When I received the e-mail from Ken Stanton Music saying that Marco Minnemann was going to put on a drum clinic at their superstore in Marietta (Atlanta), GA on March 2nd (2010), I immediately started making plans to be there.  But it may not have been the case otherwise.

Until recently, I knew very little about Marco.  I had seen his name mentioned at times, but never enough for me to notice (so many drummers, so little time!).  But recently, DrumChannel.com had both Marco and Derek Roddy (Serpents Rise and Hate Eternal) together for a chat and drumming session, and I was blown away by both drummers.  It may be because I'm not into 'blast beat'-type music that I've not heard much of these guys, but there's no denying the incredible talent these drummers possess.  It takes an incredible amount of technique and energy to play what they play, but the duo solos they performed displayed an incredible array of power, finesse, creativity, and melody.  Here's a link to the rebroadcast of that show.  Put it on your calendar and watch it, because not only are they extraordinary drummers, but they have very refreshing insights as far as their approach to drumming that drummers of all styles can learn from.

So after watching that show, I decided that I may need to pay a little more attention to Mr. Minnemann!  Then comes the news that he's putting on a drum clinic locally and, well, a perfect storm of sorts. I started making preparations to cover the event.

I made contact with Jeremy Truitt, Drum Dept. Manager at Ken Stanton music, to come by the store and talk about the particulars of the event.  He was most helpful, showing me where the stage was going to be, audience location, even showing different spots where I could get some great camera angles for some unique shots.  This was gonna be good!

So the day comes, and now I’m really into the event.  I’m very much looking forward to seeing an incredible display of chops, and learning whatever I can.  With much anticipation, I head on down to the store.  I wanted to get there pretty early so I could situate myself, get a ‘lay of the land’, so to speak, make sure I had a good seat, and see where I could take some great photos.

The clinic was cancelled.

Winter decided to dump a snow storm to the Atlanta area, and for the safety of the drummers and all who would attend, it was decided that the show would be a no-go.  The guys at the store were obviously very disappointed, and rightly so.  It is not often that a world-class drummer can be in the area to put on a drum clinic.

But all was not lost!  Fortunately, that was not the only clinic that Marco had scheduled.  The Atlanta Institute of Music (AIM) had also scheduled a drum clinic on March 4^th.  No snow storm scheduled for that day!  It was a little further out, but that didn’t matter – I would be there.

I suspected that the vibe for this venue would be different than at the store, and I was correct.  When I attended Will Calhoun’s drum clinic, there were drummers there of course, but there were also people of all ages, very young kids included.  But AIM had more of a classroom, college-type feel.  Most in attendance were young adults, with a few older cats sprinkled around here and there.  I didn’t prepare so much for this event since I wasn’t planning on coming, so I was more like a spectator like everyone else, instead of a ‘reporter’.  The campus halls were boringly decored, but fortunately the action is in the classroom, and AIM teaches classes in drumming, guitar, bass, and recording.

I arrived about an hour early, again to make sure that I at least got a good seat.  There was definitely a buzz in the atmosphere waiting for the clinic to begin.  These guys knew who they were there to see, and they were excited.  There was lots of talk about cracked cymbals, trying to get drumming endorsements, recent and upcoming gigs - a real drummer’s event.

There was a sound check going on while we were waiting, and if it was any indication of what the show was going to be like, we were in for a real treat.  The drums sounded just fantastic (even being on the other side of the door).  The bass drum was very boomy, but it sounded so full and rich.  When the drummer played double bass drum fills and combinations all over the kit, the boom of the bass drums blended in with the combinations and produced very powerful and clean, piercing sound.  Now I couldn’t wait to hear what these drums sounded like while in the same room!

I think artists are good at sneaking by people because as we were all waiting outside the door, an inconspicuous Marco and a companion whizzed right by us, almost without us knowing it!  By the time we did notice, he was gone.  Guess it was time to get ready for the show!  After that little episode, all were invited to enter the performance hall.

First thing you notice as you enter the hall is Marco’s drum kit.  It was a beautiful 7-pc DW Gold Glass FinishPly^TM Collector’s Series kit, with Zildjian cymbals and DW hardware.  In addition, Marco had an additional snare (which I believe was also a DW) to the left, and another suspended tom to the left of that (ok, a 9-pc kit).  Just a beautiful setup.

After everyone coming in finished going gaga over the kit, those in attendance started settling into their seats.  I was fortunate enough to get a front row seat stage right, which was a great view.  Marco did not aim the bass drum directly to the audience, as is typically done, but instead faced himself straight to the audience, and positioned the bass drum to his right (similar to the positioning when playing two bass drums).  This allowed for an excellent view of both his hand and foot technique.

After being seated for a little while, Mr. Minnemann was introduced and out he came to the stage.  Very humble to his applause, he looks just like any other guy (he is tall, though!), very unassuming.  You’d never know he’s a famous anything.  But once sitting behind the kit, look out.

After thanking those in attendance and mentioning what he was going to do for the night (songs, solos, Q&A, etc.), he started playing to one of his songs.  Since I hadn’t followed Marco before this, I didn’t know the names of several of the songs he played to (nor did he introduce them).  But it didn’t matter, because he was playing masterfully right off the bat.  The sound of his drums were so clearly defined, and incredibly powerful and full-sounding.  Although there was amplification set up for the drums, it was clear that he was hitting them hard and with authority, but with pinpoint accuracy.  He absolutely didn’t miss a beat; his timing was flawless.

During the first song, the knob on one of the stands keeping a splash cymbal in place slowly started to give, but mid-song Marco adjusted it while not missing a single beat in the song!  It was a great display of concentration (and persistence!).  This first song had quite a jazzy flavor to it, but it was played with a lot of power.  I don’t remember hearing jazz, or what to my ears appeared to be jazz, played that way.

He went right into the next song (amidst a roaring applause of approval from the audience), and this one was a more ‘straight at you’, more aggressive type piece.  Although it did have its jazzy fills interspersed within, it definitely had more of a rock feel.  The combinations and patterns he played were dizzying, but at the same time it was never exaggerated.  As fast and as many fills he incorporated into the song, it was never too much.  It seemed to all fit seamlessly into the song, without being overdone.  This takes a great mastery of composition to accomplish, and Marco was exceptional.

The third piece was even more aggressive, starting as a straight-four rock piece, with lots of ‘double bass onslaught’ fills thrown in.  This was the shortest song of the set.

The fourth song was more melodic, almost electronic-sounding, robotic-like.  I was amazed at how different his drums sounded in this piece just by the patterns he was implementing.  It eventually went into a very fast tempo.  He was just all over the kit at this point, as he entered into the first solo of the night.

Marco showed incredible interplay between the drums, with a prodigious display of independence.  But throughout the initial songs and this solo, what impressed me was the force with which he played.  So much power, yet it didn’t seem like he was over-exerting himself to play that way.  The notes were even, and the dynamics he employed gave such life and a personality to the solo that it was a song within itself.  Instead of just displaying chops or fast rudiments, he combined these elements plus an incredible knack for composition that, as lengthy as the solo was, it was never boring.  But through it all, it was hair-raisingly powerful, and the audience hooted and applauded many times over.

With all that going on, many times Marco employed his stick-twirling techniques that left your jaw dropped.  Because as all of the previously described was going on, on occasion he’d dazzle with his flawless stick-twirling.  And it wasn’t just the twirling in the air – the sticks would strike the cymbals and drums while twirling.  He dropped his stick once, but he recovered so quickly that it almost seemed like it was part of the act!  He smiled many times throughout the playing (including when he dropped the stick), and it was great to see how much fun he was having.  No doubt the audience was having a blast as well.

There were several styles exhibited during the solo as well, from funky grooves, to complex jazz patterns, to straight out double bass combinations with every part of the kit.  Eventually the solo featured a very specific part of the kit – the cymbals.  A solo of cymbals ensued, showcasing the various pitches of each cymbal, and even the different sounds that each cymbal could produce, based on how the cymbal was struck.  He then performed some stick-twirling tricks with the hi-hat which was just awe-inspiring (difficult to describe!).

There were many, many favorite parts to this solo for me, but near or at the top would be the ending.  Marco crescendoed with a dizzying array of speed and dexterity, face-bashing power combinations, to all of a sudden slam to a halt and play “La cucaracha” on the toms.  It was such amazing and unexpected comic relief that everyone was just laughing, it was so hilarious.  He’d play the first part of that song, then go back to an incredibly fast power combination of fills and patterns, then slam to a halt again and play the second bar of “La cucaracha”.  Then he again played yet another powerful combination of complex fills and patterns, then slammed to a halt again to repeat the first bar of “La cucaracha”.  And that’s how that solo ended, with thunderous applause to follow.  Definitely one of my all-time favorite solos.

Marco then grabbed the microphone and started discussing some of his approach to playing, and his main point was that he doesn’t like repeating things very much, that he likes to be very creative and try new things, and challenge himself.  There was a certain cartoon project he was involved in where he was discussing with a colleague how to come up with something new, some type of pattern that never repeats.  Marco had an idea already brewing, so he proceeded to play a pattern which seemingly had no rhyme or rhythm.  Then he asked his colleague to repeat the pattern.  Obviously, he objected, because there was no apparent pattern.  Then Marco went on to tell the colleague that in fact the pattern was played exactly to the lyrics sung to “We Will Rock You” by Queen:

Buddy you're a boy make a big noise
Playin' in the street gonna be a big man some day
You got mud on yo' face
You big disgrace
Kickin' your can all over the place

Now the colleague could play it immediately!  A seemingly random pattern was now associated with a familiar rhyme, and now the pattern made total sense.  Marco went on to show the audience another example, “Tom Sawyer” by Rush:

A modern-day warrior
Mean mean stride
Today's Tom Sawyer
Mean mean pride

So Marco figured out a way to create a pattern that doesn’t repeat, but made total sense.  So how could he apply this another way?  What if the words were not sung, but just spoken?  Could a drum pattern be, well, “patterned”, after that?  Marco came across a section of the Monty Python movie “Life of Brian” called “What Have the Romans Ever Done For Us?”  To our delight, a screen came down in the performance hall, and while the dialog of that scene was going on, Marco drummed a solo precisely to the dialog!  It was one of the most creative things I’ve ever seen done on drums.  Each character seemed to have a corresponding drum or combination of drums and cymbals.  A rumbling of drums would sound when all in the scene would mumble, and it was just hilarious.  Marco said that it took him about four days to figure out all of the spoken parts, first transcribing them to guitar and keyboards, and then to the drums.  Masterful.

He then went on to discuss independence, and started by playing a five pattern on one hand, while playing a nine pattern on the other.  Playing them simultaneously made for a sympathetic pattern that made sense.  He then went on to play a different pattern on each limb, and when played together it also made perfect sense!  This he says is how he comes up with patterns he ends up using later on.  If the pattern doesn’t work (meaning it sounds like crap ), he discards it.  Otherwise, he keeps it.

