The sounds we make......

Hey all, it's been a while.
Here's an article I've been working on lately.



 In my function as an instructor and clinician, I sometimes run into issues with young players around listening. In these particular cases, it isn’t an issue of not listening to the rest of the band, it’s listening to themselves and the sounds they are making on the drumset. Often it feels like the drums are making the choices of what it sounds like, rather than the individual playing them. In this article, I’d like to go through the various parts of the standard drum set and discuss how we can consciously make better choices to get a good quality sound.


Snare Drum

On the snare, as well as all the drums the normal “default” place to play is the middle of the drum head. Simple, huh? Yet a lot of players left their hands fall to various places on the drum and get an inconsistent sound. We all need to get in the habit of playing in the centre of the drum. A good way to work on this is to play german grip (palms flat) and make a triangle that takes up a quarter of the drum. Listen to the sounds as you play there. You should hear less ring and overtones than when you play to the edge of the drum. Get used to this as a place to start playing the drum and your body and ears will know how to adjust when your hands drift.

Rimshots or not?

Another issue with the snare I hear is that we need to be consistent where and when we are playing rimshots. A good way to practice this is to play a simple beat and play beats 2 and 4 as rimshots for 4 bars, then as accented notes in the centre of the drum. This will get us used to being aware of when we are using rimshots. See exercise 1.



Bass Drum
2 of the standard ways to play bass drum are to play the foot into the drumhead and leave it there and to play off the head, removing the pedal beater right after the drum is struck. Both approaches have validity in various situations.
If you have difficulty playing “off’ the bass drum head, try imagining that the pedal wants to return to the at rest position (with the beater flexed away from the drumhead).


Cymbals- Cymbals are played mainly in 3 areas. The bell or crown (in the centre) to create a cowbell like sound, the edge (with a glancing blow with the shaft of the stick, or half way between these 2 areas. For all purpose riding/time keeping.
I often hear drummers riding the cymbals way down at the edge of the cymbal. This creates a lot of overtone build up and doesn’t give the band the definition in the time it needs. Remember, ALL cymbals are rides or crashes, depending on how you play them.

Hi-Hat- All the issues with the hi-hat are the same with one notable exception, splashing the hi-hat with the foot.
This is a sound that can be overused and quite obnoxious if played thoughtlessly. Also, when we are splashing, are we releasing the cymbals completely, or are we allowing them to “buzz” after the initial attack? Practice this both ways!

Working on habits.
If you do find yourself with a physical habit that’s hard to break, one way to get your body and ears aware of it is to practice playing ONLY the habit.
Play a lot of snare rimshots without thinking about it? Practice playing a beat or solo using ONLY rimshots on the snare, and the toms as well! (For a great example of how great rimshots on the toms can sound, check out Jack DeJohnette’s opening solo on “Salsa for Eddie G” from New Directions in Europe.).
Play to far to the edge of the cymbal while playing jazz time? Play Jazz time while crashing the cymbal only! Using methods like these will help you get used to playing specific sounds on purpose.

In conclusion if we really HEAR the sounds we’re making we can create beautiful music.

Inside the drummer's studio part 9

Today I'm going to be badgering the great Ron McClure.

He looks like this:

 ........and he's done THIS!

 Ron McClure has performed and/or recorded with artists as early as 1963 including: Mose Allison, Chet Baker, Tony Bennett, Richie Beirach, Blood,Sweat & Tears, Paul Bley, Carla Bley, Randy Brecker, Gary Burton, George Cables , Stanley Cowell, Jack DeJohnette’s Directions, Art Farmer, Joe Farrell, Michael Franks, Maynard Ferguson, The Fourth Way, Stan Getz, Slide Hampton, Joe Henderson, Conrad Herwig, Freddy Hubbard, Bobby Hutcherson, Keith Jarrett, Wynton Kelly, Jackie Byard, Lee Konitz, Michel LeGrand, Dave Liebman, Charles Lloyd, Marian McPartland, Herbie Mann, Thelonious Monk, Wes Montgomery, Frank Morgan, Michel Petrucianni,  The Pointer Sisters. Quest. Buddy Rich, George Russell, James  Spaulding, Sonny Stitt, Sarah Vaughn, Dionne Warwicke, The Jazz Foundation Orchestra, The Spirit of Life Ensemble.

