SEPTEMBER 2008

THE B

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billy WardPlanting Seeds For The FuturePlanting Seeds For The Future

WORKING DRUMMER’S

BOOTCAMPTHE BLACK PAGESeptember 2008

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Sean Mitchell PublisherJill Schettler Editor In ChiefJayson Brinkworth WriterRyan Carver Writer

Feature Interview:Billy Ward

Growing Pains:by Sean Mitchell

Do You Hear What I Hear?by Jayson Brinkworth

Campaigning For Creativity by Jill Schettler

Flam Paradiddle Accent Variations Pt. One

by Ryan Carver

The Final Word

Featuring chris sutherland

Designed to get every drum-mer in shape to face any freelancing challenge, the Bootcamp is a complete run through of almost any-thing you might encounter in the music business— live skills, studio skills, network-ing skills. Chris prepares ev-ery possible aspect of your drumming for anything. It’s a tough business; learn how a pro stays impossibly busy.

Kim Mitchell, Squeek, Deric Ruttan, Saga, Doc Walker, Amanda Falk

Click on the image aboveto visit chris on the web

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It was September of 2007, and I was plan-ning my teaching year. I wanted to bring in a “name” for a drum clinic at some point, and I had kicked around a few ideas before con-cluding that I should go right to the top. Who is the top clinician out there? Who can com-municate their ideas in an inspirational and motivational way that all will understand? Who can play with fire, passion, finesse, chops, and an endless array of ideas and creativity? Billy Ward.

I contacted Billy directly through email, and we started putting a plan together for a clinic. I was relatively new at this, so he patiently stepped me through the procedure and went above and beyond his role in this. We planned the clinic for December, but bad

weather stalled him in Minneapo-lis and said clinic ended up being cancelled. We rescheduled for March, but this time the weather

didn’t even allow him to leave New York. Finally, April saw Mr. Ward

make it to our fair city of Regina to do his thing, and what a thing it was!Billy Ward has been an inspiration to

me since I first heard him on Robbie Rob-ertson’s album Storyville. He played on the track “Hold Back the Dawn,” and the emotion of his drumming hit me like a truck. It wasn’t the notes he played as much as it was the notes he didn’t play. Spanning all musical styles, Billy’s career is one to be humbled by, as he has worked with artists we only dream of playing with. Indeed, his love of music truly goes beyond words.

It is an honor for me to call Billy Ward a friend and to have had a few days to be in the presence of greatness. This interview is also a career highlight for me; it is not often that a player of Billy’s caliber comes along. Not only is he an amazing musician, but he is one of the most giving, genuine people you will ever meet. This makes him even more of an inspiration. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you my friend Billy Ward.

BILLY WARDby Jayson Brinkworth

When people see and hear you play, they are drawn in by your creativity and groove. Have you always been extremely creative on the drumset? What prac-ticing do you do to remain as creative as possible? As a younger drummer, I worked on rudiments, fun-damentals, reading: all kinds of stuff. I’ve always been in-terested in diverse music as well—walking home from the record shop with a Sun Ra album along with a Jefferson Airplane record.To remain creative (or to en-courage creativity, when un-der the gun), whether it be studio or a big live gig, I prac-tice playing, as I’ve described in all of my materials includ-ing my book and two DVDs. I think I am getting better at describing practice/playing, but I am certain there is still room for improvement. I may be more obsessed with nur-turing the two sides of the brain than most. Really, I love drums so much. I hear so much music in them. I simply can’t play anything and not hear pitch and tone. Perhaps I am more focused on these things than others.

I also hear so many differ-ent influences in your play-ing, two in particular: Elvin Jones and John Bonham. Any thoughts on the two greats?

Elvin Jones was a huge in-fluence on me, thanks to a generous five hours that he spent with me during a day

where I had booked a one hour lesson. I was seventeen years old, and we ended up gossiping about America’s racial relations, Louis Armstrong: all kinds of stuff really. What a gentleman. My meeting him created such an imprint; I spent years afterward trying to play like him. From what I’ve been told, John Bonham loved all the great R&B drum-mers and was always listening to that stuff. This makes a lot of sense to me and helps explain why John could be so willing to just simply stay on a groove for-ever—no crashes, no nothing, just pocket. If you want more of Bonham in your playing, then you need to study Bernard Purdie.