Next he played a double paradiddle using his feet on the two hi-hats in the kit, one on each side.  While that was going, he played a solo over it.  Independence indeed!

Next were some questions from the audience that Marco fielded.  Here’s the gist of them:

Q:  ‘What’s your favorite rudiment?’
A:  ‘Probably the 5-stroke roll’

Marco went on to demonstrate how versatile this rudiment is, and played over a 4/4, at different modulations, and different accentuations.  I never thought of the 5-stroke roll that way before!

Q:  ‘What’s your favorite genre of music?’
A:  ‘All kinds’

Marco emphasized specific bands more than different genres, and that these bands fell into all types of genre categories.  He likes music from Led Zeppelin, Frank Zappa, The Police, etc.  These helped with his playing because he liked them.  To him, it’s all about playing the right note.  “Whatever you like, you’ll learn it,” Marco said.

Q:  ‘What’s your musical background as far as family influences?’
A:  ‘Was one of the first in my family to play an instrument’

Even though his father was heavily into music, he did not play an instrument, but was very encouraging to his son.  Hearing metal music was what inspired Marco to pursue the music business.  His first gig was when he was about 12 or 13 years old, which he chickened out of.  But when he did actually get to play, he loved the response of the audience, and there was no turning back.  Even at the clinic Marco looked so excited to be playing to an audience and being very appreciative of it.

He always wanted to do his own thing and be as creative as possible, even regarding his kit setup.  That’s why, for example, the toms on his bass drum go 10”, 12”, 8”, instead of the typical 8”, 10”, and 12”.  This allows him more melodic possibilities for certain patterns he likes to play (I got this information out of him after the show with a little one-on-one time ).

It’s interesting that, as good a drummer as he is, when creating music Marco usually adds the drums last. He also plays guitar and keyboards, and after these parts are down is when he adds the drums.  To him this method allows him to be as creative as possible.

After these questions, Marco played a couple of his speed metal-type songs, “Diminished to b” and “Epitaph”.  It’s amazing to see what energy and endurance is required to play such songs.  “Epitaph” was more of a request from the audience, and I’m not sure Marco was planning on playing it.  He hadn’t played it in a while, but he did have it on his music player.  So off he went!  There was a section in the middle of the song where he seemed to forget what to play, but while he was thinking he just played some other pattern.  You could tell on his face when he remembered what to play, and it was smooth sailing till the end of the song.  That’s how a pro handles forgetting a drum part!

After these two songs, Marco fielded a few more questions:

Q:  ‘Where do you get all that energy from?’
A:  ‘I play every day’.

To Marco it’s a matter of dedicating a certain amount of time to practice.  This keeps your body in playing shape, especially if you play such demanding pieces as “Epitaph” night after night.

Q:  ‘How did you develop the foot speed you have?’
A:  ‘By practicing 16^ths and 32^nds, and rudiments’

Again, it’s a matter of practicing.  Once you reach a certain level, you can push yourself by just practicing faster.  Practicing rudiments with the feet also help with developing foot speed.

What was interesting is that Marco doesn’t consider himself a blast beat expert, even though he plays like one!  He basically heard it, and tried to imitate it in his style.  So it’s good to develop a musical ear to pick up on how to play certain songs or patterns.  This allows us to be more creative, until we actually learn the specifics on how to play these patterns, or make up patterns of our own that work for us.

Q:  ‘Who are your favorite drummers?’
A:  ‘John Bonham, Buddy Rich, Stewart Copeland, Vinnie Colaiuta, others’

Having these drummers as in influence allows for playing virtually any style that requires a drum kit.  In order to prove this, Marco finished the clinic with one last song, a Buddy Rich jazz tune called “Time Check”.  He played this song in a way I’ve never seen before, something I liken to ‘hard rock jazz’.  He played it with such power, but you could hear all the jazz nuances.  I’ve seen Buddy Rich (well, not in person) play this song, and I think these two drummers played it as good as it can be played.  An awe-inspiring, powerful way to conclude the clinic.

There’s a new drummer in my short list of favorite drummers, and that’s Marco Minnemann.  He sort of embodies what I like about my other favorite drummers:  the speed of Thomas Lang, his dominance over different genres, such as rock and jazz (Steve Smith), the power of John Bonham, and the creativity of Neil Peart.  That may be saying a lot, but these are the drummers that were around before him, so he had their styles and influences to draw from.  What we have is a multi-talented drum kit player who knows how to ‘overplay’ without overplaying, so to speak.  He’s very fast when he needs to be, has impeccable timing, has complete control over his kit, is extremely creative, and is just a downright humble guy.  And he loves to share how he plays with others – he holds nothing back.

If you’re fortunate enough to have Mr. Minnemann put on a drum clinic in your area, you do not want to miss it.  As much as I’ve written about here, it is nothing compared to seeing this world class drummer in action.  Hopefully he’ll come around my area again.  If so, I’ll be there!

Interesting? Then pass it along!

]]> http://theparadiddler.com/2010/03/07/drum-clinic-marco-minnemann/feed/ 0 http://theparadiddler.com/2010/02/16/product-review-off-set-double-bass-drum-pedal/ http://theparadiddler.com/2010/02/16/product-review-off-set-double-bass-drum-pedal/#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 06:13:56 +0000 Omar http://theparadiddler.com/?p=1508

Double bass drummers have it good.  I’m not talking about players that use a double bass pedal on a single bass drum, but those that use two bass drums.  Why so?

The bass drum, for obvious reasons, is the most visually pronounced drum of the kit.  Since the resonant head faces the audience, many single bass drum drummers place a logo there for all to see, making it even more pronounced.

That being the case, the drummer wants that drum to be facing straight to the audience.  It just looks cool!  But this leads to a slight disadvantage.

The drummer is automatically slightly off center.  (For the purposes of this discussion, I’ll be referring to right-handed double pedal players, but the mirror-opposite applies to lefties as well).  Since the bass drum is facing straight ahead, the drummer has to veer slightly towards the left to make sure the right foot (and leg) is at the proper angle for bass drum play.  This presents a slight ergonomic challenge, particularly if the drummer has more hardware on their right side.  Whereas the higher toms are more readily accessible (since you’re practically facing them), more ‘contorting’ is required to reach the lower toms, and possibly cymbals as well.

Back to the double bass drum player (again, two bass drums, not one drum with the double pedal).  If you notice, this drummer is perfectly centered for drumming.  He (or she) is facing directly ahead.  The two bass drums are conveniently placed at an angle comfortable for the drummer’s legs and feet.  The snare drum is directly in front of them, and toms right ahead.  Since they’re more centrally situated, they can more easily reach both sides of their kit without too much ‘contorting’, as it were, especially referring to the lower toms.

This does not necessarily mean that the double pedal drummer, or even the single pedal, single bass drummer is not comfortable, per se.  It simply means that by necessity the drummer is off center, and it results in more adjustments needed as far as optimum posturing for effectively reaching every part of the kit, particularly the right side.

In the DVD review of Matt Ritter’s “Unburying the Beater”, it was discussed that Matt had come up with a solution for this slightly ‘off center’ issue:  forget the notion that the bass drum is the center of the kit.  In doing so, he went on to explain the ideal posture and positioning behind your kit.  He mentioned that you, the drummer, should face your audience.  When you sit on the throne, the angle that your legs comfortably position themselves in, resulting in something like an equilateral triangular stance, are where the bass drum and hi-hat stand should go (where the feet comfortably end up).

There’s more detail regarding this that Mr. Ritter goes into, but the bottom line is that setting up your kit this way makes you play in a more center-like stance.

However, although the above takes care of your positioning, you still have the issue of playing slightly off center in relation to the kit.  The more equipment you have on your right side, the more difficult it may be to comfortably reach them.  This is an inherent disadvantage of the single bass drum setup.

So the question then becomes:  is there a way for the single bass drum, double pedal player to enjoy the same benefits that the double bass drum player enjoys, as far as playing ‘on center’, as it were?  The answer is yes: enter the Off-Set double bass pedal.

The premise of the Off-Set double pedal is that the drummer of the single bass drum kit should be centered behind the kit just like the double bass drum player is.  The typical double bass pedal has both beaters on the right side, which displaces the drummer to the left.  The Off-Set double pedal has both beaters in the middle, with the left and right pedal on either side of the bass drum, mimicking the double bass drum setup.  This allows the drummer to sit squarely behind the kit, with the bass drum and snare right in front.

This now also makes for a shift to the left of the kit (or a shift to the right of the drummer, however you want to look at it), which means the drummer now has easier access to the right side of the kit (less contorting).

For comparison’s sake, let’s compare the Vex Pro Touring Double Bass Pedal (of “Instructional Video – Vex Pro Touring Double Bass Pedal (Round Two)” fame), a typically designed double bass pedal, to the Off-Set double bass pedal.  Here’s a picture of them together:

Notice the obvious difference of the position of the beaters.  The Vex pedal represents the typical double pedal configuration; the Off-Set pedal mimics a double bass configuration.  Now we’ll look at both pedals installed on the bass drum:

Now we’re starting to see how the typical pedal off-centers the drummer to the left, while the Off-Set pedal places both pedals on either side of the bass drum, keeping the drummer centered.

The next two pics will show the drummer’s legs from behind, with the Vex pedals installed, and then with the Off-Set pedals:

From this angle, you can see that for the typical double pedal, the drummer’s feet, and hence the rest of his body, is forced to play off-center (the bass drum being ‘pushed’ to the right).  With the Off-Set pedal, however, the drummer’s feet are on either side of the bass drum, hence they’re squarely behind it – on center!

The following picture illustrates what I call the ‘baseball effect’:

In baseball it is widely accepted that the best teams are the ones that are the best down the center:  center fielder, shortstop/second baseman, pitcher, and catcher.  If your best players are at these positions, your team has a better chance of winning more games than not.

The same is true for drumming!  The picture above shows the bass drum (center field), the two toms (shortstop and second base), the snare (the catcher), and the throne, which represents you, the drummer, as the pitcher.  A beautiful thing when it’s all in a row!  If you are centered as a drummer, with a proper equilateral stance, with your equipment evenly surrounding you, you will be a better player, because you’re positioned to play better.  The typical double pedal shifts the drummer to the left, making for off-center playing, and not the optimum positioning.

Now let’s look at a drummer^* in action with the two pedals, and compare the stances.  Here are two pics with the drummer playing with the Vex pedals, and then with the Off-Set pedals:

In both pics, the drummer is playing his ride cymbal.  In the Vex setup, he’s positioned more towards the left, so to reach the cymbal he has to accommodate for the distance.  But in the Off-Set setup, it’s simply a matter of the position of the arm; the torso stays in place.  Also the right-mounted tom and the floor tom are more easily accessible.

