6th anniversary

I would be remiss if I let the month of March go by without mentioning our 6th anniversary. Over the last 6 years we have posted 595 posts. Here is post #1:

Practice Properly

I know I said I would only post every two weeks but I got a little anxious after going live today. For my first “official” pearl of wisdom I think I will keep it short and sweet. As the inaugural post I believe it is appropriate to discuss the first (and most often) thing that we do as drummers. That of course is practice. It’s a dirty little schizophrenic word in every musician’s vocabulary that means both agony and ecstasy. Who doesn’t remember sitting at a drum pad for hours on end practicing sticking exercises and rudiments? How about working endlessly at the drum set on three way independence and syncopation? “Practice makes perfect” some say. Wrong! Practice makes you better. No one’s perfect.

That said, practice is perhaps the most important thing that we do. Establishing muscle memory, maintaining consistent time and getting the proper feel is an absolute necessity. Therefore the exercises that we do over-and-over-and-over are critical. Just like an athlete must sharpen their mind and body, so too does the drummer. Many people don’t know that there is a correct and incorrect way to practice. The biggest mistake that drummers make when practicing is trying to sound good. That defeats the whole purpose and stifles any growth or potential.

If you are really trying to get better you should struggle. That means you are learning. Only by challenging yourself, exploring places you’ve never been to and having the courage to take chances can you improve as a player. There is an old saying used by ballerinas that goes “Dance like no one is watching.” What an amazing concept. Play, perform and practice like no one is watching. Be brave. Go for it. That’s how you learn. That’s how you improve.

Helping Heroes

This past weekend I was rummaging through my storage room when I came upon a box of old cassette tapes. Sitting on top were three of my favorites. Two were from the Chick Corea Elektric Band and one was from the Chick Corea Akoustic Band. I remember listening to these tapes a thousand times over and over as I was obsessed with the playing of Dave Weckl. I’ve posted here before about my dislike of long drum solos but honestly, I could watch Dave solo all day. The creativity and precision of his style is amazing, and he is one of the best in his genre.

When I was in high school, I went through a jazz/fusion phase and my friend Jeff Russell (who I have interviewed here before) turned me onto Chick who turned me onto Weckl. I must admit that I spent some time behind my own kit trying to cop sections of the easier songs that he played. No way could I touch the complicated ones. After I dug out these cassettes, I grabbed an old tape player and put it in my drum room. I plan on revisiting that challenge again.

Weckl was, and still is, an inspirational drummer who makes other drummers want to practice. Incredibly, you can now take online lessons with Dave via one-on-one sessions on Zoom. You can work on anything you want. You can have Dave assess your playing and come up with a plan or, tell him what you want to work on. It’s an amazing opportunity to get invaluable insight into improving your playing. For more on that, visit the Dave Weckl Online School at http://www.daveweckl.com/.

This got me thinking. What an amazing time we are living in as drummers. We have access to learning tools like Drumeo, and YouTube and we can take lessons from our heroes. Can you imagine Skyping John Bonham and asking him to help you with your bass drum foot? I recently got a piano and I am learning the instrument. I ordered some instructional books but I’m also looking up videos to help get me started. It’s all on my iPhone. In the palm of my hand! It can blow your mind if you stop and think about it. Musicians today have no excuse. The technology is there. Go practice!

Essential Grooving

Here is an amazing performance by Carlos Daniel Guevara performing “Groove 84” from the book “Groove Essentials” by Tommy Igoe. According to Carlos he learned this rhythm from Afro Cuban music, sometimes called Naningo or Bembe. He adds, “I think that the main challenge is to keep the groove and make it feel alive. This groove is based on a 6/8 pattern, but to start learning this groove you can start doing a double paradiddle with your metronome set to 6/8 slow.”

Book Review: Born to Drum

[Full title: Born to Drum: The Truth About the World’s Greatest Drummers–from John Bonham and Keith Moon to Sheila E. and Dave Grohl]

“Are you a drummer?” it’s a question that is posed to the author on the first page of his book “Born to Drum.” The answer is…”No”. This is a surprise response to a book that is written about drummers from the drummer’s perspective. Even more surprising is that you would never know it as this book is about as close to a drummer’s authorship as you can get. In a book with the sub title “The Truth About the World’s Greatest Drummers” the truth is on every page. The author gets to the real insights by asking all the right questions.

Tony Barrell, a British journalist who covers pop music for the Sunday Times in the UK among other publications, simply has a great admiration for drummers. An admiration that runs so deep he decided to write an entire book about them. A talented interviewer, Barrell speaks to a “Who’s-Who” list of drumming legends as well as the up-and-coming generation of drummers. Names like Phil Collins, Nick Mason, and Bill Bruford are included along with Niko McBrian and John Densmore.

The book is divided up like an investigation in which Barrell is trying to figure out what makes a drummer tick. He explores the differences between working-class drummers and show-offs, studio and stage musicians, those in search of perfect time and those who are looking for sexual liaisons. He also includes a look back at the seedier history of rock drummers from the days of destroying hotel rooms and crashing cars to passing out on stage from too many medicines.

By including both the older and younger generation the reader gets a real impression of the differences of drummers then and now.

Barrell’s publisher Dey St., an imprint of Harper Collins, was kind enough to send a review copy to us here at Off Beat. Here are my impressions: “Born to Drum” is a fun read. I finished the entire book in two sittings and once I started I wanted to read more. As a drummer, I immediately related to almost everything in the book. Drummers will constantly be thinking to themselves, “I knew that,” and “I feel the same.” My favorite part of the book is when he talks about Ringo Starr’s immeasurable impact on the drumming community. Ringo gets a lot of credit as an influencer but not much as a drummer.

This book will appeal to drummers, and like the author, non-drummers alike.

Buy on Amazon

Tony Barrell’s website