathing for a total of 5 minutes.

THE NITTY-GRITTY

Box Breathing contains 4 elements (as in the 4 sides of a box) - 1) the inhale, 2) the hold at the top, 3) the exhale, and 4) the hold at the bottom. The goal should be to make each transition as smooth as possible.

Visualization Technique: Imagine an ant taking laps around a cardboard box. As it walks around each of the 4 corners, it just keeps moving at the same pace. This is how smooth your transitions should be.

SOME TIPS FOR SUCCESS:

-Sit down in a comfortable position. Keep your back straight, some may find it useful to lean your back against a wall.
-Place your hands palms up, comfortably resting on your knees. Eyes are closed.
-Make sure your environment is comfortable (not too loud, you might choose to lower the lights, etc.)

The exercise I’ve outlined above is called a 5x5x5x5 Box, meaning that each section of the “box" lasts 5 seconds. To create this framework, you can set a metronome to 5/4 with a tempo of 60BPM.

QUESTIONS TO ANSWER AS YOU’RE BREATHING:

-How does your body feel right now in this moment? (notice any tension areas in your body)
-What emotional states are you feeling in this moment? (happiness, anxiety, fear, anger)
-What do you notice about your environment? (sounds, smells, temperature, etc.)

*IMPORTANT - You don’t need to CHANGE any of these emotions or physical sensations during the exercise; your only job is to become AWARE that they exist in the first place.

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ONCE YOU'VE FINISHED

Okay, so you’ve just completed your first box breathing exercise. How do you feel NOW compared to how you felt 5 minutes ago? Chances are, you feel more relaxed, observant, focused, and more present in the current moment.

5 minutes can seem like an eternity when trying this out for the first time. if you felt that the exercise was challenging, it’s because it IS! Perhaps this was the most you’ve focused on your breathing this week, month, or even year. Breathwork takes time and practice to become comfortable with (as any learned skill). But even if for a few seconds just now, did you notice a greater awareness of yourself and your environment?

When we’re performing on stage (or any high-pressure situation), we're thinking about SO many things at once: Playing our instrument at a high level, executing the music correctly, locking in with our bandmates, the flow of the show, being visually exciting to our audience, dealing with external factors (sound/environmental variables), etc. This all requires a lot of our brain-power.

So much, in fact, that sometimes we forget to FEEL THE MOMENT. When it matters the most, we can sometimes forget to soak in the experience we’re having in a given moment and just FEEL its beauty, free from any attachment to outcomes or the perceived perceptions of others.

If we want to increase our ability to FEEL THE MOMENT, incorporating some sort of meditation practice into your life can be an excellent way to start. Not only that, you’ll start to notice other benefits too: Reduced stress, less anxiety, greater emotional control, and improved levels of concentration. Even just 5 minutes of meditation per day could quite literally change your life.

If you want to explore Box Breathing further, there’s a great video tutorial by Mark Divine which can be found by doing a quick YouTube search (then check out his book Unbeatable Mind). I’d also highly recommend an app called Pranayama, which gives you several box breathing templates and also includes nice sound cues for each section of the box.

I personally find box breathing effective because for me, the focused, rhythmic breathing acts as a strong anchor for to become aware of my own internal chatter. With that said, there are several types of meditation (Headspace is a great app to try), so I’d definitely encourage you to experiment and see what works best for you!

Meditation means many things to many people; but to me, meditation is time spent consciously devoted to becoming AWARE. Aware of our environment as well as our internal dialog, thoughts, feelings, and tension.

Don’t forget that awareness is the key to feeling the moment, and in that state, we can be most present to ourselves and to those around us.

Happy meditating and I hope you enjoy the journey!

YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK

1) BOX BREATHING: Repeat the 5x5x5x5 box breathing exercise each day this week. 5 minutes per day for one week. It may be helpful to attach the activity to something you do every day (when you first wake up, after lunch, before your shower, etc.). You’ll start to see real improvements in mood, concentration, and awareness. If you don’t believe me, try it!

2) IN LIFE: While meditation acts as a devoted moment where we training our awareness muscles, you don’t have to sitting with your eyes closed in order to increase awareness during our everyday activities. Often times, I find that just breathing through a situation is a great way to increase awareness. It’s also a great strategy for dealing with high-stress situations. The next time you find yourself stressed or unfocused, take several deep breaths and listen to your body. 

3) ON STAGE: During your next performance, experiment with taking several deep breaths during the set. Like magic, you’ll almost immediately notice a greater feeling of awareness. How does your playing change?