The latter point may be better illustrated with a top view of both setups.  Take a look at the following pics:

The drummer is playing his floor tom.  With Vex pedals, it is more of a reach to play the floor tom because more turning is required to reach them.  But with the Off-Set pedals, less turning is required to reach the floor tom.  If you have yet another floor tom, then reaching them with the typical double pedal configuration starts to be a strain; but with the Off-Set pedals centering you behind your kit, it is more easily reached.

Of course, it is all a matter of positioning.  The drummer with the typical double pedal will set up his kit (if he’s properly versed) in a way that is optimum for them.  But if the same drummer used the Off-Set pedal, then they would be perfectly centered, and arranging the kit becomes easier, ergonomically speaking.  Equipment on both sides of the kit is equally reachable.  You are now the center of your drum kit, instead of one of the pieces of the kit (usually the bass drum).  That alone, plus the feeling of complete balance, might be the most important aspect of effective and efficient drum play.

Ok, so we’ve extolled the practical aspects of the Off-Set double pedal, but how about the pedal itself?  In a word:  fantastic!

This is a professional quality pedal, with quality components, and made to last.  Right out of the box I could see that the foot boards were huge— 3.5”x12.5”— one of the largest, if not the largest in the industry.  This allows for any style of play, be it heel up, or heel down, or a combination.  The spring-loaded anti-skid spurs and anti-skid pads on both pedal base and center beater housing ensures that the pedals and center housing will remain solidly in place throughout the playing session.

Since this is not your typical pedal, it is strongly recommended that you follow the instructions included in the box to assemble and adjust the pedals.  You don’t want to take these out of the box for the first time right at your next gig, or you may get a little frustrated!  Better play with the configuration beforehand.  It’s not complicated, just different.

And speaking of configuring, there are so many ways to configure the pedals that it’s ridiculous.  I had mentioned in the aforementioned Vex instructional video that for the typical double bass pedal, you will never get both pedals to feel exactly the same.  Virtually the same, possibly; exactly the same, no.  However, the Off-Set pedals are bi-laterally symmetrical, meaning both sides can be configured exactly the same.

Both pedals have exactly the same components for adjustability:

• Radius adjustable drive wheel - the only pedal in the  industry on which the diameter of the drive wheel can be infinitely adjusted from 1.5” to 3” with only a drum key
• Fully adjustable concentric double chain drive
• Quad drive springs for increased response and sensitivity
• Completely independently adjustable beater holders with 1” lateral adjustment each
• Independently height-adjustable pedal boards
• Center-mounting hoop clamp which eliminates all lateral torque on the bass drum hoop
• Eliminates hip displacement and joint stresses caused by traditional placement of the standard pedals
• Extremely ergonomic drum-centering design

The above lists the main features (plus a couple more) that allow each pedal to be configured exactly how you want for each foot.  With so much configurability, you can:

• Configure each pedal to be exactly the same
• Configure one pedal to feel heavier than the other
• Configure one pedal to be faster than the other
• Move one pedal closer or farther away from you than the other
• Move one or both pedals farther away from the central housing
• Adjust the height of a pedal totally independent of the beater
• Adjust the distance of the beater from the bass drum head totally independent of the pedal
• Angle each pedal according to the exact orientation of your foot

I could not do so much configuring with any other pedal I’ve seen.  I did try at first to attach the pedals without reading the instructions first.  I attached the pedal, but it definitely didn’t feel right.  So I resigned myself to follow the included instructions, and it actually was fun discovering all the different configurations.  After a little tweaking, I tried playing them again, and at first it was a little weird because I wasn’t used to being (and feeling!) so centered.  It was very comfortable, and the pedals are so responsive.  I beat away at them for a bit, and then decided to adjust the springs for a little more resistance (there are two springs per pedal, and the knobs are big for easy adjusting), and I was flying.  I’ve tried out several pedals, but these not only felt at least as good as any I’ve played with before (or tested out), but the feeling of playing in the middle, whether psychological, or physiological, or both, made me play with more confidence.

As far as the sound of the bass drum itself, it is interesting to note that neither beater will hit the bass drum head exactly in the middle.  Although that might sound like a negative, it really isn’t since both beaters are hitting the head symmetrically in relation to each other, so they both will sound exactly the same, the way it should be!

Now I’m a fan of double bass play, so I’m very excited about this pedal.  However, I realize that there are drummers that are just not double bass players, and probably never will be.  Off-Set also has available a single pedal model, both for righty and lefty drummers, that have the same characteristics of the double pedal.  Again, they allow you to be centered and provide for optimum comfort and accessibility to your whole kit.

There’s a lot more information at the Off-Set web site that is of great interest that you will want to look up, such as:

• The history of how the idea came to Charles Fisher, creator of the Off-Set pedal
• Additional photos and details on the solid construction and patented design of the pedals
• The medical benefits of the Off-Set pedal vs. the typical double pedal
• Other double pedal models and related products, including, for example, different sized drive rods

The pedals currently can be had for $329.99, factory direct from Off-Set.  There are several top of the line double pedals by other manufacturers that sell for over twice as much.  But so far, my feeling is that this pedal trumps them all.  Because it’s not just the quality of the pedals physically (which these are as good as any), but it’s the unique bi-lateral symmetric design, virtually unlimited configuration possibilities, and the ability to play fully centered and balanced behind your kit that make this pedal a winner in the pedal industry.  I very rarely, if ever, give a perfect ten out of ten paradiddles for a product, but the Off-Set double pedal comes very, very close.

_____________
^*A very special thanks to my son Devin for doing a fine job as the model drummer
Interesting? Then pass it along!

]]> http://theparadiddler.com/2010/02/16/product-review-off-set-double-bass-drum-pedal/feed/ 2 http://theparadiddler.com/2010/02/02/blogging-your-passion/ http://theparadiddler.com/2010/02/02/blogging-your-passion/#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 05:01:34 +0000 Omar http://theparadiddler.com/?p=1478

I’m going on a little tangent, if you will (well, not entirely).

As readers of this blog have guessed, I love drums!  It’s been my favorite instrument for forever, and I derive a lot of pleasure not only playing them, but writing about them as well.

However, the drums are not always the neighborly pastime.  In the article “The Thing About the Neighbors”, it was discussed how to have your cake and eat it too, per se, as far as playing the loudest instrument while maintaining the peace with those next door (or even across the street).  Even after going through the exercise of ensuring you’re as quiet as possible, however, it may not always be possible to ‘keep the peace’, as it were.  You’re still going to make noise, and at times it may even be annoying, even when compromises have been made.

So what to do?  How was I going to be able to enjoy playing drums in a way that would not encroach on my neighbor’s right to peace and quiet?

At about the same time I was contemplating getting a drum set, I was also contemplating what things I was good at, or at least that I liked.  Of course, playing drums was one.  I realized, though, that I also like writing.  I’m no novelist (hmm, or am I? ), but I always found that I could run my mouth on and on about a subject if I liked it enough.  I started to look on the Internet for outlets for those who had a penchant for the written word, and I came across the concept of blogging, which I had not seen before.  This was it!  I could write about drumming when I couldn’t play, and that way I could always be engaged in the subject that most interested me.  I didn’t have to play everyday, and still the passion for drumming would continue to kindle.

Hence TheParadiddler.com was born – perfect!  I could write about drums when I couldn’t play, and that would keep me inspired so when I actually did play, it was more fun!  It just made the playing experience more complete, at least for me.

At about this time as well, I came across a couple of gentlemen in the blogging industry that are highly regarded as the best at knowing not only how to have a successful blog as far as getting attention to it (no use having a web site if you’re the only one who sees it!), but also how to profit from it as well!  This really appealed to me, since I figured, if I’m going to spend time on this, and I could also profit in some way where everyone would find something they want (a win-win situation for all), why not pursue that?

The gentlemen I’m referring to are Gideon Shalwick and Yaro Starak, from BecomeABlogger.com.  I didn’t know how fun blogging could be until I came in contact with these guys, and it’s been an incredible run so far.

My message is this:  if there’s anything at all that you like, or love, or love to talk about, or drive people nuts because you won’t shut up about it, then blogging is for you!   BecomeABlogger.com will show you how to capitalize on your passion, and potentially create an ever increasing income stream.  I have goals financially, as many do.  I haven’t reached them yet, but if it wasn’t for this program, I couldn’t even dream of it.

The following are some things that you can profitably blog about:

• Your favorite instrument of choice (obviously)
  • Playing
  • Teaching
  • Events
• Sports
  • Stats
  • Player profiles
  • Local news
• Gardening
  • Vegetable growing
  • Flowers
  • Pest control
• Finance
  • Stock Market
  • Personal
  • Retirement investing
• Audio/Videophile
  • HDTV
  • Home theater
  • Car audio
• Photography
  • Studio
  • Vacation
  • Scenery
• Anything at all that you like or know something about

And on and on and on.  The ‘end is listless’.  If you like something, even a little, you can blog about it, and even make money too!

I think it’s at least worth a look; there’s absolutely no obligation, but I’m sure your interest will be peaked enough to find out how blogging can make a difference financially in your life.  Below is an invitation from BecomeABlogger.com.  I highly recommend you check it out.  If you’re reading this from the newsletter, then please forward the e-mail to anyone you think may be interested in making money through blogging.  If you know someone that just won’t shut up, then definitely forward them the e-mail!    If you’re reading this at TheParadiddler.com, invite others to check this page out as well.  It will be time well spent – I promise!

Here’s the invitation:

Yaro Starak and Gideon Shalwick from BecomeABlogger.com are re-opening their Become A Blogger Premium video training program.

This course is by far the most popular video blog training program out there, with over 2,000 people having already participated during the last two times the course was offered.

On February 4th you will have a chance to try their program for $1, so add that date to your calendar.

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Inside this amazing new report, you'll discover...

- How to ethically exploit the biggest wave in technology since the invention of the telephone...

- How Yaro and Gideon stumbled upon the "X-Factor" For Blogging Success, and how it turned upside down everything they thought they knew about blogging...

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- 7.4 million reasons why your blog will fail, unless you know how to take advantage of the intersection of two huge Internet trends...

- How a new way of using video, images and a blog turned a penniless actor into an Internet Superstar!

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Ready to grab the report? - Here's the link:

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Yaro and Gideon really know what they're talking about when it comes to blogging.

For example, as of this invitation, there have already been 240,190 downloads of the complimentary videos on becomeablogger.com!

That's enough proof that whenever Yaro and Gideon speak, hordes of people stop what they're doing, and listen.

Also, it's no secret that Yaro Starak makes a very comfortable living from his blog...in October alone he made more than most people make in a year!

Just imagine...

You can learn from a blogging superstar like Yaro within a few minutes without paying a cent - it really is priceless!

Teaming up with Gideon Shalwick, Yaro's been able to leverage his knowledge with Gideon's clear and easy-to-follow presentation skills, and knowledge of social media and video.

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So please, download and read your own copy right now before it's too late...

"The Roadmap To Become A Blogger" Interesting? Then pass it along!

