Subscribe or I'll steal your cymbals: bit.ly/2AyH1Fb Ever wonder if there is a drumming secret that all professional drummers know? Well...there is actually. So what do Vinnie Colaiuta, Buddy Rich, Benny Greb, Matt Garstka, Steve Gadd, Antonio Sanchez, and every other pro know? It's not so much a secret as it is the entire reason why we consider them to be a professional drummer... Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts! Have you checked out 40 Years of Video Game Drumming yet? 32 video game themes, 23 tempo changes, in one take: th-cam.com/video/s0h4sCbSZx4/w-d-xo.html
Yeh some of what U said puzzles me a bit?. I went to all the trouble to help my niece so she could play in the church band for Sue Edwards,,, but because sue the lady is so strict. I don't bother with Drums much now so if open mic calls me down the track I go but other then that drums & DrumTek are just history for me???,,, I think it's because I just don't really care any more about Drumming because at the end of the day people don't really give a two hoots... So as much as I love Drumming & Helping my 11 year old niece Stephanie. But Thank 🙋♂️👍🙏 Steve for your history on Drumming Legends?...
That’s good point you make I remember a Gadd clinic I was at and someone asked him about difficult time signatures ... He replied ...I don’t get hired to do difficult time signatures ...
Vinnie is a chameleon of styles though. From jazz to pop to metal to fusion. I guess there are 3 groups: amateur, professional and Vinnie Colaiuta lol.
... love to hear him play!! I have heard one, maybe two errors, but they were covered so masterfully he could probably say, "no, I meant to do that".... 😉😬
He sucks at a specific Reggae situation... (When he tries to cover Carlton's famous hi-hat figure, but within a shuffle; that simply HAS to go wrong without switching out of shuffle...but he doesn't and it keeps sounding "ahrrrgh!"-ward!)
I only know you from your YT videos, but honestly I have so much respect for how you come across and conduct yourself, as well of course as the content you produce.
I’ve studied a lot of languages, and people hear that and are like “Ooh, say something in Chinese,” and I can’t just do that if I haven’t been using it conversationally for months or years.
Robert Plant has talked about how toward the end of John Bonham’s life, Bonham was so insecure about his own playing. John freakin’ Bonahm. Phil Collins has been open about how when Peter Gabriel and Genesis played a one-off concert together in 1982, he (Collins) started making mistakes left and right, the kind of mistakes he hadn’t made in years. Stewart Copeland wrote on his blog about how many mistakes all three members of the Police made the first few concerts of their reunion tour. Bonham, Collins and Copeland. Three monsters of drumming. And even they made mistakes (or thought they did).
What is worst than an off nite is two off nites in a row. We all have them and never know when they will take place. I can usually avoid them but they still occur especially after missing a week or two of playing. There are some things I just can not do. I will still attempt to do them and even if I never succeed, the few attempts help broaden my playing ability.
I remember reading Neil Peart's book 'Ghost Rider', where following the passing of both his wife and daughter in a small period of time, he stopped playing in Rush and commenced riding many thousands of miles for a couple of years. When he contacted bass player/singer Geddy Lee about returning to music, he outlined the results of the bands first rehearsal; he said they sounded like the worlds worst ever Rush tribute band! Just appalling.
On a historical note: two of my all time heroes (Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson) just didn't sound very comfortable in a rock context to me. Both of them had arrangers who provided them with big band versions of classic rock tunes but Bellson especially sounded rather tentative and stiff in his groove on a few charts. Buddy just overplayed (lot's of grace notes between the snare and hi-hat) but he got better with the rock thing through the years. They had to do this to remain relevant to the modern era which had long since moved on from traditional swing bands. I don't believe it was a smooth transition at all for either one of them. Going from 100mph to a simple back beat takes a lot of patience and restraint for us jazz guys who want to improvise and show off our chops all the time. Another excellent video here! Very insightful as always. :-)
Buddy Rich never really seemed to get rock drumming at all.... I mean, he could it, but he never looked or sounded comfortable. And I saw Louis Bellson demonstrate s 'funk beat' on an educational vid once. It is the only time I've seen him play and NEVER smile at any point in the whole track!
