There's some very hip stuff in those old traditions

I've never been involved in any sort of military drumming ... just not my thing. But I've studied enough rudiments and drum theory to know what it's about. And while I may not want to play in this style, I get a real kick out of listening to it and especially from watching how it’s done. I think some of the greatest drum technicians and entertainers around are to be found in the military tradition.

Two main features of drum corps playing are incredible chops and an extreme team approach to the job at hand (all while maximizing showmanship). Note also that these bands play long orchestrations, and they do it flawlessly -- and from memory. Not a bad policy for any sort of activity.

Another feature of corps drumming is that each style of marching band has a tradition that ranges from fairly modern to downright ancient. Go see a military tattoo these days and you'll see rudimental bands playing tunes by Michael Jackson, Led Zeppelin or Daft Punk. Originally an attempt to attract a new audience by trying to appear more hip, this has evolved into a tradition of its own alongside the rudimental displays.

Many rudimental orchestras seem to concentrate on being nothing short of astounding. If you've not done so already, check out the Top Secret Drum Corps (topsecretdrumcorps.com) or the Blue Devils (bluedevils.org). If you’re a fan of excellence in any form, you’re bound to love this stuff.

One of my favourites is Basel drumming (Basel Switzerland is home of Top Secret Drum Corps). At least 500 years old, this style is unlike anything you've heard before. While they play many of the standard rudiments, they frequently throw in things that seem to have come from another planet. And always while wearing a traditional Fasnacht Festival mask (tinyurl.com/jk3xehs).

Last but certainly not least, these players have incredible technique, usually achieved through years of intensive study and training. And a lot of that training is on view any time on YouTube and elsewhere. I especially like Scott Johnson’s hand development clips (check out scojopercussion.com).

So even if it's not your thing, spend some time checking out drums corps. At the very least, you'll be impressed.

Drum Making in the 21st Century

The modern drum set is approaching its 100th anniversary. When I say ‘modern’ I'm thinking of the full complement of drums ... the assemblage of cymbals, hardware and paraphernalia that didn't exist before, say, the 1930s. It's interesting that what must be the oldest instrument known to mankind has taken so long to perfect. And there's still room for improvement.

So the way I see it, there are no rules and no one way. Just look at the proliferation of snare drums, cymbals, bass pedals and custom drums on offer these days. And even though there appears to be enough variety to satisfy every drummer and every situation, the companies, big and small, just keep coming up with more.

Part of this is in response to the ever-changing nature of music. New music often requires new sounds, and players are always looking for new sounds. And then there are the old sounds, the ones that used to be in favour years ago. Note the number of new cymbal lines branded as "vintage".

These changes are driven partly by need, partly by fashion, and partly by technology. It's much easier today to create new products. For example, when cymbals were made totally by hand, a new model might take weeks or months to develop. Today automated cymbal factories can churn out prototypes in a matter of hours. True, it might take a while to get it just right, but the process is a lot less painful.

We're also seeing so-called custom drum brands popping up all over the globe. Anyone can purchase quality parts on-line and create drums in a workspace no bigger than a walk-in closet.

The result of all this is that we drummers can choose from an astounding array of options and at any price point. Anything goes. And in general, the quality of the products is as high as it's ever been. The only downside that I can see is that we can't "have it all". Where would we put it?

Stay On Track With A Practice Matrix

It's a problem as old as human existence: How do we keep track of all the things we need to do and how do we make sure they get done without getting overwhelmed or confused or losing items through the cracks?

Entire industries have grown up around this problem, but so far I've yet to see a formalized system for easily setting and staying on a drum practice schedule. I've tried a number of methods, and whether it's for practicing my instrument or managing the rest of my somewhat chaotic life, it sometimes seems like a lost cause.

Lately I've turned to a system I used back in university to manage research papers, and which I've kept using whenever I need to manage a lot of disparate items: 3 x 5 cards. It really began just as a means to jot down practice ideas. Then the cards began to stack up. So I punched holes in them and put them on a ring. I could then page through the cards while working on the various ideas.

For example, here's my card layout for “4-Way Coordination: A Method Book for the Development of Complete Independence on the Drum Set” by Marvin Dahlgren and Elliot Fine.

Each time I practice a pair of exercises (there are 2 on each line), I put a tick on the card. In this case I want to work through the early material fairy quickly, so I'll do each exercise pair 10 times then move on to the next. There's room on the card for pages 5 and 6 for a total of 80 days of practice!

