Thoughts on Comping Part IV

How to Hear Figures

The whole point of playing an instrument is to make meaningful sounds in a musical context. Comping is the art of making sounds that compliment a soloist. We can take a cue from Be-bop and use a mnemonic device to help us hear common comping figures. The term 'be-bop' itself came from the vocalization of a rhythmic figure that dominated the music:

It's a good practice to hear sounds internally to better produce them on your instrument.  Once a figure is internalized, it's easier to play and will sound more musical when applied to the drums. The be-bop mnemonic technique can be applied to most figures. Here are the vocalizing sounds I like to use to help me hear figures and rhythms:

Short Tones:  bap, bup
Long Tones:  Doo, Bah, Dah
Medium Tones: buh
Silence:  umm, mmm

Try adding these mnemonics to the figures in the Ted Reed ‘Syncopation’ book as you play them (see Thoughts on Comping Part III). If you have any charts you’re working on, try the mnemonics there as well to add a more musical element to the figures. 

Thoughts on Comping Part III

Comping Practice using Ted Reed’s “Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer”

You can use the various syncopation exercises in Ted Reed’s landmark book * as a source for common comping figures, but you need to reinterpret them slightly to fit into a musical context. Rarely would you play a four-bar phrase of one syncopated pattern, let alone repeat it for eight bars or more, as exercise books often imply. Comping is often done over a single bar or perhaps two bars, and it should always fit into the musical phrasing.

Start with Syncopation Exercise #2 on page 34. (Exercise #1 shows variations on how the patterns might be written). Begin by playing a single bar of swing time on the cymbal, with hi-hat on 2 & 4, bass drum lightly playing quarter notes. Then play one bar of the first syncopation figure on the snare drum while playing time on the ride cymbal.

E.g.:     /  1 bar of time  /  1 bar of line 1  /   1 bar of time   /  1 bar of line 2  /  etc…

Play each figure only once and work your way down the page. Then go back to the top and do it again. Practice at various tempos, slow to fast, and listen to the phrases as you play them. Also reverse: 1 bar of line 1 followed by one bar of time.

When you become comfortable with this, move on to 4-bar phrases by playing 2 bars of time followed 2 bars of the syncopated figures.

E.g.:     /  2 bars of time  / 2 bars of line 1  /  2 bars of time   /  2 bars of line 2  / etc…

Work on all the figures from the exercises on pages 34 through 45 and also play them with music.

Your next step would be to play the figures on the bass drum. Then move the figures around the drum set, and between your hands and feet.

* Any book that has comparable syncopation exercises will work just as well.

Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer(C)  1937 Ted Reed
Alfred Publishing Co.
ISBN-10: 0882847953
ISBN-13: 978-0882847955

Thoughts on Comping Part II

Playing around with 2 & 4

An easy way to ‘cruise’ while still lending support to the soloist is to play lightly on 2 and 4. A cross-stick on the snare can give a subtle push without getting in the way. More subtle still is to play on just 2 or just on 4. And if you want to kick things up a notch or two, play 2 and 4 full out and really get things rocking (just don’t keep it up for too long).

You can also ‘refer’ to 2 and 4 to create different effects. This is a method of comping that doesn’t require a lot of technique or analysis. For a more subtle and sophisticated approach, you can hint at 2 and 4 using the following ideas, (playing with a triplet feel, of course):

Or just play a single element each bar. Also try the figures on different drums and see what effect that has. Then mix and mingle. As long as it fits, go for it!

Thoughts on Comping Part I

How to Avoid Scrambled Eggs

Too often advice about how to ‘comp’ on drums offers up patterns, patterns and more patterns. Rarely does the advice point to musical phrasing or how other musicians approach comping (e.g. piano or guitar). So let’s abandon the idea of tossing in a few memorized patterns on the snare drum with the hope that it will somehow fit the music. What you usually end up with is what I call scrambled eggs. (And to be honest, I’ve scrambled plenty of eggs in my time.)

