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    Drums PDF

    Uploaded by

    Yuval Lev Ari

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    PETER FRSA Master Clagses PETER ERONINE drum concepts and techniques By PETER ERSKINE freddy John Const fet Droein by i anne . Eatedoy Bek Mating Cristian Medrano, Cover Photo by Darren Young Book Copyright 1987 by 21st Century Musie Productions Ine A Pights Reserved. Any unauthorized duplication ‘fthis Book or contents isa violation of copyright laws. Distributed by Hal Leonard Publishing Corp. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT inthis book, I've attempted to translate my pedagogical method into print. ‘This methodology has been largely experiential and verbally oriented. My work in teaching and staring whatever tips and insights I've gained over the years with younger drummers has not relied on the use of too many drumbooks: [ hope, then, that this book will, by virtue of some intrinsic value, justify its own existence and find a place in the drum workd, Many thanks to: Rick Matingly, who so expertly helped to put much ofthe text together, ‘John Cerullo, who gave me the opportunity to write and present these ideas; Masamichi ‘Assisi of Jaszife Magazine; my mother and father, who originally inspired this and most of ray mesial ideas; Frank Balffi, for his help with the transcriptions; Bill dwg It acd Steven Ross & Associates, who helped provide photographs; and Mutsuko Mano, forgiving mea uit place anda computer with WordSiar with which to work (actualy this book was ten largely onthe Macinisk computes Toall ofthe above I express my gratitude and share of any credit; for any errors, I alone secant responsibility. ‘This book is dedicated to the memory of Shelly Manne, Collin Walcott, and Buddy Rich, FOREWORD Tolook athe recent history of American music isto look atthe history of our times. Music hasalvays capured the fire and imagination of generation's people: Witness the Jazz Age, Sig, ck and ol, folk music, The Beate, and so on, leading upto jazz-ock, fasion, and ‘te music that we are listening to and playing today — a music made up of pop, rhythrn & bs, ok, az, and ethnic music influences. In other words, today’s music is made up of @ TOTAL SUM of the more poputar syle of music that have survived the past decades. ‘Thebes, and most interesting musicians today, are those whose playing reflects an understanding of these styles — those musicians who appreciate the history of moder ‘American Music, and have leamed from it. ([ freely use the term “modem American Music” torelate wo the idea of this great melting pot of musical influences from around the world, ‘aling themselves on these shores of the Land of the Free, the Lund of the Recording Indu, and the Land of the best jazz musicians in the world.) To understand a bit of history ‘ito low yourself to get a better idea about the future, let alone the present tis my opinion as is the above) that as musicians, particularly drummers, grow more and ‘moron their instrument, that sophistication inevitably leads them wo an appreciation of some the reat JAZZ. drumming masters. It is also my belief that, sooner or later, the aspiring podessional drummer will have to play some jazz. music — convincingly. The reverse is true forthe “jst jazz” drummer. In other words, drummers must be more wriversal in scope today ‘than ever before, because the musical styles, influences, and beats have all converged. {any own case, my musical vocabulary has been influenced by not only jazz, pop, and R&B ‘sts, bt also by the: music of such composers as Edgar Varése (“Lonisalion”), [gor Stavinsky("L'Histoire du Soldat”), and Bela Baridk (‘Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion’), ‘There's wom for every kind of musical influence, but in arder to take advantage of these invnoss, basic drumming techniques will have to be mastered to meet the challenge of ‘wiay's (and tomorrow's) music, In Bis book, [am going to share my drumming experiences and philosophies with you. We shal explore all ofthe rhythmic influences that make up my understanding of music — in citer words, my drumming vocabulary and techniques. (A quick glance atthe Table of Contents should give you a good idca of this book's overview.) r 5 CONTENTS 8 « PETER ERSKINE -Autobiography 10 +» SETUP OF THE DRUMS 15 « RIDE CYMBAL CONCEPT & TECHNIQUE 20 « INDEPENDENCE 21 + BASIC INDEPENDENCE EXERCISES 34 + SLOW AND FAST TEMPOS 36 + STRAIGHT(ER) EIGHTH-NOTE RHYTHMS- ACCENTS