Learn Songs Quickly and Efficiently Through Charting
For those of you who are working musicians out there, or even just involved with a few casual projects, you know that sometimes you have to learn songs on the fly. Sometimes you may have to learn a large set of material in only a day or two, or learn an entire song form and compose parts given only one or two listens (as is the case with a lot of session work.) This all requires you to develop some type of charting system to help you remember song forms, and figures/stops etc… When someone is paying you to do a session for them, they expect you to come into the studio, give them great tones that support their music, learn the material quickly, and give them quality parts that require as little editing as possible. Similarly, if someone is hiring you for a gig, they should be able to call you not long before the rehearsal (if there is one) get you the material, and be totally confident at rehearsal that you will know the material, and be able to get through the tunes in an efficient fashion.
Every drummer has their own way of charting songs, and learning them quickly. Mine is not too out of the ordinary as I simply count measures, but I do a couple of simple things to help myself out that you may be able to steal. My charting system requires me to quickly pick out the feel of the song, and identify where the backbeat should be. This helps me to count bars through the tune, and develop my grooves as I listen. One thing I learned quickly is to write really big whenever I’m charting. I figured this out after squinting my way through several gigs. This helps me to clearly read the number of bars in a section to minimize the thinking process, and focus on the playing. It also helps me to read my charts in the dark as venues are usually fairly dimly lit. (You can also get a music stand light for this.) Another important thing is to write clearly. My handwriting is simply not good, so I have to keep in mind that I will be reading my own writing while I play.
Now we’ve come to the point where the producer or engineer pushes play, and we have to start charting. The first thing I do (as I said before) is establish my counting system. The worst thing ever is to count or hear a song in a different way than they are, and then you have to amend your chart mentally as you go. The most important part of counting bars (for me at least) is being able to feel certain phrases/section lengths. Most song sections occur in 4, 8, 16, or 32 measure phrases, so you need to be able to feel this number of bars in your sleep. This allows you to focus more on parts and figures rather than form. You also need to be able to feel other numbers of bars/phrase lengths such as 9, 10, and 12 bar phrases. I’v come to learn that these are more common than I once thought, even in simple pop songs. As I count I write the number of measures in each section down an the left side of the page (as you can see in my chart below)
The next thing I do is differentiate between sections of the song (ie. verse, pre-chorus, chorus, intro, etc…) Most songs have a distinct verse and chorus so this usually isn’t too difficult. I write the section title next to the number of bars in that section. I also stagger the sections, and space common groups of sections apart in order to help me easily locate my spot on the chart with just a quick glance. I try to give my brain and eyes as little work to do as possible when reading down the page.
The last thing I do is make VERY simple notes next to sections, and only if I need to. These are mostly just to help me remember what instrument I’m gonna ride for each section (ie hi-hat, ride, floor tom, etc…) I even abbreviate this to make it easier to read. I will also sometimes notate stops if I can’t remember where they are. Take a look at my hand written chart below to see exactly what I mean by all of this.
Simple Chart for Song Form
Notice how this chart takes up almost an entire page of paper. You can also see what I meant when I talked about staggering groups of sections to keep my place on the chart.
I hope this information will help you learn songs faster and more efficiently. These methods, however simple, have been developed out of necessity and experience so take them and run with them!
There was a time early on in my playing when I would not dare go out of my comfort zone in terms of sticks and beaters. I had my Vic Firth (I have since switched to Vater) 5B’s, and my DW felt/hard rubber two way beater (plastic side only of course), and that was it. I was always baffled by other drummers’ stick bags, and honestly never even knew what the different kinds of sticks were, or what they were for. In music school I gained a basic understanding of what the different kinds of sticks could be used for, but this was just the tip of the iceberg for me. Only through experience and experimentation can one gain a deep understanding of the infinite number of textures and tones you can get out of a drum or cymbal simply by varying the type of stick or beater you use. Today my stick bag includes an essential selection of wooden sticks, brushes, mallets, and some other tools that help me to reproduce otherwise difficult tones in a live scenario.