You played on B.B. King’s Grammy award-winning al-bum 80. If you could, give our readers a glimpse into what it is like to be involved in an extraordinary project such as this.

It’s an absolute joy. For my par-ents, playing on Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show meant I had “made it”. For me, playing with B.B. King was on that kind of lev-el, kind of like, “Wow, I’m really doing something cool.” When a great gig like that comes in, it’s one of the best feelings. B’s a great guy, and the sessions were a pure joy. All the musicians on the session are veterans who’ve been there and done that, but we were all pretty awestruck to be with him. There is more about this on my forum on my website where I give more of a moment-to-moment report of those sessions. A secret geeky hope of mine is that 80 goes gold, and I can add it to my col-

lection. Unfortunately, winning a Grammy doesn’t do anything for the others on the record.

You also have a new DVD out called Voices in My Head. First of all, I am curious about the ti-tle? Secondly, the material cov-ered is so real world and prac-tical; tell us about the process of doing such a project? Finally, can you compare Voices to Big Time?

Well, the title is Voices in My Head because I am trying (as best I can) to lay out the background, or be-hind the scenes influences, of what it takes to do a Bernard Purdie or similarly slinky groove. There are far too many drummers who are in a rut, and I believe the rut is their inability to trust their grip and im-prove their rudiments, particularly, the double stroke roll and paradid-dles. If you watch this movie and do the work, you can do a Bonham or Purdie impression.As far as making movies, it is a huge pain in the butt. The amount of time spent editing to get the best available shot is mind-blowing and extremely painful, that is, unless you think you are the handsom-est, most amazing drummer in the world. I am not that, by any means, so every film that I make is a pain-ful process, yet well worth the effort. I receive emails pretty much daily thanking me, and that makes up for all the pain. In the case of Voices, it was a one day shoot. Everything I played and said ended up in the movie. The bad news is I was sick as hell that day. I had a sinus infection and needed a root canal. But the show must go on, right? An incredibly talented editor (who also co-pro-duced Big Time) Neil Miller, edited

out the “moon gels” that were falling out of my nose during takes. Nonetheless, with all of that distress, we still had a movie at the end. It is selling very well, and it seems to be helping drummers much like Big Time, only it is far different. Big Time is there to help every drummer with the terror of tim-ing, in that they will learn to have better time. Big Time offers a reference point on how to have seri-ous time and timing in your playing, thus removing the need for lucky underwear! The film also shows a more musical approach to drums and drumming. It is meant to inspire and create thought. It’s also a really neat movie that your civilian pals might even enjoy watching.Voices is more “drummy” and less psychological about things. It really shows, in a simple way, what you have to do to be able to play like Jeff Porcaro or Purdie. Or maybe you just want to get a bit better but only have twenty minutes per day to practice; this one is for you. I hope it continues to catch on in the drumming crowd because there are way too

many drummers out there who don’t know what to do to improve themselves or to gain new inspira-tion.

For the readers that do not know who Bill Cham-plin is, tell us a bit about him and about his up-coming album that you worked on? Bill wrote “After the Love Is Gone.” Need more than that? (smiles) Bill was a teenage rock star, leader and star of his band, The Sons Of Champlin, later they were simply called The Sons. They were the very first jam-band and also the very first rock band with horns. He also has been in the band, Chicago, for-ever (well, after Terry Kath sadly passed away). Bill has sang on more than four hundred hit songs and has written probably as many too. He is one of the

real players in the music world. In my opinion, the singers that are as talented as he only fit on one hand, and one or two of them are dead. He is an ex-treme inspiration to play with. More often than not, when I am playing with him, I am honestly freaking out about the fact that I am playing with this badass dude. I’ve played with George Russell, who is an extremely talented jazz composer (think Frank Zap-pa in jazz). George received the MacArthur Fellow-ship, where our government gives a half a million dollars to somebody for simply being a genius. Bill Champlin gives me that kind of feeling.

What does the drumming future hold for Billy Ward? Do you have any more of your own proj-ects in the works at this time?