@@SAHBfan LOL! Yes, Bellson was always smiling. Rock was just not his thing or Buddy's. Both of them had big bands and had to compete with the video market back in the 80s. American culture has moved further and further away from the traditional jazz legacy they left behind. Very sad.
@Hudson Donald - You could get a lot of flak from Buddy Rich fans (some of the worst trolls on TH-cam IMHO) calling BR a hack! I think he was a great big band drummer, but I agree he was over-rated and seems to have a massive appeal to none drummers - especially the people who need one person to be 'The Greatest' - which might have some meaning in Boxing or athletics (or Marvel comics), but which never really made sense to me in music...
Hey Stephen! Played my first house party recently and all of your videos absolutely motivated me to follow through and get good enough to make it happen! So thank you sir
Right on Stephen. I over prepare for any upcoming gig, when I can. The band or musicians are blown away and say I'm great. What they don't realize is that I've been using all of the time since I've heard about the gig until that time preparing. Great video and great advice!
yep, I just finished a production with the NDR BigBand. For this session I listened to the demos & played along to them for about 4 weeks every single day. So being prepared is the key to succeed when you do anything professionally. And of course you have to love doing it 😎
So I shouldn't feel bad that it takes me a month to learn to (sort of) play a samba groove? I'm figuring out that if I can get something up to say, 75% speed, that is 90% of the work. If I ever really get a chance to play it I can bring the tempo up fairly easily. It's the transition from "my brain is exploding" to "okay, I get it' that takes hours and hours.
Chris Ferrall you should never feel bad about how long it takes your brain to go through the natural learning process. We can fight it or we can flow with it. Work more efficiently? Yes, always try to do that. But it simply takes time to carve new neural pathways in the brain. No way around that. Once we accept that, practice becomes much less stressful. At least for me it is.
You talk about things that no other drummer on TH-cam talks about, and time and time again your videos hit home with me. Love your work. I watch your videos every week but somehow wasn't subscribed? I fixed that now!
I’m more of a pro guitarist than a pro drummer but I’ll tell you my embarrassing little secret. About 90% of my tone cost me about $500, tops....you could piece together a rig for $500 and get about 90% of my sound. That final 10%...the “polish” and the “things I break out here and there to make my colleagues go ‘hehe’”. That stuff probably cost me around 20 grand over the course of a decade or so. Know this...it also applies to drums. Gear acquisition works much in the same way that learning how to play works. There are major, major plateaus that form between “the place I am” and “the place I want to be”. You just have to learn which ones are worth traversing and I’ll tell you this much. The ones which involve playing, developing your ear and forming your style are the most important. Everything else is trivial by comparison.
Stephen is absolutely correct. Hoping, wishing and praying won’t do it. - and most certainly guessing won’t help you too. It’s work...it’s that simple...
Then there’s Vinnie, who certainly doesn’t prepare for the sessions he’s on! A Chameleon with an extreme versatility in style and who can obviously read anything put in front of him. Let alone the fills and frills he goes for :) he is the exception!
That’s kind of obvious, because, yeah, no one is “perfect” 100% of the time on everything, however it is always good to be reminded of that. Loved the video!
I didn’t know you were going to go in this direction after reading the title. Very cool. There’s an interview with Jeff Paccaro, and he said he refused to take a Zappa gig. He felt his reading wasn’t up to snuff, and would get tore up. I liked Jeff’s honesty in that vid.
So true: what we see and hear gives us some kind of illusion. We want to learn this and this, but the main practice will go away so we can be stacked into knowing only what our favourite drummer made. At least this is my biggest mistake in my drumming. I want to work more hard to be more and more ‘open ear’-ed, and to focus on my weaknesses and goods to be better. Thank you for sharing this!
Unless you’re Gavin Harrison and your brain is hardwired into your kit and has been for the last 35 years. That guy is ridiculous on record and even more so live and spontaneous.
Yep. I had to learn to say, I'm not that kind of drummer. Maybe you should find someone better suited for the gig. Actually just saying that takes a lot of pressure off. I've had to learn a lot of music for one gig, that I really wasn't comfortable playing and I certainly didn't enjoy it. I pass on those kinds of gigs now .