As I have said before I work with a lot of singer songwriters, and they tend to have more texturally based, and even hand percussion based drum parts rather than strictly drum set parts on their records. This forces me to come up with very unconventional grooves to apply to the set, and allows me to get creative in my composition. For different dynamic levels of playing, I always keep at least two sizes of sticks in my bag. I personally use Vater for their durability, weight, and superior quality, but common stick sizes don’t vary much from company to company. For heavier playing I use standard 5B wood tips. I find that a wood tip gives me a greater sense of control, and a much warmer tone than a nylon tip. For lighter playing I use either the Josh Freese H220’s, or the 5A Los Angeles’. These sticks both have a narrower diameter, and allow me to play lighter with the same energy.
As far as texture is concerned, I often use brushes to reproduce soft hi hat tones, or even shaker tones. I find that leading on the snare (vs the hi-hat, ride, floor tom, etc…) with a brush is a great way to support soft vocal/solo guitar parts, and keep the energy. I prefer Vaters Wire Tap brushes, but also use Vic Firth brushes as they tend to have increased stiffness and strength. I also use the Vic Firths for heavier brush playing as they have a hard plastic handle, and the Vaters have a soft rubber handle.
Vater Wire Tap Brushes/Vic Firth Brushes
Another tool I often use to create delicate cymbal swells, and earthy snare tones are mallets. Mallets can be played exactly like wooden sticks, but just provide a much more tone based sound with less attack. I use Regal tip mallets of various softness for this.
Regal Tip Mallets
Another hugely important stick I use very regularly is the blast stick. There are almost as many varieties of blast sticks as there are regular wooden sticks, but I have a few pairs that I use religiously. The pair I use the most is made by Regal Tip and give a soft, full sound with just the right amount of attack so the listener is not overwhelmed by tone and ring. The secret lies in the plastic rods (vs wood rods used in most other blast sticks.) They are simply called wood handle blast sticks.
Regal Tip Wood Handle Blast Stick
The various sticks listed above are, I believe, essential to every drummers arsenal. With this collection, you will have an almost infinite number of combinations you can put together to create a countless array of textures and tones. Don’t restrict yourself to one pair of sticks, but feel free to mismatch them, and maybe even try throwing a shaker in one hand and see where that takes you. The key is experimentation so have fun!
A Brief Description and Definition of Time Signatures
I was confused for so long about what a time signature was, and what information you were supposed to get out of it. It wasn’t until I went to music school that I fully understood it’s definition, and what it meant to me as a musician. You will see a time signature at the beginning of every piece of music, and most tunes (or at least most mainstream, contemporary tunes) will keep the same signature throughout the entire song (however it can change multiple times in one tune). Before you can fully understand it’s definition, I believe that you need to know some bare bones music basics. I have listed some terms below that you should be aware of before you learn about time signatures.
Staff- A set of five lines and four spaces that each represent different pitch. symbols are placed on the staff to convey musical information to the reader, including pitch, dynamic, rhythm, etc…
Staff
Barline- Vertical lines on a staff that divide music into sections called measures, or bars.
Measures Separated by Barlines
Measure- (Also known as a bar) A segment of time that consists of a given number of beats of a given duration. Every measure will be the same length until the time signature changes.
Every time signature consists of only two numbers (now there can be more than two characters in total, but only two numbers.) these numbers are known as the numerator (top number) and the denominator (the bottom number), and looks like a math fraction. Both of these numbers represent different pieces of information and, most importantly, collectively tell you the length of every measure of music until the time signature changes. It tells you this by giving you the number of beats, and the value of each beat in each bar. I have broken down both numbers below.
Top Number- Tells you the number of beats in every measure of music. This number is the easy one to understand, it’s the bottom number that gets a little confusing.
4
4
Bottom Number- The bottom number is typically defined as what type of note receives one beat of music. I think this is a bit confusing so I just see it as what note value you can put in each measure.
4
4
So in essence a time signature tells you nothing more than how many of what type of note you can put in each measure. This means that the top number can be whatever you want it to be, but the bottom number can only be one that represents a given note value. In time signatures note values are represented by their logical corresponding number, so a half note is represented by the number 2, a quarter note is the number 4, an eighth note is the number 8, a sixteenth note the number 16, and so on.
