Memo to Phil Collins: Be careful what you wish for

June 12, 2017 Richard Best

Cadbury's Dairy Milk Advert of a Gorilla emotionally drumming to Phil Collins song "In The Air Tonight" GORILLA DRUMMER

Well, Phil Collins is back in the news lately. Remember when he was the guy every rock drummer wanted to be? Then he became a front-man, a break-out star, then a pop icon, then the stalwart of the housewives’ hit parade. Even though Phil are I nearly the same age, he was my idol. We all followed his progress from promising young prog-rock drummer with the shy manner and even shyer voice, to the most respected, most wanted, rock/pop drummer ever. I've just finished Phil's autobiography and I heartily recommend it.

The Rudiments Are Very Important.....("and, some day, I hope to study them")

May 16, 2017 Richard Best

Some of the patterns have been around for a thousand years or more. Most of them are a few hundred years old at least. The drum set itself, barely a hundred years old, came along long after the rudiments were laid down. Well, if the rudiments were never intended for drum set use, does it even make sense to drag them into the drum set arena?Some of the patterns have been around for a thousand years or more. Most of them are a few hundred years old at least. The drum set itself, barely a hundred years old, came along long after the rudiments were laid down. Well, if the rudiments were never intended for drum set use, does it even make sense to drag them into the drum set arena?

Don't Look Now

April 13, 2017 Richard Best

My doctor put me on a new drug that actually made me a bit stoned for the first few days. I was prepared for this and planned my days accordingly. What I didn't realize was how it would affect my playing. Being a little bit high (from whatever cause) can help you get into the music. Best case is to be high on the music alone. Less desirable is to be in enough of a fog to forget to pay attention to, for example, the guitar player trying to catch my eye because he wants to end the tune.

Be Kind To Your Support System

March 15, 2017 Richard Best

I had an interesting time playing a “back line” set. It was a high quality set – very complete – but with a few weak points. The main issues were the hi-hat, snare and bass pedal. Wait a minute ... aren't those the most important tools for a drummer? With a part missing from the hi-hat, a jammed snare release and a bass pedal badly in need of some grease, I had to be vigilant just to 'TCB' which, of course, takes away from playing music and my mental health.

Unpacking Polyrhythms Part 1: The Basics

February 14, 2017 Richard Best

According to the Harvard Dictionary of Music, a polyrhythm occurs whenever two contrasting rhythms happen at the same time. That doesn't nail things down for us very well, especially given that there are a number of terms used to describe polyrhythms. What adds to the confusion is that the book uses the same bit of notation to illustrate several of these terms. So what gives?Terminology is helpful when it clarifies concepts, and a pain in the butt when it serves only to confuse. So I'd like to offer a few suggestions for interpreting the rather imprecise terms available to describe concurrent rhythms.

Unpacking Polyrhythms Part 2: The Others

February 14, 2017 Richard Best

Metric Modulation
This is a unique application of a polyrhythm, where a pulse is alluded to and then adopted as the new time signature. For example, if you play quarter-note triplets in 4/4 time, you are playing a polyrhythm. If you abandon the 4/4 pulse and use the triplets as the new pulse, then you have modulated to 6/4 meter at a new tempo. And you can go the other direction as well: 6/4 to a hemiola (2:3) to 4/4.

Hitting Bottom

February 14, 2017 Richard Best

I'd only playing for a few years and was about a year into my studies with a world-renown teacher, but at this particular lesson I was bombing. I didn't know why I was bombing. My teacher, who didn't often say much, was pacing the room slowing shaking his head. “Let’s try it again,” he said. That meant another month of the same material. So I knuckled down and did it all again. I was good at knuckling down. I had the discipline and determination to master the material I was assigned. And I HAD mastered it. Or so I thought.

Just Relax

January 15, 2017 Richard Best

A couple of years ago I had a recurring numbness in my lead hand. My fingers went quite numb and the numbness extended nearly to my elbow. I did a bit of medical research and learned that it was caused by, unfortunately, old age. The problem is similar to carpal tunnel syndrome. That’s when the nerve ‘tunnel’ in the wrist becomes chronically inflamed so the nerve can no longer slide along smoothly. Carpal tunnel is a tough one because it often requires surgery. My problem was less severe, and the recommended treatment was to relax. And so.....