I’d love to make another instructional movie, but I am always scared of the painful process. Yet, I love the sharing, the teaching process. It makes me a better person and definitely makes me a better

musician. Eventually, I will hopefully be inspired to suffer the itchy and scratchy aspects of doing them and will do another. Until then, I’m like anybody else. I’m hoping to work with challenging, or at least wealthy, people (smiles). This year, I am playing a ton of festivals. In Sep-tember, I am performing at the MD festival with my trio. This will be my second appearance at a Mod-ern Drummer festival. Sometimes I think I am living a dream to be involved in so many creative things. After I perform at the MD Fest with my trio, I appear to be “offline” with gigs. Of course, the occasional recording session will appear, and, you never know, maybe something that is even more time consuming. But usually, as Christmas approaches, things slow down. I have to admit that I am very much looking forward to this time of re-tooling and planting seeds

CLICK H ERE TO VISIT

BILLY ONLINE

for the future. I’m looking forward to practicing the drums more than usual and looking into some new ideas and concepts. Also, I always need some time to update my recording studio. I may be engaging into the video world more regularly, which means purchasing four or five cameras. I am so fortunate; I get to do what pleases me. I finished mixing an interview with the Dalia Lama that will be released as a record (believe it or not), and that was one of the coolest things ever! If I have a need to write an article, all I have to do

is write it and get it to a place where I think it works okay, and then so far Modern Drummer Magazine publishes it. If I want to record, I have my own stu-dio. I love my friends and family and co-workers. It’s all good.

You have been playing DW drums now for sometime and have seemed to become a bit of a spokesman for these wonderful instruments. How did you get started with the company? What is it about these drums that you like so much?

I was living in Los Angeles because I kept getting calls to record out there. I had several dear friends who were all drummers, and they were keeping me sane. Among them was the late and truly great Mark Craney. I had been playing Pearl drums in the mid eighties but simply wasn’t feeling any connec-tion to the company or the drums, so I wrote them a note and quit. I was doing recording almost entirely and didn’t have need for the touring support, so it was possible for me to be a non-artist for anyone. Mark told me that I had to meet John Good. He said that John is every drummer’s best friend, whether they know it or not, because he is trying so hard to improve the standard. So I started going to lunch with Mark Craney and John Good. This led to a friendship and respect that runs very deep. John is unique in many ways but one very important as-pect of the qualities he brings to the table is his his-tory of being a world-class drum tech. Before DW, he had worked for the best—Madonna, Earth Wind and Fire, Frank Zappa, Elton John, and all in their peak times. This is how he started taking drums apart, trying to figure out why one tom was happy and the other was not. When he quit the road to risk it all with his drum company, one artist offered him a crap-load of money to stay. I mean, I’ve never heard of a musician getting this kind of bonus, let alone a drum tech. So this is how DW started and after see-ing what John and Don Lombardi were trying to do, I had to offer whatever support and encouragement I had. You might realize that probably Jim Keltner, Terry Bozzio, Neal Peart, or any of the other artists that are in DW’s stable might write the exact same thing.

I t always starts with the pain, always. Remember that feeling in your wrist when you first learned how to shuffle; that feeling that your wrist could

quite literally fall off? Then once the shuffle had been mastered, you further discovered that there are literally hundreds of ways to shuffle! The Purdie shuffle, the sixteenth note shuffle, the rock shuffle: there are tons of ways to shuffle, and each step to-ward enlightenment comes with its own set of pains and lessons.

Anytime we decide to move beyond that safe little sandbox we call “comfort,” there exists a world of uncertainty that holds no guarantees, no safety nets and no set of rules. For instance, band lead-ers of the early New Orleans jazz era, like Papa Jack Laine and Charles “Buddy” Bolden, decided to do away with both the bass and snare drummers to limit payroll expenses. They convinced guys like Chinee Foster and Tubby Hall to become “double drummers” (one who plays a bass drum and snare drum simul-taneously). In doing so, these leaders created a whole new meaning to the phrase “pain in the ass.” Brass bands of the era were often parade bands, yet being a double drummer meant

that now the drummer could no longer be mobile. He would have to stay put. So there he would sit, behind the rest of the band. As a result, many bands no longer paraded around town; instead, they set up on stationary platforms, in speakeasies and on riverboats to perform their music. No doubt Chinee was a little miffed at having to pull double duty, for no more money than he received playing the snare alone. Without Chinee and Tubby, there would be no Rich or Roach. Kudos to Papa Jack!