Tunes are built on the concept of a phrase or statement, and musical statements typically are short: two bars. The reason for this is quite practical -- a singer or horn player can usually muster up enough lung power for about two bars. Song structures have evolved to take advantage of this two-bar ‘limit’ by adding another two bars (for taking a breath and perhaps a bit of meditation) following the musical statement or idea. So the four-bar phrase is your basic music building block.

Consider this well-known blues:

Every day, every day I have the blues [ 2,3,4 | 1,2,3,4 ]
Oh every day, every day I have the blues [ 2,3,4 | 1,2,3,4 ]
When you see me worryin' baby, yeah it's you I hate to lose [ 2,3,4 |  1,2,3,4 ]

Notice that it takes two bars to say or sing each line. The 12-bar blues structure adds another two bars -- represented by [ 2,3,4 | 1,2,3,4 ] -- to make each line a four-bar phrase. Three sets of 4 bars = 12 … very tidy.

So, how would a drummer ‘comp’ effectively to this sort of pattern?

K.I.S.S.One approach to comping (i.e. complementing) is to simply play time, perhaps adding some snare on 2 or 4 or both. You stay out of the way but add some impetus with a back-beat.

Doing Shots
Another technique is to interpret the rhythm of the phrases. Once you’ve learned the tune, see if you can play the phrases on the drums. Don’t try for a literal rendition. Just, play some of the major ‘shots’ -- the notes that stand out in each phrase --  being careful not to crowd the lead instrument.

Call & Response
An even more liberal technique of comping is to ‘play in the spaces’ … counterpunching, if you will. For example, after the phrase is sung or played, you have the better part of two bars -- the [ 2,3,4 | 1,2,3,4 ] -- where you might fit in something that complements (compliments?) the preceding line. This is neither as simple nor as difficult as it sounds. Your patterns can and should be drawn from the phrasing of the tune. Just be sure to pare it down so you don’t come across as too busy. And above all, listen to how your patterns sound within the music.

All Out
The most advanced method, and the one that some of the greatest players use, is to play alongside the soloist. These players create lines and patterns to the point that it can’t really be called comping any more. I like to compare it to traditional or Dixieland jazz when the band does ‘group improvisation’, with each lead instrument improvising at the same time. A great practitioner of this is Elvin Jones. Elvin doesn’t exactly comp the soloist; he seems to be playing his own complementary tune alongside.

The Function of Fills

Ah yes, the drum fill. It's what makes music exciting. And it's what we all want to do … a lot. But there are right ways and wrong ways to do fills. There are even rules (unwritten and usually unspoken). So keep the following in mind while you're getting ready to blow everyone away with your stellar chops and creativity.

Transitions
The main function of a drum fill is to escort the music from one bit to the next. This derives from the concept of a turn-around, where something interesting is added at the end of a phrase. For example, many drummers will play straight time for the first 6 or 7 bars of an 8-bar phrase, and then vary the pattern for the last bar or two to wrap things up. This provides a resolution to the current phrase and sets up the next one. A fill is just an extension of this technique.

Mark a section/Keep things on track
Fills often serve as punctuation and sign posts. A drummer who consistently puts something at the end of each phrase is signaling and illustrating the song structure and moving things along.

Set up
Another important function of the drum fill is to dramatize. One of the best at this was Buddy Rich. Listen to any Buddy Rich Big Band tune and you'll hear Buddy setting up and punctuating horn lines. That is, he'll deviate from the time to draw attention to the upcoming figure, then he'll nail the figure along with the horn players. Now he’s got your attention!

Fill up space
Space is a great thing, but sometimes it helps to plug some of the holes. Listen to the Jimmie Hendrix Experience. Mitch Mitchell was a very busy drummer, and with Jimmie's spare style and only Noel Redding’s bass in his corner, Mitch almost needed to fill things out, which he did.

Dramatize
One of my favourites is Peggy Lee’s performance of “Fever” with Stan Levy on drums. Stan’s punctuation between and within phrases is about as dramatic as it gets.