Here's another for ‘Basic Rock Beats’. The rows represent a bass drum pattern and the columns are ride patterns.

Let's say I practice each figure for five minutes a day and spend a half hour on a row or column. It will take 6 days to play every pattern on the card. If my goal is to play each one 10 times, that gives me 60 days worth of practicing on a single 3 x 5 card. On a card like this, I might work on a single column or a single row or once through the entire card until I've racked up my objective. 

I now keep a few blank cards with me at all times, and when I have a new idea I put it on a card.
Later I'll add the card to the stack. When I'm completely done working with a card, I pull it from the stack and file it.

As I worked with this simple method, a number of unexpected benefits emerged. First, there is no need to copy from one page to the next as when using a notebook.  I can also pick and choose cards according to mood. 

The great news is that I feel less pressured when working with the cards. I attribute this to the tight focus of what's on the card. Instead of a full page of 'expectations', I have just the one thing in front of me and that helps me to 'be in the moment' and to not feel intimidated by all the things I'm not working on. I can also see my progress more readily as I work on new things. Instead of the feeling of "When will I ever accomplish this", I get satisfaction from seeing those tick marks add up.


I'm calmer, more relaxed, and my practice sessions seem to go by rather quickly. Often I've turned over a card to find myself back at the beginning of the stack, yet feeling that I've spent hardly any time at it!

Man Vs. Machine: Ever Closer

Musicians have argued for years whether accurate metre as played by a drum machine or with a click track could swing. I've always felt that a good machine-generated rhythm was pretty cool; I've programmed some rather funky stuff on a drum machine -- stuff that actually cooked. And what about sampled beats? They seem to be doing a good job in a lot of situations. Well, somebody finally decided to look into it, and it turns out people do prefer rhythms that breathe … human rhythms.

Here’s the story.

Researchers played music for groups of subjects and then asked them how much they ‘liked’ the rhythm. In one group, the drum part was played by a drummer; in another test group, the same rhythm was played by a drum machine. Although subjects could not quantify their answers, they somewhat preferred the 'real' drummer.

A lot of people will say, "Of course, what did you expect?" Thing is, the subjects liked the drum machine just fine, and their preference for ‘real’ drums was not that dramatic.

Another aspect of the study was to allow the music to 'breathe'. The researchers re-programmed their drum machine to throw in subtle time variations. The subjects weren't swayed much by this wrinkle, still preferring the live stuff. But they also preferred the breathing drum machine to the non-breathing variety.

So can we close the book on the man versus machine argument? Definitely not. There are music styles that can only be played by real musicians, and there are styles that really are best handled by a drum machine.

Now I will always opt for a real drummer, but I see no problem with a mechanized substitute if it makes sense. I'm pretty sure I'd not want to see a jazz band with a drum machine, but in other situations a machine might be just the thing. I guess as long as we do right by the music and the audience, it doesn’t matter what the solution is, just as long as it works.

For a summary of the experiment, visit:

http://www.tut.fi/en/about-tut/news-and-events/researchers-from-tampere-uncover-the-secret-behind-drumming-legend-jeff-porcaro-s-groove-p095642c2

"Stop Screwing Around"

Good advice at any time … and it's also the slogan of "pinchClips", a new gadget for keeping your cymbals in place.

It's surprising how often complicated problems have simple solutions. Take the ubiquitous cymbal stand wing nut. They're economical, very effective, and have been around since day one. But wing nuts have a dark side. Aside from always rolling under the bass drum when dropped, they are slow and finicky to work with. The commercial solutions that I've seen thus far have all been expensive and rather complicated. I think the pinchClip is going to change all that, and for about the same price as a wing nut.

Actually I'd been thinking about such a device myself, something in the way of a binder clip that fits on a cymbal stand. Well that's sort of what the pinchClip is, but it’s even simpler -- and very elegant. It looks a bit like a hair clip and fits over the threaded rod of a cymbal stand with a quick squeeze and release.

Here's how it works:

1. Remove wing nut
2. Squeeze pinchClip and put it on the stand
(Optional: Retrieve wing nut from under bass drum.)

And that’s it.

I gave the clips a pretty good workout and they stayed put (although I can’t vouch for how they’d stand up under very heavy playing). But that's not the real issue. With the pinchClips, tear-down of my cymbals now takes seconds, not minutes. (I actually timed it: 8 seconds.)

