A Few Stick Tricks That You Can Use in Your Playing
I rarely use stick tricks when I play, but every so often I will come across an artist that wants some showmanship from the band. If I am in a playing situation, and given the freedom to amp up my stage presence, I find that it’s nice to have a stick trick or two to throw into the mix. Stick spins, and twirls can also be great if you have to take a solo, and want to throw in a little extra flash to get the crowd going. The following video demonstrates three stick spins / twirls that I like to do on occasion. Hope you can learn something, and possibly use them in your playing!
Demonstration and Explanation of 6 Stroke Roll Possibilities
The 6 stroke roll is probably my favorite rudiment of all time, next to the single paradiddle. I like it not only for it’s awesome hand development/control properties, but also for it’s easy drum set application. It’s widely known that applying rudiments to the drum kit is a great method for developing creative groove and fill ideas, but some rudiments lend themselves to the kit better than others. Before I go any further, I have provided a written version of the sticking below.
I specifically like this rudiment for it’s various accent, and phrasing possibilities. You can add or take away various accents to create different ideas, and you can phrase the 6 notes as different note values over the same tempo to create changes in feel. If you gain control over these variations, you will eventually get to a point where you can mix and match them, while moving them around the kit to create endless solo and fill possibilities. I have provided a short video below demonstrating some of these concepts on a pad to give you an idea of what I am talking about. Sometime in the near future, I will do another post on this rudiment, but will demonstrate all of the ideas on a kit. Hope you enjoy!
All the Pieces of My Personal Cajon Setup Revealed, and Broken Down
I recently received an inquiry about my personal cajon setup. I was asked to explain all of the pieces of my “cajon kit,” so this post will address exactly that. I must apologize for not being more prompt about this post, the last few days were unexpectedly crazy!
In the last few months, I have had to expand my cajon setup to accommodate new artists, and some bigger venues. It’s been a blast for me to tinker around with new, interesting pieces, and come up with some rather unconventional parts in order to replicate recorded sounds. Below I will take you through each piece, and tell you what exactly I use it for.
Bird’s Eye View of my (Mostly) Complete Cajon Setup
This is, for the most part, my whole cajon kit. It includes:
Meinl Cajon
Rhythm Tech Mountable Tambourine
LP Egg Shaker
Zildjian 20″ K Constantinople Flat Ride with “Poor Man’s Sizzle” (For more info on this please refer to this post)
Throne
LP Softshake
Vic Firth Brushes
Regal Tip Wood Handle Blast Sticks (With Plastic Rods)
1)Meinl Cajon
This is the centerpiece of the whole kit. This is my bass drum and snare drum tones, and throne.
2)Rhythm Tech Mountable Tambourine
This tambourine stays under my left foot on my cajon kit. I add it to certain sections of songs (usually choruses and sometimes bridges) to lift the dynamic feel of that section. It’s pivotal in separating quiet parts from loud parts, and can really bring emphasis to sections that need it. I treat it much like bouncing a hi-hat, as I typically add it only under the backbeat, or keep a quarter, or 8th note pulse with it through an entire section.
3)LP Egg Shaker
I have found a fairly unconventional way of adding an extra shaker part to certain sections, and that is by rolling an LP Egg back and forth on the ground under my right foot. I like the dynamic response and feel of an egg shaker for this purpose. I feel it brings up the volume and textural thickness of the groove just enough in most cases; however, any shaker will do as long as it’s round and sturdy enough to sustain the weight and movement of your foot on top of it. Again, I usually bring this in to add an extra texture where needed in a tune. It’s much more subtle than adding a tambourine, and can help you delicately separate certain parts from others. The result I get from this can also be achieved with the (linked here ->) Meinl Foot Cabasa which is a foot shaker of sorts.
4)Zildjian 20″ K Constantinople Flat Ride with “Poor Man’s Sizzle”
This is the newest addition to my kit. I added it to achieve the release I would normally get from a crash cymbal on a full drum set. I knew a crash would be to loud and obnoxious among all of these delicate textures, so I chose to use my 20″ flat ride which is extremely dry, and increase it’s sustain by adding my own sizzle. This gives me the perfect release at the end of sections.
