Drumming with Jeremy

The Evolution of the Single

2012-02-26T09:59:00.001-08:00

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"Those who don't know history are destined to repeat it."

~Edmund Burke

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In the late 19th century the gramophone disc took over phonograph cylinders as the standard in recording technology. By 1910 the 78, 10-inch shellac record became industry standard. Technical limitations of the disc forced recording artists to tailor their work to the medium thus creating shorter songs and only releasing one or two "singles" at a time. It wasn't until the 1960's that this format changed.

In the 1940's the FCC understood that radio broadcasters would eventually run out of spots in the then used AM bandwidth. To counteract that they forced large scale AM stations to maintain an FM channel as well. For years these broadcasters did nothing more than duplicate the programming on both channels then In July of 1965 the FCC made another ruling that broadcasters could not duplicateprogramming on both FM and AM dials in major US markets. This sent programmers searching for acheap way to fill dead air on their FM stations.

Luckily for these programmers a new standard record size was emerging. A 12" disc allowed artists and labels to press more than one track into the vinyl. DJ's and radio programmers realized they could fill up hours of time on their FM stations by playing these "albums" in their entirety and the idea of Album Oriented Rock was born.

Album Oriented Rock and the new FM channel changed the way in which the business of music was done. All of the sudden new recording artists had to create and entire collection of like minded songs to include on one record. The record deal changed too to cater to this new distribution method with new artists finding themselves signing contracts tying them to three or more albums with the label.

Now the single didn't die completely. It was only changed from the main source of revenue into a marketing tool to get people to purchase the entire album for a heftier price tag. Throughout the 80's this method made the record labels millions upon millions of dollars.

Then the Internet was born and consumers quickly found a way to share their music over phone lines through companies such as Napster. The problem with the new Internet delivery method was that bandwidth was low during the early days of the medium which meant that music files needed to be compressed and sent as singles to other users.

For years the industry fought this new delivery method as fans became pirates giving away and taking music without retribution to the artists, but that's another story. To combat this problem the industry began endorsing online music storefronts such as Apple's iTunes to distribute their medium, but by the time they finally found a way to make money in the new online world the market had changed.

Underneath all of the piracy fans had developed a new taste in the acquisition of their music. They didn't want the entire album because it took up so much of their personal time to find and then download. Instead they started downloading single tracks that appealed to them from various artists. By the time Apple took over with the iPod and iTunes the market had changed. A new generation of music consumers emerged that didn't want to pay $20 for an entire album for just one track as they had done in the past. They wanted their music instantly which meant that single files were the way to go, and through their test phases with piracy and peer-to-peer sharing they wanted to create their own musical experience through customizable playlists. The market had spoken. They wanted singles again.

Once again the music industry has changed, and once again we witness the cold hard fact that history is doomed to repeat itself. Luckily for us this time the repetition is producing larger sales numbers then we could have imagined. Unluckily those numbers are for much smaller unit prices.

Keep this in mind. If history is due to repeat itself then that means the album should come back around. Over recent years ISP's have increased the average level of bandwidth for the end user and they have opened up new channels of distribution through smart phones, and wireless Internet delivery systems such as 3G and 4G. When it comes to price points the labels have decided to challenge Apple's huge capitalization of the market by offering cheaper prices to other retailers such as Amazon who are offering entire albums for as low as $1.99. These small facts make it possible for the fans to afford full albums once again and download them quickly thus fulfilling their needs.

The biggest issue the labels and artists face in eventually recapitalizing on the sale of entire albums is the quality of the material they offer to the public. For the past decade the industry has shifted back to the pre-1965 single distribution method and with that they have focused on creating only one or two strong hits at a time. To truly recapitalize on the return of the full length album market the industry will have to once again fully develop and nurture artists to their fullest rounded potential so they can once again create entire albums that appeal to their fans.

For now the single once again reigns supreme. This time it isn't on a ten inch shellac disc. It's in a five by three inch phone.

The Streaming Industrial Radio Revolution

2012-02-14T14:11:00.001-08:00

To many historians the terms Industrial Revolution is a misnomer. Primarily because it actually took many years for our society to evolve from an agrarian based product system to a manufacturing based delivery method. Due to that name including the term "revolution" we tend to overlook the fact that society spent many years in the middle of an unknown changing marketplace. Families, employees, and employers did not know that eventually the introduction of steam power, railways, and the combustion engine would fuel a more advanced and wealthier society.

The same holds true in what we are facing in today's music marketplace. The advent of the Internet has drastically altered the music delivery system and this small ripple has created a wave of change in the business the size of a tsunami. One of the core components to the past music business marketing plan has been crushed by this wave of change. That component is called radio.

But I am here to tell you that radio isn't dying or dead. It is only changing and with that change has adopted a new name called "streaming."

There seems to be a lot of arguments about the viability of Internet based streaming services such as Spotify, Pandora, and MOG. Industry insiders claim that these services provide little, if any, revenue for artists, labels and songwriters. They have waged war on these services claiming that they steal download sales from artists and labels. A few artists and publishers have even pulled, or threatened to pull, their content from some of these services. Most recently Sir Paul McCartney pulled his content to reportedly force consumers to download his music from online retailers such as iTunes and Amazon where he earns a larger amount in royalties. See the article here.

While this may be a great idea for an established musical icon such as Paul McCartney it isn't a wise decision for newer artists. These services act as a new revolutionized radio model, but unlike traditional radio artists do not need to sell the gatekeepers on the idea of including their songs on the play lists. Any artist can upload their newest tune or album to any streaming service without having to shell out huge dough in promotion fees to wine and dine programmers to be let in.

What these services offer new artists is the opportunity to engage potential fans with their music for free. Any fan can sign-up for a free subscription to basically any streaming company and with that subscription they can seek out an artist or album they are interested in and have a no obligation listen to the music. There is a division in the industry as to if free services produce more download sales. Billboard reports that they do not. See the article here. Streaming service Last.fm reports otherwise. See their article here. Regardless of what industry insiders report these streaming services do offer something to new artists when it comes to revenue.

I myself am an active music downloader whom normally uses iTunes, but over the past few years I have become discouraged having to shell of $1.29 for a new tune or $9.99 for a new album just to find out that I didn't like the song or tracks 4, 6, 9, and 10. It has cost me hundreds in what I consider wasted downloads. Then last year I decided to try a streaming service on my iPhone. I downloaded the MOG app and subscribed for their monthly $10 subscription that lets me download tunes to my device for as long as I keep paying my subscription. Since then I have explored many new artists and dozens of new albums. Thanks to the service I realized how much I liked Adele's 21 and was happy to buy the entire album from iTunes for $10.99. More importantly I was open up to newer artists such as Trivium, Lana Del Ray, and Nada Surf among many others whom I would have avoided dropping $1.29 a track to find out if I liked them or not. I am one streaming user whom has checked out over 150 new artists thanks to my MOG account. If their music is good and appeals to me chances are I will buy their downloads, go to their shows, and purchase some of their merchandise. I would have never been opened up to these unknown names without my streaming account. Through the new industrialized radio I have received added benefits and the artists have received added benefits. Isn't that a core tenement in business? Think about my Adele experience. She got a streaming royalty from me listening to her album on MOG and a mechanical royalty when I downloaded the album. Before my MOG account she may have just got a royalty on one or two tunes, but thanks to the new radio I was able to experience her entire works without obligation and encouraged to buy her entire album. Your welcome Adele and Columbia Records.

I think it is imperative that those in the industry embrace streaming services. Even if they do not recognize them as the new radio. They help curb piracy, open up potential fans to new artists, and add more pennies into the artists royalty accounts. To succeed this industry must not challenge Eli's cotton gin, but rather embrace its potential to change the world.

Go Get Igoe's Groove Essentials

2012-02-06T13:47:00.000-08:00

This week I had to prep for an audition. The prerequisites called for aversatile drummer whom could play various styles of music. Now I had just gotten off the road anddidn’t have the comforts of home, a place to practice, or access to my libraryof drumming books. I needed tofigure something out so I got to work. I found a friend with a spot to practice so I could get some woodshedding in, but I still needed something to motivate me to practice.

Now when I am at home in the comforts of myown studio with access to my own library of materials I often find myselfworking with a great multi-style play along series by legendary drummer Tommy Igoe called Groove Essentials. I have purchased series 1.0 on DVD andfollowed up with series 2.0’s play along set and have been quite impressed bythis master drummer’s methodology so I made my way to a local music store tofind Groove Essentials 1.0 play alongseries and was amazed that the drum department employee had no idea about thisbook or this amazing drummer.

For all of you who don’t know Tommy Igoe wasa child drumming phenom who toured with The Glenn Miller Orchestra at the age of18. From there he landed in NewYork were his career really took off becoming an in demand session drummer andhitting the road with a roster of legendary artists from Blood Sweat and Tearsto Stanley Jordan and Art Garfunkel.

In 1997 Igoe was asked to create the drumbook for the Broadway musical version of Disney’s The Lion King. His charts converted world and African Rhythmsinto a pop style for the drum set and have become the standard workbook for aslue of drummer who play the show in New York and around the world. Soon after that success Igoe teamed upwith Vic Firth to create a study manual that opens up drummers to the variousstyles of world music and to adapt those styles to the drum set. Together they created Groove Essentials 1.0 that teachesdrummers how to play a number of core rhythms on the drum set from rock tofunk, to jazz, salsa, calypso, reggae, samba, bossa nova, and so muchmore. According to Igoe’s website“Thisgroundbreaking work has been credited with influencing more teachers andeducators than any educational publication of the last 50 years.” The book has won numerous awards inpublications such as Modern Drummer Magazine and has become a staple in drumset instruction practices and universities across the U.S. The book was so successful that afollow was introduced quickly after entitledGroove Essentials 2.0 and itself became it’s own drum set educationsuccess.

