Dyrol Randall - Jayson Brinkworth

THE BLACK PAGE
APRIL 2009
Dy rol Randal l
Ah sey one
THE BLACK PAGE
April 2009
4
Feature Interview:
Dyrol Randall
12
To Do or Not To Do
by Jayson Brinkworth
18
A,E,I,O,U and
Sometimes Parradiddle
by Sean Mitchell
21
Double Bass Building Blocks
by Ryan Carver
22
The Final Word
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Sean Mitchell
Jill Schettler
Jayson Brinkworth Ryan Carver
Publisher
Editor in Chief
Writer
Writer
m
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Dyrol Randall
By Sean Mitchell
There is an expression
among the Rastafarian culture, “Ah sey one,” and its literal meaning, translated from
Jamaican Patois to English, is
to say that something is “really
cool” and “great.” Case in point,
a guy I found whilst surfing the
net one night for some inspiration: Dyrol Randall.
Dyrol’s style of playing struck
me immediately as unique
and innovative. I had, up to
that point, never seen reggae
played with such enthusiasm
and intensity.
Upon interviewing Dyrol I
got to meet someone who is
genuinely an asset to our industry. A guy who lives for the
groove and listens to all things
that speak rhythm. For Dyrol
(as it should be) drumming is
not only a means with which to
make music, but a way of life.
What are the roots of reggae music?
Reggae music was born from ska and rocksteady in Jamaica in the 60s. One thing they
all share in common is that their rhythmic
style is characterized by regular beats on the
off-beat, known as the “skank.” Then gradually the tempo slowed down, and by introducing accents on the first and third beat in
each bar, reggae was born.
The origin of the name reggae is traced to
a song by The Maytals named “Do The Reggay.” It was probably used in musical circles
before that, but that’s when it gained prominence as a genre.
Bob Marley and the Wailers is probably
the most popular band to have gone through
all the stages of reggae, starting from ska
in the early 1960s, to rocksteady, to reggae.
Marley’s drummer Carlton Barrett is recognized for having coined the one-drop beat,
which is the basic reggae drum pattern with
the hi-hat playing a 16th or an 8th note while
the kick and bass dropping on 2 and 4.
How did you find your path to the
drums?
I found the path to the drums in 1991 at the
Montego Bay New Testament Church of
God. Initially I started playing guitar, taught
by the church’s guitar player, Maseno Williams. I thought that’s what I wanted to play.
Then Edward Heron, the drummer of the
church, came along. He is the one who put
the first pair of sticks in my hand. He was
very patient and wanted me to learn. I would
often sit at the front of the church, so close to
the drums that when he missed while playing I would be hit pretty hard in the face by
the sticks.
To practice at home I would set up my
mom’s pots and pans on the living room sofa
when she was at work, and I played the dust
out of them until I got the consistency of the
4/4 timing and the rock ‘n’ roll patterns. Meeting at church, I would go early before
the service would start and practice the patterns. Then came my first opportunity to play
in an open service. I was very nervous. The
4/4 timing was almost perfect but my rock ‘n’
roll was too slow, as I had not developed the
foot technique in pushing the power of the
kick. I was using the flat foot technique and
that was killing me. I was not able to keep
up with the singers and was often given an
upset face with messages sent to my teacher that he needed to come take the drums
away from me, as I could not manage it. I felt
so embarrassed because the congregation
was 2000 members and all eyes were on
me. I often felt like giving up. Many times I
wanted to run outside and swear that I would
never be around drums again, as it was too
hard for me, but that was only discouragement speaking at the moment.
I kept on practicing until I became the
church’s number one drummer and kept that
distinction for years to come, which I owe to
Mr. Edward Heron, whom I consider a friend,
The most complete
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teacher and big brother for life.
What can you tell me about Herbert Morrison Technical High School?
The school was named after the late Dr. Herbert Morrison, a very popular family physician in Montego Bay and throughout Jamaica. It’s where a lot of musicians who have
now made successful careers worldwide
emerged. The reason for that is because
its standards and expectations
from the students are very
high.
