Thoughts for Musicians on Thanksgiving (originally published on 11/23/2023)

Taking a minute to express gratitude as a musician on thanksgiving.

• Playing music is an honor and a privilege. Everybody does not have a craft to feel so dedicated and passionate about. Be grateful for the opportunity to create and share your art. If you do it for a living, be grateful to have a career that is lead by your art and creativity.

• If your family has been supportive of your music, celebrate that. I was fortunate enough to have parents who allowed me to pursue my interests and not question the outcome. I realize not everyone is that lucky. Now I have a spouse who supports my career without question and whom I could not continue this journey without. It has made all the difference in my life.

• Your network of friends make it possible to do what you do. Express gratitude for them. It’s no surprise that the very people who you share the stage with are also the people you are getting pizza with at 1am and texting throughout the day. Your friends understand you and are going through it alongside you. Your friends are also creating opportunities for you to work, whether directly or indirectly. Though music can be made alone, it’s best when it’s shared.

• Humility is probably one of music’s greatest teachers. The continual journey to develop your musical voice and expression is endless. It’s empowering to know that the destination of music is a lifelong search and that it’s marked by small wins along the way. Exciting to see where passion leads.

365 Days of Drumming

365 Days of Drumming

Leading into January 1, 2023, I decided that I would make a goal to play drums everyday for 15 minutes minimum after reading a phenomenal post by organist Wil Blades (check him out if you aren’t already hip) that spoke about how important regular practice is. In the post he mentioned how Louie Bellson would play every day or if he had a travel day and couldn’t get to the drums he’d at least hold the sticks. There was a lot of power in that statement when he said “just hold the sticks”, making me change my perspective that practicing had to be this very dedicated thing with all of my equipment and time available. Around the same time I was also seeing posts by my student’s mom who was doing a daily practice with roller skating where she would roller skate, even in her house on rainy or cold days, to try and promote mental wellbeing and happiness. She would post a short video and day count in a form of journaling. Both of these factors really got me thinking about how at no point in my life have I ever played drums on a daily basis. Surely there were weeks where I’d play every day but a lot of time I’d take days off, maybe more than one in a row, maybe longer. Though I enjoy practicing and playing immensely, I had only really practiced when I had time, or thought I had time, to do so. All of that changed this past year.

Some things you do every day without thinking twice about it. Things that take much longer than fifteen minutes of your time. Even things you could do without like checking social media (unless that’s your job). I heard the great jazz drummer and teacher Michael Carvin say “try to practice every day for 5 minutes. I bet you can’t do it.” He was absolutely right. It’s super hard to just get that done. To clarify, I’m not talking about jamming or just kind of improvising on the drums for 5 minutes, but 5 solid minutes of focused and dedicated work. It’s really much more difficult and hard to find time for than you’d think. On the other hand, check your screen time report on your phone and I’d guarantee it’s more of a priority situation (raises hand). Well that is what I sent out to do; play every day for fifteen minutes or longer, in a dedicated practice session. If it was a gig day, I’d warm up pre-gig and not practice. On other days it would range from the 15 minute minimum on the pad to maybe 1.5-2 hours of drum set practice if time allowed. A few times I’d be traveling and didn’t have a full rig. I found myself playing through rudiments on a carpeted floor, playing brushes on a coffee table, or hitting wrist strokes on a pillow in a hotel room. It all still mattered. 

Once I decided to go on this path, I assumed there would be challenges but I wasn’t sure exactly what they would look like. Here are the obstacles I found myself up against. First was remembering to practice. Some days I just got busy and realized as I was getting ready to go to bed that I had not played for the 15 minute minimum. Those nights I’d end up running through a warm up and some rudiments or snare studies and calling it quits. Eventually that turned into setting a timer on my phone to go off at 9:45pm saying “did you play today?”. The next problem was planning when to practice. On days I’m in the teaching studio there are breaks built in where I can get practice time in but on the weekends I found it a lot harder to find time for a practice session. I had to think ahead for the day when I might be able to manage my daily session. One night I fell asleep putting my daughter to bed and I woke up about 45 minutes later and dragged myself to the practice pad (was not a great practice session tbh). Other days I would have a lunch break between students for an hour, so I’d eat for 30 minutes and practice for 30. The third and probably biggest challenge was playing when I didn’t want to. This past year was full of big ups and downs.  If there was negativity around drumming (which I sometimes struggle with - not getting into that here) I found that I had to talk myself into practicing those days. Days where it would have been easier to just say forget about it. The interesting discovery I had; once I got started I would not want to stop. Oddly enough, the days I had the hardest time picking up the sticks were generally rewarded with a great practice session where a lot of the anxieties I felt seemed to disappear through music. 