The included poster that outlines 47 various styles of music.

The packages include a great poster, DVD, play along CD and workbook full of charts.

What is unique about Igoe series is the various packages the lessonscome in. There is a DVD thatincludes a beautiful poster with the transcribed rhythm notations of thevarious styles. On the DVDstudents can watch as Igoe picks apart each style and demonstrates each rhythmat varying tempos. The morecourageous can purchase the DVD and Play along package that includes writtencharts for each style minus the drums so the student can attempt to play alongto a number of different songs in each style.

All together this set includes six hours of play alongmaterial, and printed charts that represent what a drummer should expect in thereal world, minus the bad notations by previous drummers that haven’t been erased. The charts help you understand how toread music while you work through the demanding selection of rhythms with theplay along real band.

Groove Essentials 2.0 goes deeper into various drumming styles and offers the same packages for the student.

Groove Essentials2.0 is offered in the same packages, but goes deeper into the drum setstyle dictionary with 53 brand new grooves including jazz brush work, interesting rock and funk styles,less known world rhythms, a section on odd meters such as 5/4, 7/8, and 9/8, and it’s own selection of “World Tour” charts (Groove 1.0 has these also) that are acommanding workout in which the drummer must play to music that changes throughvarious styles.

For the advanced drummer the “World Tours” found in both the 1.0 and2.0 version is a unique challenge. The pieces range from 15 to twenty plus minutes and require the drummerto read and interpret the accompanying charts as the student plays along to akiller band without the drums. During the music the drummer must change tempos and styles while leadingthe band on fills, accents, and changing genres of music. They test your ability to stay focused,move from one style to another, read and interpret charts, and keep great timethroughout the process.

I strongly suggest that any serious drummer look into adding both ofthese systems to your learning library. They are available at any brick and mortar or online music store as wellas directly through Tommy’s site at http://www.tommyigoe.com/store.htm. They have helped me elevate my playingand my understanding of the world of music and I am sure they can do the samefor you.

Your most important musical product.

2012-01-29T10:55:00.000-08:00

Ok, so now that I am a few months away from graduating with my Bachelor's Degree in Music Business Management it seems that so many of my friends, and even people I didn't know, are after for me on advice to launch their musical careers. In listening to them I am overwhelmed at how many of these green musicians are still under the impression that a huge musical industry professional will show up to their next show, wave their magical record deal wand and turn them into the next Adele or Lady Gaga overnight.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news guys, but this just isn't going to happen. So pack up your delusions of grandeur and think about what you really want from your music. If you want to be the next international jet setting superstar that's cool, but it may also be impossible.

So how do you know if you have what it takes to get the bowl of M&M's minus all the brown ones at your next show at Madison Square Garden? Well the answer is quite simple. It all starts with your music.

I am often overwhelmed at how little importance young artists put into their music. I have heard everything from "we have an amazing show, the lead singer eats a baby kangaroo on stage" or "the label will give us this big name producer who will make our music into the next big radio, or better yet Spotify, hit. Where is my red buzzer, or better yet my hoop to pull these idiots off of their pedestals so I can scream Trump's catch phrase "your fired". Honestly if you think that your music comes second in your career I hope you enjoy salting fries at McDonalds.

Remember this the music business is just that a business and the central point to any business is a competitive product and/or service. I mean Henry Ford didn't start selling his automobiles to the public in hopes that someone would come along and build them for him after he made a number of sales. No he had the cars first and then marketed his product to the marketplace. The music industry is no different.

First and foremost your music is going to define who you are in this huge market. According to www.quora.com there are upwards of 15-20 million bands on the Internet. And when it comes to live shows Martin Atkins in his book "Tour Smart" reports that there is close to 2940 bands performing each week in L.A., and 1235 in New York, and that's only two markets. The U.S. is a HUGE country, and we are just a small part of the music world on this planet. Do you still think that the head of A&R for Atlantic Records is going to show-up at your show in bum fuck New Hampshire and sign you to a multi-million dollar deal. If you still think yes stand there for a moment while I grab my hook.

The first thing I tell young bands is "take it slow". Your music is so vital to your success so you should be willing to woodshed the group for weeks and really craft your songs. Then pick five or six gems and practice them some more. When you can play through those tunes perfectly your next step is to find a decent studio, and by decent I don't mean your buddy with his Radio Shack recording set-up. In today's market there are dozens of people with quality home studios who can record your demo. Make sure they know what they are doing, after all this is your business "product" and it needs to sound as good as it possibly can. Why? Because we are going to use that as center point to your marketing, touring, and promotion strategy. And for Christ's sake after your done recording get that CD professionally mastered. Spend the money and you will be very glad you did. Unmastered CD's, even those mastered by some dude with a Dell laptop and some free program, get tossed in the garbage by more radio stations, promoters, and label executives than I care to research right now.

So now you heeded my advice and you have a killer demo of your tunes. Here is how that one little product can change your career.

Your "quality" demo can be uploaded to a digital ramp service provider like ReverbNation or TuneCore to get your tunes in the digital music stores such as iTunes, Rhapsody, and Amazon along with the multitude of streaming services out there. Or it can be used to press CD's to sell at your shows, to your friends, or your parents. I hope your parents are buying your music, or at least taking the cost off of the food and rent you currently owe them among other things. Now you have created a product that can sell and earn you some cash, but there is more to it than that.

Your demo will be used to get clubs and promoters to book you at shows. Who do you think they are going to hire the group that calls them and says: "Hey dude we are the next Metallica. We don't have a CD for your to hear, but trust us we are awesome the drummer has the most expensive kit you can get" or the band who is able to direct them to their music on iTunes, or even send the owner a copy of the CD? There you go that "quality" demo can help you land shows.

Ok, so now a few club owners bit and you have some gigs. With your music available you can use it to promote that show with journalists, radio dudes, and possible fans. The more people you get in that door the better and the best way to get them there is to showcase how great your music is.

Once the show starts you now have a room of fifty people exited to hear you. With music available you can sell them CD's or hand out free stickers that push them to your website where they can buy or download that music for free. You can even give away discs to people in the audience who traveled the farthest to your show or street team members who hung posters promoting the event. Basically your music can be used to build your fan base and as a sales point at the same time. You need good music to do that. You need a good product.

Then down the road you are playing to 400 people a night. Your website and Facebook page is jammed with thousands of fans and "like" comments. All the sudden you are on a labels radar and they sneak into your next performance. Like what they hear and offer you a deal. It is now your choice to accept or tell them to fuck off, because you are doing just fine on your own. I suggest you sign, but that's another blog.

The point is this I have never heard of a label signing a band without first hearing their music. Sure they have created bands out of the blue like NSYNC and 98º, but they knew that these cats could sing and perform before they invested. The labels understand that this is a business and at the core of their business model is music. If you call them and tell them how great you are they won't care. You have to show them how great you are which means you must show them that you can connect with fans and make them buy your music. How can you do that if you never recorded a demo?

I will end this blog with a great point to hammer home that demonstrates how important good music is. One of my favorite groups is The Dave Matthews Band. Their music was so good that a local bar owner named Coran Capshaw sold his business to manage them band. In an interview he stated that the biggest factor in his decision was the quality of the group's music. Because the group had such great music they peaked the interest of one of the best managers to walk this planet. This manager helped them sell close to 40 million records worldwide, win a Grammy, and sell out some of the biggest venues on the planet. As Capshaw saw it is all about the music, your product, in this business. Why rush creating that product? Why try to sell someone a bridge you do not own?

The story behind the Heel Toe Technique

2012-01-22T19:05:00.000-08:00

I was on a road trip from Orlando to Tampa with my sisterand we were skipping through radio stations trying to find something toentertain our ears. After aboutthirty-five minutes of skipping through song after song, genre after genre welanded on the old classic “One” by Metallica. Very few songs in the world force me into air guitar mode,but within minutes I was shredding away with Kirk. My shredding session quickly stopped when thesong neared the end and Lars kicked into that iconic double bass rhythm thatacts as a foundation for Hetfield’s poetic verse:

Darkness imprisoning me

All that I see

Absolute horror

I cannot live

I cannot die

Trapped in myself

Body my holdingcell…

Now in my opinion Lars’ double bass playingushered in a new dimension to the drum set; the idea of using double bass as acore component in the drumming structure of a song. Sure the idea was already out there. I mean Slayer’s Dave Lombardo waskilling the double bass as were drummers from other 80’s metal groups such IronMaiden and Megadeth, but for some reason Lars’ use of double bass in “One”quickly had young drummers around the planet seeking out a second bas drum, or at the very least adouble bas pedal. Today doublebass has become a basic component to any drum kit and even icons such as SteveGadd have jumped on the bandwagon.

I don’t want to burst any metal bubbles outthere, but double bass drumming has been around for a very long time. Sure Keith Moon and Bonham used thistype of set-up. So have BillyCobham and Tony Williams, but we can go back even further. Take the late Louie Bellson who becamerenowned for using two bass drums in his big band set-up. I like to cite a story about mydrumming icon Buddy Rich to hammer the point.