The high school
band is the best in
the entire Caribbean and has won
countless competitions. The program is run by
Mr. Carl Matthews
(aka Slowchie). Mr.
Matthews is a great
theory teacher starting from grade one. We
would have rehearsals every day during lunch time
and after school for beginning, intermediate and advanced bands. Performances sometimes
required us to miss class—with permission
from the school’s principal.
Herbert Morrison’s musicians earn
the respect of great players, as
the pieces that are given to
them are extremely difficult
and require a lot of dedication. To close this paragraph, one of my most
inspiring moments was
the surprise visit of
Mr. Winard Harp-
er, the legendary jazz drummer. He came
once during our lunch time and executed the
swing jazz patterns with precision and passion. That was truly inspirational.
Dyrol, tell me about your mentors.
Peter Brown, the renowned bass player,
comes first. He plays a seven-string guitar.
Mr. Brown is the only bass player in Jamaica
that has mastered styles as varied as fusion,
jazz, and latin. I’ve always heard of
Peter Brown from the early 90’s.
His reputation is legendary. Every one knew how he
was capable of walking off the
stage if
the
music wasn’t right. He would not compromise. He believed in practicing hard and everyday.
I remember our first rehearsal was uneventful but at the second one he gave me
hell because I was messing up too much.
The studio was filled with six ladies and a
whole lot of musicians. Peter stopped the
rehearsal and warned me he’d stop playing with me if I continued this way. I was so
embarrassed! I wish there was an elevator
under my throne to take me downstairs and
straight home.
We did a couple of shows together after
but I was very much afraid of messing up.
One day I decided to face my fear and asked
him why he was so hard on me. He told me
I have too much potential but I was wasting
my talent. I immediately dropped my guard
desire of getting the reggae drum and bass
technique down. We made arrangements
and met at his house. He drilled me vigorously, and I also remember that while the
session was going, he was cooking at the
same time. Onie draws a lot of respect from
the drummers for Shaggy, Maxie Priest,
Gumption Band, Beres Hammond, Chuck
Fenda just to name a few. I give Onie much
respect and honor for life.
And last but not least, Tony “Ruption” Williams is one of the best Jamaican drummers
ever. He used to work with Jimmy Cliff and
now he’s playing with Third World. I met Ruption a few years ago at a gig. I was immediately taken by his energy and precision and
his particular use of the double pedal during
phrases. The other thing that caught my attention was his demeanor; he was always
Click HERE to visit
Dyrol’s website at
www.dyrolrandall.com
and got ready to be mentored. We started
doing one-on-one sessions, just drum and
bass, and, my God, that’s what I needed. To
this day, I’m Peter’s favorite drummer. I continue to seek his approval on any musical
production I undertake.
Isaiah “Onie” Palmer is the best reggae
bass player who groomed me to hold the
hi-hat tight and to adopt an approach that
values precision and technique. I was introduced to Onie at a gig, and I told him of my
humorous while playing. We met several
times at his house just to jam. He taught me
how to keep the patterns clean and execute
them with power and drive. He is the kind of
person who is always willing to teach and
help you find the best drummer in you.
Was that a conscious decision on your
part to take up lessons with the “other
half” of the rhythm section?
In reggae music it’s particularly important
for a drummer to work with and learn from
bass players. You can’t be a good reggae
drummer without a deep understanding of
how to work it out with the bass because
in reggae so much has to do with feel and
groove. So the decision to learn from great
bass players was totally deliberate, as they
are key to making you become a better reggae drummer. This may not be as crucial in
other genres.
Why did you relocate to Dallas, Texas?
I met Sevan Melikyan on a cruise while he
was vacationing with his family. I had a contract with Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines and
his sister Sheyda came to the deck where
we were playing. She called him to get to
the deck immediately. From that moment,
Sevan fell in love with my band because we
were playing the real roots reggae, which he
was passionate about.