AND VARIATIONS 43 + BEATS 87 + BRUSHES 91 + PRACTICE 95 » PHRASING 97 » READING 99 » TUNING 101 » GENERAL PROFESSIONAL ADVICE 103 +« DISCOGRAPHY PETER ERSKINE Autobiography 1 saried playing the drums when I was three or four years ok. My father Fashioned a drum setup for me using an okt Chinese wm-tom, a conga drum, and a sizzle cymbal (with paper clips). Dad, who was a bass player back in his college days, was jut starting his career as a psychiatrist, and his office adjoined the house. As T was practicing the drums, he was analyzing people's dreams. Both he and his patients were gracious enough not to complain about my drumming, Indeed, botk my mother and father, as well as my brother and two sisters, encouraged me completely. ‘When | had just tuned seven, I met Stan Kenton at one of his week-long summer jazz band camps. Every summer thereafter I would trek off to the campus of whatever host university the camp was at and get my year's worth of jazz nourishment. During those Sunimer camps I was lucky enough to study with drummers sach as Paul Guerrero, Clem DeRose, Charlie Perry, Dee Barton, Alan Dawson, and Fd Soph, and to be around musicians such as Oliver Nelson, Ron Carter, Jimmy Garrison, Donald Byrd, Marvin Stamm, and Johnny Richaris, as ‘well as the entire Kenton Orchestra. Thus began a relationship chat culminated wien 1 became the drummer in Stan's band atthe age of eighven, ‘Meanwhile, during junior high school I studied xylophone with Billy Dor. As high school {and foosball season and marching band) loomed ahead of me, {applied 10, and was accepted at, the Interlochen Arts Academy, where I enjoyed playing in the symphony orchestra and the very fine jazz band there. is an excellent school. Alter high school, one year of college. study followed at Indiana University, with Professor George Gaber. ‘Then I took the job with ‘Kenton and went on the road for the next three years. In Kenton’s band T started to Jearn about the importance of time-keeping, as opposed (0 just playing the drums for fun and profit. Nothing is more valuable than playing day after dy and night after night, receiving suppor, criticism, and feedback from musicians who know more than you do. 1 am forever grxetu to Stan and the entire band. “Two years with Maynard Ferguson followed, More of the same — learning about drums and Jeaming about life, Finally, Jaco Pastorius heard me with Maynard one night, and soon thereafter I was invited to join Weather Report. Jaco, Josef Zawinul, and Wayne Shorter are ‘reat musicians and human beings; being with them opened up all sorts of doors for me. T ‘was with the Report forfour years. 1 lived in Los Angeles for thee of those years, and 1 got 1o play with some great musicians out there, making records with folks such as Freddie Hubbard and Joni Michell, doing film dates, and just playing around town. 1 moved to New York City in 1982, whore I played with some of my favorite musicians (guys like Michael Brecker, Mike Mainieri (Steps Ahead], Eddie Gomer, John Abercrombie, Marc Johnson, Joka Scofield, Don Groinick, Will Lee, Kenny Kirkland), worked with the groups Bass Desires and Weather Update, froc-lanced, composed, and taught. Recently 1 relocated in Southern California, where I plan to kecp learning more and more about music, electronics, MIDI, production in the studio, and computers. ‘There's plenty of room in CCalifomia to raise a family, and that's just what I'm going to do. 4 do love getting the chance to play, and lately there has been plenty of that! Potcr Erskine April 1987 SETUP OF THE DRUMS Let's first examine the physical setup of the drums, the physical setup of ourselves in relation to the instrument, and the hand grips of the sticks. A Brief History ‘The drum setup has evolved from a relatively primitive, though ingenious, design of a side drum (or snare drum) and a bass drum {with a simple pedal mechanism to play the bass drum and simultaneously strike a small ‘mounted cymbal on the bat. Aeop) to the addition of dhe carly hi-hat (kia the “snow- shoe,” then, the “low-boy"), tom-toms, and cymbals, to today’s engineer-designed hhardovare-laden drumkits, with electronic synthesis, digital sampling and reproduction (0 boot, ‘The good old days saw some stupendous drumset, like Sonny Greer’s magnificent percussion setup in Duke Ellington's Orchestra And, though for a while it seemed al? yoo true that they weren’t “making them like they used 1," I think that today’s drummer has the choice of finding expertly made drums, cymbals, and hardware. While some drummers prefer having many drums and cymbals sround them, others prefer ‘what is now thought of as the more tational setup: the four-or-five-pice setup. Its this type of setup that we will deal with in the following pages. THE DRUMS ARE ONE INSTRUMENT DRUMSET = YOU My idea is thatthe drumset is lke your body. Your right arm has one function, your nse Jes function, your ears have @ function, and so on. But you are one human being, and you convey ideas or physical activity as one person, I's the same with the drumset. 