Bill Frisell Wisdom

 A Guitar Player article in which Bill Frisell offers his Top 10 Tips For Guitarists has been making the rounds, although it would be probably be more accurately described as "Top 10 Tips for Improvisors". Fantastic stuff. Enjoy.

Count Me In and Motian in Motion: A tale of Two Movies

 I recently saw the two films mentioned in the title of this post. To be sure they are very different films and have contradicting aims to some extent, but they both left impressions on me and I would to discuss their contrasts in depth.

Count Me In is very much a celebration of drums and drumming, and in that sense, it's great to see these hard working people in the back of the bandstand getting their due. Many well known drummers such as Cindy Blackman, Chad Smith, Stewart Copeland, and Taylor Hawkins (RIP) are interviewed and provide insight into a drummer's role in a band. I believe this is something the general public doesn't know a lot about, so this is certainly welcome.

The film isn't without its problems though. Although I realize it's a feature on Rock drumming and mainly British players, you can't really tell much of the story of the drum set without mentioning not only some of the great African-American pioneers of the instrument (which they do in passing) but also all the great BLUES drummers as well. Without these people, there's no drum set! As well, although they do feature some lesser known and up and coming female drummers (such as the super-positive online force that is Emily Dolan Davies), the filmakers seem to find it necessary to emphasize how these young women can "hit as hard as the men" etc. etc. and further perpetuate the idea that drumming is a one dynamic event. I would hate for a young female drummer to think that playing at a low dynamic range ( as many gigs require) is somehow not proving oneself or being too "girly". This is not a new problem, but this film tends to continue to play into these one dimensional stereotypes of drummers, be they male, female, or trans……

Motian in Motion, by contrast, is very much a portrait of a great Jazz artist. There is great access to Mr. Motian not only performing and hanging out with his fellow musicians, but also interacting with club owners, doormen, etc. It really is an amazing and rare glimpse into a creative soul who completely followed his own path, and was brave enough to do so. It is interesting to note, however, that even though Motian worked with such female artists as Jane Ira Bloom, Carla Bley, and Geri Allen, to name a few, he doesn't seem to have any women in bands he led. (If I'm incorrect about this, please let me know folks.) This may be just coincidence, but in this day and age, the omission certainly is noticeable and curious.

Regardless, both these films are very worth watching, and there is much to be learned from both.

Here is the trailer for "Count Me In", currently available on Netflix.

…And here is "Motian in Motion". Enjoy! 

Finding your place……..

 Growing up as a musician, you are taught to grab at every opportunity that comes your way. When you're young and seeking to gain experience, this makes perfect sense. But there does come a time when it's good to take stock of the work one is doing and whether you are in the right place. Case in point. Through a bunch of experiences, both good and less so, I realized that ongoing teaching of students younger than around 14 and beginners was not the best choice for me. Firstly, there are people much better at this than I, and this isn't something I want to focus on anymore. This isn't a hard and fast rule. If a student is super keen to study with me or if it's a camp or clinic situation, I'll certainly wave this (somewhat loose) rule. I also don't want anyone to think I don't enjoy interacting with young people. Nothing could be further from the truth. I would just prefer interacting with them as a musician rather than a teacher. There's also gig situations that I'm less likely to take now as well. There would be nothing worse than me playing in some situation I don't want to be in, especially when there are other players that would enjoy the experience. I can guarantee you that every time you see me behind my drums, I want to be there. :) 

Finally, there may be times when you feel what you are doing  (as a musician or teacher) is not understood or appreciated. In these cases, it's best to let go of them and "find your people" so to speak. :) 

…..and although this has nothing to do with anything, here's me practicing  a groove and employing an accent on 2 & 4 with the bass drum.

Camera Pigeons at Hirut Cafe June 3rd, 8-10PM

 

TONIGHT! Camera Pigeons (Dan McCarthy, Lauren Falls, Kelsley Grant and myself) are at Hirut Cafe (2050 Danforth Avenue

Toronto) from 8-10PM. Fun sounds will ensue!

My Gig with Drew

 I recently played a gig subbing for an ailing Tim Shia with his group, "Worst Pop Band Ever". It's a great band including Adrean Farrugia – Piano, Chris Gale – Sax Dafydd Hughes – Keys, and a dear friend I met at McGill many moons ago, Drew Birston on bass. Now, I wasn't super familiar with their repertoire but I also knew they were a strong enough unit that they would be able to play with whatever I was doing and accept it. So, we get to the first tune, it's counted off, and we begin to play. What happened next was incredible. From behind me (where Drew was set up with his bass and amp) there was this beautiful sound, feel and energy. From note one (both literally and figuratively) Drew had my back. Everything i played was so supported and complimented.  Drew and I have played a lot in the past, but for the last 15 years or so, have ran in slightly different musical crowds. So, getting to play with him again was like returning to a super comfortable home I had forgotten I had lived in! I was just blown away! 

What created this feeling? Well, as I mentioned before, Drew has a great sound that compliments as well as provides bottom and foundation for any band he plays in. He also has great time, that he takes complete responsibility for, thus making it very easy for a drummer to play with him. He has great taste, and always provides the music with just what it needs. Above all , he is always LISTENING! 

All this adds up to a musical relationship between he and I that can withstand long absences, yet still grow and improve as we both gain more experience and knowledge. I am fortunate to play with many talented, team-player type bassists, but sometimes it takes these long absences for me to appreciate how special these relationships are, and how lucky I am to have them. The really cool thing is that anyone who is willing to study, listen, practice etc. can also have these relationships, and they are one of the great rewards of being a musician! 

To conclude, I'm embedding a couple of instructional videos that Drew did for one of his many projects, Sultans of String. It not only provides some great information on the acoustic and electric bass, but is also a glimpse into his unpretentious manner and sweet personality. :) 

Double stop contrary accents

Originally I wrote this in January and it was slated to be published in a drumming magazine, but their phone seems to be permanently off the hook! :)  So I am presenting it here.

It's a pretty simple idea conceptually. Both hands are playing the same rhythm, usually steady 8th notes or triplets, but the hands are accenting in different spots. A tricky idea in practice! So here's 2 possible ways to play/apply it. First one is with brushes and  I'm playing 8th notes in both hands, but the RH is accenting a 7 beat on/off pattern and the LH is playing dotted quarters….

The 2nd example is playing a shuffle in both hands w/ the LH mainly accenting 2 & 4. (Hmmm, what's the application for this? A Blues Band with an identity crisis?) 

Next is the shuffle again w/ RH accenting 2 & 4 and LH playing a 5 beat pattern… The one following it is the same except I've switched to str, 8ths and the LH is playing cross stick.

Next, I'm playing all triplets/12/8 with both hands and the RH is accenting a shuffle while the LH accents Jazz/Displaced quarter note triplets

Finally, I'm playing triplets again. LH is accenting a 4 beat pattern and the RH is accenting 2 & 4.

I recall going through one of Chuck Silverman's books that had a beat which was a Bossa with accenting 2 & 4 and a contrasting Partido Alto LH part with accents in completely other places. It nearly killed me, but I eventually learned it, and gained so much accent flexibility in the process. My hope is that these exercises will help you in the same way. Have fun and be kind and gentle with yourself.

Ballad Make Work Project (Brush Pattern)

 Okay, another brush post. I'm slowly trying to film myself playing every brush pattern I've created and there's quite a backlog. Explanation is in the video.