This was his first exposure to an authentic,
live Jamaican reggae band. He introduced
himself, told me he played the drums too so I
invited him to sit in for a song – Bob Marley’s
“Could you Be Loved”. That was a dream
come true for him. While he played on the
deck his family watched in support and love.
After that, he promised to keep in touch and
to build the band a YouTube site. He took
publicity pictures of the band, treating us like
real celebrities.
Eight months later, I resigned from playing on cruise lines and informed Sevan of
my decision. He suggested that we shoot an
instructional video on reggae drumming, as
he didn’t know of any on the market. I said,
“Tell me where and when.” He organized a
concert in Fort Worth with some sponsors
and my picture showed up on the front page
of the local paper, the Star Telegram. The
day had three parts: the video shoot, the
drum clinic, and the concert in the evening
as a finale. It was a huge success.
My decision to stay in the US was based
on a beautiful princess I met just a few
months after my encounter with Sevan, also
on that same cruise line. She also happened
to live in Ft. Worth. What are the odds! She
became my biggest support and inspiration,
always seeing the positive side of things.
She is now my wife and that’s the real reason I decided to make Dallas/Fort Worth my
home.
What is it about reggae music that
has maintained its extreme popularity
throughout many fads and phases?
Reggae music was cultured from oppression
during hard economic times and our era of
independence from England in 1962. Reggae music carries messages of hope, love,
freedom and a vision that there will be bet-
ter days ahead. There is something deeply
inspirational about this music that will always
attract talented and intelligent musicians, no
matter the times we live in. We also owe it
to the great artists of the 70s and 80s—in
particular Bob Marley—who have laid such
solid foundations to the genre that it will always defy the passing times and trends.
For those who are not familiar with reggae styles of playing, who would you
recommend listening to?
I recommend any record by Bob Marley. You
just can’t go wrong with him. Survival, Exodus, Kaya, and Babylon by Bus are good
ways to start a collection. Then there are
others like Burning Spear (Hail HIM), Gladiators (Vital Selection), Abyssinians (Satta), Israel Vibration (Same Song), Gregory Isaacs
(Soon Forward), Black Uhuru (Guess Who’s
Coming to Dinner with Sly [Dunbar] and
Robbie [Shakespeare] providing the rhythm
Further listening for reggae chops:
Bob Marley
Peter Tosh
Jimmy Cliff
Black Uhuru
Bunny Wailer
Pablo Moses
Alton Ellis
U Roy
Junior Delgado
The Mighty Diamonds
King Tubby
Toots the Maytals
Burning Spear
Buju Banton
Sugar Minott
Dennis Brown
Eek A Mouse
Andrew Tosh
Prince Far I
Inner Circle
Ijahman Levi
Mutabaruka
The Ethiopians
Roots Radics
I Roy
John Holt
Junior Murvin
Don Drummond
Christafari
UB40
Yellow Man
Ziggy Marley
The Tamlins
Mighty Sparrow
Barrington Levy
section), Lee “Scratch” Perry, Culture, Aswad and Steel Pulse, just to name a few. In
fact I plan on providing a list of essential recordings with my next instructional DVD. It’s
incredibly important to listen to these great
records. There is so much to learn from each
and every one of them.
Who were Marley’s influences?
Bob Marley was influenced by the Rastafarian movement and artists such as the late
Byron Lee and the Dragonaires, The Gaylas,
Skatalites, Kingstonians, Toots and the Maytals, Bob Andy, Paragons and Ken Boothe,
just to name a few.
What is “rub a dub” when you speak in
the context of reggae music?
Rub a dub is the sound from drum and bass
only during a recording or live performance.
The keyboard occasionally adds special
effects and sounds to create that feel Bob
Marley speaks about: “When music hits
you, you feel no pain.”
Tell me a bit about some of the other forms
of Jamaican drumming like Nyabinghi
and Burru drumming.
Nyabinghi and Burru drumming are the
chanting musical culture of Rastafarism. It
entails beating the drum in chant sequence.