1 don’t think tht you should approach it asa multple-percussion setup; it's one instrument. There are ferent components to it, just as there are different notes on a piano, and there are pedals on a Fiano. You have to lear how to use them all together to present one idea. T'm aware of the remiseof having a lead voice, which is usually the ride cymbal. 1 don’t intend, though, to Iblate it from the rest of the kit. I's important how everything works together. The unset i, indeed, one instrument, and that’s why balance is SO important on the kit ‘Make sure that the setup is comfortable for you. You should not have to reach too far to strike any portion of your playing area, ‘This is imponant! If your seat is so high that your feet do not reach the pedals comforiably, or your ‘ombals are so high or far away that you must make an effort to play them, then your setup isWRONG FOR YOU. RELAXATION is the key to doing anything tly wel, especially when it invelves physical ‘ion and activity. IF your setup invites fatigue or stain, how are you going to play some relly good music for any length of time? So the drums and cymbals should be positioned in front of you so that you can comfortably reach every part ofthe kit (I sit rather lows I find it telps me to play the pedals with more contol and strenath as my legs are not 100 long.) T think of my drum setup as a sort of cockpit: everything is right infront of mo, Avoid drastic angles. In general, you should always avoid exaggerations — in your setup, your motion, oF playing style. What I am mainly feferring to here is the imponance of iceping the iom-toms and cymbals relatively Oat. 1 have, inthe past, made the mistake of playing my cymbals or tom-toms at too acute an angle. Not only did this make staking them ‘more difficult (especially with any degree of consistemcy, as I found myself glancing off of that instrument), but also the sound suffered. The more flat a drain or cymbal is, the easier it isto hit and get a good sound from. Period. (recognize tha the stick-to-cymbal atitude is wique part of certain stylistic drumming styles, a la the early "70s Al Mouzon/Exic Gravatt high-intensity ride cymbal playing where the cymbal was positioned very high and almost vertical Like 1 said, { once played that way. As I've goten older, I've discovered i's easier, and it sounds beter, to play the other way. And it can still get intense — even more so, in fact) It’s important w remember: Your setup has to allow you to play im a relaxed manner! 1. Shoulders down, arms by your sides, 2. Appropriate heights all the way around. 3. Don’t fight your equipment. MAKE SURE ITIS IN GOOD WORKING CONDITION! (i'm amazed at how some drummers’ equipment has rattles, or the heads ‘are 100 loose or too tight, or the drums are completely out of whack — it {just makes no sense. Ifyou play an instrument, you have to maintain it, ‘That's a priority. 1s a privilege 10 have a good instrument to play on. ‘Doo’t teat an instrument poorly.) The Sticks Find the right drumsticks for YOU, Just like Goldilocks and the Three Bears, you should find them to be not too heavy, not too light, but “just right” (AAAHHHHED. Your playing Situation will be a determining factor up to a point, Vic Fih once wisely said, “Where does it say that you have {0 settle on just one stick? Timpanists certainly don’t. For lighter stutt they use a lighter stick,” So why ty to play lighdy with a big drumstick? Use a lighter stick. If you have to play heavier, use a heavy stick. Sax players do something like that when they change mouthpieces for different applications. Guitarists use different gage swings, and even different guitars. So dhe right stick choice is important. FFor general use J play with de Vic Fith 7A hickory sticks; for lighter work, I use the maple SD 4. For the truest cymbal sound, { prefer a wood-tipped sick. Vie Firth has now come out with the Peter Erskine Signature model drumstick, which is