]]> http://theparadiddler.com/2010/02/02/blogging-your-passion/feed/ 0 http://theparadiddler.com/2010/01/26/dvd-review-unburying-the-beater/ http://theparadiddler.com/2010/01/26/dvd-review-unburying-the-beater/#comments Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:59:04 +0000 Omar http://theparadiddler.com/?p=1448

Resonance.  Through it we hear what the tone of our drums sound like.  Sure, at times we tend to mute certain drums in our kits to limit excessive ringing or overtones, but for the most part resonance is how we hear the tone, or note, of our drums.

To ensure we get the desired sounds, or tone, from each of our drums, we learn about dynamics, rebound, tuning, and the like.  We don’t force the stick to stay on the head of the drum, but instead we learn how to work with the bounce of the stick off the drum head.  We tune our drums a certain way, the snare and the toms, to get a particular sounding note, or a particular resonance.  Then natural rebounding takes over, and the drums resonate and sound how we want.

But for some reason, these principles are not always applied to the bass drum.  Many drummers, particularly in Rock, tend to ‘bury the beater’, as it were, and leave the beater pushed against the bass drum head between notes.  As many of these drummers play the ‘heel up’ method (more on that method later), the bass drum is not allowed to resonate, but instead is limited to a quick ‘thud’, and then it gets ‘out of the way’.  Quite the opposite of how we play the rest of the drums in the kit!  In addition to the beater being pushed against the head, in many instances a pillow or other muffling device is placed inside the drum against the batter head to further impede resonance.

In previous articles, I’ve spoken about how I feel about the sound that I like from the bass drum.  In “Great Snares of Rock” (ironically!), I talk about the sound of Simon Kirke’s bass drum sound on the song “All Right Now” by Free.  Among other things, I mentioned the following:  “You can hear the smack of the beater create the full, rich bass drum sound with fast decay.  I like bass drums that are thick and fast, and get out of the way.  But even though the bass drum here had a tinge of boominess, it fit the overall sound just right.”  I tend not to like a bass drum that sounds too boomy.  I do like a full, rich sound, a fast thud, and as I mention, then quickly gets out of the way.

However, my feeling on this is starting to change just a bit.  A while back, I attended a drum clinic by Will Calhoun, where he stated that he doesn’t use muffling very much.  There was not muffling on the bass drum except what little came standard with the Remo Powerstroke bass drum head.  He mentioned that he likes the drums to resonate, without being impeded by muffling.  This went against what I believed, to a certain extent, but his bass drum sound was excellent, so I didn’t question it.  I stored that little tidbit of information in the back of my mind (we’ll get back to this ‘tidbit’ later).

Fast forward to the present.  As drummers we’re always looking for ways to improve our technique.  It’s a lifetime endeavor.  Sometimes we stick with our habits, for good or ill.  Other times we’re wowed by a great drummer, and try to imitate their chops.  And yet other times, we come across a teacher or instructional video that later we identify as a turning point in our playing, or at minimum makes us question our technique enough to make significant adjustments.  In this case, the latter has occurred.  I came across an excellent DVD that describes a fresh approach to bass drum technique that, if applied, can positively affect our bass drum playing, and help us to really get that rich, deep bass drum sound that many drummers look for.  The DVD is “Unburying the Beater”, by Matt Ritter.

Matt has an extensive bio, where you can read all about him.  Here are some highlights:

• Graduated from the University of Hartford, where he studied music in the university’s Hartt School of Music
• Worked as a production assistant at DCI Music Video, where he was involved in the production of videos featuring Steve Gadd, Max Roach, Omar Hakim, Neil Peart, and others
• Studied with the legendary author/teacher Jim Chapin
• Extensive professional drumming experience in genres such as jazz, rock, and musical theatre
• Honored in 2003 with an invitation to the Vic Firth educational team
• Is one of the leading drumset instructors in New York City, where he has been teaching lessons since 1996

“Unburying the Beater” is more than just a limited amount of techniques that one particular drummer uses for bass drum play.  It is more like a system, a philosophy, an approach, per se.  It centers around the notion that the bass drum, just like the rest of the drums in the kit, should be allowed to resonate and achieve it’s full, rich-sounding resonant potential without being hindered by the beater being ‘buried’ into the head, hence the name “Unburying the Beater”.  The methods taught here, when applied, allow the beater to naturally rebound off the head, like it wants to do anyway due to the laws of physics(!).  It involves using the whole leg, not just the foot, to achieve a method of bass drum play that will exploit the natural resonance of the bass drum.

In the video, Matt explains that, as a young drummer, there was much material around regarding bass drum rhythms, but not so much as far as the physical movements required to execute those rhythms.  After many years of investigation and trial and error, he has now developed the instructional DVD for bass drum playing that he wished he had when he started out.  New drummers will have a strong foundation for learning to play the bass drum more effectively.  Experienced drummers can enhance their current bass drum skills, and add new tools to their repertoire.

Questions Drummers Ask

It was a little entertaining when Matt went into what questions drummers would ask each other if they struck up a conversation.  One question would be, “Do you play traditional or matched grip?”  Well, I’ve gone into detail on that subject (you can read about it here).  The second question, which is more germane to our topic at hand, is, “Do you play heel up or heel down?”  This question relates to the position of the foot on the bass drum pedal.  It is a critical question because it is directly related to the methods expounded on in “Unburying the Beater”.  Matt then goes on to explain the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

As you can see from the picture above, with this method, the heel is down, and the foot is resting on the drum pedal.  The beater is about one or two inches away from the batter head of the bass drum.  This is what the foot and pedal look like between notes.  Here are some details about this method as presented by Matt:

Heel Down Method… Advantages

• Easy to play softly and with control
• Allows beater to rebound cleanly, allowing bass drum to resonate naturally

This method is used a lot in jazz when the drummer wants to ‘feather’ the bass drum, in that they just barely strike the drum.  This type of control can be achieved by using the heel down method.

The second advantage listed above is what Matt really considers the main advantage of this method.  The whole point of “Unburying the Beater” is to allow the bass drum to resonate.  Since the weight of the foot on the pedal is minimal when the heel is down, the beater will more easily rebound, and stay off.

Heel Down Method… Disadvantages

• Challenging to play really fast
• Foot is not free to move around; in a fixed position, so adjustments are more difficult to make based on tempo
• Can’t use different parts of foot to play the pedal:  toes, ball of foot, or full surface
• Too strenuous to make powerful sound; can’t use thigh muscles

Matt goes into extensive detail on these points, the bottom line being that if your foot is fixed, there’s very limited flexibility as far as adapting to the different styles and speeds of the songs you want to play.  If you only play heel down, there isn’t going to be much room for improvement.  In addition, if you want to play combinations, like double strokes and triplets, and faster tempos, it can’t be done for a sustained length of time – the limited muscles used with this method will give out.

As we can see from the above picture, the heel up method involves raising the heel, so that the ball of the foot and toes are set on the pedal.  Because the weight of the whole leg is now in play, instead of just the foot as in the heel down method, the beater is pushed into the batter head.  There it remains between notes.  The following are some details regarding this method, as Matt describes them:

Heel Up Method… Advantages

• Because the heel is not anchored, a more forceful stroke is possible
• Freedom to alter the angle of the foot or pedal to use whatever part of the foot is suitable for what’s being played

The above is why this method is used mostly by rock drummers, where force is required (or expected!).  Faster playing is possible as well, since the foot is free to move and accommodate the different speeds and patterns.  However, there are also disadvantages.

Heel Up Method… Disadvantages

• Bass drum sound is muted, less resonance, since beater is held against the batter head
• The beater, due to physics, wants to rebound, so a flamish-type note is produced
• Calf muscle is constantly engaged

Again, Matt goes into great detail regarding these issues, but the second point deserves a further mention.  Many, many drum teachers instruct their students to let their sticks rebound off the drum head, because that’s what it naturally wants to do – why resist nature?  Well, that’s what many drummers do with the bass drum!  The poor guy also wants to resonate, like the rest of the shells, but we don’t let it!  It may be acceptable to get a muted sound from the bass drum, if that’s specifically what we want.  But the bass drum will probably sound best if we let the rebound occur.

So after many years of studying the different methods, mining information from many drummers, and tweaking his own approach to bass drum play, Matt came up with this formula:

As mentioned earlier, the “Unburying the Beater” method is a combination of the advantages of both the heel up and heel down method.  It’s an entire methodology that, when applied, not only helps you play the bass drum better, but also improves your drumming in general.

The DVD goes into detail regarding how to implement the “Unburying the Beater” method.  I would classify it as a three-step process:

1. Your posture and position behind the kit
2. The placement of all the components of the kit
3. The actual exercises of the “Unburying the Beater” method

The following are pictures that illustrate the above:

Matt explains how to position your foot relative to your knee.  Allowing the knee to be slightly behind the foot allows for greater flexibility.

Seat height is also very important.  Matt goes on to show why having your hip one to two inches above the knee is the optimal height for bass drum play.

Fundamental to good drumming is balance, and being completely centered.  Sitting in somewhat of an equilateral tripod stance will allow you to have the utmost balance, as well as being centered.  This is why most drum thrones and cymbal stands are made with three legs.

In addition, Matt explains how to determine what the sweet spot is for your particular pedal.  This is a very important component of the “Unburying the Beater” method.

This is one of the topics that struck a chord with me.  Drummers who use only one bass drum tend to face that drum straight to the audience, making that the center of the kit.  What Matt teaches instead is, the drummer is what should be facing the center of the kit, with the bass drum to the side.  If the bass drum is the center, then the drummer is automatically off center.  This tends to lead to a little more contorting than necessary to reach the lower toms.  Instead, as shown in the picture above, put the bass drum to the side, and the hi-hit to the other side.  Then your snare and toms should be placed right in front of you, the toms being mounted on a stand (as you’ll see in his kit).  This will allow you to still be completely centered and have the utmost flexibility.

Matt then goes on to fill in the rest of his kit; here’s his:

You’ll notice that Matt is facing towards the center of his kit, where his snare and toms are, and the bass drum is to the side.  Matt goes into all the details as to why this is the optimum positioning of one’s self and your kit.

And of course, there are the actual “Unburying the Beater” exercises.  For as much detail as we’ve discussed so far, the nuts and bolts start here.  Matt goes on to explain the actual exercises that will with practice and time allow you to have more control over your bass drum play than ever.  He demonstrates the actual motion involved, and then how that motion translates into single strokes, multiple strokes, double strokes, and more.

The different speeds at which the examples are explained are illustrated, as above, so you can see the method in motion, as it were.  This way you can more easily reproduce the exercises.  Various tempos are displayed, and you are encouraged to try faster speeds to develop control over the motions presented.

Some of the techniques that Matt goes into in great detail are:

• Fast multiple strokes
• Double strokes
• “Bonham Triplets”
• Toe/Ball double strokes
• The Slide
• and much more

After showing these specific exercises, Matt dedicates a good chunk of the instruction displaying these techniques in action.  With multiple camera angles and a popular counting method, Matt shows the practical application of the “Unburying the Beater” principles that he teaches.  So you not only get the exercises, you get to see how you can use them in the songs you like to play, and even incorporate them in your practice routine.