In one of Buddy’s legendary rages he punched awall and injured his hand while on a tour with his big band. The injury was so bad he had to wear abrace and his manager was concerned that the superstar wouldn’t be able to playa big gig at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. Buddy wouldn’t give up so easy. He called up Ludwig and had them deliver a second bassdrum. That evening with no doublebass training he played the show minus one hand and one extrafoot. The crowd didn’t even knowwhat was happening until he took his final bow and they realized he was in acast. Many thought it was a marketing trick, but it wasn't.

For all you young double bass drummers outthere I want you to consider how much time you have put into playing a doublebass kit. I know it has taken melots of woodshed hours to get proficient at the craft. So why could Buddy do it almostinstantly with prolific results?

The answer lies in the heel toetechnique. And contrary to what usdrummers may believe this isn’t a drumming technique, but one borrowed from thetap dancing world. Yes you heardme right. The tap dancingworld.

It turns out that Buddy started his life as ayoung vaudeville star called “Traps, the drumming wonder.” In that training he was taught thestage performance techniques of the day including tap dancing. One of tap dancing's core moves is a technique called "The Flap Heel Toe Combination". Take a look at this tap dancing instructional video and you will see our teacher explaining the technique. Listen as she get going. Can you hear the double bass?

Ok now take a look at this video by Derrick Pope. I find him to be a very cool online resource and his technique is spot on. The Heel Toe Technique starts at about 4:23.

Do you see the similarities in methods. I know the drummer isn't moving around, but watch their feet and how they make that same rocking motion with their foot as you should already be doing with your hands when you do a single stroke roll or triplet with The Moeller Technique.

The unique thing about the Heel Toe Technique is that when it is mastered you can do it forever without the burning you may get from the standards heel down or heel up technique. Your double bass playing will become more fluid, and like Buddy you will be able to dance on your kit. I encourage you to check out the technique and see how it can elevate your drumming.

Now just to prove that drummers can tap dance take a look at this video of legendary drummer Roy Haynes and Jack Dejohnette having a tap off.

One of the first lessons I learned at Berklee was that drumming is all about the dance, and as Buddy, Jack, and Roy have shown us the great ones have no problem getting down. Is this a secret to their greatness?

To change the palette or not to change the pallet?

2012-01-17T10:03:00.000-08:00

For any of you who know me you know that I am veryspecific when it comes to my cymbal pallet. Over the years I have tested a number of cymbals in variousplaying situations to develop my own unique cymbal sound. In these trial and error scenarios Ihave stuck by the Zildjian brand. After all I was handed my first set of cymbals from my father, who wasalso o a big Zildjian fan. To thisday I still use those vintage 1960’s era hi-hats on the road and in the studio.

On a recent contract my ride cymbal developed a nastyovertone out of the blue. Thetechnicians thought it was the stand, but they were wrong. After talking with a Zildjianrepresentative I found out that the molecular composition of the cymbal hadchanged and that nasty 4K overtone was there to stay. The only way to kill it was by placing gaffers tape atstrategic locations on the instrument. This killed the bounce and made playing jazz, swing, and certain worldrhythms a difficult task. It alsogot me questioning if it was time to change out my brass for a new brand.

I have been researching and testing a number of other cymbalmanufacturers and have narrowed my choice down to either Sabian or Meinl. Thischange will cost me thousands, as I will now need to reinvent my cymbalpalette.

All of this raises the question. Is it worth it? Should I stick with Zildjian and just change out the ride and riskanother dead cymbal that is out of my control or switch to a knew unknown brandthat may present their own problems?

Cymbals and drums are the tools of today’s moderndrummer. Much like a drill for a carpenterthey can make your work much better and efficient. Unlike a carpenter they require you to adjust and possiblyreinvent your sound with a single change, which can affect your personal brand. So how do you do it?

I follow a specific cymbal selection pattern. First and foremost I develop afoundation sound with my ride and hi-hats and build up from there. With that foundation developed, Iusually go with a darker sound. Ithen add my crashes, usually a bit brighter cymbal sound. This helps define them in the soundspectrum, much like engineers do with EQ settings. Once these colors are in place I add effects cymbals such assplashes and Chinas. Once completeI have created a new cymbal pallet and defined my new sound. It is fun to try, but expensive andtime consuming. In the end it canbe very rewarding.

If you have any suggestions let me know what I should try asthe cymbal hunt is on folks.

Merchandise now available

2012-01-06T21:56:00.000-08:00

Hey to all you drummers out there,

I just launched an online store with a small collection of drum themed t-shirts, mugs, and other items. I will be adding more each week. You can check out the new line by clicking here!

I have included a bunch of items with the statement "drumming is peace", well, because it is. Over the years studying this craft I have learned how important the drum has been to the development of our planet. The sound of the drum mimics the heart beat and that is why the earliest indigenous tribes in Africa used drums and drumming to communicate with one another even before they learned how to speak.

Over the evolution of our planet the idea of rhythm spread to every corner of the world and many cultures based their own unique dances to specific drum rhythms. In many tribal societies it was believed that the drummer could speak to the gods and was highly revered by the entire village for these powers. For other communities the drums signified a time of joy and happiness. Slaves played drums to keep their spirits up after long arduous hours in the fields. Carnival in Rio is based around specific drum beats that get those beautiful booties shaking. Even in our modern society we can still see how important the "beat" is. Club dance music is almost completely absent of lyrics and melodies, instead it is built on the pounding rhythmic bass that keeps the drinks flowing and the spirits up.

I once had the pleasure to meet the Ambassador to South Africa. When he found out I was a drummer we became great friends. Someday I will blog the amazing conversation I had with him for hours about how respected the drummer still was in many parts of the globe, but for now I will sit back and relax knowing that what I do is as true to the heart as anything out there because "drumming is peace!"

YOU CAN FINALLY DOWNLOAD MY BOOK!!!

2012-01-03T21:49:00.000-08:00

Happy days are finally here for me.

With a little down time from the road I was able to finally get my book "Rudimental Technique and Analysis" available for download through an online merchant for only $9.99. You can Download it NOW! Check out this promotional video on the book's features.

I started this book after I finished my first cruise ship contract. After getting home I felt the need to step-up my playing so I started working monthly with Berklee professor and drumming icon Kenwood Dennard. His lessons on timing, independence and technique opened up my ears to the core concepts of drumming. I had always been a huge fan of the 26 standard drum corps rudiments so I started putting together a practice regiment that revolved around the simplicity of using just those twenty-six moves to better my playing.

As drummers we all know of these rudiments, but many of us are confused of how they can be used. Sure anyone can play a paradiddle, but it is a different thing to play that paradiddle to your metronome at various note values. In my sabbatical with Kenwood and my private studies I found that I could use these basic techniques to develop my hand technique, double bass foot technique, timing, and independence. I then used my experience as a graphic designer to chart out how each rudiment can be played to the click with your hands and feet, how they can be used for fills, grooves, and how you can gain your independence with them.

I recorded samples of myself playing through each exercise and had originally planned to get the book published, but thanks to the ol' Internet I was able to convert the entire book into a PDF format that includes the audio samples embedded in each lesson. You can learn more about the book at my website www.jeremylarochelle.com or if you are feeling frisky download it today from e-junkie.

Studio Drumming Basics

2011-12-03T18:39:00.000-08:00

Jeremy during the first Masceo Recording.

I just finished a recording session with a great friend and bass player at his amazing Pro Tools based home studio. Now it has been a while since I was “under the mic”, but within minutes and a test playback I was reminded of a few fundamentals of studio drumming.

Studio drumming isn’t like live drumming. You aren’t there to show off to a crowd and you don’t have that crowd to feed off of for energy. In the live situation you can make a tiny mistake and move on, in the studio all your neurons need to be firing, any small mistake can turn into a big mistake later. In the studio you have the click, the pressures of time, but most importantly you have to think about how the end result will sound.

Have you ever recorded yourself playing, especially with a live band, and listened back to the tapes? I bet you were surprised the first time you did. I know when I first put my work on tape I wasn’t happy with the end result. I quickly noticed that my overplaying made the song sound cluttered and messy.

Now back to my recent studio session.

We recorded me playing for a bit while we got drum sounds so I jammed away playing a lot of grace notes on the snare and silly fills around the kit. On the playback I was reminded how these constant grace notes and complex fills could “stop-up the drain” and clog the song. So when the red light hit I made the conscious effort to stick to solid snare hits and the occasional grace note to “spice” the track. The playback sounded better and the engineer had room to add more of his own garnishing to the song.

When it came to fills I was reminded how important tuned toms can be. Fills on a recording need to blend with the rest of the groups "band hits", you can't be hitting an 8" tom when the band is playing a real low note. You have to move with those notes and articulate your hits with confidence and precision. It is not about standing out, but rather properly accenting the song. Josh Freese is a master at this. Check out his playing through his website at http://www.joshfreese.com.

If you ever want to hear how important recording your playing can be listen to any Steve Gadd recording, live or studio based. Check out his website at http://www.drstevegadd.com/ to learn more if you don't already know the name. Gadd is considered the master of the groove and perfect timing. He has basically lived his entire career in the studio and in those experiences he has definitely heard his playing under the unrelenting ears of the microphone. In the end he has developed a way to make the song happen while getting out of the way so the collaboration of the group could create some of the world’s greatest hits. “Fifty ways to leave your lover” anyone?