Ok..back in the day when club date and wedding drummer s performed...you had to know the 12 different rhythms...shuffle. cha cha.mombo..somba... swing..etc etc....and often you show up at a gig and not know any of the musicians...but the standard music is the same....problem is that it's like factory work..and your creativity goes downhill...so if you dont need the money get into a original band the suits your best style and work it to the bone....
Thanks, man! I feel the same way. I am finally starting my pro career and focusing on the main points for making the groove bounce. Really dissecting it. It is paying off. One year of this and it is a visible evolution. 😎🥁
Great explanation. Need to share this with a couple of bandleaders. Five or six players in the swing band I play with weekly also play with a rock cover band. They asked me to step in on two gigs when their drummer went on vacation. They thought drummers could instantly switch modes. When I asked for the set list and version they used, I told them drummers need repetitive practice on whatever new mode a band wants or even if it's just refreshing an anciently learned pattern.
Just listen to the Buddy Rich and Allah Rakha album they did together. I can't get through it. It feels as though Buddy's having a hard day. The content here was fantastic! Keep up the great work Stephen..
My biggest weakness is trying to play double bass. I can get it going but can’t keep it up. I’ll try and do a mediocre speed and then it’s like my reflexes or something kicks in and I start to speed up inadvertently. I can’t seem to keep the same pace because my legs start to spaz out.
This clip couldn't have come at a better time. Having this issue with a session and a suggestion was asked of me that's a bit out of my wheelhouse. So instead of beating myself up thinking I should already be a beast in this certain style, I can be honest with myself and woodshed it and nail it when I'm ready. Thanks for this. S
Thank you!!! It can be very frustrating to try and be great All the time! It's just not realistic. This comes up alot in the cabinet shop as well. There are so many tools and techniques to study and practice. You don't see the 2 hours of test cuts during setup or the 6 hours of sanding all the pieces in those 1 minute instagram videos furniture builders post. You have to constantly practice and continue to learn👍👍
So true...so true Mr. Steve. Had my own experience with this last century playing the Ocean live which had never laid sticks on before. Taking quick direction from the guitar player we were off in a place I didn't want to be musically, let a lone live; just say it was a flipping train wreck at best. Learned my limits on being so accommodating to everything right quick, not to mention taking on the fly direction can be extremely subjective in a live sit in/sub setting.
man ,what do you used like effect on your drum when you have record the small groove that you have put in this vidéo?? its sound just so huge ,destroy and incrodible...WHAT IS THE ÉQUIPEMENT OR THE EFFECT DO YOU USED TO HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE SOUND ?
Spot on Stephen, thanks! I've expressed that belief to my students more than once. 'cause I grew up thinking that musicians were like magicians... Talent is way overrated. Cheers
1:12 Marky got with Sharon, Sharon got Cherise As she was sharin' Sharon's outlook on the topic of disease Mikey had a facial scar and Bobby was a racist They were all in love with dying, they were doing it in Texas Tommy played piano like a kid out in the rain And then he lost his leg in Dallas, he was dancing with a train They were all in love with dying They were drinking from a fountain That was pouring like an avalanche Coming down the mountain
Travis Barker called to play in a straight ahead low volume jazz trio........Know the forms of the tunes. Trade 4's. Solo over a chorus. Play with brushes. Play a bossa and then latin jazz tune (mambo.) Yeah, I'd like to see that (at low volumes.)
So ~ WTF IS The Secret Pro Drummers Don't Want You To Know? ...You said Nothing!... Pro's are Pro's because they get paid for their craft... That's the definition of a professional... That's it! Go get a paid job - your a pro... this is Ridiculous...
It takes WAY more practice than the average person thinks. If you dont have the time due to your job, responsibilities, time limits, etc., you will not reach their level.
Great video, Stephen. Definitely needed to hear this today. Lately I've been playing a lot of country/pop gigs (which are new to me) and felt like my playing has declined in other areas, so it feels like there's never enough practice time to keep everything in top shape while also learning new things. Time to re-focus.