Ron has been a recording arts for record companies including Steeple Chase, Naxos Jazz, Ken Music and EMP/EPC Records.  He has recorded over twenty CD's as a leader on Steeple Chase.

One really extra exciting thing is that as well as being a good sport about being interviewed, Ron will be performing this week with Ted Quinlan, Brian Dickinson, and myself at Humber (noon on Nov. 21st), the Rex (evenings of the 21st & 22nd), at Mowhawk (2-4PM the 22nd) and U of T (3:15-4:30 the 22nd). So as a preview to the gigs, here's Mr. McClure's responses.

1. Do you have any live performances or recordings you checked out in  

your formative years that had a profound influence on you?

Ron: There, of course, were many recordings that had a "profound influence"on me. The very recording that really moved me was "Hand Clappin'" by Red Prysock, a rhythm & blues Tenor player.My first mainstream jazz recording was "Blue Trane"

by John Coltrane with Paul Chambers. The tenor sax being one of my favorite instruments, and I've worked with some of the best. Of course, Bill Evans' recordings with Scott Lafaro tore my heart out!I'm still influenced heavily by things I hear. My latest musical infatuation is with "Dirty Loops", a Swedish trio. Their cover of Canadian, Justin Bieber's "Baby"is brilliant. Everything Miles Davis and Herbie Hancock have ever done are high on my hit parade.

 2. You've worked with most of the great drummers out there. Do you  

have any particular favorites and anyone you feel you've learned the  

most from?

 Ron: I learned how not to treat people from Buddy Rich! Enough said, I think Jack Dejohnette is probably the best drummer I ever played with. Billy Hart, with whom I've played in Quest for 30 years, is probably the most creative? Adam Nussbaum swings as hard as anyone, and Victor Lewis is also among my favorites to play with. 

 3.Do you have a favorite recording you've performed on?

 Ron: I'd have to say that the duo Cd: "Cold Blues" on Owl Records, France, I recorded with Michel Petrucciani in 1985 is my favorite recording. "McJolt", my first Cd for SteepleChase in 1989, with Richie Beirach, Adam Nussbaum and John Abercrombie would be my second choice. I have 28 Cds under my name. They are all with different groups. Nils Winther of SteepleChase has enabled me to document my music on recordings and the musicians I've played with over the past 23 years, for which I am extremely grateful.

 4. Like many working musicians, you teach as well. Do you feel  

there's anything missing from the playing of the current generation  

of students?

Ron: Funny you should ask this question. I was just talking to my students at NYU today about the lack of opportunity for APPRENTICESHIP in jazz today. I was blessed with opportunities to play with so many great artists during a time when there was a veritable plethora of jazz venues in which to play extended engagements. I think the digital age has greatly enhanced the students ability to access information and recordings, while isolating people from one another at the same time. There are fewer opportunities for musicians to gain the kind of experience I've had, and I hear it in many of the younger players. Jazz was once passed down from generation to generation in a personal way that is missing

in today's world. The lack of jazz venues in which to play and listen is another contributing factor to this void. The music is nevertheless being carried on by many strong minded young musicians all over the world.

 5. You've had a long and varied career. How has playing changed for  

you (or not) over the years?

Ron: My playing has changed over the years, as I gained experience. I've made changes in how and what I play the bass as I learned how to be a better accompanist and soloist. Of course, new opportunities as well as financial necessity compelled me to change my focus from merely being a jazz bassist to becoming a teacher, writer, arranger, and band leader for recordings and performances. 

 6. You play gigs on piano as well. How did that start and how has  

that informed your bass playing?

Ron: I began my musical journey on the accordion at the age of 5. The bass was thrust into my hands by a wise, high school band director who saw that I was a musician but needed a bass player in his school orchestra. As I began getting into Jazz, most of my teachers encouraged me to "get familiar with the piano" for very good reasons. Having played with so many great pianists, and being the student I have always been, I discovered music through spending countless hours at the piano. Through trial and error, I gradually learned how to write and even play a fairly decent style of solo jazz piano, good enough to get me a steady job playing at a McDonald's in lower Manhattan for the past decade or so... 

