Scattered throughout this blog are posts about playing brushes, plus the following reviews of what I consider to be some outstanding instructional videos on mastering brushes:
What distinguishes this book/DVD set from the videos I cited above are two things:
It is not jazz-centric
The instructor, Florian Alexandru-Zorn, uses match grip when demonstrating exercises and techniques
Let me back up and state up front that I am a jazz drummer and I use traditional grip exclusively. I think it's folks like myself who sometimes are the barriers to pop drummers learning how to play with brushes. This set removes those barriers in my opinion.
For one thing the instructor and material clearly demonstrate how to employ brushes in pop music, which can extend to I-IV-V rock some call blues, as well as country, Americana and roots music. And, of course, rock (especially some forms of alternative rock). For that reason this package should make a lot of sense to non-jazz drummers. From personal experience I can say that every other package on the market falls far short in that respect, and is a barrier to non-jazz drummers even considering learning how to play with brushes.
Another barrier this package breaks is proving that playing brushes using match grip is perfectly fine. Most drummers play match grip, yet most brush instructional videos are demonstrated with traditional grip. If nothing else that is a psychological barrier to many drummers who play strictly match grip.
Here are a few clips from the package, plus the instructor, Florian Alexandru-Zorn, in action at a workshop:
One performance clip shows how Florian applies his lessons in a real musical setting. Granted this is a jazz number, but Caraven has been covered by rock groups like the Ventures.
In addition, here is a preview of the book that comes with the package: Table of Contents and sample lesson. Dig around this blog as well as my other one, Music for Drummers for reviews of brush models and heads, examples of solid brush playing and related subjects.
In my 22 May 2012 post titled Stick bags - function and vanity I discussed the difference between vanity stick bags and practical ones. On the practical end of the spectrum I just came across what may be the best stick bag on the market when you consider price, capacity and construction: SKB Deluxe Drum Stick Bag (model 1SKB-SB300)
If you read Stick bags - function and vanity then you know what I mean by vanity bags (the Reunion Blues, Anthology Gear Wear and a handful of others I own.)
This SKB Deluxe Drum Stick Bag on the other hand can hold more sticks, brushes and mallets and other implements than any of the above bags and is built to last almost as long as any of the leather models. What makes it practical is when you factor in cost, construction and capacity this is the best value on the market [that I have come across] that meets all three of those factors.
While the 600 denier nylon construction is not as sexy as leather used in the vanity bags I mentioned, it is built to last. Probably the first thing to go on this bag would be the zippers and I am betting those will have a long, useful life.
It's the capacity that sets this bag apart from anything on the market except the DW Peter Erskine Stand-Alone Stick Bag. I will be perfectly honest: most drum kit players will probably not need the capacity, while percussionists who play a variety of instruments from traditional drum kits to mallets will find this bag to be more than adequate.
I especially like the shoulder straps and the form factor of the bag, including the front, zippered pouch and inside mesh pockets. You can not only store your sticks, mallets and brushes, but can also store a variety of tools (keys, wrenches, hex wrenches and small spare parts like felts, etc.)
As a comparison, this bag is half the price of the Peter Erskine one I mentioned (at the time of this post) with comparable capacity. It is significantly less expensive than the Reunion Blues Extra Large Stick & Mallet Bag which does not come close to the same capacity, and a fraction of the three hundred dollar price tag of the Anthology Gear Wear bag I wrote about in this post. Granted, there is probably not a more beautiful bag on the market than the Anthology Gear Wear, and especially in the Black Whiskey leather finish, but there is probably no bag as expensive. I love mine and it is pure vanity. For practical folks who want a bag that will last for at least a decade though, this SKB model is the one I recommend. Not that there is anything wrong with vanity. Cool is a valuable factor ... it can get expensive though.
As you browse through posts there are many that are related to technique. Since this and my other blog, Music for Drummers, are mainly aimed at jazz drummers and drumming, you may find the lack of posts regarding achieving a swing feel odd.
The reason I have not attempted to post anything related to achieving that feel is I do not think it can be taught. It can, however, be developed by listening to music that has that feel. Before proceeding, consider this ambiguous definition of swing to understand where I am coming from.
As I said a swing feel can be developed. The best way is to spend a lot of time listening to music that has the feel, then practicing to it.
Musicians from my generation typically have no problem because many of us grew up listing to big band and swing music that our parents inevitably played (and in my case played to death.) I am not saying that we all liked it at the time - I personally hated it when I was young - but it was ubiquitous. It also found its way into our DNA. Moreover, drummers who went on to be the pulse of early R&B, rock and even country came from those swing bands, so other popular music from my generation's youth swung. Listen to Mitch Mitchell with Jimi Hendrix, Charlie Watts with the Rolling Stones or John Bonham with Led Zeppelin to hear examples of early rock drummers who had a natural swing to their playing.