Show off
Hey, we all do it. And it’s not necessarily a bad thing. All musicians show off. It’s part of the game and it can be an important addition to your entertainment factor. So go ahead and drop in an attention-getting fill once in a while. Some drummers have embraced showing off as part of their personal style, and that's OK when it suits the music.

Should enhance, not detract
It's not a good idea to add fills too often. In the early days of rock, many young drummers (and some seasoned ones as well) would add a fill every two bars! This busy style is now mostly a relic of the ‘60s, but it still appears to be a rite of passage in the early stages of the drum learning curve. The musical context will determine whether your can be free-wheeling with fills or if you should play it straight. And always watch your time (a lot of drummers speed up when playing a fill).

Sitting In

It was pretty much the shock of my professional life. We had a months-long house gig, and my drums were centre stage all the time. One evening I showed up, relaxed a bit from the drive in to the city, and got caught up with my band mates. Then it was time go on. I stepped onto the stage, sat behind my drums and promptly said, "What the ...?" Someone had been playing my drums. And not just playing them. The creep had not only moved everything, he had retuned my drums completely ...  even removed the front bass drum head which, I later noticed, had been put back on crooked.

This was the guest drummer from hell. Their band had auditioned in the afternoon, and rather than respecting our instruments, they'd just mashed things up the way they wanted. So what is the correct protocol for sitting in on someone else’s gear? That depends on the situation and extent of involvement, ranging from one or two numbers to filling in for the night. Let’s look at a few typical scenarios.

Impromptu Guest
If you've been invited on-stage for a few songs because you are something of a celebrity and/or a friend of the band, my recommendation is to change nothing. Play a couple of numbers and then bow out gracefully.

Open Stage/Jam 
Typically the drum set belongs to someone else who is generously providing it. Respect that. I only move things that I simply cannot work with or something I know will be a health hazard. For example, I sometimes sit in with certain house band. Their drummer has a cowbell mounted right where I'm inclined to thrust my right hand. So to avoid injury, I move it. Otherwise, I try to leave things alone.

Guest Set
In a situation with multiple bands sharing the same equipment, you're still expected to do your best work and you can't do that if you're uncomfortable. But you don't want to disrupt things too much. Do your best to get the drums useable as quickly as you can. I'd take along a stool and bass pedal, as these are what cause the most problems. If there's a special prop you need (e.g. a gong perhaps) take it and a stand with you.

Subbing
At the other extreme is when you're filling in for the night on a provided set. Consider carrying a survival kit consisting of: stool, bass pedal, cymbals, snare drum, and of course sticks etc. Many drummers take their snares and cymbals home, so it's good policy to take your own. Better to not adjust the tuning, and if you can't abide the snare, just use your own.

House (Backline) Kit
As with the showcase, you're expected to do your best work and since the drums are there for your convenience, do whatever you need to do to get them where you want. In this case I'd definitely take along my survival kit. Cymbals and pedals are rarely up to snuff on a house kit.

The ideal situation is the drummer with great equipment -- well set up and well-maintained -- who says, "Go ahead … adjust whatever you need to." Even so, I'd make the bare minimum of changes. And I don’t put things back. The set’s owner can do a better job more quickly than I can.

And if you’re auditioning on someone else’s set, remember the Golden Rule.

Hierarchy of Rhythmic Needs

When I sit down to play, I have five goals in mind -- not for what I want out of the music but for what the music wants out of me. Although it's usually a subconscious process, I tend to work on the following elements pretty much in this order. With any luck, I'll deliver on all five counts before the end of even the most arcane tune.

Time is #1
I'm not alone when I say that the time is the most important thing. Playing in time is our number one job. It's also the skill that separates the drum set ‘generals’ from the rank and file. Nail down the time and keep it steady and you'll always be welcome on the bandstand.