I played for 17 years Christian Music, from 3 pc. combos to 20 pc. jazz bands. The director and trumpet player with the jazz band liked my drumming and every year he took a group to Germany to play Polka. This one year his regular drummer could not go, so he called me. I told him I would have to think about it and immediately went to TH-cam to listen to Polka. So glad I did. The drummer obviously had years of playing Umpa and the accents of the music was definitely something off the charts. I called my friend and declined. Wiser than I look.
People , This is soooo true... Don't try to run out in front of yourself... do it wright,, everyone needs practice.. even the best !!! Example;; After playing a half year or more ( about every day,,, 2 shows a day for musicals) you'l need time to get back to basics.. really.... it;s a routine....and it needs time to get back...and then..come back for the next.. Have a nice day....
I recently played with a band last minute (night of) having never heard their songs or covers. My nightmare... but it went fine... these scenarios just make you like preparation even more. But also be able to go with the flow. After all the show must go on!
I am teaching how to cover up. Most people panic when confronted with situations, and I suggest to dig into it. There are (drummer) ways to play without playing. It's a sort of not doing stuff, not disturbing the other players. Then you feel into, and play along, and if you feel comfortable, your fellow musicians will, too. When I was learning to play, I had to fit into a professional band. As a total noob, I hacked myself into the band, and fun fact, it worked! And this is, what I am teaching. Being confident to be useful, and nice, if not great. Of course, there are professionals who would not tolerate hacking, but then, how professional are they?
Study deep and narrow, right. Better to be the go to guy for one particular style than mediocre at 10 styles. There are drummers that spend their whole lives learning jungle/drum and bass drumming. I feel I want to play breakbeats and a little jazz for the next 20 years. Good vid, Stephen.
There is no secret but only hard work. Thousands of hours practising. Different thing is that not many of us got time. I will never be good like them... I have kid, job and other activities. But I love to play and they are just humans so nothing is impossible.
So very true. That's why arguments about who is the "best" drummer are ridiculous. Horses for courses. I can do odd timings in my sleep, but have all sort of trouble with something like a "Lenny Kravitz beat" ... or even that "simple" demonstration beat around 3:10.
This highlights the different perspectives to what is being done. Whereas Becker and Fagan would famously bring people in to "do their thing" specialties, the victims, err I mean guests are expected to bring their strengths and do the thing they are known for doing, you're talking about what the rest of the world has to bring the solutions. Good stuf.
We are good at storing info) I have nice drumming library but whenever I look at my books, I'm thinking of how could I prepare myself for all of that stuff) the basic element seems to be playing in time the 2-beat groove, and once I get it I would have an instant access to everything. cause everything is timekeeping))
I have a couple of problems. 1 I get Distracted very easy. 2 I have a very hard time distinguishing what drum is being played and how the drummer is playing it. 3 I try to score the song but run in to the above problems so I improvise. So if I don’t know I make it up.
Doesn’t this kinda miss the point? If a professional drummer who reads proficiently is asked to play in a style that is atypical, wouldn’t their bandleader/employer just provide them with charts to read? It seems to me that sight reading and just learning material quickly is the most important skill to have if you’re trying to be a jack of all trades type player. Also, practicing in general (just keeping your chops up) doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with learning new material, and the two things are separate for a lot of people.
So true. This is why I don't even care about being famous or "successful" anymore. I play the drums cuz they make me happy and that's all the success I need. (:
most pro drummers are masters at jazz, or big band, or swing, or latin, or classical, and some are pros at rock or country....the point ? all understand all type of music but? that does not mean? all are masters at all music..i can do just about any music however jazz is what i love the most and do the best...as for all the rest .i leave that to the drummers that like and do there music, like rock and country, just as my friends joe morello and buddy rich, two different drummers , the fact is, if you could switch them, you will see each could not do what the other can....it will never be the same? we each are specialist in what we do? and because of that we stand out from others......just like doctors they can't do everything in medicine the point is???? if your the best only at what you can do that should be enough.....there is room for everyone in music all kinds of music? phil ambros
You probably heard the story of how a rock drummer was hired to help Buddy play conventional rock beats with little success, Buddy was very frustrated and eventually, being a martial artist, took is anger out on a wall.