beautifully balanced, with a fighs tip, [use it forall of my jazz work, The Grip Right Hand Make sure that your grip is firm, but relaxed, For playing on the ride cymbal, my thumb is ‘on top of the stick ‘makes more sense for me for playing on the ride cymbal, because it seems to form a straighter linc from my shoulder to th: ip of the stick (in other words, there is no twisting of the arm). Also Tean accomplish a loose, elaxed yet powerful snapping motion Left Hand employ both the “traditional” and the “matched” grip when I play. Since the traditional grip ‘was the fist technique that I eared (when I was learning to play jazz) that is the grip T use ‘when Tm ina jaz situation, For louder contexts, such as strong backbeats, I will play maiched grip, sometimes turning the stick around and using the butt end, This is nothing new; Gene Krupa used to do it, t00. Whichever grip you use, be sure to strive for evenness and consisteney in whatever you play. Both Hands 1 get a consistent rebound of close to one inch off of whatever part of the drumkit I'm playing on — snare dram, tom-om, hi-hat, oF ride cymbal. This ensures tat the stick isin the area where it's going tobe doing its business. Each stroke originales from the same place: this ensues consistency. Don’t originate your strokes from up in the air, that’s where a good ‘margin for error can creep in. You can bring the stick back for mare power, but always stat from the same place. This will keep your playing motion and activity FOCUSED. ‘A good drum stroke involves a “snap,” tat is, hitting the drum with velocity (speed) and quickly lifting the stick off of the head. This can be done at any dynamic level. {hold the sticks preny close to the butt ends. I lke to do this because of the leverage factor. 1 ‘aso hold the sticks in a very relaxed manner, this helps with the overall concept of relaxation, ‘nd is also an important part of leting the stick absor’ as much of the impact shock as possible, If you are holding the sicks tightly and in a brite fashion, and you hit a drum or cymbal very hard, something hss got to give: it may, unfortunately, be your stick, your cymbal, or part of YOU. Remember: 1, Hold the sticks firm but loose, 2. Ail drumming utilizes a combination of finger, wrist, and arm usage. 3. I is essential that the drummer always play relaxed, and get the most ‘out of his or her body potential, RIDE CYMBAL CONCEPT & TECHNIQUE Jazz. music, arguably America’s greatest anistic contribution to the world, has a wonderful hhistory, one that goes hack well beyond tk: haleyon days of Storyville (in New Orleans). 1 will benefit aif musicians to acquaint themselves with early jaz. and Afro-American musics. 1 ‘would like to focus this chapter, however, ae the music and drumming styl that comes directly from “bebop” (which evolved from “swing”, for T feel this style is the cornersione to successful modern druruming Lis my sincere belief that the bever a drummer's understanding of and ability o play good time is, the beter a musician that drummer is going to get the chance 19 be. Duke Eling said, “I don’t mean a thing if it ain't got that swing," Al! masic has to swing — especially jazz! The drummer's ride cymbal plays'a key part in this prerequisite Ride Cymbal Concept ‘The quarter-note pulse is the primary rhythmic factor in contemporary musi, whether it te jazz, rock, funk, or pop music. The eighth and sixteenth nots, or subdivisions of the bar, determine the Fee of te music (Le. “swung” eighth notes as compared to “straigh” ight notes). In jazz, the eighth notes are generally swung. Two swung eighth notes resemble the first and thd boats ofan eighth-note triple 3 D4-i074 “Traditionally, the jazz eymbal pate has been notated 1 fal 29 W's not played quite that way, however. ‘The ride-cymbal pattem is more like this: lil i Ifa classically minded musicologist were to attempt to notate the rhythm of jazz, it might look like this! ‘Weiten notation is only an approximation of the actual placement of the swung eighth note. However, for our purposes, f shall notate the ride-cymbal pattern as follows: Lil fal ia. Aride-cymbal pater may be phrased any way that the drammer “hears” it — the botiom line inall ofthis is that it has to sound good — but consistency and clarity are ofthe utmost importance. The other musicians that you are playing with, 3s well as your audiencc, must be able to clearly hear and feel the pulse ofthe time and your subdivisions, As a starting point, do nor accent the beats 2 and 