Smoking the herb forms the deep meditation to gain wisdom and deep insight. The
rhythms of these chants were eventually an
influence of popular ska followed by rocksteady and reggae music. Count Ossie was
the first to record nyabinghi, and he helped
to establish and maintain Rastafarian culture. Rastafarian culture promotes clean lev-
ity with no type of meat consumption, strictly
vegetable nutrients (not fertilized), spring
water for drinking straight from the head of a
stream. Rastafarian culture takes one to the
high hills where it’s very green fresh in atmospheric condition. Their religion is taught
from the Maka Bee Bible.
You teach many of your students to express not only their feeling but to convey
a sense of having fun behind the kit. Why
is this important?
In order to express fun around the kit there
are two ingredients that are extremely important, and these apply to all genres. I believe
(a) passion for playing the drums, with which
comes the disposition to want to learn; and,
(b) listening to the entire band, not just for
what you are doing on the drums. Once you
listen to the music you understand where it’s
coming from, and you foresee where it’s going. You are totally part of the music. With
your kit you make music, and there is nothing more fun than that. And with reggae you
need that immersion into the band in order
to acquire the feel. It’s all about the feel.
Tell me about your new DVD.
This will be the second installment of a series
of instructional DVDs we plan on producing
on the art of reggae drumming. This one will
include fills, intros, more hi-hat patterns, kick
drum techniques to generate more power,
an introduction to ska, more advanced one
drop fills, rockers’ variations, etc. We plan on
providing a booklet along with the DVD with
phrases and fills written in notes for drummers who prefer practicing that way.
What do you have planed in the next few
months?
I just produced a couple of songs for an
awesome vocalist Queen Debra Owens.
I should be heading to Jamaica in a few
months, as the songs will be released there.
I’m also working on two albums for a great
pianist named Collin Obama. He is a bit like
Monty Alexander, fusing reggae drum and
bass with jazz piano. I also did a couple of
other recording projects: one for Ras Kumba, a Dallas based songwriter and performer; and, another for a singer from Nigeria.
Both CDs are set to be released this summer. And, of course, I played the drums on
all these projects. Some of the bands I’m
playing with right now are Ras Kumba from
Dallas, strictly roots reggae; and, Bonafide,
a great band based in Las Vegas specializing in dancehall. I am also in the process
of forming my own band. I have plans to tour
with Sister Carol in April, and join the backing band for the Mighty Diamonds, the Melodians, etc. There’s plenty to do!
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To Do
or
o
D
o
T
Not
by Jayson Brinkworth
I
don’t know about all of you, but I am a fan of making lists.
Whether it is in respect to daily tasks, groceries, teaching to
do’s or what have you, I just love having a list. Yet, as I think
about it, I am not sure it is the list that I love as much as it is
the process of checking things off when they are done (I know,
therapy is needed).
As much as it is important to have these to-do lists, I find it’s
also helpful to make lists of things not to do. This concept is
akin to how a drummer can be more expressive on the kit with
fewer notes (Remember Less Ismore?). There are lots of drummers who write lists on their snare head before a gig--such things
as “play controlled,” “watch the dynamics,” “groove,” and many
other items of importance.
The following is comprised of areas that I personally deal with
all of the time. You may have different headings. Under each one
I have listed do’s and don’ts that I view as important. Try making
your own personal lists and see if you learn more from writing
the do or do not column.
PRACTICE
DO:
ne.
e not in your comfort zo
ar
at
th
s
ea
ar
on
k
or
• W
often.
• Work on the basics
e or time source.
m
no
ro
et
m
a
ith
w
k
or
• W
s to work towards.
al
go
ith
w
d
in
m
in
an
• Have a pl
lance in your playing.
• Work on dynamic ba
• Record yourself.
DO NOT:
already know.
• Practice things you
)
polishing is a good idea
(although buffing and
• Practice too loud.
ea of your playing.
ar
e
on
st
ju
on
s
cu
Fo
•
and concentration.
s
cu
fo
t
ou
ith
w
e
tic
ac
• Pr
• Get frustrated.