These are my time keepers. These are the tools that I use to simulate my hi-hat, and ride cymbal tones (besides my throne which is just my table for everything) For the most part I use a brush in my right hand, and leave my left hand bare. I will play the front of the cajon with a brush much like I would play my hi-hats on a full kit, but I will often bring out kick drum accents with the brush as well. I leave my left hand bare to get the proper attack for a backbeat, and to help with certain bass drum accents. I will sometimes use brushes in both hands for train grooves, or any tunes with a driving 16th note feel. I use the LP Softshake for choruses, or parts of songs that I want to be the biggest. In this case I will use the shaker in my right hand, and leave my left hand bare. I only use the regal tip blast sticks when I want a different kind of attack for my backbeat or hi-hat tone.
There are a few other items I sometimes use that are not pictured here. I will occasionally put a cowbell right next to my cajon on the left side, and use that as my backbeat for tunes with a reggae, or island feel. I also use various other time keepers in my right hand such as a nut shell shaker, or a cabasa.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my personal cajon setup, and that you got some ideas to use for yourself. Please let me know of any cajon concepts that you come up with. I love incorporating new things into my setup, and learning about what others use in their playing! Below I have included a few videos of me playing cajon on various gigs, so you can see all of these tools in action. Thanks, and please let me know what you think by clicking on this post title, and commenting below it.
Create Your Own “Poor Man’s Sizzle” For Just over a Nickel
Many styles of music can be greatly enhanced by the presence of a nice, smooth sizzle. The problem with incorporating a sizzle into your setup is having to drop the money on a new ride cymbal, and for those of us who are operating on a budget, this can be hard to swing. If you are not familiar with what a sizzle is, it’s simply a cymbal with rivets pressed loosely into pre-drilled holes in the cymbal. The rivets vibrate when you hit the cymbal creating a beautiful vibration (sizzle) that slowly tapers off, and has a long sustain. I have provided a picture of a Zildjian A Custom Sizzle Ride below so you can see what one looks like. Also, next to it you can see the rivets they use to create the sizzle effect.
As you can probably guess this is not a cheap investment, and even a used sizzle at a vintage shop, or bought from a private owner will still likely run you $100 or more. Well my friends, I have a solution that will cost you just over 5 cents.
Lets call this the “poor man’s sizzle,” and for this more than sufficient substitution, you will need nothing more than a nickel (yep, the actual US currency) and a piece of tape. I prefer medical tape, or some kind of tape that’s fibrous rather than plastic. It tends to stick to the cymbal better, and is more free moving to allow for maximum vibration of the nickel.
Now I’m gonna take you through the steps to create your very own “poor man’s sizzle.”
1)Tear off a thin piece of tape (I like to divide my tape roll in half, as pictured, to maximize the number of strips I can get out of one roll)
2) Attach your nickel to one end of the tape strip
3)Stick the other end of the tape to your ride, and your done!
The great thing about this sizzle solution, is that you can add or take away as many nickels as you want in order to intensify, or decrease the amount of sizzle (I have used up to 5 on mine before.) You can also move the nickels around the cymbal to get different amounts of vibrations, and sustain. Putting the coin closer to the outside edge will allow for maximum vibration/sustain, and closer to the bell will decrease vibration/sustain. Lastly, try getting creative and using different types of currency to create different sizzle tones. I sometimes use dimes, or even quarters for louder music. Heck, you can even throw some Canadian money on there, and see what you get.
Let me make it clear that I am aware that there are other sizzle substitutions out there. I own a ProMark Rattler that is basically just a beaded chain attached to a felt that dangles on top of your cymbal. I have found that these types of products are hard to control, and somewhat cumbersome. I have even gotten my stick tangled in the chain before and had to ditch my stick and grab a new one. I have included a picture just for reference.
So next time you are in need of a sizzle, just remember that you need look no further than your medicine cabinet, and your coin jar. To see this sizzle in action, check out yesterdays post (just below this one) where I play my “poor man’s sizzle” at Hotel Cafe with singer songwriter Kim DiVine. Have Fun!
First let’s start by defining what dynamics is as it applies to music. Dynamics is basically the volume that a given note is played at. Dynamics are notated in music with a few different markings as shown below.