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THIS WEEK'S VIDEO

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ABOUT PETE LOCKETT

Thank you to Pete Lockett for offering his three words of advice for drummers (FEEL THE MOMENT) and for inspiring me to write this week's article! Pete Lockett is one of the most versatile multi-percussionists in the world and is regularly voted in the top percussionists of the moment. He has immersed himself in percussion and drums from every part of the globe, from Indian to Arabic and from Japanese to Latin.He has toured worldwide as a solo artist and has more than fifteen CD releases to his name.  The wide range of artists he’s worked with reflects the diversity of his playing, inc: 
Björk, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, Dido, Jeff Beck, Bill Bruford, David Torn, Vikku Vinayakram, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Pandit Jasraj, Selva Ganesh, Ustad Zakir Hussain, The Verve, Steve Smith,  Texas,  Damien Rice,  Craig Armstrong,  Bernard Butler,  U Shrinivas, Ronan Keating, Nitin Sawhney, Evan Dando, Adrian Sherwood,  Afro Celt Sound System, Vanessa-Mae, David Arnold, Evelyn Glennie, Errol Brown, Jarvis Cocker, Rory Gallagher, Pet Shop Boys, Beth Orton,  Bickram Ghosh, Hari Haran,  Mel C,  A R Rahman, Eumir Deodato,   BBC concert orchestra,  DJ Judge Jules,  Sinead O'Connor and lots more! 

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THIS WEEK'S VIDEO

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“The snow goose need not bathe to make itself white. Neither need you do anything but be yourself. ”

— Lao Tzu

ALWAYS BE YOURSELF - STEVE'S THOUGHTS

This week’s piece of advice from drummer Chris Singleton is to ALWAYS BE YOURSELF, which reminds me of a personal story that I usually don’t tell... but feel it’s worth sharing today because the lesson learned may prove useful in your own life.

THE STORY

As a graduating senior in high school, I knew that I wanted to go to college for music. But, I faced the same conundrum that most high school seniors seem to face when wanting to pursue a music degree: Do I go for the music education degree or the music performance degree?

I felt torn between which option to choose. Which was the right choice? I knew I wanted to play music for a living, but what purpose would my actual DEGREE serve? I began asking my band teachers, drum instructors, parents, and friends for advice. Everyone gave me a different answer and it seemed to complicate things further.

On one hand, some told me that a performance degree would mean I could devote myself fully to the drum set for 4 years, but the degree itself doesn’t have any real value in the job world. Others advised that getting an education degree could guarantee me a teaching job if I choose to do so. At the very least, as many people would tell me, an education degree could be “something to fall back on.” (Terrible advice!)

A month after my audition, I received a letter in the mail notifying me I had been accepted into the Indiana University Jacobs School Of Music. After much thought, I decided to pursue a bachelor’s degree in music education. The way I saw it, I’d still be studying my instrument regardless, but I’d also be getting the added bonus of a degree that could get me a steady teaching job in the future if I wanted it. I felt I was making the smart choice. I felt I was making the best overall investment for my career. I was pumped.

As classes began, I found myself studying all sorts of things, as all music students do: music theory, ear training, music history. It was intense! I also took countless education courses which included string instrument techniques courses, woodwind instrument techniques courses, conducting classes, piano, children's music education techniques, etc., etc.

It was all quite fascinating to dive into these new worlds. I played in as many wind ensembles and orchestras as I could. In terms of drumming, I got to study with world-renowned classical percussionist Anthony Cirone (author of Portraits In Rhythm). We studied classical percussion (marimba, vibraphone, xylophone, timpani, snare drum, auxiliary, etc.) and I could feel myself really growing as a musician.

It was an amazing time; I was a musical sponge... soaking up all of this new information. Yet, despite this, after my first semester I felt myself to be frustrated. I was doing all the right things, I was applying myself in all of my courses, I was doing a great job in my drum lessons, I was learning fast and working towards a meaningful degree… but why didn’t I feel fulfilled?

The answer was actually itself a question... Where was my drum-set-playing at in this equation? Drum set is the reason I wanted to be a musician in the first place, the thing I was most passionate about in life, and yet there was virtually none of it included in my degree program.

But I, like many others, am not a quitter! I had just begun my college career, so the way I saw it, I needed to trust the system and keep pushing through. So that’s exactly what I did.