In addition to all the above, Matt also has a troubleshooting section where concerns are addressed regarding the application of this technique, and a frequently asked questions section where he answers some very common questions that have come up regarding the “Unburying the Beater” method.

This instructional DVD is very well done, a professional job.  You can tell by everything Matt says that he was very studious in putting together all the material and presenting it in a way that is very understandable to the audience, without sounding dogmatic.  His friendly manner is very inviting, and it seems that he is genuinely interested in your betterment as a drummer.  You can tell that he absolutely practices what he preaches, and of every nuance of the method he’s teaching, he misses not one.  I like his sincerity in admitting that he hasn’t necessarily invented this method, but has culled all the information from various teachers, and from his own experience, and now finally can present this method in a formal manner that hasn’t been done before.  He gives credit to those before him that have helped him with his drumming, and this method of playing the bass drum (coincidentally, he also credits Will Calhoun, mentioned earlier).

As much as has been included here about the DVD, we’ve only scratched the surface.  There’s so much content and instruction in the DVD that many viewings will be necessary to get the full benefit, and you will refer to it over and over for sure.  It’s jam-packed with over two hours of instruction.

If there’s anything I would have liked to see that wasn’t included, is more coverage regarding how to implement this technique with double bass.  In saying that, however, he does mention double bass players and briefly mentions (in the FAQ as well) how they can use the “Unburying the Beater” method for double bass play, but doesn’t delve into it as much as I would have liked.  I have double bass pedals, always have had, so I would have liked to see more.

Even though he presented many practical examples of this method, I would have liked to have seen him play a song like Led Zeppelin’s “Good Times, Bad Times”, which Matt references and is a classic example of this method in action.  Multiple camera angles, on the whole kit (maybe from behind), and on the bass pedal, would have been a good example in action.

As much as resonance is important, I actually didn’t like Matt’s bass drum sound too much!  It was a little boomy for me, more like a big floor tom.  But as I mentioned earlier, I’m starting to re-think my own bass drum sound, all because of this DVD.

Beforehand, and still to this point really, I like a thick, fast bass drum sound.  I don’t like it to ‘boom’ too long after it is struck.  But after seeing Matt’s “Unburying the Beater” method, I think the problem may not be the bass drum, but me!  I think I may have been exposed as being a little lazy.  This DVD has not only made me rethink the sound of my bass drum, but of every drum in my kit.  Particularly for the bass drum, now I have to analyze if the sound I’m not liking from it is a result of poor tuning, and not enough experimentation.  Am I putting the pillow inside the drum because I can’t tune it optimally, or rather, don’t want to spend the time tuning it correctly?

That may be the case, but then again, it can also be that I’ve tried tuning the bass drum and never got the sound I wanted (still too boomy), so in the pillow went.  Even with the pillow inside, with the “Unburying the Beater” method, I might be able to have the best of both worlds:  a thick, fast thud with a rich, resonating tone that only the bass drum can produce.  Well, I have some work to do!

To me, this DVD is somewhat of a revelation, an approach to the bass drum that I never thought of before.  It’s absolutely a fresh take that is worth the price:  only $24.95.  For less than the cost of one drum lesson, you can fundamentally change your bass drum play, for the better.  A very strong nine out of ten paradiddles for “Unburying the Beater”.  A must for every drummer’s catalog.

For more information regarding Matt Ritter, and ordering the “Unburying the Beater” DVD, click here.
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]]> http://theparadiddler.com/2010/01/26/dvd-review-unburying-the-beater/feed/ 0 http://theparadiddler.com/2010/01/16/sabian-live-at-namm-2010/ http://theparadiddler.com/2010/01/16/sabian-live-at-namm-2010/#comments Sun, 17 Jan 2010 02:09:13 +0000 Omar http://theparadiddler.com/?p=1410

NAMM is one of the busiest times of the year for the music industry.  Every January, the largest music products trade show in the world hits Anaheim, CA, and droves of enthusiasts go to check out the various products, or show off products of their own.  Then there are others who go for the music.  And at The Paradiddler, the focus is drums.

Once again, I did not have the opportunity to attend in person (maybe next year?).  Fortunately, we have sites like DrumChannel.com that streams the event.  It’s Sabian’s yearly “Sabian Live”, with live entertainment from some of the best drummers that use Sabian cymbals.  I, for one, use Sabian cymbals myself, and I’m very happy with them.  Of course, the pros make them sound phenomenal.

Similar to last year, DrumChannel.com had various camera angles during the show that you could switch between (five to be exact), with the fifth one reserved for the backstage interviews.  In reviewing DrumChannel.com’s Sabian Live 2009, I tried to glean from the interviews what I could while at the same time watching the live performances.  That was a tall order!  I missed some really great stuff on both sides, so I took a different slant this time.  I decided to be more of a photographer, taking video stills from the live stream of the musical performances, and presenting them here for your viewing pleasure.  Alas, I could not get the whole show (more on that later).

The event was co-hosted by Dom Famularo, drumming ambassador to the world, and Dream Theater’s own Mike Portnoy.  Dom reminds me of Terry Bozzio, in the sense that they’re both so enthusiastic about drumming that it’s infectious.  You can’t not like drums when you’re around those guys.  And that’s just from watching them online!  The only thing wrong with Mike Portnoy was that he didn’t play.  Well, he was there to host and MC, so we’ll let it slip (this time).

Musical guests for Sabian Live were:

• Little Kids Rock – students from the organization dedicated to putting music back in schools
• Chad Smith’s Bombastic Meatbats
• Terry Bozzio, Tony Levin, David Torn and Pat Mastelotto
• Steve Ferrone with The Master Volume All-Stars featuring Steve Postell, Leland Sklar, Kevin Ricard and other celebrities

Here are some highlights from the performances.

Here’s the scoop on this fine organization, taken from LittleKidsRock.org:  “Since 2002, Little Kids Rock has been dedicated to putting music back in schools. We provide students with free musical instruments and instruction that focuses on their favorite popular music styles, including rock, blues, rap and hip-hop. So far, over 1,200 schools in more than 23 cities nationwide have benefited from a Little Kids Rock program, and the response from kids, parents and teachers has been phenomenal.”

The kids at NAMM put on a pretty good show.  They played two songs:  “Aces High” from Iron Maiden(!) and “La Grange” by ZZ Top.  Ok, I don’t even remember if I’ve ever heard “Aces High”, but these kids’ rendition of it was very well performed.  I’ll have to give it up to the bass player, though:  anyone (especially a kid) who can play bass like Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris is fine in my book!

Their rendition of “La Grange” was a little fast for my taste, but they got through it well enough.  I think that’s a song that has to be enjoyed at the original speed, but that’s just me!

Here’s a pic from their performance:

I had not the chance to see any of this band’s performances until tonight.  This was a real treat, because this group was fantastic.

I like Chad’s playing in Red Hot Chili Peppers, but I like his performances outside of that band more than inside.  In the 2008 Buddy Rich Memorial concert review (2^nd article), I talked about Chad’s excellent performance in the show, one of the best of the night.  I think his performance with the Meatbats was even better.  It seems like he plays more liberated when outside of RHCP.  That’s not a bad thing, however.  When you’re in a band, it’s always about the song, and the best songs are those where the musicians put the song first before themselves.  But with the Bombastic Meatbats, it’s more about jamming, and boy did they jam.

It was a very spirited set, six songs in all.  At least, that’s what I counted.  One of the songs sounded like a medley of three.  Chad introduced the second song called “Oops I Spilled My Beer.”  I’m positive many in attendance could relate J.  The Bombastic Meatbats to me were the best part of Sabian Live.

Here are some pics from the performance.

If Terry Bozzio’s going to be on the bill, you know you’re in for, well, complexity. This night was no exception.  I should have timed the first song, because it took forever! It was a brooding, dark, menacing piece.  The next day during DC at NAMM Terry mentioned that it was all improvised, and that for a lot of the performance he could not hear at all at least one of the other musicians.  It sounded all in unison to me, which was very impressive.  It seemed more like a progressive rock piece, kind of self-indulgent (in a good way though!).  Tony Levin’s playing was just sick – it amazes me how he’s flailing away on his ‘bass’ and creates such beautiful melodies.

Unfortunately, it was at this point that the Drum Channel feed dropped for the longest time.  But I did catch some pics of the performance, so here they are.

Well, it was getting very late at this point, and the feed from Drum Channel was a little shaky, but I did get a few pics from this performance.  I have to say that this was my least favorite part of the show, even though the drumming was very good.  Steve had a very nice pocket going.  He swears like a trooper, though!  The song selection was not my cup of tea, but I like anything live!

Here are a few pics from this performance:

And that was the show!

As far as the sound goes, it was much, much better this time around than last year, so Drum Channel got that right this time.  Chad Smith’s drums sounded just fantastic.  Like I said, that was my favorite part of the show.

In a future article, I’ll put out pics from some of the interviewing that went on backstage during the performances.  It’s very difficult to cover everything from afar (hm, I’ll have to assemble a team for the next one!).  In any case, it was a good time, with very good performances.  I believe Drum Channel will be posting these performances on their site in the near future, so watch out for those.

And that’s a wrap!

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]]> http://theparadiddler.com/2010/01/16/sabian-live-at-namm-2010/feed/ 0 http://theparadiddler.com/2009/12/27/great-snares-of-rock/ http://theparadiddler.com/2009/12/27/great-snares-of-rock/#comments Sun, 27 Dec 2009 21:51:38 +0000 Omar http://theparadiddler.com/?p=1342

DW Edge Snare

No other drum in a drummer’s kit stirs up more emotion than the snare drum.

It is a very unique drum.  As individual as the drummer themselves.  Some drummers go through a painstaking sampling process to determine which snare drum sounds just right for them.  For those who can afford it, many snares make it to the inventory, for when the occasion calls, there’s the perfect snare waiting in the wings.

For some drummers, even though they have their snares, that sound doesn’t define them.  Maybe the whole of the kit defines them.  Others are known for their snare sound, and even have their own signature snare made for them.  In any case, it’s a special drum.

In the article “Leave That Snare Alone!”, I talked about how special the snare is, and how attached drummers are to them.  Sometimes whole kits come and go, but when we hit the sweet spot with the snare, it stays.  Some even stay with the same drum (not only the make and model, but the actual drum) for decades.  ‘Leave that snare alone’ indeed!

Being that the case, over the years I myself have grown fond of this drum.  I currently have only two snares at the moment, but my search is on for the snare (or snares!) that I’ll fall in love with.  Ever since I was little, this drum has always captivated me with the sheer power of being able to penetrate through so much amplification.  You have to respect the snare drum.

So many different snare sounds as well, with their different sizes, differing snare strand counts, different tunings on both top and bottom heads, throw off, throw on, ringing, muffling – ‘the end is listless’.  It’s so much fun.