Now that we know the function of both numbers, let’s break down the most common time signature in all of music known as four-four (pictured below.) This is also known as “common time” because it is so widely used, and is represented by it’s own symbol on the staff (also pictured below.) They both mean the same thing.
Four Four/Common Time
So this time signature basically means that you have four quarter notes worth of space to work with in every measure. This doesn’t mean that you can only put four quarter notes in each measure, but just that you have the amount of space that four quarter notes takes up to work with. You can mix and match whatever note values and rests you want from bar to bar, but they need to add up to that amount of time.
The time signatures pictured below are known as six-eight and three-four, and this just meant that you have a total of six eighth notes, or three quarter notes worth of space to work with in every measure.
I hope this description of time signatures has helped you gain a deeper understanding of time signatures and their function. Please leave comments if you have any more questions, or would like any more clarification. Thanks for reading!
If you took the time to read the “About” section, you know that this blog isn’t limited to discussions on drums only, but all things music related. You also know that I specifically said that I might even post a guitar or bass video if it inspired me. Well the time has come because I found a couple of guitar vids online that floored me, and I would love to share them with you. The first is a video of a guitarist named Guthry Govan. His cleanliness, precision, and speed will either make you want to lock yourself in a room and practice guitar for five years, or quit music altogether. The second is a guitarist named Andy McKee, and his creativity is absolutely insane. Enjoy the vids!
Guthry Govan Playing His Original Song “Fives” (Hence the Time Signature It’s In)
A Discussion On Cajon And It’s Place In Music Today
The cajon is becoming, in my opinion, one of the most versatile instruments on the drumming market. It’s now an essential part of almost every working drummer’s arsenal, and for good reason. With the semi recent emergence of a huge number of singer songwriters, the cajon has taken on a relevancy like never before in modern music.
Traditionally the cajon (pronounced Ka’xon which is the spanish word for box) was used largely in Cuba in the Afro-Cuban song/dance style rumba, and in Peru in several Afro-Peruvian genres. It is theorized that it originated in Coastal Peru in the early 1800’s, when slaves of the west and central African origins would create these box shaped instruments out of shipping crates. Since it’s origin, the cajon has gone through many different designs, and continues to evolve to this day. It’s newfound place in modern music has brought even further design changes and tweaks to the original concept. They now come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and are made by many companies.
The modern cajon now looks simply like a wooden box, and commonly comes with a few differnt bells and whistles. The cajon I use is made by Meinl, and has snares behind the front plate helping me to create convincing snare and bass drum tones.
Meinl Cajon
One of the newest features emerging in the realm of cajon’s is the existence of a pedal either in front of, or behind the face plate. This is usually not used in conjunction with snares, and is controlled with a remote bass drum pedal. This allows the player to free up one of their hands that would normally be used to play bass drum accents on the front plate. This also allows the player to use the cajon in more scenarios that would normally require an entire drum set. I often use cajon, and a series of tambourines, shakers, and other percussion tools, to reproduce drumset tones when playing small venues, or just to play quieter. Pictured below is the cajon/pedal setup.
Cajon with Remote Bass Drum Pedal
The cajon can be played in a million different ways. I usually use a drum-set brush in one or both of my hands, a shaker under my right foot, and a tambourine under my left foot. This allows me to add a shaker texture to different sections of music, and a tambourine under the backbeat for choruses. I also often use a shaker in my right hand for certain songs. I posted video of myself playing my cajon setup in a previous entry. This should give you a good idea of what kinds of situations you can bring a cajon to, and a bit more information on it’s use. Have fun playing you’re own cajon!
If you have played a few different models of pedals, you know that there can be a huge difference from one to the next. You can personalize the feel of your own pedal by adjusting the spring tension, rotating the cam, making the beater shorter or longer, and a few other variables depending on the make of the pedal. Aside from all of this there is one factor that you are stuck with, one way or another, when you buy a pedal, and that is whether it’s direct or chain driven. The decision to go direct or chain drive is one that needs to be thought through carefully before purchasing, as they are typically used in very different styles of music, and have very different feels.