ON A GIG
DO
• Be on time.
• Know the mate
rial.
• Have the prop
er equipment for
the job.
• Give 110% of
your ability to the
music.
• Have fun. You
are playing drum
s, remember?
DO NOT
• Play too loud.
• Think the sho
w is all about you
• Play your Cha
.
mbers’ licks on a
co
untr y gig.
• Drink too much
, this SHOULD
be a no brainer.
• Ignore the task
at hand: the musi
c.
GEAR
DO
t fits the music yo
u are playing.
• Shop around.
• Research and
ask questions.
• Know the sou
nd you are going
for before purcha
• Understand h
sing.
ow different type
s
o
f
wood or
metal affect the so
und of the instru
ment.
• Choose gear
tha
DO NOT
• Buy gear beca
use it is the “new
• Buy a kit with
thing.”
a 24” kick to fit in
to your Honda C
ivic.
• Over spend o
n
g
e
a
r.
• Think having
good gear outwe
ighs
your knowledge
of tuning and he
ad selection.
• Overcompensa
te your short com
ings as a player
purchasing all of
in
the latest and gre
atest gear.
If you have ever
used a cymbal stand
to hang your
clothes to dry, you
might be a Drumgeek!
AS A MUSICIAN
DO
t to understand music
en
m
ru
st
in
r
he
ot
an
up
• Take
different perspective.
a
in
s
um
dr
ar
he
to
d
theory an
r than you thought,
tte
be
be
ht
ig
m
u
Yo
g.
• Tr y singin
ng about breathing.
and it will get you thinki
s.
rument, try writing song
st
in
r
he
ot
an
ay
pl
u
yo
• If
riters and producers.
w
t
ea
gr
e
ak
m
s
er
m
m
Dru
musical tones your
• Really listen to the
oduce.
drums and cymbals pr
s.
usic and char t out song
• Know how to read m
so much.
We can only memorize
DO NOT
usicality of the drums.
m
d
an
er
w
po
e
th
e
at
• Underestim
nd.
ummer equals a bad ba
• Forget that a bad dr
ving
music is about more gi
g
in
ay
pl
at
th
et
rg
Fo
•
ion.
s, but in effort and pass
te
no
in
t
no
g—
in
iv
ce
er.”
than re
off as “just the drumm
u
yo
h
us
br
ns
ia
ic
us
m
• Let other
ove them wrong.
pr
to
er
rd
ha
k
or
w
to
We need
w of
only has a small windo
ho
w
er
m
um
dr
e
th
Be
•
wer is in the dynamics.
dynamic control. Our po
BUSINESS
DO
• Learn about th
e music business
and how you fit in
• Understand th
.
at there are so m
a
n
y
a
reas
of the business o
ther than playing
• Know the inco
.
me tax specifics
for a self employe
• Be organized
d musician.
and easy to get a
hold of by phone
• Be profession
/email.
al in dealing with
people in the ind
• Have a websi
ustry.
te or some way to
market yourself.
• Have your ow
n business cards
with contact inform
• Keep an upda
ation.
ted promo packa
ge of work you a
re doing.
DO NOT
• Think that peo
ple in the industry
know
who you are just
because you pla
y.
• Be afraid to m
arket yourself. Yo
u are your
own public relatio
n
s
department.
• Think that just
because you pla
y well, great gigs
your way. You ha
will come
ve to work hard a
nd earn these op
• Think that you
portunities.
will get endorsem
ents from
companies beca
use you play well.
This is a whole
other side of the
business that is a
lways misunders
• Concentrate o
tood.
n just one area o
f the industry. Yo
opportunities by
u
ca
n create
having an open m
in
d
a
n
d
b
e
in
g
diverse.
Also remember,
knowledge is pow
er.