So what was gained? Learned? Was it worth it? There were some major advantages to going through this process. The most resonating one one is the connection I feel to my instrument. During the pandemic I really lost a certain comfort level on the drums because so much time went by between gigs and practicing sprees, when I did get back to playing it felt distant and clumsy. It seemed as though I was trying to start my car on a below freezing morning; I could do it but not without great reluctance. Fast forward to today, I just feel like I’m picking up where I left off before and my touch and foundation are mostly available to me - a key factor in smoothing out the improvisation process. The second major learning moment for me was pushing through the hard days when I didn’t want to. It helped me realize how much I genuinely love and care about this craft as well as how healing time with music can be. Without getting into the artist conundrum of when your stress release in life is also your line of work, it is amazing to feel the effect of putting on a recording of some favorite music and snapping out of the mood you were in. One of the ways I was able to combat the issue of not wanting to practice on certain days was changing the dialogue from “I’m not in the mood to practice right now” to a much healthier mindset of “this is what I do, and it’s realistic and necessary for me to keep my facility on this instrument.” A final realization was a road block that practice sessions had to be an hour or more. I realized that it was much more beneficial to practice only 15 minutes a day rather than 2 hour blocks once or twice a week. Maybe read that one again. It’s about daily effort, however small that may be. There aren’t any shortcuts in this field, but I’m not saying that an 8 hour practice session is always beneficial either. I have learned that while I love playing for extended periods of time, my own ability to focus and grow or develop a skill is limited to a shorter window of time. That might be different for you. As for the final question - was it worth it? Absolutely. In fact I didn’t stop the day after I hit my year goal, and I plan to continue, maybe I’ll take a break eventually. Gregory Hutchinson said many times “no days off!” and we all know what an absolute master he is. I heard that when you reach a milestone or complete a goal it’s a good idea to do something nice for yourself. I did order a new stick back as a treat for hitting the mark, but I needed one anyway…

One of the greatest accomplishments of this year was finally completing the goal of being able to play through Alan Dawson’s Rudimental Ritual from memory. I had started this over 10 years ago, gotten up to the Swiss rudiments memorized, then could not seem to get over the hump of memorizing the last few sections. Although I could read through it at a decent tempo, it took practicing every day and making it a priority that in the summer of 2023 I played through the entire ritual for the first time by memory. That alone was a major developmental leap for me, but now is a consistent and wonderful way to explore the language and techniques of the drums. Furthermore, I was able to stay focused and set goals that could reasonably be accomplished, make note of them, and move on. When you don’t practice regularly it becomes apparent that goals are more like wishes, sometimes even chronic negative views you keep on your own playing rather than things you are able to fix. 

In closing, it was a real learning experience, a valuable playing experience, and a healthy habit which has been established. I’m looking forward to what the future of practice will bring and the changes that will come with it. 

How to Practice (For One Hour!)

Introduction

How do you practice? Were you ever given practice lessons? What about methods on how to break up your time when in a practice room? As musicians, we are all different learners and require a unique process to achieve progress or maintenance in the practice room. I find often that most people who practice are working off of habits, not goals, and certainly not thinking ahead of how to improve their time spent. What is better? An hour spent practicing intentionally or 8 hours spent jamming mindlessly on chops and speed? Obviously an hour spent intentionally with your practice materials is better. But what do you do when you get into the practice room? Start the piece and play until you make a mistake then start over again? As I’ve said again and again, you will be great at starting the piece, and probably lose quality over the duration of the performance. We have learned these practice techniques over years of trial and error, or possibly the feeling of a need to accomplish a certain element of the music in a specified period of time. As a result, we cram our learning, focusing on the big picture before adding the dynamics, nuance, and artistry into the pieces we are working on. In the following writing, I hope you will discover a new method of practicing that can improve your overall playing, as well as increase what you get out of your time spent, hopefully allowing you more time out of the practice room too!

How to Practice for One Hour

Let’s say you have an hour to practice and it is not for something that is mandatory to be learned immediately. Where do you start? Jump right into the piece you are preparing and you may feel uninspired to do any more than get through it. Play for fun and you will maintain skills but not learn anything new. Mastering practice is all about breaking up your time into categories that cover the scope of your study, being sure to leave room for maintenance, sharpening of a skill, as well as discovery and creating something new. Focusing on the smaller picture, a two bar phrase that is troublesome, getting a piece finished before your lesson tomorrow, or checking boxes will leave you feeling stuck in a rut. Music is living and breathing. Your art needs nourished, it can not work all the time, nor can it be on vacation too long without suffering in some way. I truly believe that your practice is incomplete if not given a chance to be challenged, work, play, relax, and be creative. Without these elements burnout is inevitable.

Areas of practice; Warm up, Fundamentals, Exploration, Specific Area of Study

In the current age, glorification of 30 seconds worth of technical and fast playing is prevalent. Fads in music come and go, strong core fundamentals and musicianship never fail.