I don’t of course mean to say that you can only play certain styles of music with one or the other, however the difference in feel usually makes both models more appropriate and applicable for certain genres. The difference lies primarily in the weight. Chain driven pedals (I feel) have more weight adjustment capability, and can be tweaked to feel very heavy, to moderately light. Direct drive pedals are very light, and extremely responsive. This makes them great for up tempo music such as Metal, Hardcore, and Punk. They are especially great for ultra fast double bass playing in conjunction with a bass drum trigger. These pedals are so responsive that you can move your feet as fast as you want without the seemingly weightless footboards ever leaving them. Obviously when using triggers you don’t need to worry about dynamics a whole lot, so the direct drives are a great way to minimize motion and impact, and increase speed as needed in this situation. Some of the most popular direct drive pedals out there are the Axis pedals, and trick pedals (as shown below.)
Trick Direct Drive Pedal
Axis Direct Drive Pedal
The most common complaint with these pedals is that they are too light, and so responsive that it becomes difficult to play with power and consistency. Unlike a chain driven pedal, they have no cam, and therefore it’s tough to generate the power and momentum that a cam provides, with the direct drive system. I have found this complaint to be true with certain types of direct drives (such as the ones shown above) but not others. Virtually every company has a direct drive model now, but I believe that Pearl has made some great advances with their Demon Drive series pedals. These pedals have greater spring adjustment than most direct drives allowing you to actually put some weight behind the pedal, which for most drummers helps generate more power. They are still responsive, but not to the point of being obnoxiously light. I would suggest checking these out to anyone purchasing direct drive pedals.
Pearl Demon Drive Pedal
Now on the other side of things is the chain driven models. These were the standard for a long time, and only recently have direct drives made a comeback. Advances are constantly being made on chain drive pedals, as they are still way more popular, and more widely used than their opposer. The main difference of course is the existence of a cam on which the chain rests and rotates, helping to create momentum in the stroke. The spring system, and most of the adjustments are pretty similar between direct and chain drives, but the cam allows for more freedom in these systems. The cam itself is adjustable, and can be rotated forward or backward depending on where you like the beater to rest in relation to the head. The spring system can also be tweaked more, and is able to create the feeling of weight or heaviness behind the pedal. I much prefer chain drives, because I feel I have much greater finesse and control over my playing with them. I also feel they provide a more powerful, and more consistent impact, and a greater freedom of motion. Some of the best chain drives are made by DW. I have found their 7000 and 9000 series’ to be fantastic (especially the 9000 as you can make them feel almost as light as a direct drive if wanted.) These are both pictured below along with some other great pedals including the Tama Iron Cobra, and the Pearl Eliminator.
DW 7000 Series Pedal
DW9000 Series Pedal
Tama Iron Cobra Pedal
Pearl Eliminator Pedal
I hope this information about direct drive vs chain drive will help you make a more educated decision the next time you are in the market for a new pedal. Go try a few different types of pedals with each system, and determine what feels comfortable for you. After all, it is based on personal preference and comfortability. Thanks for reading!
Outside of all the gigging and recording I do, I also teach privately. There are some initial grooves that I teach my students that are great starting points for learning how to play kit, and that I often use myself to this day. Some are really basic, and others are a little bit more complex but they are all great, and can be pulled out in many different scenarios. They are pretty much all derived from the most basic groove in the book which can be known as a “4 beat,” “meat and potatoes,” and probably a bunch of other names. This basic groove os the one Ill start with, and the others will be variations of that. The first beat consists of the right hand playing 8th notes on the hi-hat, the left hand playing the snare drum on beats 2 and 4, and the right foot playing the bass drum on beats 1 and 3. The groove below it is exactly the same, except for the bass drum is playing every quarter note instead of just beats 1 and 3 (aka 4 on the floor). These are both fantastic beats that every drummer should be able to play flawlessly, and consistently. (Reverse all this if you’re left handed.)
These next two beats require a little bit more coordination, but they sound a lot more complicated than they actually are. The first one just incorporates a simple 16th note bass drum rhythm, and the one underneath it adds hi-hat lifts under some of the bass drums.
This last groove is actually one I stole from a drummer named Shannon Larkin of the band Godsmack. This groove sounds great in a heavy rock context.
