Thursday, June 28, 2012

Drums Should Be Within The Music

Joe Cocker performing at Gulfstream Park in Ha...Joe Cocker performing at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, FL. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
I feel I need to be very straightforward here and say flat out that drummers tend to have a problem in general with this concept. But it is at the very core of being a successful studio drummer.
*THE MUSIC COMES FIRST... ALWAYS!*
Drummers unfortunately spend a great deal of their development as players disconnected from music. They are concerned with technical issues and prowess. This is one disadvantage that we have to work to overcome. The music has to be integral to the drummer.
I highly recommend playing a melodic instrument as well to develop your musicality and sensitivity. As a kid, I played a varity of instruments and enjoyed every one, more so the violin. I played the violin for about 6 years prior to playing the guitar and also sang and that has been foundational for me. I was also raised being exposed to many types of music. I feel that one of the best influences on me was a large exposure to classical music as I grew older which gave me a greater appreciation for melody and harmony. There's almost no musical style that I can't appreciate in a very real way.


If you want to be a successful studio drummer you need to be listening and emotionally connected to all types and styles of music including music that you may not initially be attracted to. Look for the good in all music as a general rule. For example if you're a rock drummer and hate country you're doing yourself a disservice. If you are an R and B drummer and you hate blues you are doing yourself a disservice etc.
*YOU NEED TO BE VERY WELL VERSED IN ALL MAJOR STYLES OF MUSIC AND THEIR DISTINCT DRUMMING STYLES AND TUNINGS.*
If you're a rock drummer start listening to the top country drummers. Are there great country studio drummers? You better believe there are, they're killer! Study the style, what makes them authentic? Remember! What you play means nothing if it's not connecting intimately with the music. It also means nothing if what you're playing is stylistically wrong for that particular type of music.


What does that require of you?
*YOU HAVE TO BE A STUDENT OF MUSIC, A LOVER OF MUSIC!*
You have to be, there is no other way. You can't short cut your way to being very spiritually connected to music that you're suddenly involved with in a session. You have to connect at a spiritual level and a great deal of that is just simply this: be a music lover.
Notice I didn't say a drum lover. I said a music lover. My personal belief is that your love of music should supercede your love of drumming.
You should also experience this on a session and I hope you do get to this point. You should be able to say to the artist or producer, "I hear very little of my own involvement on this track or.. I don't hear drums on this at all." The reason being is that you're listening to the song and in tune with what the song requires.
Again the song and the artist always come first. The drum kit can be forefront and deserves to be at the appropriate time, but in the right context and the right musical situation. When that is authentically the case it's a very powerful experience and the instrument again comes into it's own. But when we're supporting a song or an artist we are also powerful.
When I was in a touring band many moons ago I learned this lesson clearly. It was near the end of the bands existence and I knew it. I was getting bored having done so much road work. I started to go on 'auto-pilot.' The band we were touring with had a great session drummer (and also very wise) who came out on the road with us. He came up to me after a show and said something very memorable to me that I never forgot. "Don't try to make it something that it's not!" I knew immediately what he was saying! He heard the overplaying and he heard me trying to play this pop music like a fusion drummer. I decided at that point to take that to heart for the rest of my musical career.
The biggest golden rule of all...






                                               *LESS IS MORE!*
It's often hard to understand this until you've played sessions for a long time. But take my word for it. It is the biggest rule of studio playing that you must learn to embrace.
Listen to David Beal lay it down on Unchain My Heart by Joe Cocker. Fantastically solid playing. No frills and un-needed bells and whistles. Just exactly what the song requires!
Listen to all the greats here. The execution, the groove and effect of their playing is top shelf and yet most often you'll find that there is very little going on. You'll notice the space. The air in their playing. The simplicity of the fills. Yet what they're playing is highly refined and perfect for the song.