Here are some of my listening recommendations to help you develop a swing feel if you do not already have one:
For the price you get a few minutes shy of six hours of music. The selections are not B-side stuff, and span more than a few sub genres of jazz, including swing, bebop, and cool/West Coast styles. I was familiar with most of the music on the album, but discovered a few gems I had not heard before. I also enjoyed some of the seminal work of Miles Davis (such as So What from Kind of Blue), Monk, Lester Young and Bud Powell. The sound quality is very good, adding to the value. If you love jazz you will love this album ... if you are exploring jazz for the first time, this is an inexpensive way to obtain a large collection of some of the best music ever performed to explore and savor. And every track swings. Here are some clips from the album.
First, let's address the misleading title: less than half of the music contained in this album is bebop, and some is so far from falling into the bebop genre that I had to scratch my head. A prime example is the very first song, which is performed by Benny Goodman's band. Benny was the antithesis of bebop. Of the songs that do fall into the bebop genre, only a small handful can be considered "essential". So, either the title is marketing hype of evidence of ignorance on the part of the person or team compiling the tracks for the album. However, every track swings and that is the listening objective.
If you don't normally listen to jazz, this album contains some great music spanning swing, bebop, hard bop and straight ahead jazz. Personally there is not a single dud on the album and it has brought me a lot of pleasure and many hours of enjoyment.
If you are looking for examples of essential bebop (or even total bebop) look elsewhere. If you want to enjoy a little over five hours of great jazz spanning a few sub genres, this album is a bargain and does contain some classic cuts in each sub genre.
In addition to providing five hours of musical examples of swing, this album also has some great examples of comping, and, of course, bebop drumming. Here are some clips from this album:
Additonal listening and play-along tracks are provided this page. Although the focus is brush playing, most of the tracks can also be played with sticks, and all will help you develop an innate swing feel.
This master class is from the 2010 Mid-Atlantic Jazz Festival. It features a drummer who I very much admire, Lewis Nash.
He packs an amazing amount of tips, attitude and philosophy into this class. I will end this post with Lewis performing a great Ellington/Juan Tizol tune accompanying saxophonist Steve Wilson.
First up is a lesson in vocalizing what you are playing. This first piece may come across as corny to drummers not versed in jazz, but ignore it at your own peril.
The second segment is all about tasteful and balanced playing. In other words, when to use power in your accompanying and when to hold it in check to support the music.
Segment three is probably the most important of the master class (in my opinion) because too many drummers just fail to understand how to properly pull it off. Many drummers believe that our job is to merely keep time, chugging along locked into the bassist and pretty much ignoring what the rest of the musicians are doing. In fact, we are responsible for at least supporting the melody and understanding the harmonic structure of what is being played as well. Here are Mr. Nash's approach and ideas, which are worth their weight in gold:
In my intro I mentioned that Lewis packed attitude and philosophy into this series of lessons. This segment focuses on the attitude (among other topics):
In this final segment Lewis steps up to probably the biggest stumbling block most drummers - and especially the less experienced - encounter: ballads. Note: Two sources of my previous posts that are good supplements to this segment are this one, and Another Study in Tempos: Stirring the soup.
I'll conclude with a duet between Lewis and Steve Wilson performing Caravan. There are a few noteworthy things happening in this clip. Foremost is Lewis' choice of grooves and mastery of dynamics. Caravan is typically played much louder on toms, but the groove is fit to the music and the room. If you learn nothing else from this post, learn the way he tastefully supports the music by playing to the situation and not blindly playing cliches that many drummers employ on this song.
Second, you do not necessarily need a bassist or any other instrument as long as at least one instrument in the ensemble can play the melody. And surprisingly Wilson does. What I mean by surprisingly is in the hands of most saxophonists a soprano sax sounds like cats fucking. One of the reasons is the instrument is actually not in tune with itself, which is not a good quality for an instrument that is going to be the sole source of the melody in a performance. But Wilson pulls it off, leading me to conclude that he must have been channeling Sidney Bechet, the only other musician who mastered that evil instrument.
One final note: most of my recent efforts have gone into adding content to my Music for Drummers blog, and that trend will continue.
Retired IT consultant who once specialed in ITIL, and specifically, configuration, change and release management. I've traveled the world as a consultant before moving into my present position. If you truly want to know more do a google search of my last name. Contact me