Sometimes it’s hard to keep it simple. Trust me I know. Creating space while you are playing separates the pros from the amateurs. Beethoven once said: “It isn’t the notes I play that make me great, but rather the spaces in between.” On the other end of the spectrum take modern country music. Engineers, artists and producers in Nashville create amazing recordings because they create spaces that are filled in by other elements, much like a perfect moving gear…just enough guitar, just enough steel, and underneath just enough drums and bass to build upon. As a drummer in the studio you must create a solid feel and open up that space so others in the recording can fit in. It is all about unity and harmony if you want a top-notch recording.

On the day of the recording do everything you can to stay relaxed. Studio drumming is all about staying in the pocket and being glued to the click. You will need to be relaxed and focused to achieve that goal. Try to get a good nights sleep the evening before, get up a bit early, eat a good breakfast and warm up those hands before you hit the studio. Get to the recording session early so you can properly set-up and tune your drums. I like to show up before the rest of the band so I have time to myself to focus on getting my kit perfectly positioned and properly tuned.

When it comes to gear I always bring my kit even if the studio supplies one because you never know what you may or may not need. I always bring a selection of snares and cymbals too. It is amazing how different your cymbals and especially your snare sounds under the microphone. Bring extra new heads just in case and duct tape or Moon Gel to get rid of unwanted ring. You will need it in the studio as an engineer can always add resonance to your drums, but taking it away is a real bitch.

Well there you go a quick heads-up on studio drumming. I am sure I will write about this again so stay tuned and keep on drumming!

Give em' Some Space!

2011-11-18T11:19:00.000-08:00

I just got off of a five and a half month cruise contract playing jazz with a wonderful quartet. It was a great time, but it feels even better to avoid shaving and donning three-piece suits for a while. In my time home I have visited many open mic jam sessions, and in doing so I have come to realize that sometimes we all make music much more complicated than it needs to be. So this week I want to touch on how we can be better on-the-spot players.

The first thing we all need to realize is that popular music is relatively simple. Record companies and producers make it that way because the average listener responds better to structured music. Now I know there is a lot of great complicated music out there by artists such as Yes, Rush, and Herbie Hancock. But today let us focus on popular music, be it country, blues, rock and roll, or even jazz.

Songs Sections:

If you ever learned to read music you will quickly find out that most songs are broken down into sections that can be subdivided by four. Your verse may be eight your chorus eight or sixteen, and the bridge will usually be a combination of the two. Understanding this simple math will make you a much better on-the-spot player right out of the gate. You will be able to anticipate what will happen next in the song and able to change your feel at that right moment when the songs shifts from verse to chorus to bridge etc.

The bridge:

This is probably the most elusive section for “green” musicians. We all know that someone is soloing, but we often do not know where to go while they are playing away. One of my teachers explained it best. “As rhythm players you provide a couch for the soloist to sit on.” What that means is that we must continue through the form while they solo. This is best heard in jazz recordings where the rhythm section simply plays the changes of the verse and chorus section, they call it the A&B sections, underneath the solo. This allows the listener to hear the original tune with the soloing melody on top.

Communicate:

Dave Matthews Band is known for being great communicators on the stage. They aren’t afraid to make eye contact as they jam away. The same should be true in your pick-up situations. You’d be surprised at how tight a song can be if you are looking at each other or at the very least make visual cues for breaks and endings.

Know the Tunes:

The great bassist Ron Carter once held a clinic for a roomful of eager bassists and other musicians waiting to be passed down his secrets to success. He got up on stage and pointed to an audience member and asked them to name a tune. He then played the tune on the spot. He repeated this process for close to an hour stood up and stated his parting words. “If you want to work that is what you need to do.” Know the songs in your genre, and if you want to play for a living at least learn the most popular ones in each genre. You’d be amazed at how much work you get and hold with such studies.

Well that is all for today. I am off to my practice pad and Pj’s as I await my next cruise ship departure. Talk to you soon!

A Reading Challenge

2011-11-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

I met a great pianist on this past contract and got to know a little about his years in the music business over many dinners together. It turns out that this amazing player actually started out as a big-band drummer spending many of his childhood years in New York working in this complex style of drumming before making his way out to LA to study with some of the best teachers.

At his first college audition he was presented with a very difficult challenge. He was asked to site read parts from the iconic snare drumming manual Portraits in Rhythm by Anthony J. Cirone. It was this story that peaked my interest about the manual and pushed me to download it from Amazon's Kindle service for my iPad.

For all you drummers who think you are a great reader this book will challenge your personal opinions about your ability. The manual covers a number of rudimental styled snare drum solos that will challenge even the most ambitious drummer. There are lessons in 4/4, 2/4, 6/3, 3/8, single beats and ones that cover a number of changing time signatures. And if the time signatures couldn't challenge you enough the stickings will. You will be forced to do flams and ruffs into six stroke, seven stroke and nine stroke rolls all in weird time markings. Perhaps the books greatest attribute is the use of dynamic markings and accents in the most unusual places all designed to turn regular drummers into great musicians.

I have been working through the pages for about three weeks now and I am starting to understand many of the lessons, but the work has just begun. Each page must be practiced slowly and diligently. At times I have to break out a pen and paper to figure out what is written, but I am on a quest to be a better musician so I accept the challenge with open arms. As I am learning there is a reason that Modern Drummer magazine placed this book in their Top 25 Drumming manuals. Download it today at Amazon Portraits of Rhythm, grab your metronome and get ready to work.

Can You Hear Me Now?

2011-10-29T06:23:00.000-07:00

It was probably the scariest story I have ever heard as a drummer. It came from an elder statesman in our craft, and it changed his life forever.

It took just one rim shot and the ringing in his ears started almost instantly and never went away. Eventually the tinnitus took over his life. He had trouble sleeping at night with that constant humming in his ear. He went to countless doctors and eventually had surgery to remove the bone that protects his eardrum, the root of his problem. Now he has to wear hearing aids constantly. He almost lost his ability to hear and with that his ability to play drums, all because he didn’t wear earplugs.

Immediately after learning his tale I have taken ear protection on the gig, in the practice room, and behind the kit much more seriously. I think we all should because hearing isn’t like other things in our life were you loose it for a little bit, retrain yourself and get it back. Once you loose your hearing, any part of your hearing, it is gone forever. Have you ever been at a loud rock concert and left with that ringing in your ear? That is a sign of permanent hearing loss. And if you don’t think playing drums is just as loud as a rock concert, have I got a wake-up call for you. That China cymbal you bang away on alone is louder than a passenger jet taking off, and like my buddy it only takes on hit to change your life forever.

There are many types of hearing protection on the market. You can use the disposable gummies you roll up with your finger and insert into the ear canal that cost a couple bucks. There are the orange hard rubber ones that you twist in that you can buy at Wal*Mart for under ten bucks. Finally for you serious folk there are the custom molded plugs that come with a choice of noise reduction, they call it attenuation, and I use a 15 reduction in my left (hi-hat ear) and 10 in my right. This is what I use every time I sit behind the kit, or at a loud show.

(Picture from http://hearnet.com/)

Getting this protection was easy and pretty cheap. I think I paid under $150 and they have lasted me for four years now of constant road use. I visited a local audiologist who specialized in hearing aids; got a mold made and sent it into Westone http://www.westone.com/ and they did the rest. At the same time I also purchased a set of their dual driver In-Ear Monitors, but that is a whole other post.

To learn more about hearing loss visit this great website on the subject. http://hearnet.com/ , Westone has a wealth of information at http://www.westone.com/hearing/hearing-and-your-ears. I encourage all you serious drummers out there to start protecting your greatest asset today. Before it’s too late.

A Steve Gadd Story Story from my Boss.

2011-10-22T07:05:00.000-07:00

I was recently stressing out about a drum chart that gave me some trouble on the gig. I approached the bandleader to apologize for not getting it right the first time. "Don't worry about it. It isn't that important" he replied. But being the perfectionist I am I kept on stressing. Then he told me a story about Steve Gadd.

It turns out that my boss had the great pleasure to play with the legendary drummer. Not only did Gadd back him up, but he also played my bandleader's arrangements and even remarked on their top quality and readability. Anyway, back to my story.

My boss told me about his time sharing the stage with Gadd. He told me "you know when we rehearsed Gadd made mistakes, he wasn't perfect. The thing that separated him was that when he came back for the gig that night it was perfect."

As drummers we tend to look up to our heroes and place them on this pedestal, thinking that they have superhuman powers. Many do, and I am not belittling anyone, but we must all remember that with a little hard work, practice, and perseverance you can acquire great things with your craft. Just as Gadd did. Remember it was, and still is, his hard work that sets him apart.

Accent your drumming!

2011-10-15T06:50:00.000-07:00

Getting bored with my normal practice routine I decided to invest in a few books to work on something new. Luckily for me Amazon’s Kindle collection allowed me to download Joe Morello’s books Master Studies and Master Studies II. I purchased Master Studies first and worked through Morello’s exercises daily for about four weeks. Feeling comfortable with the lessons in manual one I decided to download and move onto Master Studies II.

Now Joe created his exercises based on the drumming bible Stick Control by George Lawrence Stone, and when you compare the two works you can see a number of similarities in the lessons, however Joe added something unique to his stickings, namely accents.

At first I chose not to include the accents in my practice routine as Joe’s stickings were hard enough, but over time I slowly added them into the routine. For a while I didn’t think I was gaining any ground using Morello’s lessons, in fact I felt that the book did nothing more than help warm me up for the nights four hour gigs with my jazz quartet.

