DIARY OF A DRUMMER

Society, the discouraging parent

2007-02-22T06:39:00.001-08:00

It’s been a while since me last post, I guess it is because I’ve been practicing hard and thinking what my next big step is going to be. Some people play for fun, others for passion, some people even play because obsession. Well whatever your reasons are I still think it must stay fun.

I’m really so sick of hearing it’s too late or you are to old, shouldn’t you be settling down. Yes settling down… what is that exactly? Sounds like give up! Or not worth the effort or accept what you are and just try to work on what’s going for you… People have become lazy and brainwashed by society. Where are the dedicated craftsmen like centuries ago? Painters can’t even be compared with what is displayed in the historical galleries.

We are not in a decay of creativity just in a decay of mindset

It’s never to late will I show you…

Tradition vs Match grip

2007-01-04T22:56:00.000-08:00

This is a very sensitive subject amongst drummers and educators.
Let me begin to say that most of my favourite drummers play traditional and that I play matched grip.

Why has traditional grip survived so long?
Ok before you stone me to death with hate comments lets look the history of drumming and discuss this like gentleman (ladies also welcome).

The drum is the oldest instrument in the world but the drum set or Traps, as it was called when the concept started is one of the youngest instruments.
The traditional grip came form the marching drummers. The way the snare drum was tilted made it very uncomfortable to play matched grip. It isn’t practical so no one considered it. This traditional method past on to the traps and is still very respected in modern drumming today.

Let look at some advantages of the two.

Traditional

If you are playing right handed the left hand plays traditional and the right hand natural.
A big advantage is the sensitivity and control on your left hand meaning you can do very complex fast and sensitive accented doubles on the left side of the drum set arrangement.
Single stroke rolls are more consistent.
You are able to play more comfortable close to your upper body.

Matched Grip

When you are using matched grip it is easier to learn a new technique because your strong hand can learn it first and after you are satisfied with it you can mirror the weak hand to the strong.
It feels more comfortable playing the toms on the right hand side.
Double stroke rolls sound smoother.
You can produce more volume with your left hand.
If you are playing open handed there is less strain on you left hand.

Well you decide, both have there advantages.
You can also decide to use both depending on what you are playing.
In my humble opinion I think the drum set is still evolving and the techniques of playing will evolve with it.

Your comments are appreciated…

The three positions

2007-01-04T07:06:00.000-08:00

Positions

There are three grips/positions we use in modern drumming these days.
1. French
2. American
3. German

The French grip we use primarily for fingers the grip is similar to the timpani grip. I actually blend French into the American position in finger execution for faster doubles and rolls.

To start of fingers we use the pure French grip to give us the correct feel and control before we blend it in (pictures will be posted soon).

American is your balance I would say between French and German.
From American you can move easily to French or German if required.

German is a grip we use for very hard rim shots. The grip is rarely use as a main grip because it doesn’t feel that comfortable all the time and feels very limited to just the snare drum. The palms are very flat and elbows aren’t touching your body.

See you next year!

2006-12-29T03:34:00.000-08:00

My Goals for next year!

To create insane fills using linear substitution.
To master the heel toe technique.
To flow creatively around the kit without landing in sticking traps.

Taking It Easy

2006-12-28T01:06:00.000-08:00

This time of the year we drummers can always use to rest our joints and re-evaluate our setup. Practicing constantly without rest most of us do, we sometimes forget an injury can creep up when you least expect it. I have had injuries in my writs and elbows due to playing with the wrong technique (unnatural way of playing) and heavy sticks. Being over anxious during a solo can also lead to a forced unnatural movement. It is always good to play inside your boundaries off speed and coordination. We push the physical but we neglect the creative side. Push the creative and take a holiday on reaching that 1000bpm single stroke roll.

Everything in good time...

Feel and Sound

2006-12-21T23:22:00.000-08:00

Ok, here we come to the part were I start to enlighten you about playing drums. This blog will have many of these philosophies and I hope you will take this seriously and try is before you burn it.

Feel
When a drummer plays he/she plays towards the sound of the drums. A drummer rarely appreciates the feel of playing, meaning the way you move from surfaces directionally and the rebound of the stick.

The main reason for this in my humble opinion is lack of technique. The Moeller Method is a technique I have been practicing for about 4 months now and I use it to put more feel in my drumming. It is advised by my teacher that for the Moeller to really work for you the free stroke needs to be learned first. I am now trying to train my mind to the feel of drumming and to let the sound produce as a secondary reaction. You might think I am neglecting the sound but in actual fact when I play this way it sounds more clear and sensitive than playing after the sound.

Chapter 2

2006-12-21T04:01:00.000-08:00

Well I’m still a Metal listener but back then I was a purist. I went to see the guys and wow! What cool equipment they had. So they auditioned me and I liked there sound although it was a little old school for my liking at that time, I loved the guitar pieces. The guitarist had a lot of technical skill. We starting playing local town gigs and after a year we were playing the Cities with other respected hardcore bands. People were always stunned if we told them where the band was based. Anyway after a few years and gaining a lot of respect and no money we got frustrated. Putting in so much work just for loads of respect and no recognition just doesn’t cut it. Believe me there is a difference, you can be seen as a god but still have nothing to show for it. I’m not talking money but milestones, things you can look back upon and feel your hair standing up. We had some milestones but nothing that can keep a band giving everything for such a long time. Maybe I was negative at a stage which I was but that is how it unfolded for me. “Usually when things don’t feel right the aren’t”

I started writing a lot of the music in the last 2 years the band was together and in the end almost all of it which is the thing that probably kept me going for so long. We split up after 4 years due a lot of reasons that came with time. Loogaroo will always be in my heart as my place of birth on the stage.

// a look at my technique then

// at that stage I played extremely hard like I mentioned, my wrist turned out when I played and I was using a position very near to German.
// On my feet my heel was raised very high and I played only with my toes.

Who am I? Chapter 1

2006-12-12T06:12:00.000-08:00

I started playing drums about six years ago. I have always had a good feel for music and decided to take guitar playing when I was about 14 years of age, I am 24 now. I started playing and after a short while my friends and the rest of school thought I was really hot. Guitar quickly got boring because lack of skill with the instrument and I decided to let go of it after 3 years (well actually I lost my Fender Std American Stratocaster when I was about 17 but I'm not going into details cause that is another story all together). With the little bit of money I had left I bought myself a Pearl Forum Kit with Zildjian Avedis cymbals around the time I lost the guitar. I started playing the same way I did with the guitar meaning that I learned from books and listening to music. I played basic stuff good and I was a really hard hitter, much to hard if I look back at how I played. I was playing with 2B sticks which are the thickest and heaviest that I could find, which reminds me though Sabian interests me much more these days Zildjian can take the beating. After a year or so I looked for a teacher, this was not my typical behavior because I always like to do things on my own. My first teacher's was Peter Webber. Peter was already in his 60's but he had allot of jazz experience and he was respected by the people working in the local music shop. After my first lesson I felt that I would never come back again. What scared me was the thought of reading. When you start reading it looked like another form of math. Myself not being the match type hated the first 3 weeks of it but right after that everything just started making sense. Peter also showed me the basics of good technique and we did some jazz independence over the the next few months. Peter told me that a band that was originally based in Pretoria had moved here and they needed a drummer. I got the details from him and went to the audition. Thank God it they played Rock/Metal. Something that I didn't mention is that I was a big Metal listener at that stage.