4 on the ride cymbal. By way of example, think of a walking 4/4 bass line: ‘The bass does not accent on 2,4, or any one beat ofthe bar. Each quarter-nowe pulse is as important as the next; driving and moving forward. This applies to any tempo of 4/4 Ter cya li te nt tine eects he base 1 .lo ‘Acenting the beats 2 and 4 usualy results in the drummer physically (and thus, sonically) tweaking up the bar of 4/4 into two halves. And then, instead of a bona fide quarter-note pulse, we hear instead a thrce-note phrase: Imad mim ms aa. This three-note phrase can negatively manifest itself when the drummer atlempts wo “dance” With, or change up, the cymbal beat from the basic: 3 3 Jil ii Wo such as: 3 3 3 Mii od Maly a mm ‘The detrimental aspect of this is thatthe clarity ofthe quarter-note pulse is gone — not only to the other musicians and listeners, but internally (forthe drummer) as well. My experience has shown me that, by developing the inner sense of time with full Consideration ofthe quarter-note pulse (coordinated with the physical act of playing the ride cymbal) the drummer then builds and strengthens his or her understanding and feel far the: motion of music. {in other words, Amt Blakey has made a loc of great music while accenting the beats 2 and 4 on the ride cymbal; Elvin Jones swings harder than anybody, and he's accenting the “anc” of 2 and 4. Both of these drumming masters play it the way they hear it, but at the same time, these gentlemen are fully conscious of the role of the quarter-note pulse. Lis important to know that music is linear. From musi’s very beginning, its sound has moved in a linear, horizontal fashion. I'm talking iefto-right, here-to-there; the beat is going someplace! Think of time playing (ie, the ride cymbal) as not only the moter, but aiso the golden thread that weaves through and connects the music. Practice playing a “driving” quarter-note pulse onthe ride cymbal, with the hi-hat playing on beats 2 and 4. Remember: You get out of your instrument what vow put fo it. Play with snap and “elcercity,” in other words, energy, without exaggeraling your motions or the sound, Note: We all march to the beat of a slighily different drummer in tezms of our internal clock, cor where we comfortably like to play tempo-wise. Be able to play different grooves at all ‘tempos, This is important! Remember: 1. Consistent stick rebound. 2, Don't play on “top” ofthe cymbal Get some weight and the meat ‘of your arm in there. Think of gravity 3. Keep it light, 4, Play relaxed, Now let’s add the swung eighth-note syncopation to the quarter note, How you phrase the swung eight note is your drumming signature. Adding the swung eighth notes to the quarter notes will change the arm motion slightly. Think of the swung eighth note as a pickup to the next quater note, in dat the downward arm motion for the quarter notes on beats 1 and 3 is part of the same downward zam motion for the sung offbeat eighth note, Don't move so much of the entire arm to play the syncopation. Use more of the wrist and fingers.’The weight and velocity of the quarter-nove pulse will tus tot be affected, Keep in mind the consistency of sekound and sound, Phy the following exercise: the ride cymbal pattem with hi-hat on 2and 4 at a slow 1 moderate tempo, e.g. mm = 80 and work it up to mm = 176. 3 oman ad ftdd dnd Paar HiHat plays" f é x rf é ‘Try to keep the cighth notes swung even atthe faster tempos. I is possible to plas the eighth ‘ges in a more “straight” up and down fashion, ala Tony Williams with the Miles Davis band in the “60s, ata varity of tempos. Certaimly, faster tempos invite the straight cighth note approach. Be able to play both ways. (Qowill address FAST and SLOW tempos more thoroughly a litle bit Laer) Expanding the sound possibilities of the ride cymbulis simple, The 1 cymbal patter is played on the ride arca part of the cymbal. Try pl cm the bell. You can play on the belt of the eymbal to approximate a cowbell Sound for Latin teats, and also play quarter, eighth, or halFnoie tests on the bol to cut throwgh the high volume of a band —a very driving sound, You can also play (“dancing” with the stick) around and on the bell in a jazz framework; it's very modem sounding (I used ita lot with Weather Report. Josef Zawinul showed it to me. 1 worked on it, developed it, and he loved it. Accents on Bell of Cymbat Paying the cymbal withthe butt end of the drum stick wall result in a loud and very strong

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