Then, as all lessons go when you continually put the time and continued effort into them, I started to realize that my playing had developed into something new thanks to those accents.

Let me explain something to you about swing. Fundamentally it is the same for all styles of jazz. You have your basic swinging ride with the hat on two and four, your left hand dancing on the snare, and the occasional bombs dropped on your bass drum. But when you start adding accents to your swing you develop a whole new sound. In fact when you look at past jazz masters you can actually see how the simple addition of accents can make a world of difference. Take these two swing patterns that I found in the pages of John Riley’s Jazz drumming book The Jazz Drummer's Workshop.

By simply changing the accents on his ride cymbal Elvin created a whole new sound spectrum.

For me I started to notice that thanks to my work with Morello’s manuals I was able to add accents to my ride swing patterns in various locations. These simple accents allowed me to mimic my bass players walking rhythms and pianists comping. The introduction of these accents allowed me to add more depth to my swing and to become a better jazz drummer.

For you rock, fusion, country and pop guys adding accents to your playing can help you give the music your own unique sound while not getting in the way of the song. I suggest that you try out Morello’s exercises and see how you can learn from one of drumming’s greatest masters.

Thank You Steve Jobs!

2011-10-08T22:52:00.000-07:00

This week the world mourned the loss of the modern age’s Thomas Edison. For the past thirty years computer genius and entrepreneur Steve Jobs helped propel the concept of personal computing to new heights by merging the ideas of technology and entertainment and then promoting that concept on a plethora of devices such as the Macintosh Computer, iPod, iPhone, and iPad. There is no question as to Job’s contribution to the advancement of our society, but many musicians forget about how all his little devices have helped elevate our playing to new levels.

iPod:

I purchased my first iPod when the device was released to the public over a decade ago. From the very beginning I realized how this little music player could help my practice routine. Before I acquired the iPod I had to rely on a multiple disc player that was cumbersome and limited my available practice locations. Each day I had to load five CD’s into the carousel and if I wanted to work with a different disc I had to spend hours searching my physical library for the right album to jam with. This greatly reduced the efficiency of my practice routine. Then came the iPod. After the initial time spent ripping all of my music to the player I was able to practice virtually anywhere and had the ability to find that certain disc to work with in seconds. I could create playlists, store them, and then jam with them without taking the time to find the next CD or even waiting for that cumbersome disc player’s carousel to switch discs. My practice time became more efficient and I became a better and more rounded player because of it.

The MAC:

There are many arguments as to which computer is better, the PC or the MAC, and all I can tell you is my experience with the power of the MAC. My first original band “Masceo” multi-tracked an entire album onto my MacBook Pro laptop, and I think the system crashed maybe twice during the whole experience. Today the concept of the home studio has elevated to the point that musicians can easily express their ideas from a single room in their house with a quality that rivals many professional studios. For many their MAC is central point to this experience and another testament to Job’s quality ingenuity.

iTunes:

Before the iPod and iTunes I needed to buy a whole disc for $16 to get the tracks I needed to practice with for my next gig. Now with iTunes I can acquire single tracks for 99¢, drop them in a playlist and practice until I get those licks right. And as Apple’s database of music grows I can find even the most obscure tracks and experience new drummers with the click of a mouse (which Job’s helped bring to the world by the way).

GarageBand:

It’s simple to use and provides a great tool for musicians. I often record my live performances and rehearsals and then dump them into GarageBand to cut em’ up and listen to my day’s work. I’ve even made a few live albums through this method, and I am not the only one. On a plane trip to Nashville I was sitting next to a producer and new artist who were listening to her demo tracks in GarageBand and making notes for the future recording session that most probably would be recorded into a MAC.

iPad:

I didn’t think I needed one of these. Boy was I wrong. On this last cruise contract I wasn’t able to bring my practice manuals with me, but I needed something to work with. With the iPad I was able to download a number of practice books including drumming bibles “Stick Control”, “Ted Reeds Syncopation”, and Joe Morello’s “Master Studies” quickly from Amazon. And for those on-the-fly jazz gigs my iPad has all the Real Books in PDF format for quick reference. The thing even has a metronome and drumming bible app and houses reading material, and the game Angry Birds, for the breaks between sets.

The truth is Job’s technology has touched virtually every member of the world. As a former printing company owner and past photojournalist I have seen the MAC evolve from a small toaster oven computer into the central point for the print and news industries. When I made music my life I quickly learned that the MAC was central point in the studio and on the road thanks to it’s reliability and rock solid design. This week the world lost a genius and us musicians lost a man who inadvertently made us all better at what we do. R.I.P. Mr. Job’s.

Fundamentals of jazz versus rock.

2011-10-01T12:32:00.000-07:00

I recently was hired for a six-month contract with a jazz quartet. Now I’ve played jazz before with trios, quartets and even big bands so I had some knowledge going into the gig, but I had been playing rock and country for the past three years so it felt like I was heading back to my hometown after being away for years. I mean I still knew the streets, but a lot had changed.

Luckily for me the leader of this band was heavily experienced in the concept of, let’s say, classic jazz. A former pianist with the Glenn Miller Orchestra, child prodigy, and killer big band arranger this guy new what he wanted to make the gig work. In our first conversation I caught him telling me a story about past experiences with Miller Orchestra drummers. As the rhythm leader he wanted one thing “give the horn section air conditioning with that hi-hat on 2&4.”

Now Ron’s story reminded me of my lessons with famed drummer Kenwood Dennard. I had arrived in Dennard’s lab seeking to better my swing and chart reading. Our first lesson was on the fundamentals of jazz, meaning what went where. Kenwood passed on a lesson he had learned from Dizzy Gillespie and informed me of one important fact of jazz. “In jazz you have to make sure the band can hear your hi-hat.” And so my studying of jazz fundamentals began.

In rock you keep the time with your kick drum and your snare. With your heavier beat falling on one and three and the backbeat on two and four. In jazz this concept is almost reversed. The hi-hat and ride take over, with your hi-hat keeping time on two and four, and the ride providing the swing. The snare is played a lot lighter and acts as an accent to mimic melody parts, and your bass drum drops the bombs to liven the story up.

Take a listen to past masters. A good place to start is Max Roach and Roy Haynes. Kenwood hipped me to “A Study in Brown” by the Clifford Brown and the Max Roach Quintet to open me up to the basics of jazz. I encourage any new jazz drummer to take a listen to this great album, as Max was one of the most prominent pioneers of our craft. These cats kept that hi-hat pumping on two and four and swang’ the band with that ride like it was nobodies business. As jazz drumming history evolved new players like Elvin Jones came along and changed things up. Elvin pretty much kept his hat around the two and four, but kept time with the entire kit flip flopping the beat with his infectious tom fills and snare drum comping rhythms. Art Blakey used the snare to reinforce his time so well that I think Swiss watchmakers use him as the source of time for their products. And then arrived Tony Williams and the concept of jazz evolved to a whole new level for the drummer. But Tony is a whole other story that I am not ready, or schooled enough, to tell.

How to Get Drumming on a Cruise Ship.

2011-09-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

So here you go folks? A quick introduction into the process of finding cruise ship work...In video format so you don't even have to read!

Cymbal Sounds

2011-09-16T00:07:00.000-07:00

I got a call from a drummer buddy the other day and he was psyched. While putting together a new cymbal set-up he heeded my advice, well not really my advice but anyway, and decided to mix the sound spectrum placing Zildjian K’s in the ride and hi-hat position and Zildjian A’s on the crashes. “It sounds great and mixes well” was his response.

What he is talking about is his cymbal sound spectrum. A lot of drummers don’t pay much attention to this fact, but the great ones do. It works like this. As an old engineer friend of mine once related to me about mixing drums; when mixing drums in the sound spectrum think of placing them on an imaginary bookshelf. You put the kick and floor toms on the bottom shelf, snare in the middle and cymbals on the top. I just took his sound advice, no pun intended, and applied it to cymbal acoustics.

Generally speaking you want your crashes to be on top of the ride and hats when it comes to drum set sound. Your foundation cymbals, the ride and hi-hats are part of the solid groove to your sound; the crashes are actually accents in your playing. So by using a brighter cymbal for those accents you get a different sound than your foundation brass.

Now my buddy, a great heavy metal drummer, decided to switch the idea up and use brighter cymbals for his rides and hats and darker cymbals for his crashes. Generally this is the same idea and it accomplishes the same task. It separates your sound spectrum and helps your drums fill different head space in the EQ.

All manufacturers have different lines of dark and bright cymbals. If you can give it a shot, mix up those choices and see how you can create your own cymbal sound spectrum.

The power of the single and double stroke

2011-04-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

This week I want to talk about two fundamental movements for the drummer. While analyzing the basic 26 American Corps Drum Rudiments I noticed that the stickings fall into four basic styles: flams, roughs, single strokes and double strokes. Let’s put aside the flams and roughs for a moment and focus on the two very basic stickings: the single stroke and the double stroke.

The singles stroke is your typical RLRLRL…pattern. When you let the sticks bounce this soon becomes your basic drum roll. This is the predominant sticking when playing sixteenths, be it on the hi-hat for funk-based stuff or around the kit for a fill.

The double stroke is the RRLLRRLL…pattern, and consequently my favorite type of sticking because it gives the illusion of a single roll with one hand, say on the snare, while you move the other hand around the kit.