Carve Out Your Space

December 15, 2016 Richard Best

Drums are loud. And few if any neighbours would recommend living beside a drummer who practices a lot. So what is a poor, motivated drummer to do? Rent a practice hall? Good idea, but not convenient and not cheap. Just hope the neighbours are OK with it? Ya, I’ve tried that ... pretty risky. Maybe you can fit up a practice room that keeps the sound inside. That would be ideal. It’s also nearly impossible to achieve, but with a bit of time and investment, you can come close enough.

Phoning It In

November 3, 2016 Richard Best

my favourite indicator is the dance floor. If it's filled with bobbing heads, then I know I'm not phoning it in. And if there is no dance floor, I watch faces and feet.

And A One And A Two

October 11, 2016 Richard Best

It would be nice if we all could just hear complex rhythms and then play them. Most of us have to find some way of counting them. For example, I learned to play quarter note triplets with 'Pass the gol-durn butter'. I use 'serendipity' to count 5-lets. Doesn't really matter how you count things, as long as it works for you.

The Inner Inner Line

September 3, 2016 Richard Best

"Musical intensity will come from being able to play subdivisions with great specificity and control" - Peter Erskine.
Here's an interesting application. We think of funk as being very 8th note or 16th note oriented, but a lot of funk actually gets its groove from relaxing the 'inner inner line'. You may think you hear 16th notes on the snare leading into the down beats, but if you listen carefully you’ll notice that those aren’t 16th notes at all, but are based on a 16th-note triplet shuffle played within the 8th note structure of the rhythm. That’s why those beats are so relaxed and funky -- and a challenge to play properly.

From country to Led Zeppelin to funk, it’s all in the inner line … and the line within the inner line.

Hey, Hey, We're the Studio Cats!

June 30, 2016 Richard Best

I recently watched an interesting and entertaining movie called "The Wrecking Crew". It's the story -- with lots of interviews -- about the coven of ace studio musicians who created almost all of the pop and rock music that came out of California in the ‘50s and ‘60s.

Adaptive Anticipation - or - What comes next?

June 3, 2016 Richard Best

I like to use a billiard analogy. You can just whack the cue ball and hope for the best, but serious pool players put a lot of effort into controlling where the cue ball ends up. It's important to make the shot, but if you're not preparing for the next shot, your game will suffer. Same with your strokes.

A Few Thoughts About Our Thoughts....

April 30, 2016 Richard Best

Self-esteem is what gives you the courage, the confidence you need to make it through life. Confidence helps you ask for a try-out for a band you admire. It’s also what enables you to play your best.

To The Power of Three

March 16, 2016 Richard Best

One of the most important, interesting and powerful rhythmic tricks available is groupings of three. I don't mean playing 3/4 or 6/8 or quarter-note triplets. Almost every music style uses three-beat figures played in a four-beat environment. In fact, it's rare to hear a tune that doesn't use this concept in some way.

Articulation

February 1, 2016 Richard Best

Articulation - Miss Manners would certainly advise that you shouldn't talk with your mouth full. There's the visual aspects, to be sure, but there's also the issue of garbled speech with the attendant lack of actual communication. Better to have your vocal system free of debris if you want to be heard clearly and be understood.

To Click Or Not To Click

January 24, 2016 Richard Best

Whenever the discussion turns to click tracks, drummers like to cry foul (usually accompanied by a sour face). For many drummers, the use of a click track is unnatural, cheating, insulting, or all three. I'm afraid I can't agree. A drummer's prime responsibility is to keep time. Unfortunately, keeping steady, unwavering time is hard to do.

Please choose which you like better: Jeff Porcaro or a drum machine!

November 2, 2015 Richard Best

Researchers played music for groups of subjects and then asked them how much they ‘liked’ the rhythm. In one group, the drum part was played by a drummer (Jeff Porcaro unbeknowst to the participants): in another test group, the same rhythm was played by a drum machine. Although subjects could not quantify their answers, they somewhat preferred the 'real' drummer.