Feel
Steely Dan are notorious for going through a lot of drummers. Their monumental album “Gaucho” features 4 different drummers, and there's certainly not a slouch in the bunch. So what gives? Why request Jeff Porcaro on one tune and then switch to Bernard Purdy on the next and Steve Gadd on another? One word: Feel. Every drummer -- every musician -- feels the groove in their own personal way. Some drummers play 'high on the time', some are laid back, and some play right in the middle. BTW, these are all qualities that can be learned.

Energy
Once you have the time and feel established, you want to match your energy to the group’s energy. Keep in mind that volume and energy, though related, are not the same thing. It's possible to play very quietly and still convey a lot of energy, just as it's possible to play really loud yet without any energy.

Style
Here's an interesting thing: You can satisfy the first three items while playing just quarter notes. As long as it's in time and with the right feel and energy, it will work just fine, though it might sound a wee bit spare. So you also want to match the style of the music. If it's your 'native' genre, you'll already be well versed in the time feel and rhythmic patterns that are appropriate. A good general is willing to study other music styles -- as many of them as possible -- to be ready for any challenge that comes along.

Creativity
Finally we get to the part most of us are really interested in: When do I get have some fun and show off my skills? Well, I hope the fun will be there all of the time. As for showcasing those chops, as long as it's in service to the music, go for it. Just remember that your chops include musical chops and also a sense of taste.

And that's about it. Play good solid time, match your energy and feel to the music, learn a few suitable rhythms, and when all of that is taken care of, start bringing your personal flair to the game.

Product Review: Drum Clips

I like a fairly open sound from my drums, but invariably there always seems to be just a little too much ring or an odd harmonic I want to get rid of. So my choices in damping techniques have always been minimalistic. I wish I could get more of the Rogers clip-on dampers I picked up years ago. Similar products on offer today seem to be too ambitious -- and a poor fit with my frugal lifestyle. So when I saw The Drum Clip, I was curious to see if this little item would do the job.

The Clips are simple bits of molded semi-soft plastic, and easily clip onto a drum rim. A pad rests on the drumhead and is not adjustable. There are two sizes -- small and very small -- and each Clip comes with two stick-on pads, one felt and one foam, for three levels of damping.

I normally put a half piece of Moon Gel on my smallest tom. I swapped that out for the smaller Drum Clip and was reasonably pleased. The Clip didn't rest on the head that well, so I also tried it with the supplied damping pads. (The Clips relaxed a bit over time and made better head contact for a good result.)
I have this monster of a floor tom (14 x 14 fiberglass) and getting it under control has always been a challenge. I had a vintage Rogers damper and two moon gels on it, and it was still pretty raucous. I played around with the Drum Clips and found that the larger Clip with foam did the trick on its own.

I wanted to try the Clips because the Moon Gels were somewhat problematic. If I left them on the drums, they'd end up mashed up (or melted) in the bottom of the case or missing altogether. If I took them off and pocketed them, I'd invariably forget them next gig. The Drum Clips hold on solidly and stay where I put them. I did wonder whether they'd work with the "S-hoops" I had on my toms, but they seem almost designed for these hoops.

Drum Clips are priced at a very reasonable $6.95 and $8.95, but are often discounted. I bought mine from the creator, Keith Jones, and paid about $50 including shipping for six Clips. There is also a bass drum Clip that looks interesting.  A new product is a modified version that will accept accessories such as microphone Clips.
www.thedrumclip.com

HLAG Not Just For Girls

Hit Like A Girl was founded in 2011 by a few savvy industry pros who felt that female drummers deserved more attention from the manufacturers and perhaps from the musical community in general. The annual event -- now in its forth year -- is a 'drum-off' contest for drummers of the female persuasion, and all styles, ages and levels of ability are welcome. Hats off to TRX cymbals, DRUM! Magazine and Tom Tom magazine for finding a need and filling it.

Online info on the event's history is sparse, but what is available attests to the quality, importance and positive impact of this initiative. For example, prior to this year's contest, HLAG has had over 700 participants hailing from 42 countries. And when the current contest was launched at NAMM 2015, more than 50 women from 14 countries registered within days.