All that being said, after many years of listening, I’ve come up with a list of my top five favorite snare sounds in all of Rock.  Of course, there’s Jazz, Country, and whatever other genres, that use the snare too, but I grew up in a little town north of Boston listening mostly to Rock.  Hearing all these songs and bands on the radio, vinyl, 8-Track, cassette, CD, mp3, etc., well, you get to hear a lot of different snare sounds, if that’s what you’re looking for specifically.

Admittedly, this top five is very subjective.  Like I said, there are as many snare sound preferences as there are drummers; these are just my favorites.  There are more snare drum sounds that I truly love as well, but I’m limiting my countdown to five.

When I started researching for this article, I figured that, if I could, I would find out from the artists themselves what specific snare drum they used.  Some of us may want to imitate those sounds on our kit as closely as possible, so why not hear ‘from the horse’s mouth’ what the artist played?  I was thrilled to get responses from the very artists who produced these awesome snare sounds.

The descriptions I give about what I hear are strictly how I hear them.  Someone else may hear something very different, or not agree at all.  Or maybe you’ll wonder, “What’s that snare doing on this list?”  Sometimes it’s not just the sound of the drum, but it’s also how the music makes you feel (see “Not Just About the Drums”).  You’ll also note that there’s a common thread among these snares, which I’ll emphasize in the end.  So without further ado, here’s TheParadiddler.com’s list of the top five snare sounds in Rock.

Number 5:  Simon Kirke, Free, “All Right Now”

The first time I heard this song on the radio, the drum sound immediately stood out.  Yes, you have the recognizable guitar riff, but to me, the snare sound was just beautiful.  Actually, I really love the bass drum sound too.  You can hear the smack of the beater create the full, rich bass drum sound with fast decay.  I like bass drums that are thick and fast, and get out of the way.  But even though the bass drum here had a tinge of boominess, it fit the overall sound just right.

But I digress!  Back to the snare.  When I first heard it a long time ago, I couldn’t describe why I liked it – I just did.  It felt so right in that song.  I like the snare’s innocent pop, but it’s also very pronounced.  I don’t like snares that have a lot of delay, as if the snares are loosely set, or by post-production (a la Def Leppard’s Rick Allen) – this snare was totally the opposite.  Fast, quick, responsive, slightly thick – a thing of beauty, a feast for the ears.

The sound I describe is mainly during the verses of the song.  Because the volume of the singers seems to go up a bit during the chorus, the snare doesn’t sound as pronounced.  Another thing I noticed is that the drums sound better on the radio than they do on my computer playing as an mp3.  Not significantly better, but enough for these ears to notice.  All I know is, whenever “All Right Now” comes on the radio, I must listen to that snare.

So what did Simon Kirke play on for this recording?  Well, TheParadiddler.com inquired, and he was gracious enough to answer me directly!  Not only did he give specifics of the snare, but of the whole kit.  It wasn’t a complicated kit, but here’s what Simon says (couldn’t resist the game reference ):

“The kit was a Ludwig Super Classic.  Regular size snare, 14x5.5”.  22x14 kick, 12x8 and 14x14 toms.  Paiste cymbals.  No special tuning.  A bit of duct tape on the snare.”^*

Well, that setup produced one of my favorite snare sounds of all time.  Some muffling on the snare is interesting, since I tend to try to eliminate the ringing of my snares as well (check out “The Ringing In My Ears”).  All in all, great sounding kit, greater sounding snare – it’s, well, ‘all right now’.

Number 4:  Keith Moon, The Who, “My Wife” from The Kids are Alright

When I was very young, my brother took me to the cinema to watch a movie.  I had no idea what the movie was – I was just glad my brother was taking me out!  We went to see The Kids Are Alright. It remains one of my favorite movies.  It had such an impact musically on me as far as expanding my Rock palate.  Suddenly Kiss wasn’t the only band in the world!  Wow, these guys were fun, crazy, funny, and immensely talented musically.

The funny thing is, the snare drum sound I extracted from this movie was not from the movie itself, but from the soundtrack.  “My Wife” (the performance occurred at the Gaumont State Theatre, Kilburn, in London on December 15^th, 1977) did not appear in the movie originally, but what an impression the drumming made on me!  Well, the drumming made an impression on me before that, but this song awakened my awareness to what a snare with personality sounds like.  It has such incredible presence in this song.

It showcases such a rainbow of sound with each strike.  It almost sounds like it has microscopic jingle bells – I can almost hear the bells with each strike (within the context of the snare, very fast), almost trebly.  It has a fat, punchy sound, but fast and pronounced – it is never drowned out by any of the other sounds in the song, instruments or voice.

We all know about Keith Moon’s prowess on the kit.  I actually think this is one of his best drumming performances.  There are no holes drumming-wise in the song.  He fills all the gaps.  He uses the whole of the kit, and the snare is featured very prominently throughout.

I hadn’t heard this song in a long time, but I always knew that the sound of the snare impacted me from the moment I heard it.  I definitely stored it away in my mind as one of my favorite sounding snares.  If I had one phrase to describe the sound of this snare, I think it would be:  “an orchestra of sound in one strike”.

Now, as beautiful as the sound of this snare is, that’s equally how hard it was to figure out what the snare drum is!  We all know that Keith played Premier drums.  The January 2010 issue of Drum! magazine stated that he used Ludwig and Gretsch snares.  I inquired of several sources to determine if anyone knew specifically what snare Keith used on this recording.  That may have been a tall order, but alas, it was to no avail – no specific answer (yet).  As soon as The Paradiddler finds out, it will be posted.

Nevertheless, this is one of the best snare drum sounds I’ve ever heard, very difficult to duplicate.  But then again, so is the drummer!

Number 3:  Alan White, Yes, 9012 Live

I had a friend in middle school that was a Rush fan as I was.  However, he was also just as much into Yes.  I didn’t understand his obsession.  I knew about “I’ve Seen All Good People/Your Move” and “Roundabout”, but that’s all I knew about Yes.  (Actually, I liked “Roundabout” a lot, because of one of the most famous bass licks in Rock that Chris Squire plays.)  He tried to get me into them by playing “The Gates of Delirium” from Relayer. Suffice it to say that I just didn’t get it.

My older brother one day secured tickets to see Yes during their Big Generator tour.  It was a week after having seen Rush for the first time (best back-to-back concerts ever).  I said, “Oh well, what the heck.  Free show, right?”  To this day it was the best sounding concert I’ve ever been to.  Once they played “Heart of the Sunrise” (I believe it was the second song in the set list), which I’d never heard before, Yes was instantly my second favorite band ever (Rush was and still is number one).  Now I understood my friend!

I made a note to start listening to as much of Yes as my friend could give me.  I was particularly interested in Alan White (even though every musician that has played in Yes is superb).  He was such a great timekeeper, explosive when he needed to be, reserved when needed - a consummate drummer.

Eventually I procured Yes’ VHS release of 9012 Live (recorded at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton, Canada, on September 28^th and 29^th, 1984), and I absolutely loved it.  My favorite versions of “I’ve Seen All Good People” and “Starship Trooper”, to this day, are from that performance.  “It Can Happen”, to me, is epic.  But of course, from a drummer’s perspective, it’s the snare drum that stood out from Alan’s playing.

As the dynamics rose at the beginning of “Cinema” (the first song of the show), I was floored by the power and finesse that was emanating from the snare.  The ghost notes were very pronounced alongside the powerful strikes.  You can hear the echo of the snare in the coliseum as if you were there.  Well, if you have your VHS (or DVD) hooked up to your stereo system, you can hear Alan’s snare pack a powerful punch.

Maybe it was unintentional, but even though his kit as a whole sounded good, his snare sound to me was so much better as compared to the rest of the kit.  It had boomy pop, of sorts.  It responded perfectly to however Alan played it.  It’s almost like Alan and the snare made each other play and sound better.  I think the snare, more than the bass drum, was the driving force of Alan’s performance.  The finesse and power which came out of the snare particularly during the Würm section of “Starship Trooper”, was a triumphant climax in a stellar performance, playing and sound-wise.

This was another one of those cases where it was not only about how the snare sounded, but also about how it made me feel.  To me this snare sounded awe-inspiring, perfectly tuned, perfectly mic’ed - a perfect storm of a snare.

Ok, so what snare did he use that night?  Fortunately, Mr. White himself personally answered TheParadiddler.com’s inquiry, and I’m very grateful for that!  I know that drummers usually have several snares in their arsenal, but sometimes there’s one in particular that’s a favorite.  Here’s what Alan said about his snare that night (or those two nights, actually):

‘Ludwig 6.5x14” hammered bronze snare with die-cast hoops, Remo heads and a 12-strand snare.  Still using the snare on current kit.’

The fact that he’s still using that very snare on his current kit is a testament to the outstanding sound this drum produces.  I sense it’s a favorite of Alan’s, and it’s one of my favorites as well!

Number 2:  Neil Peart, Rush, Counterparts Tour, Auburn Hills, MI, March 27^th, 1994

Following the career of Neil Peart has brought much musical joy to me.  He, together with Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee, to me, form the best trio in Rock, due to their creativity, endurance, and never, ever, just going through the motions.

Many times they’ve had to stick to their guns, creating and playing music that was satisfying to them, and not necessarily the record company’s (a la 2112).  This also applies to the equipment they use as well.  If it sounds good and it works, why not continue with it?  This applies more to Neil’s choice of snare drum than anything else.

For the longest time, from the time he joined the band, all the way up to the Counterparts tour, he used a 5x14” wooden Slingerland Artist snare that he bought for $60.00, secondhand!  This ended up being a very versatile snare, and throughout the years Neil got a lot of different sounds from it.  I really loved how it sounded on Exit… Stage Left, both the video and the LP (later CD).  Maybe because that’s when I started liking Rush, and Rush fans tend to like most the Rush era when they got into their music.

But it would not remain that way.  Along came Counterparts in 1993, and I was floored by the dynamic sound of that CD.  A very raw, loud (but not distorted) sound, in your face.  All three musicians stood out – to me, this is one of Rush’s best sounding recordings.  The drums really stood out.  And obviously, so did the snare.  The same snare as always, but there was so much punch to it, very solid.  I don’t think I ever heard Neil’s “Number One” sound so good.

The goodness of this snare’s sound carried on to the tour.  I (lamentingly) didn’t get to see this tour in person, but I got a hold of a bootleg of the performance mentioned above (no I didn’t buy it, nor did I sell it, but someone had it, and I had to watch!).  I was floored by the sound of the snare on this performance.

I’d have to describe the snare as having a ‘snap of the whip’ type sound, but obviously with much more power and projection.  I think the acoustics of the venue served the snare drum quite well.  The fast fills were very well defined, and when Neil hit the snare with mighty force, the full-bodied snapping sound penetrated all other sounds fiercely.  One of the songs that particularly highlight how great the snare sounded that night was “Double Agent”.  I’m hoping someday that Rush release that show on DVD (one can hope!).