ATTI TUDE
DO
criticism in perspective,
ep
Ke
d.
in
m
en
op
an
• Always have
usicians you respect.
m
r
he
ot
d
an
s
er
pe
ur
a try.
but listen to yo
ur thing at least give it
yo
t
no
is
it
if
en
Ev
.
ic
mus
way
• Listen to all styles of
ayer. As I said there is
pl
am
te
a
d
an
e
tiv
si
• Be po
on stage.
more giving than taking
there to lend a hand.
be
st
ju
or
ps
tri
ng
lo
r to drive on
r all.
• Help carr y gear, offe
adversity. It is life, afte
d
an
s
ge
an
ch
e
ut
in
m
ur best
• Be ready for last
to your soul and do yo
in
n
ca
u
yo
as
ep
de
as
Do not panic. Just dig
DO NOT
an
. We have to play with
nd
ha
of
t
ou
t
ge
o
eg
• Let your
to
we have to know when
edge and attitude, but
s who have lost work
shut it off. I know player
d no idea why.
because of this and ha
y other player on stage.
an
or
ic
us
m
e
th
an
th
important
and
• Think you are more
This news travels fast
.
ns
ia
ic
us
m
r
he
ot
th
kly.
• Bad mou
one number quite quic
ph
ur
yo
s
se
lo
ne
yo
er
you will find that ev
d bitch when they
an
l
el
w
g
in
go
e
ar
gs
in
• Brag when th
need
e. Other players don’t
nc
la
ba
in
is
th
ep
Ke
t.
are no
ur counselor.
to feel like they are yo
ur head. It is nice to
yo
to
go
ts
en
im
pl
m
co
• Let
aying at your best.
pl
ep
ke
d
an
ly
us
io
ac
accept gr
be appreciated but just
JAYSON BRINKWORTH IS AN
ACCOMPLISHED DRUMMER,
PERCUSSIONIST, VOCALIST,
EDUCATOR & WRITER.
CLICK ON HIS IMAGE TO
LINK TO HIS WEBSITE.
by Sean Mitchell
T
hink of the numerous times you sat behind the practice pad and did your single
strokes, your doubles, your triplets and your
five stroke rolls. That time was imperative to
you as a player whether you were conscious
of it or not. You were building the foundation
of what would become the drumming temple
knows as insert name here.
Let’s face it, we are in an industry that
thrives on communicating human emotion
and ideals. Two musicians who verbally
speak different languages can communicate
on the same level when they play music together. As drummers our “job” is to speak
the language of rhythm, and in order to be
understood we must mind our p’s and q’s.
Enter endless hours of rudiments and
technique practice.
Consider for the sake of simplicity that rudiments and technique are to your playing
as vowels are to a sentence. You can get
by without them, but it makes things a little
harder to understand.
What if Van Gough only had one color of
paint, or Wayne Gretzky could only skate forward? When you lack technique you lack the
ability to utilize the very tools that will help
you express your distinctiveness as a player.
Imagine a world where ghost notes don’t exist (and cross over to the other side); where
press rolls and buzz rolls line the streets,
asking for your spare change; where the millions of unused flams fill our unemployment
lines and saturate our homeless shelters.
Let’s look at any common sentence and
say that vowels represent the rudiments
and techniques you possess and practice,
as monotonous as they are. In the string of
a sentence the less technique (vowels), the
harder it is to express the flow of creative
ideas. The following sentence we will say has no
technique, and therefore the sentence contains no vowels:
t s sr
sly c l th ng t
b bl t h t th ngs f r l v ng!
You can see that clearly, someone has
tried to express a thought here, but, without
the vowels, something was lost in translation. Now let’s take a moment and practice a
few techniques. Say for example we practice
enough technique to have only e’s become
part of the equation. Thus our musical master piece will now read:
t s ser sly c l th ng t
be ble t h t th ngs f r l v ng!
Click HERE to check out
Jack Straight on the web.
www.myspace.com/jackstraightwpg
Better, but still… huh?
For a number of years I sat with the headphones on and hammered out groove after
groove of my favorite tunes. One in particular gave me my first mental meltdown: Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way.” To that point I was
able to play straight eighths on the hats with
a decent backbeat and equally ample four
on the kick. However, in the case of this new
tune I was tackling, Mr. Kramer had added
those tricky little sixteenths on the kick.