The main difference between drummers who gig and drummers that don't is those who gig play the song. Those who don't show off their chops. Some really good drummers do both - but tastefully.
I see the thin truth here, but, even the greatest musician have specialties, so if you think your favorite metal drummer is gonna kill it on a traditional jazz track, you’re a little nutty. You wouldn’t hire a dermatologist to do brain surgery or vice-versa.
It's easy to get caught up in the "gotta know everything" mindset. I want to say, I think you remind us of this about every 3 months. Why is it so hard to stay focused on one thing? Because there are so many options out there and we want to learn it all.
Hola y Dios te bendiga ouups i forgot English. Ok hi and God bless you it is true what you say many times i feel guilty when i stop practicing and it bother me since my house was damaged by Hurricane Maria i can't practice with my set and practice on a pad isn't good enough and i have to move around and work on getting aid to rebuild my house it's been hard to practice and the only time i will play on a set is on church on Sunday i feel that i'am losing my touch or able to play good druming feel 😥 not to practice like i used to
This is why we practice our rudiments religiously. If you are lacking in technique you are going to struggle to make the grade in any pursuit you follow.
past year I attended a jazz gig at Barcelona,s cova del drac and between songs the drummer, made a joke and said: well those are the songs that we know how to play now...and he smiled...we tend to think that our heroes play well all the time all songs but that is not the truth..
The other secret the pro's don't want anyone to know is how much they practice every day. They basically don't leave the drum kit. They don't measure the hours they practice, they measures the hours they don't practice. It's easier that way.
Im a decent drummer. An old musician friend droped by to jam but he was bent on raggae and i was out of the water on that. I felt so silly, not being able to do any of it.
Some drummers in the group don’t even play on their records mainly because they cannot keep time or work to a click. Time is money in the studio so step in the session drummer. That’s the best kept secret that’s not really a secret anymore
Subscribe or I'll steal your cymbals: bit.ly/2AyH1Fb
Ever wonder if there is a drumming secret that all professional drummers know? Well...there is actually. So what do Vinnie Colaiuta, Buddy Rich, Benny Greb, Matt Garstka, Steve Gadd, Antonio Sanchez, and every other pro know? It's not so much a secret as it is the entire reason why we consider them to be a professional drummer...
Leave a comment below and let me know your thoughts!
Have you checked out 40 Years of Video Game Drumming yet? 32 video game themes, 23 tempo changes, in one take: th-cam.com/video/s0h4sCbSZx4/w-d-xo.html
Stephen Taylor I literally had this conversation about a month ago with a good friend mine and this is sooo true I’m glad you covered it .
Yeh some of what U said puzzles me a bit?. I went to all the trouble to help my niece so she could play in the church band for Sue Edwards,,, but because sue the lady is so strict. I don't bother with Drums much now so if open mic calls me down the track I go but other then that drums & DrumTek are just history for me???,,, I think it's because I just don't really care any more about Drumming because at the end of the day people don't really give a two hoots... So as much as I love Drumming & Helping my 11 year old niece Stephanie. But Thank 🙋♂️👍🙏 Steve for your history on Drumming Legends?...
For your Epic & Extreme events in reply to Steve Taylor 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏?.
I don't have cymbals :(
You will need a big truck to steal my cymbals Lol
That’s good point you make
I remember a Gadd clinic I was at and someone asked him about difficult time signatures ...
He replied ...I don’t get hired to do difficult time signatures ...
@@hanzschwanns7511 Songo is a style rather than a specific rhythm,the beat one is missing and thats whats make it hard to learn for some.
Feel like you could rename this Secret all *humans* don't want you to know.
Yes! I'm a caricature artist and I draw live most of the time. This resonated with me in a lot of ways.
Vinnie is a chameleon of styles though. From jazz to pop to metal to fusion. I guess there are 3 groups: amateur, professional and Vinnie Colaiuta lol.
... love to hear him play!! I have heard one, maybe two errors, but they were covered so masterfully he could probably say, "no, I meant to do that".... 😉😬
_Many_ are called, but _Vinnie_ is chosen.