We were very lucky to have an authorized release of part of the show, anyway.  In the article “Neil Peart Solo Number Two – Counterparts, 1994”, which was part of an exhaustive ranking by TheParadiddler.com of all of Neil Peart’s published solos (you can read the beginning of the series at “Neil Peart’s Solos Ranked”), it was mentioned that this solo was included in the Anatomy of a Drum Solo instructional video by Neil Peart.  That, actually, was the qualifier for including the solo in the countdown, and I’m very glad it was published for the general public.  Such a great solo.  Neil’s drums always sound great, including of course, his “Number One” Slingerland.

This tour ended up being the Slingerland’s swan song, because it was retired in favor of some DW snares that Neil had grown fond of.  I’m sure it’s still a favorite in his heart.  As for me, it produced some of my all time favorite snare sounds.

Number 1:  John Bonham, Led Zeppelin

One thing we can say about the sound of John Bonham’s snare drum is that it was very consistent.  The sound varied little from album to album, even to live settings.  But it was always vintage Bonham.  It’s very difficult to nail down a specific performance that exhibited the snare’s best sound, because it always sounded consistently great.

This is one of my favorite snare drum sounds, if not my favorite.  It is so powerful, yet when played softly, it whispers.  It plays ‘fat’, but the fat sound is gone as soon as it comes, giving it a complex, full sound.  It has nice bottom and high end frequencies, giving it a multifaceted voice.  I can’t say enough about its sound:  it absolutely rocks.

There’s something else about this snare that I’ve never been able to figure out to this day.  I think it’s only me, but who knows.  It seems like when Bonham struck the snare, it sounded like there was always a ‘ghost note’ struck simultaneously.  Sort of like an ever-so-slight echo, but right before instead of right after the main strike.  Ok, not every single time, but way enough times for me to notice.  I don’t think I’ve heard this phenomenon with any other snare (or drummer?).  At least it’s what I hear.  It’s hard for me to explain, but it only adds to the drum’s mystique.

So what snare drum is it that JB played?  It was the Ludwig Supraphonic 402, 6.5x14", chrome plated aluminum alloy.  For those who want to reproduce as faithfully as possible the John Bonham sound, many try to obtain these models made during the time Bonham was playing.  But according to Shane Kinney of the Drum Center of Portsmouth, NH, this is not necessary.

Shane demos lots of the gear sold at the store on their YouTube channel.  He does a great job, especially with their snare drums, to explain the virtues of the drum, and for the snares he demos their sound with low, medium, and high tunings.  One of the snares he demos is a new Ludwig Supraphonic 402 6.5x14" snare.  According to Shane, you don’t need to seek out a ‘vintage’ 402 to get that Bonham sound - the new ones sound just as good.  To see for yourself, here’s a video of Shane demonstrating the sound of one of the most awesome snares in Rock.

It has been noted that Bonham later used a 42-strand(!) snare on his drum, so if you really want that JB sound, you may want to experiment with different snare strand configurations, in addition to the one that comes from the factory.

So what conclusion can we arrive to after all is said and done?  As far as Rock goes, Ludwig rules. Four of the five drummers on this list used Ludwig snares.  And although Neil Peart wasn’t known to use Ludwig snares, from Rush’s Hold Your Fire release in 1988 up until the Counterparts tour in 1994 (thereabouts), his kit was Ludwig (when he then switched to Drum Workshop).  So again, across the board, Ludwig rules in Rock.

Of course, there are many, many brands of snare drums, and each drummer has their own preference.  I’m of the belief, and I’m sure I’m not alone, that the snare drum should be brand independent in a drummer’s kit.  It’s a unique drum in a drummer’s kit, and the one many are very passionate about.

I hope this little countdown of my top five snare sounds in Rock has created a little spark, encouraging you to experiment in duplicating your favorite snare sounds, or configuring a sound all your own.  As for me, the next time I’m in the market for a new snare, at least I know what brand it will be!

__________
^*All manufacturers mentioned here can be accessed from the Drum Directory of this web site

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]]> http://theparadiddler.com/2009/12/27/great-snares-of-rock/feed/ 1 http://theparadiddler.com/2009/12/05/cheering-them-on/ http://theparadiddler.com/2009/12/05/cheering-them-on/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 21:49:59 +0000 Omar http://theparadiddler.com/?p=1318

In all different types of industries, awards are presented to the ones who excel in their field.  ‘Salesman of the Year’, ‘Woman of the Year’, Pulitzer Prize winner, Grammy award winner, “and the Oscar goes to”, etc.  How do you feel, personally, when you see these people (or hear them) accept their awards?

Unfortunately, some people feel very jealous of these achievers.  Some would call them overachievers.  Some will scowl and fret, espousing on all of the dirty things these people had to do to get to where they are, to get the success they are being acknowledged for.  Others will say that these did not really work hard to obtain these awards.  ‘It’s all about knowing the right people’, or ‘they’re so lucky’, or, ‘they were in the right place at the right time’, etc.

In many cases, these reactions are a commentary on the critics’ personal life.  They may not have for themselves discovered what they truly like, and pursue it.  Or they know what they like, but they succumb to fear of the unknown and never truly take the necessary steps to accomplish their dreams.  They become comfortable in the daily routine because it gets them by (barely), secretly yearning, though, for the ‘what if’.  Maybe at times they start putting in that little extra effort towards their dreams, but when they realize how much hard work it really takes, and when they see they’re not getting the ‘lucky breaks’, they stop way too short.  As time goes on, as they never get acknowledged for the things they do, because they don’t do them whole-heartedly, they become more and more bitter over time at the successes of others.

This reminds of a few lines from one of my favorite songs by Rush, “Losing It”:

Some are born to move the world -
To live their fantasies
But most of us just dream about
The things we'd like to be

Sadder still to watch it die
Than never to have known it
For you - the blind who once could see -
The bell tolls for thee...

Tragic, hauntingly beautiful words.  Some in the world, in whatever field they’ve chosen, have excelled.  Regardless if it’s a famous field (Hollywood, for example) or not (mechanical engineering, for example), these have either received awards in recognition for their achievements, or have affected those surrounding them in such a way that they enjoy an internal satisfaction that drives them to continue to excel, not to rest on their laurels.

Yet others never pursue what interests them.  Yes, they may be content with what they’re doing, but not fully satisfied.  And it doesn’t necessarily mean being rich and famous, no.  It means that they’re not happy with their course of life, and instead of doing everything possible to achieve their dreams, they not only abandon them, but criticize those who do achieve theirs.  They make excuses for why the successful are, and why they are not.  ‘The bell tolls for thee’ indeed!

I have to admit that at one time, I was like that.  I would be jealous of those who seemingly attracted success, while I seemingly was not.  Those in my field would get recognition for their hard work, while I did not.  This gets very tiring after a while, and in the end, totally counterproductive.  There is something else that can be done with all that negative energy.

Years ago, my wife and I decided that there would be two specific events in the year that we would watch together:  the Super Bowl (for me), and the Academy Awards (for her).  We both get to see the shows we like, no fussing, and with our favorite person!  After a while, not only watching those events, but others where high achievers were rewarded, I started to come around regarding the rewarded.  I started to realize (even though I knew it already) that these people work extremely hard to reach that level of professionalism and success.  Every Super Bowl winning team deserved to win, and deserved all the accolades that came with winning.  You’d be especially proud if the underdog won, like when the New England Patriots beat the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI, or when the New York Giants beat the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.

The above examples can be more easily measured, because there’s a winner, and a loser.  In the case of the Oscars, the results may be more subjective.  Who knows all of the criteria that goes into selecting the winner of “Best Actor in a Leading Role” or “Best Actress in a Supporting Role”?  Many times there’s controversy regarding the winner.  In any case, there is no question that for all of the nominees, the common denominator was hard work. Yes, some of these actors make millions of dollars.  But the market will pay it, so if the money’s there, guess who gets the lion’s share?  Those who work the hardest, who sacrifice the most.  There’s no question that there is some luck involved, that at times it’s who you know, not what you know.  And yes, many, if not most, of these actors and actresses were ‘at the right place at the right time’ to be discovered.  But in every case, without exception, again, what’s common with all these cases is hard work.

So now I find myself happy for those who achieve excellence in their chosen field.  I certainly am not jealous anymore.  Now when I watch the award shows, I find myself cheering my favorites on, hoping they win.  I like watching the acceptance speeches, and I find myself congratulating them (from afar, of course! ).  Now I channel the previous negative energy to inspire me to excel in everything that I do.

That doesn’t mean I’m always excelling!  I get frustrated many times, especially with drumming.  As much as I love the drums, and everything about them, I find myself at times wanting to throw the sticks through the walls.  Some do have a lot more ability than others, and I applaud them.  But me – I have to practice a lot to achieve any level of satisfaction in my playing!  And I don’t practice nearly as much as I should!  Whoa, double whammy there.

I’m not saying, though, that I’m eternally mad at those better than me.  If that were the case, I’d be eternally mad because there would always be someone better than me!  Now I cheer them all on, and I watch in awe as I also try to glean what I can from them, so when I’m back behind the kit, I can make it more exciting for myself.  I call that ‘exquisite torture’.  I may never be as good as the drummers I admire, but I’ll sure have fun watching and listening!  It will only make me better.

Year after year, magazines like Drum! and Modern Drummer have awards in various categories for drummers that have achieved a high level of proficiency in their craft.  I admire these drummers’ dedication to the instrument I love most, and I thank them for inspiring me to play better, learn more, and for unselfishly showing us their secrets.  I know I’ll never play like those whose skills I admire the most:  Neil Peart, Steve Smith, Thomas Lang, and the like – but that’s not the point!  The point is learning from those who inspire us, congratulate them for their successes, and channel that positive energy into improving our lives, whatever it is we choose to do.

So I’ll watch the award shows, the concerts, the drum clinics, the DVDs, and the like.  I’ll be cheering on my favorites along the way, and hopefully that will make me better at what I do.  Hopefully that will make you better at what you do too!

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]]> http://theparadiddler.com/2009/12/05/cheering-them-on/feed/ 0 http://theparadiddler.com/2009/11/19/the-next-note/ http://theparadiddler.com/2009/11/19/the-next-note/#comments Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:31:31 +0000 Omar http://theparadiddler.com/?p=1301

In a previous article which appeared back in September ’09, Brute Force Learning, I came to the realization that I had to back away from the kit for a bit, and focus on technique, from many different angles.

Practically everything I know about drumming comes from air drumming, and studious observation.  You could say that my ‘formal’ training began for me much later in life, instead of at the beginning.  Because of this, my playing is somewhat ‘rough around the edges’, as it were.  I may know the ‘what’, but not always the ‘why’.  The ‘how’ may come instinctively because of observation.  I’m trying now to focus on the ‘how’ and ‘why’, but I’m discovering that there are as many explanations on technique as there are drummers.  Not a bad thing, but it goes to show that this thing we call drumming is a lifelong endeavor.