Knowing what not to play is what takes the years of experience and refinement. Of course this is not always the case and you'll hear more complexity at times for differing types of music but it is the general rule. I highly advise you to not try to reinvent the wheel here.
Practice a state of mind when you listen to a song where you are truly listening to all aspects of the song. Listen intently to the lyric of the song, the emotion of the song, the key points of emotion in the song. Listen to the dynamic or the ebb and flow of the song. Where does the song rise in emotion or intensity? Are there points in the song that move you emotionally or where certain chord changes or melody or lyric move you that you could support, enhance or subtlety mark in your playing. Very important! Listen to the vocal and make note of key moments such as emotions, fills or entries where you don't want to 'walk on the vocal' as they say, meaning that you don't want to clutter or distract the listener.
*YOU WANT TO SUPPORT AT ALL TIMES.*
Make note of rhythmic phrases that other melodic instruments are catching and understand and internalize the rhythmic phrase and make note of them on your chart. For example make a musical decision in this case whether you're going to strongly mark that rhythmic phrase or perhaps just catch elements of it. Instead of adding crashes you could just catch the phrase with your bass drum while still grooving over top of it. You might decide to allow the upper structure instruments to catch it and play right through it, which also may be the appropriate decision to make. There are times when if everybody jumps on a phrase it becomes ponderous.
The more you think this way as a studio musician the more in step you are with the music, the artist and the producer. This brings up another fact that
*THE BEST STUDIO MUSICIANS IN A SENSE PRODUCE THEMSELVES.*


In effect they largely produce their own part or playing just like a producer would. Are producers then feeling threatened by these players intruding on their territory? Absolutely not. The reason being is that the musicians are all on the same page and have their priorities in the correct order.
The song is of utmost importance and you, in this case, being the session drummer are bringing your musicality to the table just as much as you are also bringing your session drumming skills and talents to the table. You are not overbearing in any way and your intent is to support the project, producer and artist in every way. You know and are very comfortable with the fact that their desires and decisions supercede your own. You are, however, demonstrating to all present that you hear and are sensitive to the song first and foremost!
Of course the artist and producer will give you direction as to what they want. Again, like I said before, remember that the artist is always right!! You may have very definite ideas for your part but never debate your ideas unless of course the artist wants to debate them. You can gently contend for your ideas at times though, but pick your spots carefully and with sensitivity. An artist will very often ask you for your opinion if he trusts your musicality and experience.
And lastly remember, the song dictates the part, your part! Not the other way around!


..............................................................................
If you have found this blog entry entertaining or informative why not subscribe to my Feedburner notifications? 
............................................................................... 








Enhanced by Zemanta

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Music On The Internet


It's clear that on the internet the artist has freedom, and it's also clear that the listener can listen to music whenever they want - exactly as you can do in the real world, putting the content onto a CD.
Now I'm not saying that the internet is a waste of time. It's a very important tool and as Marcelo Abud, publicist, composer and writer of the article "Liberty and Independence" said:
- "Everywhere, the artists that learn to administer, divulge and distribute their own work are being listened to more and more."
Repeat, ", the artists that learn to administer...".
The internet is an important tool just like any other, but it needs to be used in conjunction with other tools. It's at this point that a lot of bands and artists fail. They think that one tool is enough! It's not true.
Companies like Trama Virtual also say that their services are important, of course, they are talking about themselves. If you ask Trama Virtual where the biggest source of income comes from on their site, they will say it comes from advertising and not from the sale of online music. In monetary terms the artist receives almost nothing for their investments.
Let's look at some data.