He sucks at a specific Reggae situation...
(When he tries to cover Carlton's famous hi-hat figure, but within a shuffle; that simply HAS to go wrong without switching out of shuffle...but he doesn't and it keeps sounding "ahrrrgh!"-ward!)
fucking vinnie!
I only know you from your YT videos, but honestly I have so much respect for how you come across and conduct yourself, as well of course as the content you produce.
GMak81 thank you my friend. That really does mean a lot.
I’ve studied a lot of languages, and people hear that and are like “Ooh, say something in Chinese,” and I can’t just do that if I haven’t been using it conversationally for months or years.
That's a really good example. Thanks!
Ok, Chinese u said? Than say something in coronavirus😏
I can’t count how many uncomfortable moments I’ve experienced performing. 😆
Stephen this was one of your best videos ever. So true on every topic. You are the man.
Robert Plant has talked about how toward the end of John Bonham’s life, Bonham was so insecure about his own playing. John freakin’ Bonahm.
Phil Collins has been open about how when Peter Gabriel and Genesis played a one-off concert together in 1982, he (Collins) started making mistakes left and right, the kind of mistakes he hadn’t made in years.
Stewart Copeland wrote on his blog about how many mistakes all three members of the Police made the first few concerts of their reunion tour.
Bonham, Collins and Copeland. Three monsters of drumming. And even they made mistakes (or thought they did).
What is worst than an off nite is two off nites in a row. We all have them and never know when they will take place. I can usually avoid them but they still occur especially after missing a week or two of playing. There are some things I just can not do. I will still attempt to do them and even if I never succeed, the few attempts help broaden my playing ability.
Vinnie had a stint as well, in the insecure world of drumming. We are often our own worst enemy !!
Stewart Copeland admits he's better at feel than precise timing because it wasn't as big of a deal in the 70s.
Insecure? Never new!! Checked your channel and youve got cool stuff. Subbed!
I remember reading Neil Peart's book 'Ghost Rider', where following the passing of both his wife and daughter in a small period of time, he stopped playing in Rush and commenced riding many thousands of miles for a couple of years.
When he contacted bass player/singer Geddy Lee about returning to music, he outlined the results of the bands first rehearsal; he said they sounded like the worlds worst ever Rush tribute band! Just appalling.
On a historical note: two of my all time heroes (Buddy Rich and Louie Bellson) just didn't sound very comfortable in a rock context to me. Both of them had arrangers who provided them with big band versions of classic rock tunes but Bellson especially sounded rather tentative and stiff in his groove on a few charts. Buddy just overplayed (lot's of grace notes between the snare and hi-hat) but he got better with the rock thing through the years. They had to do this to remain relevant to the modern era which had long since moved on from traditional swing bands. I don't believe it was a smooth transition at all for either one of them. Going from 100mph to a simple back beat takes a lot of patience and restraint for us jazz guys who want to improvise and show off our chops all the time. Another excellent video here! Very insightful as always. :-)
Thanks!
Buddy Rich never really seemed to get rock drumming at all.... I mean, he could it, but he never looked or sounded comfortable. And I saw Louis Bellson demonstrate s 'funk beat' on an educational vid once. It is the only time I've seen him play and NEVER smile at any point in the whole track!
@@SAHBfan LOL! Yes, Bellson was always smiling. Rock was just not his thing or Buddy's. Both of them had big bands and had to compete with the video market back in the 80s. American culture has moved further and further away from the traditional jazz legacy they left behind. Very sad.
@Hudson Donald - You could get a lot of flak from Buddy Rich fans (some of the worst trolls on TH-cam IMHO) calling BR a hack! I think he was a great big band drummer, but I agree he was over-rated and seems to have a massive appeal to none drummers - especially the people who need one person to be 'The Greatest' - which might have some meaning in Boxing or athletics (or Marvel comics), but which never really made sense to me in music...
@@SAHBfan just as many saying he was overrated. Which is just as silly....
U should do a collaboration with the 8Bit drummer. Check out his videos.
PS. I am not working for, advertising or a crazy fan of him.