Meanwhile, my best friend at the time, Derrick, was an incredible trombone player and also a music education major. One of the reasons we bonded so much was that we both had a similar mindset regarding education. For me, the degree was focused around teaching a high school band room; it had little to do with drumming education. I think that Derrick felt the same way about trombone. We didn’t want to be high school band teachers right out of college. We wanted to have a career performing our instrument, and be able to also teach our life experiences along the way. We felt frustrated and a bit stuck, but we helped each other push through the degree program.

Then, suddenly, one day out of the blue, Derrick turned to me and dropped the following bomb:

“Dude…. I just switched majors today. Next semester, I’m going to be a performance major!"

My jaw dropped. What came through my mind at that moment were several feelings. On the one hand, I was incredibly happy for Derrick! He had the guts to say that enough was enough. He had the courage to admit that it’s okay to change directions. He took the first step in giving himself the life he actually wanted.

But that feeling of happiness for Derrick eventually morphed into my own introspection: Why was I REALLY doing this degree? Why was it the “smart” choice? Smart to whom? I realized that, when I finally became honest with myself, I was basically continuing the degree to satisfy my parents, my old teachers, my friends, my college professors, and the institution as a whole. I didn’t want to feel like I had failed something I started. I didn’t want to admit “defeat". Yet, none of these justifications had anything to do with fulfilling my own life purpose.

I simply wasn't being myself.

My conversation with Derrick that day turned out to be one of the most meaningful moments of my life. As soon as he gave me his good news, a realization hit me like a brick wall. I was setting myself up for a life that I thought EVERYONE ELSE wanted me to be. Unless I made a change, I was destined to follow a path in life that I didn’t actually want to take.

So, the following week, I submitted my paperwork and changed my degree to a Jazz Performance degree. I notified my professors, friends, and my parents. To my surprise, when it became “official", I didn’t feel ashamed. I felt RELIEVED.

Suddenly, my entire college experience changed.

I found myself studying drum set with the great Steve Houghton, who I had previously not been able to study with as an education major. My drum set playing improved dramatically. I took David Baker’s jazz improvisation courses. I stopped playing in wind ensembles and began playing in bands I had always wanted to be in but were never able to do as an education major: big bands, jazz combos, Brazilian ensemble, Afro-cuban ensemble, you name it! I started getting hired for gigs in bands around campus. I felt ALIVE. I was myself again. It was great.

I finished my jazz degree program at Indiana University, and thanks to Derrick, I ended up with a college experience that helped set me up for the life I’m living today.

THE LESSON

The reason I share this story with you is to show that for the first 3.5 years of my college career, I was simply GETTING IN MY OWN WAY. As soon as I admitted who I REALLY was ( a musician first ) , my whole world suddenly opened up. There almost seemed to be too many great opportunities to choose from! It was as if the universe was screaming at me: “Steve… what took you so long!?"

This begs the question: why can't everyone just “be themselves" all the time?

Well... because to be yourself, you have to be OKAY with a lot of uncomfortable (mostly external) pressures:

-You have to be okay with being different than others (spoiler alert: you are).
-You have to be okay with people NOT always agreeing with your choices.
-Perhaps some people may not even like you.
-You risk rejection.
-You risk failure.
-You risk total embarrassment.
-You risk entering uncharted territories.

It’s no wonder why people are afraid to be themselves… it’s much easier to follow the beaten path than it is to carve a new one.

With that said…this is a fact: no-one will EVER be better at being you than YOU. When you aren’t being yourself (you’re in a job that makes you miserable, you’re in an uninspiring relationship, you constantly seek approval from others, you live in an environment where you can’t grow), these are all forms of getting in your own way.

Here’s a fantastic quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson:

“There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide; that he must take himself for better, for worse, as his portion; that though the wide universe is full of good, no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him but through his toil bestowed on that plot of ground which is given him to till. The power which resides in him is new in nature, and none but he knows what that is which he can do, nor does he know until he has tried."

If we eliminate our egos and just be OKAY with truly being ourselves, we no longer need to feel inclined to fit into any construct established by someone else.

The world’s greatest musicians/artists/innovators/CEO’s, etc. were the ones who were wholeheartedly comfortable being themselves. They didn’t care what others thought. They didn’t fit the mold, they CREATED the mold.

As Dale Carnegie said, “You are something NEW in this world. Be glad of it.”

YOUR ACTION STEPS:

1) If you realize that your career doesn’t allow you to fully utilize your greatest talents: FIND ONE THAT DOES.

2) If you’re in situations that don't support you being yourself: CREATE ONES THAT DO.

