Han Bennink exercises

Much thanks to Jon McCaslin for this.
I finally got to see Mr. Bennink play live in a small room in Guelph playing SNARE DRUM ONLY!
I was blown away by his commitment and creativity. Here are some exercises to tap into that creativity yourself.

Han Bennink :

"Play as fast as you can for 5 minutes without repeating yourself."

"Same thing goes for slow, loud, soft and any combination of them."

"Play one piece of your drumkit for 5 minutes and try to keep it interesting, do this untill you have played all pieces."

"Repeat the same beat for 5 minutes and try to keep it interesting."

"Play a crescendo lasting 5 minutes ending as loud as possible."

"Play solid time for 5 minutes, check with metrone before and after, repeat untill your time is really solid."

"Play completely free for 5 minutes, no time is allowed."

"When you think you have become good at these exercises extend them by 5 minutes each. etc. These exercises should last you a lifetime."

The Drummers of Frank Zappa

I stumbled on this video a few weeks ago, but since this is Zappa's birthday, it seemed especially appropriate to post it.




And here's just the performances.....




A few takeaways.

The group drumming excerpts are wonderful, very musical.
It's great to see the love and respect all the people on the panel have for each other.
Sadly, it sounds like Ruth Underwood doesn't play anymore. I guess when one is challenged by a musical visionary like Zappa, it's probably hard to go back to regular gigs.