I recently moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia from Brandon, Manitoba, a forty-hour drive. Why? Be-cause of a dream. In my dream, a little voice urged me to move here, so I did. (No, I am not crazy. My

GROWING

PAINSby Sean Mitchell

“When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.”

Benjamin Franklin

psychiatrist doesn’t think so anyway.) I don’t know anyone here, I have no family here, and I had no reason to move here other than my inspired thought. More importantly, I have nothing to lose, if for no other reason I have this article to show for it.

The act of going beyond a comfort zone al-ways comes with some form of growing pains. This, I can honestly say, I am currently in the process of learning. I can’t say that driving across Canada, spending a ton of money on hotel rooms (not to mention the cost of gas) and having all my drums in storage is a huge turn on for me. Nor is the thought of ingratiating myself into a music scene that has now rendered me a little fish in a big pond. These are not the reasons any one of us inflicts a large amount of irritation on ourselves. In truth, the real motivators are growth and self-improvement.

When my girlfriend and I first arrived in Nova Scotia, we had a little trouble landing an apartment that suited our needs. A drummer looking for an apartment.. I am sure you can all relate to my plight. As it turned out, we found the perfect apartment just outside the city, and, as an added bonus, it was right on the ocean. Everything seemed to be working out for us, that is, until we found out that the apartment wasn’t available until the middle of July, and it was only June 13th.

For the last part of June and the beginning of July, we camped in a small—I’m talking small—blue and yellow cabin, which was less than one hundred square feet. Just when we thought we had braved the worst of it, we found out that the campground’s

wireless internet didn’t jive with our laptop. Things not working seemed to be the repeated theme of our excursion. Neverthe-less, I still had a magazine to publish, so we rallied on and made the best out of our glorified tool shed. Bugs, rain, and cold nights aside, it was kind of a neat existence (despite not hav-ing my drums). “It’s only for two weeks,” I kept telling myself. “Two weeks.”

We were only five days into our adventure when our landlord informed us that

the lady who currently inhabited our future abode was refusing to hand over the key any earlier than the first of August (which apparently she had every right to do). This meant that we now had an addi-tional two full weeks at Camp Mitchell. One whole month in the wilderness! I had no drums, no internet

camp mitchell

“The soft-minded man always fears change. He feels security in the status quo, and he has an al-most morbid fear of the new. For him, the greatest pain is the pain of a new idea.”

Martin Luther King Jr.

and no more patience. I grabbed my suitcase, put my kick pedal in front of it, set up my practice pad, and got to work. If I was going to be in this crazy little blue-and-yellow shed for a month, I was go-ing to become productive. In an effort to stay sane, we went about learning Beatles tunes to prepare for gigs in our new found city. Turns out, during the course of those four weeks, I had learned a lot more than just “Hey Jude” and “Lady Madonna;” I learned about myself.

Regardless of circumstance, it is most im-portant to continue growth and move forward, es-pecially in the face of a daunting undertaking. To quote my good friend Dom Famularo, “Failure is not an option.” I wrote that motto on my practice pad, and for those four weeks, I sat there hour after hour doing rudiments, picking apart Ringo’s parts, running Dom’s credo through my mind, and loving every minute of it. Growth can come in so many strange forms, and you have to be ready to act when it shows up. If you are an optimist dreaming of performing before an audience at Madison Square Gardens, you feed that feeling, and before long you will be given opportunity to become that drummer. Swing for the fences, my friend. However, the same is true for all you pessimists out there. You get what you give. Sometimes the only thing we can’t be con-vinced of is to give up on our misery.