Warm up: Something simple and slow. A proper warm up should be just that, not something that tests and challenges your endurance, tempo, or brain. It should simply prepare your body to play music. Since it is not safe to jump directly into any physical activity, this will help you set an atmosphere for music making as well as prepare your limbs and mind for what you are about to do.

Fundamentals: What are the core movements, vocabulary, and techniques used in your performance? This is the space to work on these elements. Some will play rudiments, scales, basic strokes, and long tones. Daily care of your fundamentals is similar to that of your dental hygiene routine. When left unchecked, can ultimately lead to break down of your teeth and gums. Blazing through the fundamentals does not reinforce anything good in your playing, and in some ways can just close the window on your attention to detail. Take your time and zoom in on the specific elements of your playing. Give them love and attention and be honest with yourself.

Independence: One of the characteristic traits of being a drummer is having the ability to play multiple things at once. Whole books and teaching styles have been dedicated to things like four-way coordination and one’s ability to hold ostinato patters alongside a moving melody line. To me, independence is not the end-all of your practice time, but there are a lot of advantages to being able to comfortably play multiple rhythms at once amongst the limbs. To challenge this in the practice room and try things more difficult than you may need will ultimately help make your grooving feel easier too. Practice past the level you need to perform.

Authenticity/Specific Area of Study: Now is the chance to work on the specifics. A piece you want to learn, a genre of music you are interested in, a technique that is not part of your ability. Since you are warmed up and have a clear head space, this will serve as the moment to focus. Know what you are practicing before you start and set goals for what you’d like to accomplish that are reasonable.

Practice Tips:

Below you will find some of the best lessons I have to offer for your practicing. The keys to success are deciding what fits into each segment of your practice and enhancing them with the following;

1.    Set an intention before you practice. You have probably decided what the first two categories will consist of but be sure to decide before you get to the creative and specific areas of study so you do not waste time later.

2.    Be consistent. Study similar materials for a week or two, maybe longer if needed. Jumping from one thing to another will not reinforce anything in your playing other than being disorganized.

3.    Lose the ego and perceived audience. Allow yourself to sound terrible if it is in the spirit of growing. When you play what you already know, you are just polishing something that is already shining. Work on the rough areas slowly. Don’t feel pressured by what your peers are doing or that you need to share with the world what you are doing. Keep your head down and stay dedicated to your own craft.

4.    Whatever you do, play it slow first!

5.    Dynamics are the life of music, don’t leave them behind!

6.    Play through your pieces slowly and make notes of what needs attention, go back and work those areas first, then surrounding areas, and finally work on playing the section. Starting at the beginning of a piece and stopping every time you make is mistake is a mistake.

7.    Don’t be afraid to walk away. Tomorrow is another day.

8.    Keep a practice journal. Stick with it. You will want to keep track of what you have done and where you want to go.

9.    In your practice journal, reflect on how things went, what tempos you achieved, and how your felt. You can also use this space for making notes on recordings you hear of yourself.

Closing words:

This is by no means an exact science. As I mentioned, we all need a different approach to master an art. No two people are alike. That being said, I do believe the world’s best artists have the above four practice areas in common. Decide how much time to spend in each one of these areas to curate your inner artist. With trial and error, along with great journaling, you will figure out what works for you and master practicing!

What drums should I buy?

4/24/2022

This question comes up a lot, and to be honest, many don’t like the answer I give them. Frequently I will hear students, parents of younger students, and semi-pro drummers, looking for advice on what drums they should buy. Many people feel the answer is subjective and there are so many choices, but I feel the answer is pretty straightforward.

The brand and sizes you choose depend on a couple of important factors, specifically, what kind of music do you want to play, do you prefer a high and tight or low and thuddy sound, and do you want the drums to retain their value over time. Brands are somewhat important in that some have a reputation of quality around them or legacy name, while others may have varying quality of shells and hardware, or adapt to current trends which will seem very dated in 10 years or less. I play Canopus drums because they are the finest quality drums available, sound the best for the wide variety of styles of music I play, and are by far the easiest to get in tune. However, a brand new pro Canopus drum kit might cost you between $2,000-5,000 which may not be in the cards for some. While this may sound steep, it is that way for a reason. These drums will hold their value, are loaded up with incredible Japanese technology and attention to detail, and most importantly sound so much better than the competitive brands around.