As a young player my drumming vocabulary was limited enough I could not play the
song at all. Not because I wasn’t talented but
because I lacked the awareness of the foot
technique that would enable me to play the
kick pattern for that tune. As a good friend
has so eloquently put it: “The things you
don’t know you don’t know.”
Isn’t it scary that we brilliant and highly
evolved humans can run around formulating thoughts and free will, but are also prone
to letting ourselves believe that we are only
as capable as what we currently know? The
average player, for example, might play to a
hundred people a night only because he or
she does not yet have the awareness or the
technique it takes to play to a hundred thousand a night. Needless to say, if ever you
have an issue with your abilities or a lack of
practice time the person you need to talk to
is always waiting in the bathroom mirror.
Now let’s get back to our sentence. Let’s
say that we now have done enough work
with that seemingly lame practice pad to
warrant the addition of some i’s:
It is seri sly c l thing t
be ble t hit things f r living!
See the thing I always missed when practicing rudiments was that I underestimated
how much I was accomplishing when I sat at
my practice pad. There was a period in time
when I was on the road in my early twenties that our band was learning tune after
tune to accommodate what I now deem to
be a ridiculous sized set list (five one-hour
sets) as per request from the many clubs
we frequently played. For a time, I hate to
say it, but I chose to forsake technique to
learn tunes. In the end, I paid the price when
I came upon many concepts which initially
seemed relatively easy but proved difficult to
execute without certain chops. Try playing
any sixteenth note shuffle on the snare at
a rate of 170 bpm or higher and tell me that
you don’t need technique!
Back to our metaphor: the sentence that
lacks vowels. Let’s put my two-fingered typing skills out of their misery and say that you
now have enough quality time with your rudiments that you have all the vowels a cunning
linguist could need. And thus we read:
It is a seriously cool thing to
be able to hit things for a living!
us so much in the way of freedom to download and distribute music, but the process of
digital compression unfortunately does limit
the depth of our musical landscape once it
hits the web. Because of this duality we have
become a society all too accustomed to the
heavy four on the floor dynamics with the
relentless 2 and 4 on the back door of the
groove. Although a beautiful thing in its own
right, you still must go out and spend some
time with the notes and space between the
backbeat to find balance; for there lies a lesson or two in control and dynamics. Listen to
vinyl and CDs to find the mastering that actually lets you hear those grace notes, those
beautiful flams, and those magnificent buzz
rolls.
Be bold, my fellow batterista. Your voice
in music requires its own care and consideration—for drummerkind cannot live on 2
and 4 alone. The road to musical expression
is only partially paved with groove. Vive la
chops!
In this day and age of heavily produced music and compressed sound, MP3 has given
THE BLACK PAGE WANTS YOU
The Black Page is looking for a few good teachers. We
are starting a global database of educators worldwide
to publish every month in The Black Page. Education is
the future of drumming, and the more access we have to
great teachers the better off our industry will be.
To submit your name, email address/website to our
database, email Sean at:
[email protected]
The listng is free for full & part-time drum educators.
Please provide some reference material for us to look at.
DOUBLE BASS BUILDING BLOCKS
by Ryan Carver
Here is an exercise I have been shedding a lot lately. This is designed to help build speed control and endurance. Start by playing
each line twice. Then progress to playing each line 4 and 8 times
each. Start at a slow tempo and slowly up to the faster tempos. Record your max tempos. Endurance is key, so play each one as long
as you can.
Ryan Carver is a member of the Academy of Drums faculty, the Vic Firth education team and PASIC.
Click either link below to visit him on the web or to email Ryan your questions and groove requests.
www.carverdrums.com
www.myspace.com/ryancarver
“Some of the high schools
are beginning to turn out
some good young musicians now. They’re all musically educated. That’s what
we’re gonna need to change
this music. So, it’s up to you
guys.”
Uriel Jones
1934 - 2009