3) If the people you surround yourself with don’t make you feel comfortable being yourself: FIND PEOPLE WHO DO.

FINAL THOUGHTS

No one has ever been YOU in the past... No-one will ever be YOU again in the future… YOU are a one-time deal... So get used to the fact that it’s okay to be YOU!

I’ll leave you with the following question:

Are you following YOUR path or someone else's?

ABOUT CHRIS SINGLETON

Thanks to Chris Singleton for offerring his 3 words of advice: ALWAYS BE YOURSELF, and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Christopher Singleton is a professional drummer living in the Chicago area. He's played with Musiq Soulchild, Jill Scott, Tye Tribbett, and more. He began his love for music at an early age while watching his father perform. Upon taking a more serious interest during his teenage years as a part of the Ravinia Jazz Mentor Program; Chris began perfecting his craft. During his time with the Ravinia Program, Chris played with the legendary Wynton Marsalis and Ramsey Lewis. 

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THIS WEEK'S VIDEO

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“We build too many walls and not enough bridges. ”

— Isaac Newton

DON'T BURN BRIDGES - STEVE'S THOUGHTS

Take a few moments to think about all of the people from your childhood that you grew up with. I’m talking about the friends, classmates, coworkers, etc. that you first met 10+ years ago. Think about the “labels” that defined these people in your life. Which were the talented ones? Which were the “cool” ones? Which were the bullies? Which were the smart ones? Which were the “losers”? Which were better off than you? Which ones were you intimidated by? Which ones did you admire the most? Which ones looked up to you?

Now I want you to just isolate a few of those people and think about who they are today… Are they living exactly how you would have predicted they would be?

Of course not! Are YOU the same person that you were 10+ years ago? Except for maybe a few cases, most of the people I grew up with have ended up living completely different lives than I ever could have imagined. Some people who I thought were “problem kids” have become extremely successful, while others who I thought had it all figured out are stuck in a life that they aren’t happy with. You just NEVER KNOW how people’s lives will turn out.

The whole point of this is NOT to cast judgement on what is good and what is bad. The point is to demonstrate that life is both unpredictable and ever-changing. Sometimes we choose the right path, sometimes we choose the wrong one. Sometimes we observe people who seem to have found the good path right away, while others spend a lifetime seeking that same path. In other words, everything is relative... you just never know what point someone is at in their journey and you never know where exactly you’re heading yourself.

However, one thing is certain: We are all on a very unique path because the road we take is determined by the experiences and influences we encounter by other people along the way.

This is important because it therefore follows that the opposite must be true: Our actions also play an integral role in THEIR lives as well! Big or small, the things that we do (or don’t do) inevitably creates a fork or bend in someone else’s life path.

I think at this point it’s important to look to one of the most important rules, perhaps of all time: The Golden Rule. Before we continue, please note that I’m not a religious person and do not want to investigate this rule from the lens of religion in any way.

However, I think the Golden Rule serves as a basic model for how life generally operates.

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THE GOLDEN RULE:

TREAT OTHERS HOW YOU WANT TO BE TREATED.

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Let’s dig into the Golden Rule a little bit by changing the wording around:

• Your thoughts (input) create your reality (output).
• The activities you put energy into eventually become skill-sets, good or bad.
• If you generally have a positive mindset, you will attract more positivity in your life.
• If you treat others with genuine respect, people are more likely to respect you.
• If you exercise regularly and eat right, you’ll feel/look healthier.
• If you constantly disrespect others, how could you expect someone to respect you?
• If you constantly gossip about others, how does that make you look in the eyes of those listening?
• If you spread negativity to others, you will attract negativity in return.
• If you help others in times of need, they will likely want to help you or feel inspired to help someone else.
• If you shut people out, they will not want to make an effort to be a part of your life.
• If someone is rude to you, how does it make you feel about them?
• If someone does something nice for you, how does it make you feel about them?
• If someone wrongs you, how does it make you feel about them?

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This reminds me of those times where some people seem to have the power to "ruin your day” while other people could absolutely “make your day”. Why did they do so? Its because our actions have incredible influence over others, and vice-versa.

All of this brings us to this week’s 3 words of advice: “Don’t Burn Bridges”. Anytime we choose to burn a bridge with someone, it means that we are cutting off all opportunities to help each other move through life. If we thought of a literal bridge connecting two lands, it means that by burning the bridge, we’d no longer be able to travel back and forth, sharing in the characteristics that makes those two lands so unique and special. After looking at these variations on the Golden Rule, why on earth would we spend any energy at all burning a bridge with another person? Anytime you do so, you’re making life harder on both the other person and yourself.

