One concept that I feel has tremendously helped my groove has been what I call "anchoring." An anchor keeps the ship in a stationary position, and until that anchor is brought up, that ship is not moving. Relating to time and groove, I have found one note to be most potent in this regard.
It is the offbeat 8th note, the "an" of any note. Somehow, when I get this happening, the time and groove seem to be so interelated and effortless that the music becomes a joy. Now, how I manifest it is simply either one of two ways. I can either accent that note on the hi-hats with my right hand or I can play that note with my foot on the hi-hat. Somehow, in my mind, just hearing that note accented, MAKES me play to that. All of a sudden other notes start coming from my left hand, ghost strokes that fill out the rest of the rhythmic spectrum, and it happens quite naturally.
How do you develop this? It takes work and mental energy. Start slow, but play an 8th note groove on the ride cymbal. Get that going for 4 bars. Then at the 5th bar, get quarter notes happening on the hi-hat with your left foot. You should have a duplication of 8th notes. Now, simply begin to remove the quarter notes. This will take some time to get used to, but when you hear it, I think something will begin to click.
Another way to approach this is to play a brush groove on your snare drum, 1 & 3 on the kick. Instead of accenting the 2 & 4 on your hi-hat, accent the offbeat 8ths. See what happens.
Now, as with anything, learning to intuitively make this musical is an art. IT IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR EVERY SONG. That said, you might be able to employ it in many songs, at certain points in the song, perhaps a chorus or a bridge. What it will do is help your groove develop in new ways and your time will feel more steady.
For a master study on this concept, check out Bernard Purdie's work on the Steely Dan album "The Royal Scam." Rick Marotta is also credited on the album at http://www.steelydan.com/citizentracks.html, but if I was a betting man (I'm not!) I would say that the tracks that best represent what I am talking about were played by "Pretty" Purdie. For this concept, check out "Kid Charlemagne," "The Fez," and "Green Earrings."
Hope this helps.
Blessings,
Frank
9.13.2006
9.11.2006
"Intuition"
Let's see: How do I put this mess all together? Hmm... Some parts of drumming are subjective and it is sometimes a mystery as to how one drummer is favored over another. For one band, one drummer is the best. For another, well, they will get by with or without him/her.
I was talking with a music friend yesterday about this issue. He brought up the term "intuition." He defined it as "just being able to hear a suggestion, and then giving something back." Sort of like a music conversation.
For example, the worship leader, thoroughly a fine musician but never a drummer, turns around and tells you, "I really want more of a driving beat." Now, at that point, us drummers have the opportunity to reach into our bag of tricks and pull out something that we would describe as "driving." Then the worship leader says, "Well, not like that. More like..." and then he flails his arms and makes drum noises with his mouth, apparently unaware of the blank stare that has come across your face.
Intuition is the ability to reach for many options in that moment. For example, driving might mean four on the floor with a low tom mimic, heavy backbeat and a washy crash ride combo. Maybe it's the low tom, interspersed with a backbeat and the other toms thrown inbetween. Maybe it's open hi-hat 8th notes, accents on the backbeat (2 & 4) with a cymbal...
You see what I mean? Reaching into your bag of tricks, trying to make a term come to life which will serve the music.
But then, there's that bag of tricks. You might just be a one trick pony, which is never good in the musical context.
Before I move on, this is probably the most subjective part of music. One part of you might say, "I am what I am and that's all that I am." Well thank you Popeye! The other part will say, "I need to learn and expand that bag of tricks, but how?" It's to you that I write.
Our proverbial bags will be expanded when we open our minds to other types of music and truly explore the nuances of what makes that type of music special. For example, an R&B drummer has certain sound and feel. Same goes for the Heavy Metal drummer or the Jazz drummer.
The point is to be able to reach down and at the very least, fake a feel for any given song. That is what intuition is about. It is part negotiation, in that you should be able to provide several examples for a nebulous, magical part. But the other part of intuition, is to reach down into the bag of tricks and confidently copy some one else's work!
I told my shuffle story, so I won't repeat it. But there have been many other experiences where I was able to provide my "drum term illiterate" worship leader with something close to what he was hearing.
I hope this helps.
Blessings,
Frank
I was talking with a music friend yesterday about this issue. He brought up the term "intuition." He defined it as "just being able to hear a suggestion, and then giving something back." Sort of like a music conversation.
For example, the worship leader, thoroughly a fine musician but never a drummer, turns around and tells you, "I really want more of a driving beat." Now, at that point, us drummers have the opportunity to reach into our bag of tricks and pull out something that we would describe as "driving." Then the worship leader says, "Well, not like that. More like..." and then he flails his arms and makes drum noises with his mouth, apparently unaware of the blank stare that has come across your face.
Intuition is the ability to reach for many options in that moment. For example, driving might mean four on the floor with a low tom mimic, heavy backbeat and a washy crash ride combo. Maybe it's the low tom, interspersed with a backbeat and the other toms thrown inbetween. Maybe it's open hi-hat 8th notes, accents on the backbeat (2 & 4) with a cymbal...
You see what I mean? Reaching into your bag of tricks, trying to make a term come to life which will serve the music.
But then, there's that bag of tricks. You might just be a one trick pony, which is never good in the musical context.
Before I move on, this is probably the most subjective part of music. One part of you might say, "I am what I am and that's all that I am." Well thank you Popeye! The other part will say, "I need to learn and expand that bag of tricks, but how?" It's to you that I write.
Our proverbial bags will be expanded when we open our minds to other types of music and truly explore the nuances of what makes that type of music special. For example, an R&B drummer has certain sound and feel. Same goes for the Heavy Metal drummer or the Jazz drummer.
The point is to be able to reach down and at the very least, fake a feel for any given song. That is what intuition is about. It is part negotiation, in that you should be able to provide several examples for a nebulous, magical part. But the other part of intuition, is to reach down into the bag of tricks and confidently copy some one else's work!
I told my shuffle story, so I won't repeat it. But there have been many other experiences where I was able to provide my "drum term illiterate" worship leader with something close to what he was hearing.
I hope this helps.
Blessings,
Frank
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