This is the point where I am supposed to give you the prolific advice and tie the article up in a neat little bow with the news that we are now gigging in the big leagues, and enjoying the fruits of our la-bor. The reality is that I am the new guy in town who stands humbled amongst talented players in a strange city with nothing more than the desire to play. I’m still looking for a gig, and still banging on my suitcase kick because I love playing so much (my drums are on their way as I speak, thanks to my little brother). Yet, I am still part of the process; I am alive. This is what we sign up for as artists. The fact of the matter is, old Ben was right: once you’re done growing, you’re done. I published July and August’s

issue of The Black Page from my little shed in the bush, then drove the ten minutes into town to pay for internet time, to send it out over the web. Why? Because I know that our industry needs this maga-zine and others like it.

Sometimes it is obvious, if only to ourselves, that we are in need of some growth. Other times it may be more apparent to the world at large. According to world thought guru and entrepreneur James Ray, when you are faced with a decision, it is important to ask yourself one very important question: “By doing this am I going to grow as a person?”

In the end, I now know why I came to Halifax. To start this journey and achieve the goals I have set meant that I would have to become someone better than I was already giving myself credit for. Quite frankly, I am up for that challenge.

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As fate would have it, the formation of Cockpit co-incided with a pivotal time for the music industry. Gone were generous major label budgets and their desire to develop new talent. At the same time, more and more independent artists were emerging, and attracting attention in a saturated marketplace was becoming more and more difficult.

“It was definitely a challenge. We grew up listen-ing to bands like Aerosmith and Mötley Crüe, multi-platinum bands that sold out arenas and toured the world, and as a result we hold ourselves to high standards,” teases drummer Rachael Rine who, along with lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Linda Lou, lead guitarist Alicia Blü and bassist Terrii Kiing, was prepared for the long road ahead. “We knew we would have to find clever, unique ways to promote ourselves,” recounts Linda. “We recognized our

potential early on,” she continues, “but we also un-derstood that we would have to do all the work our-selves, without the muscle of a major label.”

“We signed ourselves to our own 360° deal,” jokes Terrii. “We acted as our own management, booking agent, marketing agency, merchandising company, street team, webmaster and bank,” she elaborates.

Cockpit’s development efforts combined with the band’s raucous live sets began to attract fans and industry support. The girls successfully landed opening slots for a multitude of national acts and are one of a select few unsigned bands on the 2008 Rocklahoma bill, a four day hard rock festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, drawing dedicated rock fans from around the world. Several tracks from Cock-pit’s newest EP, Mission To Rock, can be heard on CMT’s newest series, Chopper Challenge.

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Linda Lou vocals, rhythm guitar

Alicia Blü lead guitar

Terrii Kiing bass

Rachael Rine drums

Click here to visit cockpit online

T his month’s article is on a subject that is overlooked all too often by drummers: the benefits of recording ourselves and listening

to our own playing. When I say recording, I don’t mean it has to be in a recording studio—it is bet-ter if it isn’t. And when I say listening, I don’t mean just simply hearing; I mean paying attention to all of the detail in our playing. I know from experi-

ence how painful and harsh recording yourself can be, but I also know how beneficial it is to our own improvement. I remember listening back to myself, playing and reflecting on how my part seemed right to me at the time I was playing it, but when I listened back to the tape, it sounded nothing like what I had heard live. One important thing to remember: the tape doesn’t lie.

GETTING STARTEDI know I am going to date myself (again) here, but when I started playing drums, cassettes were the popular and portable means of listening to and re-cording music. Nowadays we have portable devic-es such as iPods and MP3 players that we use. To start using recording as a practice tool, all we need

is a device that can record. Back in the day, I had a cheap cassette player with a built-in microphone that I used for years. I would record myself playing exercises I was working on, grooves I was trying to emulate, or new techniques I had heard. As I said, some of this listening back was painful and humbling to say the least. I would set up the recorder away from the drums, as I didn’t want the signal to be distorted, and I would play through the chosen pat-

terns. Evidently, I would have to move the recorder around to find a spot where it picked up the whole kit and not just bass drum or cymbals.

I remember seeing Tom Brechtlein in clinic and hanging out with him afterwards. The topic of re-cording ourselves came up, and he had a great ob-servation on the subject. He said that he records his performance a lot, and only uses an inexpensive re-cording device. His take was if his playing sounded good on this recording, it would sound great using more expensive equipment at home or in the studio. I have never forgotten this statement, and totally agree with this idea.

THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING HONEST

Once we have our material recorded, what do we do? I know some players view this as quite a vain exercise—recording ourselves to listen to ourselves, how selfish. This would be selfish if we recorded ourselves and played it for our friends, thinking we were great, but this is meant for our own personal pleasure and/or punishment.

What are we listening for? Is it the sound of our drums? Is it the notes we played? Is it our tempo?

Do You HearWhat I Hear?

Our dynamics? Actually, it is all of the above and more. Our drums aren’t going to sound amazing if we are using an inexpensive recorder, but they should sound like drums and be musical. The notes or pattern we are playing should be audible and have clarity and musicality. We should be able to hear a dynamic balance in our playing, and it should groove and feel great.

These are elements we always want in our drum-ming whether we are being recorded or not. My friend Billy Ward thinks of every performance as be-ing recorded and puts himself in a very focused and disciplined state of mind. When we listen back, we have to be very honest with ourselves. If it sounds half decent, we are on the right track, but we should work towards it sounding spectacular. If it sucks, well, we need to figure out why and work on those areas. My own playing is on the border of sucking and sounding half decent when I hear it back, but playing music is a journey and not a destination, right? We can’t make excuses for our playing. It’s all in our control. When I finally decided to be brutally honest with myself about my playing, I was able to dig deeper and get inside what I needed to do to improve. I would blame my gear, my method of re-cording and many other elements to divert attention away from my short-comings as a player. I also be-came very aware of hearing the detail in my drum-ming, and I realized that this is where the beauty and magic is in this instrument.

USING VIDEO AS WELLOne of the other elements I have found helpful is the use of video. This seems even vainer than the audio recording, but we want to improve, right? I would videotape practice sessions and even take the camera to live shows and record myself playing. When reviewing these tapes, I listened to the audio with the same ears as above, but the visual helped with this as well. I found that I was struggling with the way I had certain drums and cymbals placed, I was able to see myself hold my breath, preventing an even-flowing groove. I also noticed my seat height needed to change because I was playing into the drums rather than playing off of the drums. These are only a few observations made, but were things that I corrected instantly, and I found my drumming audio to benefit in a big way. With drumming being

such a physical instrument, we always need to be aware of our physical movements. It is impossible to observe all that is needed as we are playing music; our mind needs to be in a different place then. If you have a video camera, I highly recommend try-ing this, and, again, honesty is very important while reviewing.

IN THE STUDIO

When I was nineteen, I had my first experience in a recording studio, and this became the catalyst behind recording myself. Not only was I hearing my-self play, but I was able to hear how the drums were feeling within the music. Needless to say, it was

if you have drumsticks in every room of your

house or apartment

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quite eye-opening and humbling at the same time (even though the song we tracked became a single on radio). After my time spent in the studio, I knew I had to keep recording my playing and focus on the important elements of drumming: consistency, dynamic control, emotional control, breathing, “less is more,” and “simplicity equals clarity.” Fortunately for myself, I was able to work with older more-expe-rienced players who taught me a lot. Also, I wasn’t afraid to ask questions and really pay attention to the answers and how they worked in this situation. Even though I have had many opportunities to re-cord for a lot of artists, I still focus on all of the basics listed above. Despite the fact that today’s recording process has changed, with pro-tools and other re-cording software, I still want to go for a perfect take every time, no excuses.

If you don’t have the chance to record in a studio, here is an idea that will help your playing as well. Find out if there is a recording studio close to where you live and let them know that you are a musician wanting to learn more about the recording process. Ask if they have any upcoming sessions that you could maybe sit in on and observe. In some cases, they may not be open to the idea, but most times, they are quite receptive. I have learned that if I want to know something, all I have to do is ask. By ob-serving a band tracking in a professional studio en-vironment, you can see how the elements all work together. You can also watch the drummer and learn how he or she approaches the session. This is very valuable if the musicians are seasoned players that have worked in the studio a lot and are comfortable in the setting. I have invited students out to sessions (with the artists permission, of course), to see how the process works. It has been valuable to them, as they are able to follow up with questions and have a listen to the final mixed and mastered product.