Burning a bridge with someone is a LOSE/LOSE scenario.

As I’ve mentioned in the past, when we think back to our own personal “highlights reel” (the best things that have happened in our lives so far), virtually all of these moments happened as a result of another person helping you in some way, right? On the flip side, you’ve most likely been in some sort of position where you’ve been able to help someone. How gratifying is it when you’re able to do so? This is proof that the human experience is really based on our ACTIONS towards each other.

People who BURN bridges are those who ultimately live by the mindset:  “What can I GET from others?”

People who BUILD bridges are those who ultimately live by the mindset: “What can I GIVE to others?"

Do you burn bridges or build them?

YOUR ACTION STEPS THIS WEEK:

This week, I’d like you to take a hard look at your own moral principles and think about what “forks” in the road you tend to create for other people.

ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS:

1) Are you following the principles of the Golden Rule in your everyday life? If not, where exactly are you falling short?
2) Are you really contributing positively in other people’s lives or are you a constant burden? What changes can you make?
3) Have you burned bridges with others? Why did it REALLY happen?
4) Has someone burned a bridge with you? Why did it REALLY happen?

CHALLENGE 1:

Perform a random act of kindness and don’t tell anyone that you did it. How did you feel after doing it?

CHALLENGE 2:

What position are you in where you can help someone move forward in their life? Here’s some suggestions: Recommend a helpful book, teach them something valuable, recommend them for a gig, connect them with someone who they might hit it off with, or help them with something they’re having trouble with.

CHALLENGE 3:

If a bridge has been burned with someone, re-build that bridge. If it was your fault: apologize for what you did, practice humility, and learn from your mistake. If it was their fault: forgive them for what they did and move forward. I can guarantee you of two things: 1) Re-building a bridge will be extremely difficult to do, and 2) You’ll feel amazing after the bridge has been rebuilt.

ABOUT JONATHAN MOVER

Thank you to Jonathan Mover for offering his 3 words of advice (Don't Burn Bridges), and for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Jonathan Mover a.k.a. "Mover" is a Grammy-award winning American drummer who has worked with a number of artists including Aretha Franklin, Fuel, Alice Cooper, Shakira, Julian Lennon, GTR, Everlast, The Tubes, Mick Jagger, Steve Howe, Peter Frampton, Oleander, Celine Dion, Elton John, Stuart Hamm, They Might Be Giants, Frank Gambale, Mike Oldfield, Steve Hackett, Marillion, Beastie Boys, Joe Satriani, Joe Lynn Turner, Dave Koz, Jan Hammer, Jimmy Barnes, Saigon Kick, Alan Friedman, Bernardo Lanzetti (of PFM - Premiata Forneria Marconi), Five For Fighting and others. Mover also owns, publishes and is Editor-In-Chief ofDrumhead, the number one drum magazine in circulation. 

 

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THIS WEEK'S VIDEO

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Logic will get you from A to Z; imagination will get you everywhere.
”

— Albert Einstein

USE YOUR IMAGINATION

STEVE'S THOUGHTS

Being a successful working drummer requires not only the ability to play parts accurately/consistently, but also the ability to use our imaginations, many times on the spot. This might be in the form of drum solos, coming up with new arrangements, in improvisational music, or simply in adapting to technical problems that might happen before/during a show.

Many drummers tend to find open drum solos to be especially challenging (where using your imagination is paramount). The reason is that often times, we find it overwhelming to figure out exactly WHAT to play in a moment that is essentially a blank canvas.

One way that I personally worked on my open drum solo “concept” is that I began watching countless videos of drum solos by my favorite drummers in an effort to figure out what made the great solos great.

The commonality I noticed in the most musical drum solos can be expressed in the following formula:

CREATIVITY = RESTRICTION + IMAGINATION

In other words, my LEAST favorite drum solos are the ones where the drummer is spewing every chop he/she knows as fast as humanly possible. My FAVORITE solos (and likely your favorites) are the ones where the drummer takes just one or two simple ideas (RESTRICTION), and explores how many possibilities exist within that framework (IMAGINATION).

But you might say, imagination is an intangible thing; you either have it or you don’t. Not so. Imagination can be developed like any other skill.

Let’s focus for a moment on the RESTRICTION part of the above formula in order to help your imagination to come alive. If someone sat you down in front of a massive drum set, you might feel intimidated. You might feel like you have too many options to choose from.