Let’s talk about sizes for a moment. Back in the 60’s, a standard drum set would include a 22” bass drum, 12” or 13” rack tom, and a 14” or 16” floor tom -very versatile sizes. In fact, a lot of the famous drum sounds we associate with the Hard Bop style (Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, “Philly” Joe Jones) were played on larger drums that you’d see in a rock of today rather than the “bop” kit sizes (18” bass, 14” and 12” toms). Just do a quick Google image search of drummers from that era and you will find that Ringo, Ginger Baker etc. played similar setups. What size drums you need depends on the kind of music you want to play and the sound you are going for. The bop size drum sets of today are available everywhere and are quite affordable ($500-800). The argument I hear a lot of times from some players is “I can get this little bass drum to sound as big as my old Ludwig 22” so why should I haul that thing around?. I see them playing an 18” bass drum with a Powerstroke head on the batter and a port hole/pillow situation, I promise you, this isn’t what an 18” bass is for.. There’s a reason drummers like John Bonham favored bass drums 24” and larger. You are losing depth and tuning range with those economy sized kits. So this brings me to my first point. If you want a classic sound, get a kit that is similar to what your favorite drummer played in that style. If you are looking to play small combo jazz music, I would get an 18” bass drum, 12”x8” rack tom, and 14”x14” floor tom. If you want that drum set to do what Keith Moon’s set did with The Who, then you fell for a marketing ploy. The drums will not have the available tuning range found in a larger size (don’t lie to yourselves guys) no matter what heads you use. This is especially true for the micro-bop kits. I see a lot of the Sonor Martini or comparable kits out there. Drummers putting two ply heads on a 10” rack tom and 13” floor trying to get sounds like a rock set. It’s not going to happen. Along the way you’ll be sacrificing authenticity and most importantly, tone. Smaller drums work best for higher tuning or low and “slappy” sounds, while larger drums can be tuned lower, or tuned tightly for a short but rich sound. The second point is that a knowledge of tuning and learning how to get any sound on a standard Coated/Clear Remo Ambassador (or like-head) will be necessary. Outside of fringe sizes such as micro-bop or insanely large (24”x20” bass drums for instance, or 80’s Power toms), you can get so many sounds on a drum if you just know how to tune. While having an expensive drum set is a wonderful luxury, at the end of the day, your sound is in your hands.

So if you play jazz mostly, I’d opt for a standard “bop” configuration, 18”x14” bass, 12”x8” rack tom, 14x14” floor tom. If you play mostly rock/alternative/pop then shoot for a classic 22”x14”(or 16” deep) bass drum, 13”x9” rack tom, and a 16”x16” floor tom with legs (lose those stand mount floor toms). If you play it all? In my opinion the most versatile drum set configuration of all (as long as you can tune) is 20”x14” bass, 12”x8” rack tom, and a 14”x14” Floor tom. This will cover your jazz gigs, cocktail into pop sets, rock, funk, anything in between. I would invest in two sets of drum heads so you can switch sounds when needed. I am not endorsed by any drum head company but have played Remo heads almost exclusively since I was a kid. You should own a set of Remo Coated Ambassadors (top and bottom, all drums), and a set of Remo Coated or Clear Emperor (for toms) with a Clear Powerstroke Batter for bass drum. Those two sets of professional quality heads will cover ALL of your tuning needs. Don’t fall for the marketing traps of heads with venting perforations, special coatings, or worst of all - color. One of my golden rules when it comes to sticks and heads, learn how to get a sound on equipment that could be found around the world.

Why people don’t like my answer: A lesson I have learned while researching cameras (my other passion) is that you can not buy your way into being a better photographer. Similarly, you can not buy your way into being a better drummer. Focus on your craft first and when your skills or budget allow you to make an equipment upgrade, then go for it. I remember seeing a video of Brian Blade on YouTube where he was in another country playing on something similar to a High School Ludwig Accent kit. He still sounded amazing because he is a spectacular musician. Learn to play, learn to tune. Secondly, don’t expect to get the same sound out of drums that are much bigger or smaller than the tuning range you have in mind. Micro drum kits are convenient but aren’t going to move the kind of air that larger ones do. I choose drum sizes because of tuning and the sound I want to offer on stage. In fact, larger drums are more versatile because they carry more tone when cranked up or when the tension rods are about to fall out. One exception is that in a recording situation, all of this goes out the window. The recording studio is a great place to experiment with the tuning ranges of any size drum. You’d be surprised what you can get away with. I recently recorded a singer/songwriter album on my Canopus NV60-M1 bop kit, tuned super low, with some muting, and it absolutely rocked. Drums felt huge on playback. On the contrary, I also like them tuned so tight that sparks come off of the heads in a modern jazz or bop situation. They are such great instruments, they do it all with ease. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of great sounds can come out of 10” rack toms, 16” bass drums, and everything else, at the end of the day, it’s how you use it creatively.

My top recommended drum set today for the professional, semi-pro, or if you are just looking for a fantastic quality kit which blows away anything else in the price range, is the Canopus Yaiba. It’s an exceptional quality drum set with packages of versatile sizes depending on what you play. https://canopusdrums.com/en/

If you are in the market but looking for something that still sounds great at a lower price point, consider a vintage set from the 60’s. I have played vintage drums since I started and still have an affinity for their warmth, tone, and classic looks.