I hope you enjoy all of these grooves, and have fun working them into your own playing. Play around with them and come up with your own variations!
Sorry guys I have been working a lot lately, and subsequently haven’t been able to post as much as I would like to. I’m off to work a little more at the moment so below I have just posted some Dave Weckl videos for you to watch and enjoy. I will do a more detailed post on Dave Weckl soon, but for the moment enjoy some of my favorite videos of his.
Demonstration of Loose Phrasing Around a Click Track
The Hi-Hats are perhaps the most versatile instruments on the drum kit. you can play them at virtually any dynamic level from extremely tight, to loud and sloshy. You can imply subtle rhythms, and add accents to spice up any groove. You can single handedly change the style of any groove by simply altering the hi-hat pattern. While this is all amazing, it is fairly obvious and well known. Recently, I have been playing around with something that I believe has only barely been explored and discussed, different hi-hat tones. Getting a different hat tone obviously requires one to get a new set of hats, but this might be more attainable than you think. I decided to start looking for different options, and ended up with a set of 17″ hats that I am more than happy with. These are actually not hi-hats at all, but two 17″ crashes that I have made into a set of dark, trashy sounding hats.
I wish I would have made this move long ago, and have since realized that every drummer should have a few sets of hats in their arsenal. I have found that for both live, and studio situations, many different hi-hat options is a must. As far as the uses for my new 17″ hats goes, I have found tons of appropriate musical situations for them. I suggest a darker set of hats for folk, country, singer songwriter, and pop situations, but don’t confine yourself to any style with these. Along with larger hats, you can also get a set of smaller hats which can be great for hip-hop, pop, and some rock situations. Below I have recorded my new set of 17″ “crash hats” (as I like to call them.) They consist of a 17″ Istanbul Agop dark crash on the bottom (which I did a review on in a previous post,) and a cracked Zildjian A custom Projection crash on top. The crack in the top cymbal brings a lot of character and depth to these hats.
17″ Hi-Hats
The following listening sample is a recording of my standard Zildjian 14″ k hats. This should give a nice basis for comparison for the sample above.
14″ Hi-Hats
As you can hear, there is a significant difference between the 14″ and 17″ hats. Not only can having these different options available be great in the studio or on a gig, but it can be great in practice. Sometimes when I step into the practice studio, I will put the 17’s up just for fun, and they inspire drastically different ideas and grooves that I would not normally play. I used these hats in a drum solo that I put up in a previous post, so go check that out for a good idea of what they sound like on a kit. I hope this review gives you some good ideas, and inspires you to explore your own hi-hat options!
No drummer, or musician for that matter, can argue the fact that Buddy Rich is one of the greatest drummers of all time. He was extremely innovative, and similar to the advances made by John Bonham in foot technique, Buddy Rich shed some much needed light on hand technique and finger control. One of his most notable accomplishments (for which he will be forever known) is called the “push pull.” It is a form of finger control that basically allows one to get twice the strokes with half the motion in one hand. it is a very finite, refined hand motion that, if mastered, allows one to comfortably move the stick with unbelievable speed and control, and very little effort or energy. Below is a video of another great drummer, Jojo Mayer, demonstrating this technique.
Jojo Mayer has made fantastic advances for modern hand technique as well. He has mastered the push pull, and has done amazing things for finger control as well. His DVD, “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer” is definitely worth buying and working through.
Buddy Rich played mostly swing and big band and is most famous for his work with Count Basie, Frank Senatra, Tommy Dorsey, his own “Buddy Rich Big Band,” and way too many others to list. He also did major session work, and is featured on recordings for such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong. He was a master soloist, and maintained an almost flawless balance between chops, power, speed, and showmanship. A few of his videos are displayed below demonstrating some of his famous technique and style, so enjoy watching one of the masters of our craft!
Solo From Westside Story with the BR Big Band
One of Buddy’s Famous Drum Battles with the Great Gene Krupa
Simple Chart for Song Form
Regal Tip Mallets
Staff
Measures Separated by Barlines
Four Four/Common Time
Cajon with Remote Bass Drum Pedal
DW 7000 Series Pedal