When analyzing the rudiments you will find that most of them are based on either one of these stickings, and some, like your paradiddles use both.

The late Joe Morello new the importance of these two movements around the kit and often used a simple exercise with them to promote his “Master Studies” books. The exercise goes like this. Play four bars of single strokes(RLRL), than four bars of doubles (RRLL), and then four bars of single paradiddles (RLRR, LRLL). You can increase to eight, sixteen or twenty-four bars of each per your liking. Use a metronome to stay honest and increase your speed gradually without any spaces in between stickings. For you double bass enthusiast out there the same exercises can be done with a double bass drum pedal or dual bass drums. Either way you will be amazed at how quickly your skill sets will improve through the use of this exercise.

These movements are not just stickings, but rather a way to unlock complicated drum parts you may encounter. Because most drumming will fall under one of these movements you can use that knowledge to figure out how your favorite drummer is moving around the kit. Is he playing that fill hand to hand (LRLR) or with double strokes (RRLL)? I often analyze new grooves by trying both movements and soon find that one produces an easier flow for the song, and surprisingly that is the right way the original guy played the part.

There are reasons that the rudiments are built around these two movements and with proper practice and insight they can help you unlock any complicated drum part.

Drum on!

How much does a Gold Album get you?

2011-04-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Here is the breakdown. Prepare to be amazed (or disturbed)...

Our artist has made a gold record and sold 500,000 copies. He has a royalty rate of 14%, pays the producer 3%. Has recording costs of $250,000 and tour support of $50,000.

Wholesale Price (what they base your royalty rate on) $12.05

Royalty Rate (14% all-in, minus 3% for producer) $1.32

Royalty X 500,000 Units $640,000

Less 10% Free Goods (Promo copies) -$64,000

____________

$576,000

Less: Recording Costs -$250,000

Less: 50% of Independent Promotion -$75,000

Less: 50% of Video Costs -$50,000

Less: Tour Support -$50,000

____________

Total: $151,000

To add salt in the wound the record company holds a reserve on your gross royalties ($576,000) meaning they keep 35-50% of your royalties in case your sales boomerang. At 35% that is $201,600. So in this first statement you get NOTHING. You may get that back if yo continue to sell, but they still have you.

And it gets worse…

Suppose you took the record companies advance of $300,000 towards this album. That means after this album you are in the hole $149,000. Which they will gladly take from the royalties of your next album, if you have a two-album deal.

Still want to become a rock star?

I got these figures from a great book “All You Need to Know About the Music Business” by Entertainment Attorney Donald S. Passman.

Understanding the infamous 6/8 time signature.

2011-04-03T17:38:00.000-07:00

I got an interesting text the other day. A friend of mine was stuck in an argument over the difference between 6/8 and 3/4 time signatures. She asked “can’t we just count 6/8 in 3/4 time because they add up mathematically?” I thought it was a valid point after all time in music is just simply math and counting, and, yes, 6/8 can be divided into 3/4 in math. But in music it is the way we count 6/8 that makes it different and helps give the music that “Latin” feel. So I will try to explain.

3/4 time is quarter note based, meaning that each of the three notes is a quarter note. Counted it would be one, two, three, one, two three, one, two, three… This is what I will call a straight forward based feel. In Jazz we may give the “ones” a little longer of a feel creating that infamous swing feel. 6/8 is different because the musician must keep in mind that it is actually triplet based. So one measure of 6/8 is actually two sets of triplets counted trip-e-let, trip-e-let…or a quicker 1,2,3,4,5,6... In this 6/8 feel the usual snare hit that will fall on beat 2 in rock feels falls on the “let’s”(counted beats 3,6) of the 6/8 measure. It gives the music that lift feel that is cornerstone to Latin music.

Now my friend was right because you can subdivide 6/8 into two 3/4 phrases and this will come in real handy if you ever have to play fast 6/8 music. In these situations it is often difficult to count 1,2,3,4,5,6 over and over again real fast so I may count 1,2,3 in a quarter note counting method while playing the fast Latin 6/8 underneath. I just have to remember that if the music calls for eight bars I can only count it in that quarter note 3/4 feel for four bars.

This is one of those that you will have to practice with a metronome or a good written piece of music with an included audio file. Or better yet go find a friend from one of the South American nations and ask to borrow some music.

Understanding Drum Charts

2011-03-27T17:30:00.000-07:00

Perhaps the one thing that scares drummers the most is reading a chart for a gig. There is a lot of justification behind that fear. Charts can be scary, especially if you have never read music before, and for those of us who have an understanding of note values the drum chart can still be scary. On cruise ships and in pit bands charts are often handed down from drummer to drummer each bearing markings carried over from generation to generation resembling the changing show. Entire sections can be scratched out. Pencil, and worst yet pen marks, scar the entire piece making it difficult to decipher what you should be playing. And to be honest many drummers do not understand how they should be reading the music that is in front of them in the first place.

For a drummer reading music is much different than any other member of the band, but with a few basic understandings of what is expected of you, you can achieve the task at hand. I am going to assume that you have an understanding of what notes look like and what values those notes hold. If you have never read music before you may want to start off by finding a basic music theory book that explains rhythms, for the drummer a simple snare drum reading book from grade school will work just fine. Look for anything by Mel Bay or Alfred Music Group. Once you understand the basics of notes you will be surprised at how easy reading a drum chart can be. So let’s move on.

The fundamental rules for the chart-reading drummer are these. You must keep the beat. Even if you do not know what is happening on the music the band will require you to keep the music going. After all the rest of the musicians just need to regurgitate what they see on the page. KNOW THE ROAD MAP FIRST! Look for repeats, D.S. signs and first and second endings. You must know where you are going in the music. The second rule is this: drum charts are interpreted not read. Very few composers will write out the exact beat and fills you are to play. They understand that you must keep the music going so they will give you a basic understanding at the beginning and then fill in the bars with time slashes |////|////|////| so you know how many bars you are to keep the beat going. With practice you will learn to love this writing style because it gives you the freedom to be creative with your time keeping and add you own distinctive style to the music.

Section Hits and Ensemble Hits:

As you read through the chart you will begin to notice that the composer has written in specific hits throughout the piece. These hits will be written above the bar line (Section Hits) and through the staff (Ensemble Hits). Think of it like this if the hits are written above the staff you are to keep on playing and make the hits with the section that is playing those notes. Keep these hits simple using the snare and/or bass drum to mimic what that part of the band is playing. If the notes are written through the staff the entire group will be making the hits together and you will not be grooving through them. These hits often occur at the beginning or end of the piece.

Setting Up the Band:

When you encounter Ensemble Hits it will be your job to set up the next hit. Each drummer will develop their own style for this task but the basics of the job are the same. You lead into the hit with a simple roll, flam, or other stylistic maneuver. Your hits should be simple so the group can anticipate the hits together and make the stabs at the same time. Listen to some old Buddy Rich, Joe Morello, or Peter Erksine so you can get an idea of what I am saying.

Understanding the Markings:

Always look for the freshest set of markings. I always take some time to talk with the band director before rehearsal to see which hits are the newest ones. It never hurts to look over other instrument's music, especially the piano parts because they have both the treble and bass clef, so you can gauge what is happening in the piece. And when it is your turn to mark charts ALWAYS USE A PENCIL. If you are serious about your craft always carry a pencil and big eraser in your gig bag because when the gig is over you are usually required to clean your markings. I always make notes to myself and have created my own little set of symbols to dictate what I should expect. Circle those D.S., Coda, and repeat measures because it is vital that you know the road map over all the little hits. In fact here is a little sight-reading tip. Read through the road map first, then the specific hits. You are the drummer and you must be able to keep the song going from start to finish no matter where all those repeat markings may take you!

Final Notes:

Drum charts are usually long with many pages for one piece and because we use all our limbs it may be hard to flip pages while keeping the groove. I usually tape pieces together and use a double music stand or elongated piano stand for my charts. Make sure you place your music in a spot that is convenient so you can read the music, see the band director, and actually hit all your drums easily. Always use a stand light if you can, pencil markings are hard to read under low lights.

If you do not have or can’t find the drum charts piano charts are best. They cover both clefs and you can gauge what the bass and other top instruments will be doing.

Broadway books will usually give you a kit set-up diagram at the beginning of the chart book. You should set-up your kit as close to their recommendations as possible. It will make your movement from song to song and drum to drum much more efficient.

If you don’t read you will loose it, so take time to practice your reading. Tommy Igoe has a great set of groove songs with charts available called “Groove Essentials 1.0 and 2.0”. Steve Houghton has a great book called “The Ultimate Drumset Reading Anthology” and Bobby Gabriele has a great introductory book called “The Chart Reading Workbook.”

Finally you must understand playing to charts will require you to have your fundamental skills down solid. You will be required to play different styles effortlessly. Perhaps the biggest challenge will be independence. Often you will have to keep a groove going while making the Section Hits. All your limbs and your brain will need to be working on all cylinders. You will need to have your basic time keeping, independence, and technical skills in check or it will be that much harder to bring the charts to life. In return chart reading will step up your game. You will begin to notice that well written music follows specific divisions of four in four, eight, twelve and sixteen bar sections. After a while you will be able to feel when the music is about to change from section to section. You will become a better musician and not just a drummer.

The New Musical Customer.

2011-03-22T16:49:00.000-07:00

“Let’s play “In the mood”, than “Moon River”, than “Blue Bossa”, hey wait were are all the customers?”