In addition to just practicing on the practice pad (which I still don’t do as often as I should), I’m watching many more videos of drummers, be it professional or amateur.  There is a wealth of information you can gather from these drummers.  Make sure to hit up on YouTube regularly and look for these gems.

For example, you could search for any of your favorite drummers and find many videos where they showcase their talents not only in solos, but in songs.  Thomas Lang comes to mind.  So incredibly fast, impeccable technique; something to aspire to, yes, but will I get there?  Let’s just say that I’ll enjoy the journey, ‘cause it’s gonna be a long one!

Occasionally, though, you come across an incredible amateur talent that just makes your jaws drop.  In the article "Musicians Helping Musicians", Jerome Flood II, Guitar Center’s 2008 Drum Off champion, was showcased.  He’s an example of someone that, when you watch, you wonder how he does what he does, and it makes you want to imitate him.  It makes you want to go to the kit and try out what you can figure he’s doing.  Musicians helping musicians!  (A link to the video of his winning performance is in the article.)

I came across the video of another one of these amateur drummers that just inspires.  I’m a big fan of drum solos, and although I’m not the soloing type (at least not now), I’m always looking for what to glean.  I wrote an entire series on Neil Peart’s published solos, which if you haven’t read it, I encourage you to do so.  Very enlightening.  In any case, Dylan Elise, 16 years old at the time, put on a ten minute solo at the Tauranga National Jazz Festival in New Zealand.  His technique is very similar to Thomas Lang’s, at such a young age!  So inspiring, I thought I’d post the video here so you can be shocked and awed, as I was.

However, when it comes to drumming for a song, the scene changes.  In a solo, you’re pretty much free to improvise.  Some drummers have a general framework that they want their solo to have, and improvise within those frames.  Other drummers, within their solo, will have well-rehearsed sections, and will also have improvisational sections.  As long as you remember your ‘frame’, per se, the playing can become quite instinctual, ‘in the moment’.  You’re all by yourself, no other musicians to worry about.

In a song, there are several things to worry about:  groove, tempo, being in sync with the other musicians, and not forgetting the drum parts of the song!  Whereas in a solo you don’t really need to know exactly what you’re going to do next, in a song it always helps to always know what ‘the next note’ is.

Obviously, because music moves forward, beginning to end, each beat or note is measured.  If the drummer is always thinking two, three, or four notes or more ahead, the playing will be smooth.  The transitions will be easier.  There will be a flow to the playing, almost effortless.  When a drummer plays like this, it looks like they’re not even thinking (even though they are).  It becomes more about feeling the song instead of thinking it, hence smoother play.

On the other hand, if in a song you’re just trying to play the note at hand, your playing may be a little choppy.  Since the next note is suddenly upon you, your movement to play that note may come off as a little hectic.  Yes, you may get through the song, but the frantic pace of ensuring you get all the notes might drain you, not allowing you to play relaxed. And that is precisely one of the things that I discovered that plagues my playing.

You can check some of my drum covers on my YouTube channel, but particularly on “I Will Follow”, “Toxicity”, and “Girl Gone Bad”, in looking back at those performances I look a little, well, tense, tentative.  If you’re going to do a drum cover, or play in a band, the more far ahead you think as far as what part of the kit you’ll strike for those notes, the smoother and more relaxed you’ll play.  This is something I certainly need to work on.

I have a deep respect for live performers (I have a soft spot for drummers, of course!) who can pull off remembering so much music, and playing with aplomb.  When I hear some of the live performances of Yes, for example, particularly in the 70’s, with all of those epic 20+ minute songs, with all their complexities, there’s no doubt that to play that music the musicians must be thinking about ‘the next note’, and beyond.  It’s one of the reasons Alan White is one of my favorite drummers.  He was not only a great timekeeper, but he was rhythmic when needed; melodic when needed.  There’s no question that he understands the concept of ‘the next note’ (“The Gates of Delirium” is a ‘wondrous’ example of this).

I also tend to gravitate towards drummers that are more compositional than just rhythmic.  ‘Compositional’ drummers must be thinking of the next note and beyond to ensure the group of notes convey what they want to express with those notes.  Strict timekeepers don’t need to remember as much if for the most part they’re playing straight fours (‘not that there’s anything wrong with that!’).  One of the reasons I’m such a huge fan of Neil Peart’s style of play is that it irks him to play the same pattern more than once in a song.  He may transition from one verse to another playing a certain pattern, but when the song returns to a similar transition, he plays a different pattern.  And if that same motif appears yet again, he’ll play yet another pattern!  That requires more than just knowing what the next note is going to be.  That requires thinking verses and choruses ahead!  Neil is a masterful song drummer, which is why, percussion-wise, Rush songs are very colorful - always have been.

So, coming full circle, the dismantling of my kit has allowed me to take a step back and notice certain aspects of my play I didn’t notice before (in addition to the videos).  I’ll still be ‘rough around the edges’ when the kit comes back together, but at least I’ll have more ‘instruction’ to go by.  In the meantime I’ll continue to admire and learn from the great drummers, the masters of ‘the next note’.

Interesting? Then pass it along!

]]> http://theparadiddler.com/2009/11/19/the-next-note/feed/ 0 http://theparadiddler.com/2009/11/10/instructional-video-vex-pro-touring-double-bass-pedal-round-two/ http://theparadiddler.com/2009/11/10/instructional-video-vex-pro-touring-double-bass-pedal-round-two/#comments Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:51:04 +0000 Omar http://theparadiddler.com/?p=1273

Way back in February of 2009, I produced a video (split in two, actually) about how to configure the Vex Pro Touring Double Bass pedal, particularly the slave pedal.  You can read about the whole experience here, but suffice it to say that, well, some people wanted more!

Initially, I thought that everyone would be having the same difficulties that I was having.  But as time went on, I realized that many were having different types of problems configuring their Vex pedals.  There were problems with both pedals, but predominantly it was the left, or slave, that prompted most of the questions and concerns.  That is why I chose to make the aforementioned videos about that part of the pedal.

Unfortunately for customers, Vex’s customer support leaves something to be desired.  In their defense, I know what they’re doing.  They’re determining where would their money be better spent:  on advertising, or in the product?  If they spend more money on advertising, then they would have to increase the price of the pedals, which they want to make accessible to as many people as possible, for as little as possible.  Since they chose to invest more dollars into research and development, the quality of the product may go up, but customer/technical support is not as good as some of the other drum companies.  Their pedal may be a great bargain based on a feature comparison with other pedals, but the others may have the edge support-wise.

The above then prompts end users many times to fend for themselves, trying to figure out what to do when things go awry.  Fortunately, I am one who has fended for himself, and won!    Anyway, what I decided to do is produce a follow-up video to the first two, which pretty much covers all the bases as far as how to configure these pedals.  It is very likely that some of these concepts can be applied to many other brands and models of pedals, so from an educational or referential standpoint, all should benefit.  Feel free, of course, to comment on your experiences with these and other pedals, for everyone’s benefit.  I’d also love to hear if these videos have helped you solve the ‘vexing’ riddle of the Pro Touring double bass pedals.

I tried to make the video ten minutes, but there was just too much information to be presented, so again it is split in twain.  These videos pretty much supersede the previous two, so you could get away with watching these new ones and not miss the other two.  But it doesn’t hurt to review!

Have fun double-bassing!

Stewart Copeland – quite the character; amazing drummer.

A while back, The Paradiddler reviewed the 2006 Modern Drummer Festival DVD, a part one and part two series of articles.  The second article expounded on Stewart’s appearance in the show, which of course was very impressive.  However, I found his interview to be even more appealing.

I won’t go into all the details here (you can just read part two of the review!), but one of the things I found most interesting was his explanation of why he finds he plays with more power with the traditional grip vs. matched grip.  As is the common belief, more power is achieved when playing with matched grip, where traditional grip is reserved for more nuanced type play.  Even as he explained it, and demonstrated it, I still found it very difficult to do (I still do).  I wanted even more details, but for the moment I was content with his explanation.

Just recently, Stewart released his book, “Strange Things Happen:  A Life With The Police, Polo, and Pygmies”, which has received rave reviews.  Before the release of the book back in September, HarperCollins Publishers^* of the UK offered fans the opportunity to ask Stewart questions regarding the book, or whatever else they wanted to, and Stewart would answer some of the questions.  Well, I asked him three questions, and he answered all of them!  That is what I want to share with you.

I still had the question regarding the power of his traditional grip, so I asked:

The Paradiddler:  What is it about the traditional grip that you prefer over the matched grip? How do you get more power out of it where most “power” drummers swear by the matched grip?

Stewart Copeland:  My theory is that the thumb is a stronger digit than the forefinger.  And the pressure is applied to the stick more directly by the thumb then by the combination of fingers that matched grip employs.  My own preference though, is just about early training.

I find this to be very interesting.  The last thing he says is the most significant to me:  “My own preference though, is just about early training.”  It’s almost always an issue of what you started out training with, which grip you learned in the beginning.  Drummers who for most or all of their lives play traditional grip will find a way to maximize power using that grip, and Stewart explains exactly how that’s accomplished.  So for those who insist on sticking to traditional grip, Stewart provides an important key for generating power.

Next question from The Paradiddler to Stewart Copeland:

TP:  What drummers or other musicians influenced you most during your tenure with The Police?  How about today?

SC:  Burning Spear Live and the Clash’s first album were major guiding lights.  Nowadays I’m invigorated by that flash bastard Joey Jordison in Slipknot.

Now I understand yet again reggae’s influence on The Police’s music, evidenced in a song such as “Walking On the Moon”.  Burning Spear has been around for, like, forever, and even though I am not into reggae as much, I know that genre has influenced many other genres and bands, The Police and Stewart Copeland no exception.  And it is difficult not to marvel at Joey Jordison’s chops, both hands and feet.  Phenomenal.

Final question from The Paradiddler to Stewart Copeland:

TP:  What do you find more enjoyable:  composing, or playing live?  And why?

SC:  Composing is way more enjoyable but performing live is way more exciting.

In the above-mentioned review, Stewart did talk about his passion for composing, much more than being in a band.  But his performance on the show was very lively and fun, and you could tell he was having a good time.

Speaking of passion for composing, Ben Hur Live^®, an arena production currently storming through Europe (as of this article), showcases the music of Stewart Copeland.  You can go to his official web site to check for dates.

I am in awe of Stewart Copeland’s talents.  Some day (hopefully) soon, I’ll be playing a drum cover to one of The Police’s songs, but I know it will be a tall order, due to the nuances that Mr. Copeland plays with.  He is one of the great drummers of our time, and certainly a great composer as well!

If you want to obtain a copy of his latest book, “Strange Things Happen:  A Life With The Police, Polo, and Pygmies”, click here.

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^*Many thanks to Robin Harvie at Harper Collins for facilitating the Q&A between Stewart Copeland and The Paradiddler.

Interesting? Then pass it along!

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