Common Dynamics
Even as a drummer, one should be able to exercise good dynamics. Anything you can play very loud, you should also be able to play very soft with the same amount of control, and at the same tempo. Many drummers have the misconception that playing faster means playing louder, but this is not so. Playing latin or jazz, and studying the concepts that apply to those styles is a great study in dynamics.
There are a few easy ways that any drummer can achieve a sense of dynamics, and it comes down to technique. One thing that every drummer should incorporate into their playing is called a “rim shot”. To “rim shot” simply means to hit the head of the drum and the rim of the drum at the same time. This mostly applies to snare drum technique, but some drummers even use this on toms. This maneuver creates a much louder crack, and will cut much better than by just hitting the middle of the head. Another way to achieve good dynamics is to get control of your ghost notes. Ghost notes are very quiet notes in between backbeats that give a groove motion. Ghost notes can really open up a drummers playing, and make a groove happen. Below I have written out a couple of grooves that incorporate ghost notes that are great for developing this technique. The ghost notes are the ones in parentheses.
Ghost Note Grooves
These are just a few basic methods you can use to help develop an understanding of dynamics. I also suggest going on youtube and watching a few drumming legends demonstrate these concepts. Watch Steve Gadd play his famous paradiddle grooves, pretty much anything Dave Weckl does, and Tony Williams play swing. These guys have all developed an outstanding understanding of dynamics.
The debate between which bass drum technique is better will never end. Its one of the drumming communities equivalents to discussing religion, or politics. Some drummers think burying the beater is the only way to live, some think you just can’t get a pleasant tone out of the kick drum without pulling off, and some simply don’t care. Let me make clear that I am a strong supporter of pulling off the head, and the sound I achieve with this technique. I believe that pulling off the head is a sure way to get a completely true sound out of the kick drum, and never fails. I also believe, however, that if you are going to bury the beater, there is a right and a wrong way to do it. I choose to pull of because I have trouble finding the right way to bury the beater, so I just don’t, and have never had any complaints.
The main issue with burying the beater, in my experience, is in recording. This is where the right and wrong way of doing it comes in to play. A lot of drummers who bury the beater, whether they know it or not, do not plant the beater firmly enough on the head when they kick. This results in residual “bleeding,” or tiny, unintentional flub notes following the initial stroke. Sometimes this is loud enough to be picked up in a mic, and has to be EQ’d out later. The correct way of burying the beater, is to be able to achieve a clean stroke with no residual notes to follow. The simple fact is that some of the most legendary, and most working drummers of all time have buried the beater. Steve Gadd, and Josh Freese both employ this technique in their playing, and are two of the most recorded drummers ever. Anything these guys practice can simply not, I believe, be considered wrong, just perhaps different than you might do it.
Below I have demonstrated both techniques on an electric kick drum pad. This will at least give you an idea of the difference between these techniques. Have fun experimenting with both!
The push pull technique is one that many drummers try to achieve mastery over. It’s been used for decades, and some of the great drummers of our time (ie Buddy Rich, Tony Williams) were masters and pioneers of this method. It’s simply a range of motion utilizing the fingers and wrist that creates the most speed and strokes with the least amount of energy and movement. Or, simply getting two strokes with the energy it takes to get only one. A few contemporary drummers have mastered this technique, but none better that Jojo Mayer. In his DVD, “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer,” he breaks down and demonstrates this highly sought after technique with both traditional, and matched grip. He shows exactly how to practice and develop this movement. Below are a couple of videos of Jojo talking about the basics of the push pull, and some of his other similar techniques.
Jojo Mayer Demonstrating Push Pull
Jojo Mayer Demonstrating Push Pull, and Pull Out Accents
Another famed drummer who has achieved a mastery over this motion is Dave Weckl. In the video below, Dave explains his method behind the “one handed roll,” or in other words, his version of the push-pull. In his explanation he credits Buddy Rich as his inspiration to learn the technique, and he demonstrates it briefly in a drum set situation.
Dave Weckl Demonstrating His One Handed Roll
For anyone who wants to practice and learn this technique, I highly suggest buying Jojo Mayer’s aforementioned DVD. Below I have provided a link to “Secret Weapons for the Modern Drummer” on Amazon, that I used in a previous post. Have fun developing your finger control!
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!
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!
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!
Simple Chart for Song Form
Staff
Measures Separated by Barlines
Four Four/Common Time