Without taking away merit from the good intentions of Trama, its' site has 8731 pages of musical archives totalizing 96080 MP3's sent by 38390 artists.
Just for highlighted bands there are 97 pages, 20 archives per page, or in other words, 1840 highlights. How can anybody feel highlighted amongst 1840? And those bands and artists that are not highlighted? Where do they end up?
Many times successful bands on this type of site are supported by the site owners in the real world to:
Earn money for the company, just like any band in the real world.
Do the marketing for the company with the artist saying that they were discovered on that site and in a short space of time became a success,
insinuating that just their presence on that site was the principal motive for their success.
The reality is that each band and artist needs to follow a direction to earn their success.
John Paterson, ex CEO of the site voxpop.co.uk (the site folded), said in an interview:
- "You can't earn a living selling MP3's.".
He continued saying that even though his site had been receiving a lot of visitors, very few would buy music online, preferring to just listen to the free stuff.
- "A long way from threatening the musical industry and major recording companies, online music still depends on them to survive. Everything that I hated in the music industry is true. 90% is marketing and media. The public don't want to decide for themselves, the people need their friends and the media to say that something is good. Few people would buy a song which they have just heard by an unknown band ".
People buy what they already know, the majority of the time through conventional media..


Promotion of bands and their sites on the internet in the real world through printed press and their live presentations will still be vital for the success of internet marketing for the future.
Research group Forrester published a report saying that the legal downloads market took just 4% share in the music market during 2005 in the United States, a long way short of the CD share in the same market.
- "The internet will not sell music," - declared Neil Cooper, manager of the band Stumble, which is distributing its' music at the site of http://www.peoplesound.com.
- "It's just a means of distribution. You wouldn't just go into a CD shop in the real world and just by looking at the CD cover think: - That should be good, I'll buy it ".
The band owes part of their success to intensive coverage of mass media. The secret is to contract a specialist to deliver your music to conventional radio stations and convince the presenters to publicize the address of the bands' site.
Cooper said:
- "Some bands could put their music on these sites and think that it's sufficient, that it's just a case of waiting. But it's like putting your CD in a shop and ot publicizing the fact that it's there."
The recording companies in the real world only select those artists that they think will make money. That's no secret. By the way, this upsets many musicians, especially those who were not selected!
The recording companies make sure that the bands have a good "look", are professional and have a good recording to be sold.


The problem with the internet is that it doesn't have these demanding filters, nobody judges if a song is worth distributing or not, or that the band will manage to make a polished performance onstage (at least two hours of material) to offer a complete entertainment package which the consumer is looking for. Some bands can have a nice photo and well written release, just to waste the time it takes to download the archive, of the visitor because the quality of the recording or the music is terrible!
Nobody is supervising the quality of the recording, nor the production except the musicians who did the work, and the quality is fundamental for the end user.
With so many bands appearing in these types of site, which bands will be more successful? Those that are promoted. It's as simple as that.
The major recording companies, as any well structured company, have a good reserve of resources in liquid funds and physical properties.
It's the smaller independents that can't stand the backlash of a flop in the market, because their profit margins are smaller and cash flow is a lot more restricted, with less money to be spent on marketing and promotion.
Concluding, a site on the internet is important, as in any other marketing action.
It's important to have YOUR site on the internet and only use these sites, like Trama or MySpace as an opportunity to put a link or a gateway to YOUR site.


..............................................................................
If you have found this blog entry entertaining or informative why not subscribe to 
my Feedburner notifications? 
............................................................................... 

Related articles

  • Lend me your ears



  • Enhanced by Zemanta

    Tuesday, June 5, 2012

    Make Rehearsals Really Count

    English: Chord progressions. Français : Progre...English: Chord progressions. Français : Progression d'accords. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

    All too often band rehersals turn out being arguments, gossip-mongering or  drunken debacles. There are a few easy things that can be applied to avoid any of these scenarios.
    Before the rehearsal
    You should learn to play yourself alone all the parts or songs you have planned for rehearsals, and along with metronome. Be self-critic, to avoid making mistakes that you won't be able to fix on the spot later on. Prepare all your ideas and write them out or record them, and even send them to your band peers, so they could be prepared to what you're about to work on. If you have some solo spots, make sure that you don't look for notes or options of how to play them on rehearsal. That really should be done at home. Make a loop of chord progressions you have to solo on and hit it. The only exception to this should be a complexly constructed solo that involves all band, though, that can be worked on alone, too. If you have in plan to make new songs on rehearsal, get enough sleep and try to warm up before, if you have time. Don't be late for rehearsals, especially if you pay for rehearse time, have respect for time of everyone else in the band, and they will respect yours. Also try to make sure you take care of all important phone calls and potential distractions before the rehearsals, as well as other basic stuff such as changing strings and similar things. And of course, don't go to rehearsals drunk or under some other influence.