HLAG is for amateur female drummers and percussionists only. The definition of amateur is fairly generous: anyone who makes less that $30,000 (or equivalent) annually can enter. There are two broad categories -- under 18 and over 18. Winners will receive not merely drumming notoriety; there are valuable prizes to be won.

Judging is by a host of industry professionals, but there will also be fan voting during the final three weeks and, yes, guys can vote too.

This is an incredible opportunity for the participants, but contest or no contest, we drum fans will be treated to a wonderful variety of talent and style. (I spent almost an entire, very entertaining, morning watch the videos.)

Drop by the website to find out more or just to see what the girls are up to. And don't forget to vote for your favourites.

www.hitlikeagirlcontest.com

How To "Voice" A Drum

Sounds exotic, but voicing is just a style of tuning a drum. Whenever we tune a drum, we try to get even tension at every tuning lug. Voicing -- a.k.a. ‘tap tuning’ -- goes a step further by micro-adjusting the tension.

Begin with an evenly tensioned drum tuned to your desired pitch. Then put the drum on a soft surface -- I'm assuming a double-headed drum here. (Your drum stool might be ideal for this, and if you loosen the seat mounting screw, it will serve as a swivel table). Putting the drum on a soft surface eliminates the bottom head from the process and brings out the overtones in the accessible head. For a single-headed drum, put it on a carpet.

Now the interesting bit. Place a fingertip lightly on the centre of the drum head and tap the head about 1 inch from one of the tension rods. You'll get something of a 'ping' sound. Then -- keeping that finger in the middle of the head -- tap the tension rod's neighbour. Is it the same pitch? If so you can move on. Otherwise tension the rods until both spots ring the same pitch. Continue around the drum, back and forth between lugs, until all the lugs are voiced correctly. You can then flip the drum over and repeat on the other head.

The voicing process is not always necessary, but for a temperamental drum it can be just the thing to tame the sound. The technique will work on any drum, and it’s easy to do and easy to replicate.

On A Roll

How many types of drum roll are there? Most people would say 2 or 3, and for practical purposes this will work. But there are several distinct types of roll, all of which can be useful.

Single Stroke
This is not just a type of roll. Often it's the core of everything we do. Simple ‘RLRLRLRL’ can go a long way, but to technically be classed as a roll it's best played quickly on a single drum and drawn out for a bit.

Double Stroke
A.k.a. the long roll or ‘mama dada’ roll, this one calls for two distinct strokes from each stick. It’s also the basis of a host of short rolls. It sounds simple enough, but a good long roll is not that easy to find, though there's not much call for it in popular music.

French Roll
Whether of French origin or not, this one simply adds another stroke to the long roll, i.e.: Rrr Lll Rrr Lll. Playing three clear stroke with each hand takes some practice and, like the long roll, it’s not seen much outside of drum clinics and show-off moments.

Buzz Roll
There's some confusion over this one. The buzz roll is played by deftly pressing the tip of the stick into the head slightly and producing a smooth, clear, controlled buzz sound. So bzzz/bzzz/bzzz/buzz. There should be no gaps between the strokes, resulting in a continuous, even roll. Also called a press roll and, wrongly, a closed roll.

Scratch Roll
At best it's an interesting accent; at worst it's an unpleasant noise. In this case the sticks are forced into the head to produce an abrupt ‘bzzzt’. Depending on the context, it can be an indication of creativity or a sign of bad technique, and no way to do a buzz roll.

Whipped Cream Roll
My personal favourite (for the obvious gustatory reason) this is a standard buzz roll, but instead of moving the sticks up and down, you execute a circular motion as if whipping cream in a bowl. When well done, it produces a wonderfully clean and elegant roll. And it looks pretty cool.

Chatter Strokes
This is a specialized type of buzz, usually played with a single stick on the snare. The idea is to play a buzz, but with very distinct notes, perhaps 4 or 5. Very popular in New Orleans ‘second line’ drumming and blast beats.


