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@johnthepink
Last active March 18, 2017 03:47
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Drum Talk: Playing the Right Note

About Yourself

  • little about myself
  • little about yourself

Intro

It's not the notes you play, it's the notes you don't play. - Miles Davis

You have to know 400 notes that you can play, then pick the right four. - Miles Davis

In music, silence is more important than sound. - Miles Davis

  • miles learned early on that he didn't have the chops of people like coltrane
  • he made his signature sound by searching for the correct note to play
  • rings true to me
  • i'm always wondering what is the correct thing to play
    • not coolest
    • not fastest
    • correctest

3 Things That Make a Great Drummer

set the tempo

  • practice with the song
  • practice without the song with a metronome

control the dynamics

  • know the song
  • make changes obvious
  • lead the other musicians with your playing
  • don't play when you don't need to

listen

  • pay attention to the bass player
  • pay attention to the leader
  • pay attention to the room (worship)

Don’t play everything (or everytime); let some things go by. Some music just imagined. - Monk

What you don’t play can be more important than what you do play. - Monk

Practical Application

Start with bare minimum

  • practice keeping time
  • practice creating dynamics and making transitions without playing fills
  • only add in fills that make sense (create dynamics, add to basic groove)
  • DEMO (basic HH to basic ride)

Bigger Does Not Mean More Notes

  • sometimes best loud beat is simple power beat
  • make sure you aren't playing more notes instead of playing with more dynamic
  • DEMO (power beat, too many notes)

Know Your Limitations

  • we all come from different skill levels
  • when learning a song, know what you can and can't execute well
  • can't sacrifice tempo and dynamics for coolness
  • tempo and dynamics are two things the audience will know aren't correct
  • DEMO (32s snare)

The Song Is Most Important

  • we all want to have a unique sound
  • do it within the confines of the song, and not at the expense of the song

Pay Attention to Leader

  • in this case, worship leader
  • learn how to read their body language

Expand Your Repetoire

  • unique ways to build the song (stock build, cymbal build, staggered build)
  • new beats
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