I only see two potential issues. If you like to crank down wing nuts as tight as possible, the pinchClip won't do that -- but that’s a good thing. Also, they can make a tiny clicking sound under some conditions. Not a real problem most of the time, but it might be an issue in, for example, a recording studio. I can't attest for how they'll behave under bezerk bashing and that's all I'll say about that.

I've switched over both my teaching and gigging sets to pinchClips because I've been wanting this sort of solution for a very long time. I’m also tired of searching for wing nuts in dark rooms.

www.pinch-clip.com

It's a Poor Workman Who Blames His Tools

Shortly after I bought a set of budget tabla, I came across an important bit of advice: Do not buy cheap tabla; it's too hard to get a sound and you will be quickly discouraged. OK, there are other reasons my tabla playing is seriously limited, but the sound quality of the cheap drums dampened my enthusiasm. Still, we ought not to blame our tools for a job poorly done.

Even marginal drums and cymbals can produce usable sounds. Of course drums are easier than cymbals as they can be retuned and you can try different heads and various damping approaches. With cymbals, you just have to go digging around. There are lots of sounds in there and while it may not be your ideal choice, there should be at least one that will be suitable.

On the other hand, quality tools are always a joy. When I was first acquiring professional grade drums, I thought in terms of a small business. For example, if I were starting a pizzeria, should I look around for a cheap beater of a pizza oven or should I invest in the best quality? If I want the best quality results, I need to start with quality ‘ingredients’. Many of my musical peers back in the day complained about their instruments and were apparently jealous of my 'good fortune'. But I noticed that they all drove fine cars, took frequent vacations, and other niceties. That was their priority. Mine was to improve the standard of my 'business' by investing in quality tools. The vacations could wait.

The investment paid off both practically and emotionally. My drums were easy to set up and easy to tune, and they stayed in place and in tune throughout the gig. They looked and sounded great and were easy to play, and that was a constant source of joy. There's nothing worse than trying to cope with poor sounding drums that require constant tweaking and adjusting. And if they're ugly as well? Let's not go there.

Good sound leads to less frustration, less frustration makes me happier, and a happier me is a better me -- one who is more likely to play well and to get asked back.

Buying Vintage Drums

Have you ever heard a great drum sound on a classic recording and then become obsessed with that sound? Have you perhaps dreamed of owning a set of Gene Krupa Slingerlands, Buddy Rich Rogers, John Bonham Ludwigs, or Tony Williams Gretsch? To argue the issue of vintage vs. new might be an interesting exercise, but the bottom line is: Vintage drums are very cool and easy to love.

So if you've decided you just have to have some vintage drums, there are a few things you should know before shelling out a heap of money.

The vintage drum market is alive and well. In fact, it's perhaps too healthy, to the point that there are loads of fake vintage drums showing up on sites such as eBay, Craigslist and Kijiji. So it might be wise to stick with drums that you can actually see and touch.

Assuming the drums are genuine, give them a thorough visual inspection. How's the finish? Is it intact or will the drums need refinishing or recovering? Do the drums match? Are all the parts there? Are the parts genuine and original or have substitutions been made or parts improvised? How are the plated parts? Are they free from rust or is the plating worn away, pitted or peeling? Are there any extra holes? You can't expect a 50-60 year old set to look new, but they should at least look cared for, and anything substandard will affect the value and therefore the price.

You may want to evaluate the sound of the drums, but this is very subjective. More to the point is whether they can be easily tuned. That means you need to check the bearing edges for trueness and that they are free from cracks, dents and damage. Make sure the hoops are round and that there are no bends or other damage such as can happen when a drum is dropped (this applies to metal shells as well). Do modern heads sit on the shell and under the hoops properly? Can you tune the drums to where you want them or are there issues with the casings or tension rods?

Other areas require a more experienced eye, and still others look a lot worse than they are. Cracked or chipped pearl wraps can be fixed or replaced quite easily. Reinforcing rings and loose plies can be reglued. Water damage, on the other hand, can be a kiss of death.

As for price, there are some huge bargains available if you're willing to search them out. Otherwise, expect to pay what you'd pay for a new set of comparable quality (and perhaps significantly more).

And that’s about all you need to know. So get out there and start looking for that classic set you've been longing for all these years.