Food For Thought

On groove, technique, and playing from the heart .

As a drummer (or any musician) when we strive to be our best, sometimes we become too
wrapped up into becoming bigger, stronger, and faster - too soon (remember the six-million- dollar-man?). In our efforts to grow and push the envelope on what we are capable of musically, this can become frustrating (for ourselves) but mostly for the musicians who play with us. This usually happens when we have come to a new “edge” of our limits and get really excited about getting that new lick we’ve just learned incorporated into a song.

Sometimes this new aspect of ourselves which we’ve worked so hard to obtain can become
counter productive to the music we are playing. Especially if is too “fast” for the piece, or if it is a great idea but doesn’t seem to fit musically for the song - but we try to squeeze it in there
anyway! (God, knows I’ve been there many times!)

How do we remedy the situation? Let me give you an example of two of my favorite
drummers (Tool’s Danny Carey, and Paula Cole’s Jay Bellerose) who would appear to come from completely different ends of the musical and playing style spectrum, and see if we can find a commonality here that might please musicians at both ends.

Danny’s ultra-fast speeds and multi-complex rhythms are offset by Jay’s “less notes is
more” approach. Which is better? Obviously the guy who can play faster and more complex
would be the best man right? A few years back this is what I believed and, if you decided to
disagree, I would probably have had a few choice words for your lack of discernment as to who easily would be the best player and musician! The answer is - it depends on the music, and what you - as a musician are trying to say.

Paula Cole’s Jay Bellerose keeps his set-up about as simple as it gets - two drums, a few
cymbals, and “effects” to hit with his many different types of sticks! For younger musicians who might not understand what “subtlety” means (don’t be upset I had to look it up too to spell it) this is the epitome of Jay’s playing style and it works perfectly. He may have only a few things to play with, but he makes the absolute most out of all that he has, and is always coming up with new ways to make different sounds. If you aren’t familiar with his playing you would be flabbergasted that one man can come up with so many ideas from just a few drums. His beats are usually leaning to the simpler side (more space, straight time, less notes) but it grooves and blends great with what the music needs; to flow and to feel great.

Carey on the other hand plays with a much more aggressive, busy, multi-layered, and
complex approach to Tool’s music, and has quite a large kit including electronics and all the fixings. These guys couldn’t be more different (to me) in their set-ups, styles, or approaches to playing, but ironically, they both do the exact same thing - what fits best for their musical situation. This has so much more to do with having an incredible musical ear (to see what works for the music) than it does with having great technique and chops - although they both have quite a bit.

Years back when I played heavy aggressive music, the louder, more complicated, and “up
front” I played the better (for me). As I started to change my musical styles and branch out into softer, mellower music (usually with a woman singing) it was very challenging to leave that all that behind and learn to play more in the background. I always felt that there was a side of me that was missing when playing simpler and at lower volumes. How will they see that I can play if I’m not playing much? Anyone can play a simple grove right? That is what I used to think.

As I have grown as a person and a player, I have learned that it’s those little things that mean a lot. Twenty years later after listening to the music I grew up on, I can still pick out little things that a drummer did to make the song a great one, stuff I just didn’t hear back then. So for all you enthusiastic, supercharged musicians who want to show what you’ve got - just make sure it fits the song and that the rest of the guys in your group agree too. When it comes down to it - all we really want is to be noticed for our great musical abilities. We will probably play more than just a few songs in our career. Don’t be afraid to hold back and save a little something special for that next piece...I have to keep this in mind as I’m writing this! So if your beat grooves and makes people feel good, they will feel good about you as a player. Then you know you've hit the target - busy or not - enough said!

FOOD FOR THOUGHT