But what if I sat you in front of JUST a snare drum? You might think… “Steve, now I don’t have very many ideas to choose from at all... using my imagination will be even HARDER!"

However, respectfully... you’d be wrong.

Restriction doesn’t LIMIT creativity, it SPAWNS creativity.

All you need to add is a little imagination (replace the word IMAGINATION for THOUGHT).

Let’s try an exercise. Before you read below, I want you to answer the following question:

How many different ways can you create sound from a snare drum?

Seriously, stop reading now and make a list… I’ll wait!

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Okay... hopefully you’ve taken a minute to think about it and to come up with a list.

The beauty is that everyone’s list will be different. For example, here’s my list:

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15 Ways To Play A Snare Drum

1. Stick in one hand, use other bare hand
2. Play the snare drum like a hand drum (snares off)
3. Stack things on top of the snare drum (such as a splash cymbal)
4. Use drastic tunings (super high or super low)
5. Play with brushes
6. Play with mallets
7. Play the rim of the drum
8. Play the actual side of the drum
9. Turn the snare drum upside down and play on the bottom head
10. Scrape the snare wires like a DJ would
11. Incorporate turning the snares on and off as different sound-sources.
12. Explore the various playing zones on the drum head (the center, halfway, the edge, etc.)
13. Use muffling to change up the sound
14. Incorporate pitch-bending (pressing firmly on the head to raise the pitch)
15. Using cross-stick technique, see how many different sounds you can get depending on what part of the stick you strike with.

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Look at all these ideas! Again, if was sitting in front of the kit and someone told me to just USE MY IMAGINATION, I may not have been able to come up with very many of these ideas on the spot. But because I used the technique of RESTRICTION (in this case, just thinking about a snare drum), look at how many musical options I now have to choose from!

If you’re interested in taking this concept further, create mini-games for yourself. For example, looking at the list above, choose 2 ideas from the list at random and play a 5-minute drum solo, with a clear start/middle/ending, incorporating only those 2 “rules”. You might choose playing with brushes combined with muffling variations as your theme throughout. In essence, although you’re restricting yourself even further, it opens up a world of possibility for you to use your imagination. Why? Because you aren’t overwhelmed with EVERY option. You’re working from within a focused parameter. Notice that we haven’t even discussed basic musical options like time signature, tempo, and style.

An analogy: If you’re super hungry and want to eat right NOW, would you rather choose between 2 restaurants or 200 restaurants?

If you have trouble using your imagination on the spot, try out the CREATIVITY = RESTRICTION + IMAGINATION formula and let me know how it goes!

THE NEXT LEVEL

How can we apply the formula CREATIVITY = RESTRICTION + IMAGINATION beyond the drums and into our everyday lives? The next time you’re having difficulty finding a solution to a problem in your life, restrict your thinking to just one small part of the problem and then use your imagination to brainstorm all possible solutions to that problem. You might be surprised to find that best solution is often the simplest one.

SAMPLE PROBLEM: "I don’t have enough time to go to the gym."

 RESTRICTION - "I’ll work out NO MORE THAN 5 minutes per day."

 IMAGINATION - "I’ll choose five, 1-minute total body exercises and do them as hard as possible."

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ABOUT BRIAN BLUME

Thanks to Brian Blume for inspiring me to write this week's article!

Brian's three words of advice for drummers: USE YOUR IMAGINATION. 

Brian is currently serving as Instructor of Percussion at Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, where he teaches applied percussion & drum set, percussion techniques, music theory, and the school’s first ever drumline, the Fireline. Prior to his appointment at SEU, Brian taught percussion at Center Grove High School (Greenwood, IN), who boasts one of the nation’s premiere high school percussion programs. Brian has also taught several drum corps and the Indiana University Drumline. He is a sought after adjudicator and clinician and has presented at several universities, high schools, and state PAS Day of Percussion events. As a composer, Brian has received numerous commissions and has works published by Tapspace Publications, PercMaster Publications, and drop6 media. His work for TV broadcast has been aired nationwide on ESPN, CBS, Big Ten Network, and MTV.
 
Brian earned both Master and Bachelor of Music degrees in percussion performance from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. He endorses Pearl/Adams instruments, Innovative Percussion sticks and mallets, and Remo drumheads, and he is a member of the Percussive Arts Society (member, Composition Committee), ASCAP, and NAfME. Brian lives in Lakeland with his wife and daughter.