These basic rolls require a lot of practice to master, and it will be time well spent. Well-executed rolls can really spice up your playing.

Game Changers: "Little Giant" - Chick Webb (1905 - 1939)

I thought it might be fun, from time to time, to profile some of the great drummers, the true originals. It's a long list so I'll keep it brief.

Although barely more than four feet tall (a result of spinal tuberculosis as a child), William Henry “Chick” Webb was one of the most powerful and influential drummers of his era ... the ‘John Bonham of Swing’ if you will.

Chick Webb originally took up drums with the idea that it might improve his flexibility. He played his first professional gig at age 11, and by age 17 was a full-time pro. Webb eventually formed his own band, under his own name, which went on to become one the top bands of the swing era. The orchestra handily defeated all comers at the famous Savoy Ballroom “Battle of the Big Bands”, including the Duke Ellington and Count Basie bands.

Buddy Rich, Gene Krupa and Louie Bellson all pointed to Webb as a major influence. Rich in particular studied Webb’s technique closely. But Webb's influence reached far beyond mere drumming. He was a consummate showman, and one of the first drummers to use a drum riser which, along with his fiery solos, raised the public's awareness of the star power of drummers. He continually added components to his drum set, making him a pioneer in extended sets. He was also a master of dynamics, polyrhythms and 'power fills'. As a band leader, he aggressively pursued gigs through the Depression to ensure his band members had work.

There are, unfortunately, few recordings of Webb's playing and music, but the recordings that do exist show him at his finest. Check out:

• “A Tisket A Tasket”, with Ella Fitzgerald, a member of Webb’s band from 1935 until Webb’s death in to 1939.
• “Stompin' at the Savoy”, a collection of 4 CDs.
• A video documentary of  Webb, titled ”The Savoy King”, is also available (see http://savoyking.com).

I Meet Up with a Drum Buillder

What happens when two veteran drum geeks get together over coffee? Well, any idea of an organized interview goes out the window and instead they end up discussing the finer points of shell thickness and bearing edge design.

I recently sat down with Paul Dickinson, proprietor and chief drum builder at Udrum (the Underground Drum company), in Burlington Ontario. Paul has been building custom drums for a little over 20 years, and there's not much that he hasn't seen or tried when it comes to drum technology.

Paul's goal as a custom drum builder is simply to create "the last drums you'll ever buy". An admirable mission (and, given most drummers' propensity for collecting, probably not attainable). But if you're in the market for an instrument that fits you like tailor-made clothes, custom drums like Paul’s makes may be the answer.

I thought my own drum vision would be impossible to realize: this finish, those sizes, re-rings or no ... it's a fairly long and precise list. Paul's response was, "Looks good,"  as in  ’no problem’.

What sets a custom drum apart from the mainstream is that it can be tailored to your wants and needs from the ground up. My dilemma is whether to buy a vintage kit and spent  a couple of hundred dollars bringing it up to date, or for a few dollars more have drums built that would give me exactly what I was looking for. One of Paul's strengths is that, along with building drums, he's a player and a drum tech,  and he's been repairing and restoring drums for many years. So he knows what the vintage drums are all about. He also works with some of the major drum companies, and is familiar with how they do things these days. And so he can replicate just about any sound and configuration you’re looking for, including vintage types.

Like the majority of drum builders, Paul uses off-the-shelf parts, including the shells.  Some of the major companies do the same. And Paul isn’t limited to one source. If it exists, there's a good chance he can get it. But if all that choice is to much to cope with, Paul has a short list of quality components that meet his exacting needs.

I've seen and played Paul’s drums and they are magnificent -- among the best I've heard. As for the price, expect it to be below what you'd pay for other top-of-the-line sets. And for the record, Paul’s bearing edges are works of art.

You can find out more at the Udrum Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/UDRUM (udrum.com).

Living with hearing damage - Part III

“Grandpa, time for dinner.”
…
“GRANDPA. TIME FOR DINNER.”
…
“GRANDPA. TIME FOR DINNER!”