RECORDING EVERY SHOWDoes it ever come to a point where I don’t have to record myself to keep improving? The answer is “no” because the tape doesn’t lie. I have recorded my practice sessions and listened back for count-less hours, even though I have recorded albums with artists and live shows to radio and television. Learning and improving never stops.

On my current gig with Aaron Pritchett, we re-

cord and review every live show that we can. All of us carry our memory sticks or flash drives and get copies after the show. It has been a huge help for tightening up parts on the live show and keeping consistency. We also just did a day rehearsal in a studio. We went in and setup our gear, as it was a live show, and played through all of our tunes. We then sat down and reviewed the material collective-ly to observe any issues that needed attention. This is tough for some players as their ego might get in the way of having, say, a guitar player suggesting ideas to a drummer. Ouch! Luckily in this situation, everyone has equal respect and trust in the other’s musical abilities, and we can communicate easily. It was a super productive day, as each of us benefited from the session.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? HIT RECORD NOW!

If you haven’t been recording yourself, don’t wait any longer. This is a necessary element that you will need for continued improvement. Get your hands on a cheap tape recorder, buy a handful of cas-settes from your local dollar store and get down to business.

Here’s one last tip for you. If you play another in-strument such as guitar or bass, try this. Record yourself playing a straight eighth note rock groove for a minute or two. Play this groove back and play the other instrument along, how does it feel? This will give you an idea of what the other musicians are experiencing as you play together.

Have fun and stay groovy.

JAYSON BRINKWORTH IS AN ACCOMPLISHED DRUMMER, PERCUS-SIONIST, VOCALIST,

EDUCATOR & WRITER. CLICK ON HIS IMAGE TO LINK TO HIS WEBSITE.

Flam paradiddles are a great hand workout in itself. By shifting the accent through the paradiddle, you can really challenge yourself. It’s a great way to practice pull outs and control strokes. Start slow and practice each variation first. Your hand and wrist motions are important in this exercise.

by Ryan Carver

Ryan Carver is a member of the Academy of Drums faculty, the Vic Firth education team and the Percussive Arts Society. Click either link below to visit him on the web.

www.carverdrums.com www.myspace.com/ryancarver

Flam Paradiddle Accent Variations Part I

Here is a four bar exercise using the different variations. This exercise is a killer hand workout. Practice playing this cleanly, and you will greatly improve your hand control.

L et’s play a little game. It’s called word association; I’ll say a word and you say the first thing that

pops into your head. Ready, here goes. The word is “practice.”

As someone who is all too familiar with this word, let me offer up my ex-amples to get the ball rolling, as they say. Practice is: improvement, learn-ing, irritation, frustration, necessary, necessary evil, goals, chore, reality check, low self-esteem, big leagues, hard on myself, three hours a day, boring, stuff legends are made of, and time-consuming. Did I choose any of your words?

Funny, if you look closely at the above list, over half of my choices are

derogatory and pessimistic, without any deliberate intent. Though I seem to show hopeful glimmers of a glass half-full at times, they are simply just that: “glimpses” and not a full-on, “Hey, let’s part. My glass is overflow-ing” type mug. Why is that?

In a consumer-driven society ad-dicted to Mickey D’s, soft-serve, movies delivered to our door, DVDs replacing books in all of our local libraries, drive-thru weddings, and music videos (that feature Lindsay Lohan, for some reason) with each clip never longer than three seconds, is it any wonder that the simple, or-ganic routine of practicing has taken a backseat in the family truckster?

“Probably the difference between man and the

monkeys is that monkeys are merely bored, while man has boredom plus imagination.”

Lin Yutang

Campaigning for

Creativity

by Jill Schettler

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.”

Mohandas Gandhi

“Only four to eight minutes of pure factual lec-ture can be tolerated before the brain seeks other stimuli, either internal (e.g., daydreaming) or ex-ternal (Who is that walking down the hall?),” says Dr. Bruce Perry, author of “How the Brain Works.” Consequently, “with three to five minutes of sus-tained activity, neurons become ‘less responsive’; they need a rest (not unlike your muscles when you lift weights),” furthers Perry. “If the approach is not providing that novelty, the brain will go else-where.” In other words, your brain gets bored and starts looking for its next trip. It makes sense then why our world is the way it is, fast and chaotic, and why our brain has adopted a similar role.