I can’t tell you how many bands I have worked with who do not understand the present market of music listeners. A vital mistake that leads to an increasingly smaller crowd and eventually a lost gig. These are all tunes we love to play along with other “Real Book” standards that show off our jazz skills, but something is missing. That something…the understanding of who is in the audience and what music the customer is used to.

Let’s take cruise ships for example. The average cruise guest is now about 46, based on what I have been told by countless Entertainment Directors. Let’s take that and do some math.

The average person develops their musical taste and memories around age 18. So subtract 18 from46 and you get 28 years ago. Now subtract 28 from 2011 and you get 1983. That leads me to believe that the average customer on a cruise ship will respond to songs from the late 70’s through 80’s much better than those jazz tunes from the early 50’s and 60’s. Sure there are some timeless pieces that everyone loves, and sure if you are in a jazz club this math doesn’t work. But when you are a club band on a cruise ship, in a bar or in a hotel the math doesn’t lie. Your customers, if they fall into that age 46 median, are going to want a little more Michael Jackson and a lot less Glen Miller.

To make a living giging…understand your financial picture.

2011-03-22T16:36:00.000-07:00

So you want to be a professional musician huh? Well here is a little advice.

Because this is such a competitive industry now flooded with millions of new artists the chances of you landing a gig that will pay the mortgage, car payment, electric bill, cable, internet and put some food on the table is not that easy. Trust me I have been doing this for a while now.

You are going to have to take an unbiased look at your financial picture. If you have kids, a home and a wife whom likes the good life you may find it tough to make all that happen on the few dollars you will make playing dingy bars and clubs. Think about this. I have been playing professionally full time for a while now and I still average about $100 bucks a gig even after six years of playing. This isn’t a fortune five hundred company and there is no cost of living increase yearly. Compound that with the growing fact that fewer and fewer clubs are hiring live bands and many have music just one night and that equals a weekly paycheck of about $200. Unless you live in Mexico this will not pay the bills.

Now don’t be discouraged by these facts. Instead look at it as an opportunity to gauge the market. Try finding those better gigs such as cruise ships, theaters, and hotels (if you got the chops) that provide somewhat stable income and incentives such as living quarters and meals.

A second thought is this. Your gross income is what you take in versus what you pay out. So if you are a younger cat with fewer bills try keeping those expenses as low as possible. Don’t lease a Mercedes when a VW will do. Find cheaper rent and avoid eating out as much as possible and you will be surprised at how far your gig income will go.

If you are serious about making a living as a musician you are going to have to become great with your money, and trust me musicians are notorious for not being good with the green, unless it can be smoked. So don’t do what all the other players do, take some initiative in your financial picture and you will get by doing what you love.

Sacrifices and Musical Reward

2011-01-05T12:33:00.000-08:00

There is going to be a special moment in any true musicians life. A moment when you feel that pull of music, a force that will pull you away from the concept of a normal life, as you foster that force you will begin to notice how much sacrifice you are willing to accept to chase music’s pulling force.

I have felt that pull and with it I have endured my own sacrifices for music. My first major challenge was handing over my interests in a successful and growing company. Since then I have sacrificed so many facets attributed to a normal life. Now in my early thirties I have no home, no wife, and no kids. I lack so many of the possessions a person of my age should have. In some sense of the word I have become a gypsy roaming from gig to gig. But, with those sacrifices I have seen what I consider great rewards. I have seen the world and met many interesting individuals along the way. Perhaps the greatest thing I have received is the music, be it playing in a small club to a few patrons or rocking thousands after they have demanded another encore. I guess it is these small playing moments that make all the sacrifices worthwhile, for these small moments are something very few will ever experience.

Just the other evening I had one of these small moments. A terrible illness had grounded our bandleader and front man, leaving the rest of us to make up a set of songs with what we had. And, I have to say we rose to the challenge.

The first thing I must point out is that our regular show band consists of a repertoire of dance and top 40 hits from the 60’s to today. Songs such as My Girl, Mustang Sally, and Pretty Woman, but without Jim’s leadership and vocal abilities these songs are difficult to achieve, so to make the evening successful the band changed up gears in moments.

The bass player Brad and I made our way to the hotels five star dining room and approached pianist Greg Goodwin about helping us out. With his acceptance we were able to match his amazing piano voicings with saxophonist EJ Hughes smooth style, Brad’s tick tock time and my old school jazz brushwork into a night of contemporary smooth jazz that was not only well received, but also well enjoyed.

I guess it is strange to say that all of those sacrifices were vindicated by such a small experience, but they were. It is a powerful feeling as a musician to walk into an evening preparing for a train wreck only to have your musical brothering and your own skills reach the surface and show you just what you are made of musically, and what you have earned.

1980's The Drumming Importance of Michael

2011-01-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

In this installment of our great drummers of each decade series we find ourselves in the 1980’s. There are dozens of great drummers from this era. Lars Ulrich of Metallica, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, even Phil Collins became a household drummer name thanks to his sweet sounding gated reverb tom fills from “In the air tonight.”

As I researched the 1980’s I came across Michael Jacksons “Thriller” album and I feel that this album can help any drummer of any style to succeed because it touches on the fundamental lesson of our craft. The dance.

Drumming is the eldest instrument, even outdating the voice. It represents the heartbeat and in the most indigenous tribes of Africa the drummer is regarded with supreme authority because only he can speak with the God’s. When the drummer or drummers played the tribe danced honoring the Gods.

It seems that in today’s competitive driven world we as drummers have overlooked that fundamental lesson in our craft. We strive now to be the fastest or the one with the most blazing fill. We forget that we are there to support the tribe, in this case the band and the audience. In doing that it means we must mature at our craft taking away ego driven fills and tempos and replacing them with movement and space.

I chose “Thriller” for the 80’s because it is not the drummer I seek to listen to. It is the immortal Michael Jackson. In this tribe he is the leader of the drum circle and we must support him. In return we shall dance!

1970's Drumming with John Bonham

2010-12-18T16:28:00.000-08:00

Many polls have crowned the band Led Zeppelin as the greatest band in history. And yes, that means surpassing The Beatles. Critics argue that Led Zeppelin mastered the push and pull playing technique that created the perfect tension in their music. If you want to see what they are talking about grab Led Zeppelin Remasters disc 1 and cue up the track Black Dog. Good luck nailing this drum take on your first try.

John Bonham is the driving force behind the band. His presses the band forward with his laid back feel, tight articulation and use of space. Listen to the album and you will hear studio drumming that will defy any artist yet to come. Be careful before you sneak a peak at footage of Bonham playing live especially the tune “Moby Dick”. You may contemplate quitting the drums. I know I did.

There are many misconceptions about Bonham. The biggest is he was a heavy hitter. According to his long time drum tech Jeff Orcheltree, John’s amazing drum sounds were made not through force but perfect technique. The rest was all about the rock and roll show. The second is that he was all Rock and Roll. If you listen closer you will quickly find out that is not the truth. The track Dazed and Confused is a rock drummer playing with one hell of a swing. Good Times Bad Times has a broken Latin Feel. In Whole Lotta Love he uses the hi-hat like the great Tony Williams.

To this day teachers, universities and drum enthusiast still analyze this amazing drummer. While studying New Orleans second line rhythms I found Bonham marching along. Watch the video and enjoy.

1960's and Ringo Starr

2010-12-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

Picking an album that defies the 1960’s to drum with can be a daunting task. The concept of the album was still a few years away and record companies were still following their methods of selling 45’s with a hit single and “B” side tune. That was it. It wasn’t until a group known as The Beatles emerged and changed everything in the music business. So it is the Beatles “1” that I chose to jam with.

I have never been a big fan of Ringo Starr. I always thought his playing was overhyped because of his association with the band that changed everything. It wasn’t until I started practicing to a number of The Beatles albums that I realized just how amazing Ringo was and still is.

For all of you younger folks whom don’t know Ringo wasn’t the first drummer for the Beatles. Instead it was a man by the name of Pete Best. Producer, and fifth Beatle, George Martin felt that Best couldn’t keep time well enough to record a record so he suggested the band bring in Starr. And that is when the Beatles, as we know, were born.

Listen to any Beatles song ad you will quickly find out that Ringo is one hell of a time- keeper. Listen a little deeper and you will hear the jazz that came before him and the rock and roll that will follow through the 70’s and beyond.

One of the best ways to witness Starr’s influence is in his playing and how that playing carries forward to other great drummers. Listen to “A Hard Day’s Night” and you hear the free form rock and roll that includes jazzy tom rolls that would eventually define The Who drummer Keith Moon. “Can’t Buy Me Love” among many other tunes show his influence on the soon to come John Bonham of Led Zeppelin.

There is no doubt that Ringo will influence hordes of other drummers, but take a second listen and you will also hear jazzes influence on him. “I Feel Fine” is a Jazz Mambo. “Can’t Buy Me Love” is a swinging/boogie woogie. In fact one of Ringo’s greatest attributes is his ability to maintain solid rock time while allowing those jazz influences to come through in creative ways that would forever define the studio drummer.

If you are serious about drumming you MUST listen to Ringo Starr and The Beatles. Inside their albums and countless hits you will be influenced like the many other great drummers who looked to the Starr.