“You don’t need to shout. I’m not deaf you know.”

Well, actually grandpa is deaf. He also suffers from a condition called recruitment. And he’s not alone. Most people with hearing loss have recruitment, whether that hearing loss is from noise damage or normal wear and tear. Recruitment is both a marvel and a menace, and dreadfully difficult to understand. It can also be a challenge to live with.

When the hearing cells in a certain region of the cochlea have died off, they can no longer capture and process sound. When sounds in the damaged range hit the ear, the hearing mechanism does a wondrous thing: it recruits other cells to help out. Trouble is, those cells are already working full time interpreting sounds in their own range. The result is that the recruited cells have to put out more energy. The more cells that are recruited, the more energy created and the more the cells are overworked. Hence the impression that the sound is abnormally loud. In extreme cases, the recruited cells will also push the ear into pain.

Dead hearing cells stay dead. Your hearing in that range stays dead as well. And if this hearing loss is accompanied by recruitment, then the recruitment is also permanent. There is no solution other than to keep those sounds away from the ear or within limits that don’t cause distress. In my own case, I have “profound” damage in the region from 2400hz to 3000hz. Sometimes this is called a ‘hi-hat hole’, and for good reason. A hi-hat puts out a lot of energy in this range and is usually just inches from a drummer’s head. I have hi-hat damage in both ears, though less so on the non-hi-hat side. (I attribute the damage there to a succession of screaming lead guitar players, to remain un-named -- but it was very nearly worth it to have played with those people.)

So, what can we do about this?

Unfortunately, there are not many options. Recruitment is permanent and may worsen as more hearing cells die off with age. The only treatment is to prevent sounds from reaching the affected area of the inner ear. This can be tricky. If the damage is in a critical area, such as the area responsible for hearing speech, then cutting off these sounds can have unfortunate consequences. But we don't need to go to drastic lengths here. You may be able to live quite nicely by adopting a quiet lifestyle. I went from professional drummer to computer programmer, working with nice, quiet computers. Not my first choice, but I wasn’t in a position to argue.

You can also get ear moulds that filter out certain frequency ranges. It's not a very flexible approach but it might be sufficient. Ear moulds can be a bit pricy but are well worth it if they help you get through the day without distress. Think of the initial cost as about a dollar a day – less than your daily hit of latté.

Living with hearing damage - Part II

When I was first diagnosed at the Musicians Clinics of Canada years ago, one of the terms thrown out was hyperacusis. It simply means a hypersensitivity to sound (or anything else, actually). It's as if the whole world's volume control, normally set at 3 or 4, has been jacked up to 5 or 6. The cause is unknown, although people with tinnitus frequently complain of hyperacusis as well.

I tend to think of it as possibly unrelated to noise exposure. I frequently found my snare drum too sharp sounding, and I always sought out quieter gigs. Lately I've taken to cutting the labels out of my shirts because they drive me nuts. I guess I’ve always been a sensitive guy. But let's get back to the ear thing.

Again the people at the Tinnitus Centre shed light on this for me. Like tinnitus, hyperacusis is mainly a benign, stable, non-life-threatening condition. That doesn't mean it can't be bothersome or even distressing. It's also a condition that can feed off itself. That leads me to two other conditions: phonophobia and misophonia.

Misophonia is a dislike of a sound. Interesting, but hardly a problem – I just thought I'd throw it in to keep things scientific. Phonophobia is a fear of sound. Neither ailment seems like it might be relevant to a musician, but they can trigger a snowball effect.

If you are concerned about your ears -- perhaps you have a bit of tinnitus or hyperacusis, or you’re finding certain sounds uncomfortable lately -- you may have decided to take a proactive approach and protect your ears from routine sounds. It seems like a good theory, but your ears are self-regulating, and they can't do that if they're detached from reality. If you habitually wear hearing protectors in ordinary circumstances because you're afraid of harming your hearing, you are conditioning your ears to live in a quieter world. In effect, you're teaching your system to have hyperacusis.