    During the rehearsal
    The worst thing that could happen on a rehearsal is when someone comes in really bad mood. It reflects on everyone else, and the music itself. If everything irritates you, find real reasons for that, and calm down. Don't snap on your band peers, because they might not be the source of your bad mood. Negative energy issue can be a real band-breaker.
    Set up your sound. I suggest you to study the physical nature of sound of your instrument, and learn how to make a healthy sound for rehearsals. Don't allow yourselves to play in the noise. And make sure you don't play too loud. If you don't hear yourself well, and you hear that you're in balance with drums, lower other instruments, or fix your frequency configurations. Sometimes more noise occurs at bad equalizer settings than on loud playing. Be informed about making a good sound setting or have someone set it up for you. Have this problem fixed in the beginning because it will drive you to deafness and uncreativity.
    When you're working on your new stuff, be open to everyone's opinion, even if you're about to play the song you wrote yourself. Have everyone put a part of themselves in the song and listen to everyone's idea, because they just might provide a bit to the song that you might have missed or hadn't thought of before yourself. When some band members have to work on the part they play together and that doesn't involve you, don't make noise with your instrument, you'll distract them a lot, and it can get on a nerve easily. Rather think about other ideas you can provide for the song.


    Always. ALWAYS stop whatever you're doing if you get some really great idea, and write it out or record it immediately, because no matter how good it might be, there is an enormously big chance that you will forget it. Don't allow yourself that. I lost few of ideas that way, and I totally regret it. It is also advisable to record your whole rehearsal in some way, especially if you're making new songs on the spot. You might find lots of potential material on those recordings.
    When you fully practiced out a song with your band, and it is technically ready, don't stay on playing it while stand and not move at all, or even worse, not move and only look at your guitar. Jump, move, dance, give your peers a deadly eye look, play with your guitar behind your back, play with your guitar on the floor, play with your teeth, with your tongue, whatever. Just don't stay on playing it with your mind. You should get to the point where you actually don't even think about what you play. When you get to playing live, there is a certain problem that comes out if you don't listen to what I just wrote, even more often if you play energetic music. The problem is that when you play, you turn the crowd on, and when you turn the crowd on, they turn you on even more, and you want to do all the things you should've done and practiced on rehearsals, but you won't be able to do them, or you will do them, but make tons of mistakes. Turn of your lights and get a small light show for your rehearsals. Feel and go into it like you're on stage, in front of thousands of people! You'll find this very interesting and amusing, and it will spare you of all the bad things on the stage. Even make a small choreography of your live shows if necessary, and go into details. See what might happen on stage, and try to work it out on rehearsals, before unwanted consequences can occur.


    I also advise you to squeeze all the best from the rehearsal time. Don't go in senseless jams (unless you know for sure they'll benefit your band work), don't have a cigar every 5 minutes, don't get stuck in some non-music related chats for too long, don't have too long breaks (though, they are useful sometimes, when you go way over the top and it really doesn't make sense to push yourself too much, because nothing creative will happen) and most importantly, don't wander off with your thoughts. Be there 120%, or at least 100%, and you'll notice the difference.
    After the rehearsal
    If you have the time, go for a drink with your peers and talk about everything you've done on rehearsals. Review all your ideas, and talk about what you could do next. Give yourselves some directions for next rehearsals. Fix all the other problems you have in between yourselves right here, and not during rehearsals. And have a good time, establish a great personal relationships. If you enjoy being with your band outside the band, you will enjoy it even more when you're in the band. And everyone who'll hear or see the band will notice that, and it plays a big factor of success.

    ..............................................................................
    If you have found this blog entry entertaining or informative why not subscribe to 
    my Feedburner notifications? 
    ............................................................................... 







    Enhanced by Zemanta