There you have it.

Here's a track from the "Cold Blues " recording with Michel Petrucciani that Ron mentioned.

The tune is "Something Like This"

Dexter!

No this isn't about the serial killer living in Miami, just a great documentary on tenor saxophonist Dexter Gordon.

Check out the great trades with the highly under appreciated Eddie Gladden. Yeah!

New Brush Lick

Hey all,
This is a thing where I'm fooling around with the effect of hitting the snare rim with the shaft of the brush on an angle and slowly bringing the brush wires down to the head. It creates a sort of buzzing sound, I don't know what it's called. Anyway, I applied it to some 4/4 swing. 2 feel swing, cha-cha, and samba. Hopefully you'll find it useful.

Here are two vids of it in action.










Thanks!

Don't believe everything you read......

Hi all,
I would like to talk about something that tends to happen when a strong  music reader gets a hold of a lead sheet or big band chart (especially in the rhythm section).
Now, reading music is an important skill and if one is a lousy reader, it's good to work on and develop that particular skill.
The problem is, if we are a good, accurate reader we tend to look at whatever our eyes see on the page as the absolute truth, when in the case of Jazz and related musics we are seeing relative truth that needs to be interpreted.

Case in point, any great American songbook-type tune found in a fake book.

Now, if we play this melody as written, it's going to sound extremely stiff and square, yet a lot of people will do that when playing this tune. A good thing to ask yourself when reading a leadsheet, even for the first time is, "Is this phrasing found in nature?" This means, would anybody actually play this as written and how would it sound?
Even if we look at the first 4 notes, they would sound infinitely better if we played the first note on the "+" of one and played the fourth note an 8th note ahead on the "+" of four. In fact, moving on the beat rhythms over one 8th is a very easy way of opening up phrasing on melodies. Of course probably the best way of avoiding stiff phrasing is to listen to people who phrase well. Also, memorizing tunes gets us away from the "I have to play it the way I see it" trap.

This same issue can create problems for drummers when reading charts.
How many of us have come across this?

 

I'm amazed at how many people will play this literally. It really is just short hand for "Please play swing the best way you know how." If you see a lot of bass drum/snare figures in unison even if they aren't just straight quarter notes, you don't need to play them as is.

In conclusion, don't let the written page get in the way of your good musical common sense. If you're the only one playing a part in an improvised situation, there's usually lots of room to add your own musical personality. In fact, it will likely be expected.

                                                                                             

Local pizza

Hey all,
This is going to be mainly a pizza related post so bear with me.
Anyone who's read this post at all will know my preference for pizza from the prairie provinces of Canada but I also appreciate the regional differences in this particular food. For example, the sauce on pizza from Nova Scotia tends to have spicier sauce due to the Lebanese influence in that part of the country.

To that end, I thought I'd mention a very good local joint in Guelph, Victoria's Pizza.

Here it is:







The sauce is good, it's very fresh and they don't skimp on the cheese.

One of the great things about buying pizza in Central Canada is what I call "slice culture". Simply put, pizza is sold by the slice. For some reason, out west you have to buy a whole pizza most of the time. This is a) more time and calorie commitment and b) a lot more expensive.

Another weird regional difference is that in Ontario and Quebec they putting the toppings on top of the cheese whereas in Saskatchewan they put them under, inside the pizza. Which I guess makes then "middlings" rather than "toppings". No matter.

Also worth mentioning as a great example of "central' pizza is Amelio's which has the added attraction of being run by identical twin brothers who look incredibly like (Montreal born) pianist Paul Bley!


Okay.....quickly some music.


This is a performance of Ari Hoenig at a clinic which I lifted some ideas from that will be in a coming post. Enjoy!

Phrasing 8th notes

It's funny, it seems like a bunch of us think about the same things at the same time. Just before I got down to writing this, Cruise Ship Drummer wrote about a similar issue.
Anyway, here's a short video on Jazz 8th note interpretation. Hope you dig it!