The treatment for hyperacusis is to reaccustom the ears to normal sounds. If you are disturbed by normal sounds, try slowly reintroducing sound into your life. Put the earplugs away when you're in a quiet place. Try to go without them for ten minutes, half an hour, an hour. Work your way up to the point that you only need the plugs for extremely noisy situations. Even then they may not be necessary. I sat through half a Jeff Beck concert before I realized I didn’t have my earplugs in, at which point I figured, why not just enjoy it?

Here's an important tip: If you decide to try using sound to 'recondition' your hearing and you have tinnitus, make sure you can always hear your tinnitus. Do not use sound therapy to mask the tinnitus. Although it cannot make your tinnitus worse, it can interfere with your brain’s ability to cope with it.

Living with hearing damage - Part I

Now that I’ve decided to ‘come out’ about my hearing issues, a lot of people have been asking me for some insight. It seems I’m not the only one who has paid a price for playing too loud for too long. And let’s face it, you will have a tough time finding a musician who has not had at least some hearing damage; it’s a risk of the trade. So I thought I’d spend a bit of time sharing what I’ve learned about what can go wrong and what can be done about it. There is some good news and some not so good news, but I think the most important thing is to be armed with accurate information so you know what you’re dealing with.

First up: Tinnitus (TIN -i-tus)

Tinnitus is defined as any sort of a sound than you can hear but is not caused by an external source (that’s my own definition; the specialists are still arguing about the technical minutia and are using words even weirder than ‘minutia’). Tinnitus can range from a short-lived ringing that lasts just a few seconds, never to return, to a sheet metal works living inside your head. It can be caused by a variety of things including certain diseases and drugs as well as head injuries. It also seems to be tightly linked to noise exposure.

The range of potential phantom noises is quite something. I remember once going from room to room looking for a radio someone had left on – it was playing oldies from the late 50s – only to discover that it was in fact my tinnitus. Sports professionals talk about freight trains, bells and explosions, but more often it comes down to a simple ring or hiss.

Medical professionals, for the most part, have no clue. They fall back on two remedies: live with it or cover it up. Well, it’s easy for someone who doesn’t have it to tell someone else to live with it. The other ‘solution’ is to hide it under designer noise. One audiologist I visited early on in my venture prescribed masking devices. Looking like hearing aids, they would be tuned to my tinnitus and then produce a noise that would block out the ringing. And they cost a mere $400 each. On the way home that day, I stopped at Canadian Tire and bought a $20 fan that produced enough sound to ‘mask’ my tinnitus enough to let me sleep.

Incidentally, that fan was a great revelation. I later wrote an article for a tinnitus newsletter about the fan and my take on why it worked. The sound it produced was nowhere near loud enough to block out the noise, but it did give my brain something else to focus on, and that was the gist of my article. What I also got from the article, and my brief subscription to the newsletter, was that focussing on the tinnitus was actually a large part of the problem.

So my solution has been to try to ignore it. Doesn’t sound like much of solution, but it turns out to be the core of a successful tinnitus treatment. Tinnitus Retraining Therapy (TRT) attacks the problem by teaching the brain to focus on something else. I won’t go into details here, but the retraining helps the brain rediscover how to ignore sounds that don’t matter, and to apply it to the tinnitus. The Tinnitus Centre in the UK reports an 80% success rate, so it may be worth looking into.

I think the main message I want to get across here is that tinnitus is a permanent condition, but it is not a death sentence. It also is not a degenerative disease. If you are no longer mistreating your hearing, there is no reason your tinnitus should get any worse. While saying ‘live with it’ may sound facetious, it really is the only option. Most of the people I’ve talked to are bothered by their tinnitus, and often their degree of distress is as much a problem as the tinnitus itself. If they can find a way to not worry about it, things will improve. The one piece of advice I can give is this: Don’t hide from every day sounds. They give you something else to focus on.

And when the tinnitus is bothersome, maybe it’s time to head to Canadian Tire.
-rb