1950's~Drumming with The Miles Davis Quintet

2010-12-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

So for my first decade the 1950’s I chose to swing along with “Steamin’ With the Miles Davis Quintet”. The album was recorded in 1956 and includes Miles Davis on Trumpet, John Coltrane on Tenor Sax, Red Garland on Piano, Paul Chambers on Bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums.

I chose this album, as I do with all my selections, through a little research and what the universe tells me to play. Miles was at the forefront of every major development in jazz. This album includes his brilliance along with the emerging talents of John Coltrane on saxophone. Coltrane will eventually leave Miles to form his own voice and this album places the two jazz icons together trading solos like they are at war. You have to swing differently for each man. That is your challenge.

For us drummers this means we must swing like we have never swung before, and we must do it with different elements of our kit to help change the color and texture of the individual solo sections. Without sacrificing the bounce.

The album contains six tracks that cover both the basic and advanced classes of jazz drumming. Lets take a look at three tracks and Philly Joe will show you what swing is all about.

“Surrey With the Fringe on Top”

This track starts the swinging with the open hi-hat technique. Joe swings the hi-hat along while accenting the traditional 2&4. Every once and while he quickly moves to the snare to accent the band hits. In the solo sections listen to Philly changing up the fundamental 2&4 with the hi-hat foot as he throws in some triplets, perhaps a precursor to a future great drummer –Tony Williams. During the piano solo Jones brings the volume down and changes the texture into a four on the snare light jazz shuffle. It moves along. On the outro he changes it up switching from his open hi-hat swing to that of the ride to match a closing Miles solo. To end the song a gentle roll that would challenge Buddy Rich any day.

“Something I Dreamed Last Night”

If you think you know how to play brushes. Think again. This song is a master class in brush technique. There is no hi-hat, no bass drum, just the swish of the brushes on the snare. Listen to the long strokes Philly uses like a painter to carry the song. He lets the song breath. You can hear the tempo fluctuate slightly to move the song with each individual solo. On the piano solo the brushwork changes from a four feel to a two feel and seamlessly back. Download this song and earn a degree in brushes.

“Salt Peanuts”

Good luck if you can’t swing well yet. This song will eat you alive. It moves at a blazing pace with the drummer swinging with the 1,2,3,4& ride pattern. Personally I use light ghost notes on the snare to help propel the swing. If you make it to the solo be prepared for a workout. It is long and intense. A little over halfway through Philly brings his hands back to the snare drum for an accented snare roll that covers all the dynamic markings out there. At this point he finally stops the 2&4 on the hat and opens it back up to the kit before the band comes in for one last head section.

There are many great jazz albums out there and chances are I will play along and review many more, but for this project “Steamin’” represents a fundamental point in music in which the drummer takes a step forward. He is now part of the band and responsible for the groove or dance of the number. In the 60’s Rock n’ Roll to follow you will still hear those jazz intricacies just with one variation…

See ya’ next time!

History of Music Practice Sessions

2010-12-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Hey folks,

I have been off from my work at The Balsams Grand Resort for the past ten weeks or so and in the interim I have been hitting the practice shed pretty hard.

Over the past couple of weeks I have been going through a Music History Course in college which has inspired me to add a new depth to my practice routine. I have decided to conduct my own music drumming history by playing along with an album from my collection for each decade. In the process I have opened my ears up to the evolution of our craft, and I have collected some notes on what the drummers of each era are borrowing from past masters and what the new guys are bringing to the table for the future masters of our craft.

I will begin posting notes on each album shortly. Thus far I have played with "Steaming with the Miles Davis Quartet" for the jazz era. I covered the sixties with a greatest hit cd and a couple of Beatles discs. The 70's is represented by The Steve Miller Band. 80's is still undecided. 90's is "Crash" by the Dave Matthews Band and 2000 is the MTV unplugged performance of Jay-Z.

So check back and find out what I learn from each decade.

Cheers!

Rudimental Technique & Analysis Ebook Packed with Features!

2010-11-20T13:54:00.000-08:00

This video shows how my downloadable ebook version of Rudimental Technique & Analysis has everything you need including a clickable table of contents and clickable audio samples embedded in the pdf document! Get it soon at http://www.jeremylarochelle.com/book

Surviving as a Professional Musician

2010-11-16T13:54:00.000-08:00

This video piece is an excerpt from my upcoming video on drumming, which I plan to release in the fall of 2011. Also mentioned is my book "Rudimental Technique & Analysis http://www.jeremylarochelle.com/book.

This sampling demonstrates some core elements that today’s top professionals require of their musicians, and as you will see being a good player is just a small piece of the pie. Many of today’s top bandleaders, producers and musicians have hundreds of choices in players for their projects. With so many great musicians to choose from they often thin out the herd by seeking out players that treat their music like the profession it is. Being on time, taking criticism well and dressing the part are all business decisions that can change playing music from a hobby into a full blown profession.

A test of time.

2010-11-14T17:21:00.000-08:00

Do you want to find out how good you can hold time on the kit?

I have a simple little test you can try. This is something I read in Modern Drummer Magazine Years ago.

Get yourself a copy of Billie Jean by Michael Jackson, preferably the studio cut off of the "Thriller Album".

Place your iPod on the single track and set your device up to repeat the track, grab your sticks and hit play.

The goal is for you to play the track "as-is". It is a simple song. Play through the song and when it repeats start over again playing it as-is. Concentrate on keeping your time steady, try not to get bored and start adding frills, concentrate on the beat. Keep on repeating. At ten times with no foul-ups you are doing great, 25 you are damn good and if you can hit 50–you are a monster time keeper!

Good luck and drum on!

A drummers product line equals success

2010-11-12T10:04:00.000-08:00

Many of today’s top drummers had to do the same thing that you are doing hopefully right now, and that is to practice. But why should we, or better yet, do they practice so much. The answer is quite simple.

Any successful business must first have a successful product or service. The companies that achieve long-term success must have a very stable product. Coca-Cola^® hasn’t changed the recipe for their soft drink since the late 1800’s. Kentucky Fried Chicken^® safe guards the secret of their recipe like it is the Holy Grail. These two companies and the select others that achieve long-standing success that has survived the tests of time share the same mantra. Those with the best products to sell survive the longest.

For drummers our long-standing success is attributed to our ability to play confidently in any situation along with the ability to bring that confidence to any genre or project we choose. About ten years ago the great Neil Peart from the band Rush, whom is known for his amazing progressive rock chops, produced a project called “Burning for Buddy”. In this project he brought in drummers from various genres including Matt Sorum, Billy Cobham, Steve Gadd and Dave Weckl and asked them to play straight ahead big band jazz with the famous Buddy Rich Big Band. Many thought that a drummer such as Sorum whom was known for playing with Guns and Roses and The Cult was not a good fit for a project of this caliber. The test required him to play outside his comfort zone and to read a drum chart. Matt proved everybody wrong and earned the respect of Neil and all members of the Rich Big Band within one take.

Matt proved that no matter what “kind” of drummer you are, if you practice, if you take the time to study and learn, you can succeed in any musical situation.

I have made money as a drummer because I accept practicing as part of my job. I have played hundreds of gigs in a variety of genres all of which have required a little something different from my skill-set. For Broadway shows I have had to devote countless hours to learning how to properly read and interpret a drum chart. To properly play straight ahead jazz I have had to seek the advice of great instructors to help me understand the intricacies of the genre and then I would relentlessly practice those lessons. For any of you drummers daring enough to tackle Nashville be prepared for a community of drummers who spend their days writing charts and nights rehearsing to headphones for a simple one-night gig with a new artist.

So if you don’t think you need to practice you will soon find out that the phone WILL stop calling. There are too many great drummers now, many with skills comprable or better than yours. You must practice and show up at your gigs prepared. You must fill that toolbox with the instruments of your craft so you can pull the right wrench for the right gig. GO PRACTICE!

Let's hit the skins!

2010-11-03T15:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my blog designed for drummers to help keep the beat within their craft. I have been a drummer (at heart) for all my life and I have been playing professionally for about sixteen years. For the past six years I have made a living as a drummer, yup’ that’s what I put on my tax returns, but getting to that point hasn’t been easy. It has taken a lot of work, sacrifice and of course practice, practice, practice. Thanks to the countless hours in the woodshed and the assistance I have received from teachers, friends, associates and people in the music business I now am able to pay my rent, car loan, health insurance and even enjoy dinners that aren’t Ramen Noodles or Mac and Cheese with the money I make from banging on the drums. My purpose of this blog is to help those drummers out there whom hope one day to be able to make a living playing the drums.

I have learned a lot from my experience in the music business. The biggest thing I have learned is that it isn’t always the easy advice or pats on the back that will help you become better, rather it is the kicks to the shins and blows to your ego that will have the most impact…if you choose to listen and press forward. So I have decided to write my blog that same way, pulling no punches and dropping hard truths on my readers. The ones who come back for a little more insight are the ones who are going to succeed.

With that being said I will offer my first piece of advice. PRACTICE! Even if you already think you are the best. PRACTICE! Even if you are already making money or in a popular band PRACTICE!. Practice those rudiments. Watch those drumming videos at http://www.drummerworld.com/ or on YouTube. Go get a subscription to Modern Drummer http://www.moderndrummer.com/. Later on in this blog I will introduce you to some awesome practice techniques and learning resources, but for now you MUST get out those sticks and hit those drums. Businesspeople go to college, doctors to med school, and lawyers to law school. Drummers need to go practice it all starts there.

Good luck and I hope to see you back for some more drumming insight.

~Jeremy Larochelle