These days, practicing can undoubtedly seem monotonous and draining—repeating the same exercise over and over and over and over and…you get the picture. So you can’t get that fill, big deal. Change your approach. At that particular moment, perhaps you’re just not motivated. Leave it to revisit later. Variety is key, my friends.

“Cab drivers are living proof that practice does not make perfect”

Howard Ogden

This may seem odd, but the number one miscon-ception among drummers is that if we practice our mistakes over and over, our mistakes will eventu-ally work themselves out. Nuh uh! By practicing our mistakes, we are undoubtedly training our brain to learn those mistakes as they are, without the proper corrections. Don’t believe me? Take a lesson from the pros.

Our own Sean Mitchell says this of his lessons with Mitch Dorge of The Crash Test Dummies, “During our lessons, Mitch pointed out one very important tool which was to avoid practicing your mistakes. What that meant was that if you screwed up, do not stop and go back to the start; just fumble your way through the screw-up. In essence, your brain doesn’t register that you messed up. Your brain learns by repetition and if the repetitiveness is your mistake, that’s what you’re practicing.”

“Boredom: the desire for desires.” Leo Tolstoy

In order for us to get the most out of a practice session, we need to know ourselves and how we work. For instance, what point in the day do you perform at your best? Myself, I am a night-owl, so I know that if I want to practice productively, it must be during the moonlit hours. I am a Negative-Nelly in the early morning, so I know that, for me, six a.m. is not an opportune time to learn. Obvious-ly I understand that some of us have neighbors (sometimes on the other side of paper-thin walls) and therefore do not have the luxury of practicing whenever we get inspired, so if there is absolutely no way to make arrangements to synchronize your environment with your internal clock, there are al-ternative options for you.

PRACCTICEPRAC

PRAC-TICE PRAC-TICE-PRAC-TICE PRAC-TICE-PRAC-TICE

PC

Remember when you first picked up a pair of sticks; the world was at your fingertips, literally. And now, for some reason the world seems to be on your shoulders, pushing you down as you strive to pick yourself up. Don’t fret. Let’s try and exer-cise our creative muscles for a minute. Perhaps it’s not practicing that’s the drag; it’s our approach.

“The life of the creative man is led, directed and controlled by bore-dom. Avoiding boredom is one of our most important purposes.”

Paul Steinberg

Here are some key ideas that will help restore the novelty (and fun) back into practicing:

What gets measured gets done. Write down a list of five things to accomplish each session. Make sure the list has va-riety. Set goals.

Take advice from our own Jayson Brinkworth and record yourself. You may find new ways to self-improve that you had never thought of.

Make your practice space accessible, available, hospitable and tidy. This is key.

Check out YouTube and watch your favorite drummers in action. There are some great lessons on the web as well.

Practice in front of a mirror or video tape yourself.

Put up pictures of people (not just drummers) that inspire you.

Teach. The way to know if you’ve mastered something is if you are able to teach it. And, students will definitely keep you on your toes.

Jam with another drummer, one on one, especially with someone who has more experience than you.

Buy an instructional DVD, CD or book.

Try and discover at least one new drummer per month. Curiosity cures boredom.

Set up your kit differently. Be cre-ative.

Learn a different instrument. See music from another angle.

Take a lesson from the pros. Serious-ly, save your cash and contact them. The worst that could happen is they will say “no.”

Often we forget to utilize our “fifth” limb, our voice. If you can sing the part you will be able to play the part in time.

Take up dancing, especially Latin dancing. It’s great for rhythm.

In the words of the illustrious Dom Famularo, “What your hands can do, your feet should also be able to do.” Workout all of your limbs equally.

If you’re a lefty set up right-handed and vise versa.

Jam with a bass player.

Follow the lead of Working Drum-mer’s Bootcamp guru Chris Sutherland and take a listen to “all” styles of music. This boosts your creativity. Click HERE to check out his Facebook group for a list of essential listening.

THE FINAL WORD“I got black-listed and

barred from all the clubs in Birmingham. I was so keen to play, I’d play for nothing. But I played the way I wanted.”

May. 31, 1948 - September. 25, 1980May you rest in peace, good brother.

John Bonham