Cryoax varnes love what he does. A collab would def be fun...
Hey Stephen! Played my first house party recently and all of your videos absolutely motivated me to follow through and get good enough to make it happen! So thank you sir
Right on Stephen. I over prepare for any upcoming gig, when I can. The band or musicians are blown away and say I'm great. What they don't realize is that I've been using all of the time since I've heard about the gig until that time preparing. Great video and great advice!
yep, I just finished a production with the NDR BigBand. For this session I listened to the demos & played along to them for about 4 weeks every single day. So being prepared is the key to succeed when you do anything professionally. And of course you have to love doing it 😎
absolutely true...except for Vinnie ;)
So I shouldn't feel bad that it takes me a month to learn to (sort of) play a samba groove? I'm figuring out that if I can get something up to say, 75% speed, that is 90% of the work. If I ever really get a chance to play it I can bring the tempo up fairly easily. It's the transition from "my brain is exploding" to "okay, I get it' that takes hours and hours.
Chris Ferrall you should never feel bad about how long it takes your brain to go through the natural learning process. We can fight it or we can flow with it. Work more efficiently? Yes, always try to do that. But it simply takes time to carve new neural pathways in the brain. No way around that. Once we accept that, practice becomes much less stressful. At least for me it is.
Except Vinnie Colaiuta. He is always better than your favorite drummer.
Federico Canuti vinnie is the Chuck Norris of drums
Vinnie isn't human ok? haha
Virgil donati
No, he isn't.
Better? Lol
You talk about things that no other drummer on TH-cam talks about, and time and time again your videos hit home with me. Love your work. I watch your videos every week but somehow wasn't subscribed? I fixed that now!
Thank you my friend!
I guess Neil Peart would have felt that he "fell on his face" playing with the Buddy Rich band. I wish I could fall on my face so well!
@Stork Legs His problem was that he never practised (or usually applied with Rush) anything even close to a shuffle beat...
I’m more of a pro guitarist than a pro drummer but I’ll tell you my embarrassing little secret.
About 90% of my tone cost me about $500, tops....you could piece together a rig for $500 and get about 90% of my sound. That final 10%...the “polish” and the “things I break out here and there to make my colleagues go ‘hehe’”. That stuff probably cost me around 20 grand over the course of a decade or so. Know this...it also applies to drums. Gear acquisition works much in the same way that learning how to play works. There are major, major plateaus that form between “the place I am” and “the place I want to be”. You just have to learn which ones are worth traversing and I’ll tell you this much. The ones which involve playing, developing your ear and forming your style are the most important. Everything else is trivial by comparison.
Actually that's kind of comforting to know.
Stephen is absolutely correct. Hoping, wishing and praying won’t do it. - and most certainly guessing won’t help you too. It’s work...it’s that simple...
I don't care if it's only 3 dislikes but WHO DID THAT
Lazy arse shit wannabees
Yup...the point is...you need preparation before the show!...
Then there’s Vinnie, who certainly doesn’t prepare for the sessions he’s on! A Chameleon with an extreme versatility in style and who can obviously read anything put in front of him. Let alone the fills and frills he goes for :) he is the exception!
That’s kind of obvious, because, yeah, no one is “perfect” 100% of the time on everything, however it is always good to be reminded of that. Loved the video!
Dam straight
We have to be ourselves,but it's okay to use others techniques or good ideas.
I didn’t know you were going to go in this direction after reading the title. Very cool. There’s an interview with Jeff Paccaro, and he said he refused to take a Zappa gig. He felt his reading wasn’t up to snuff, and would get tore up. I liked Jeff’s honesty in that vid.
Love those Chad Smith beats.
We are so lucky that CHUCK NORRIS doesn’t play Drums!!!
So true: what we see and hear gives us some kind of illusion. We want to learn this and this, but the main practice will go away so we can be stacked into knowing only what our favourite drummer made. At least this is my biggest mistake in my drumming. I want to work more hard to be more and more ‘open ear’-ed, and to focus on my weaknesses and goods to be better. Thank you for sharing this!
I’m a simple man, when I see a Stephen Taylor video I click, when I see buddy rich in the thumbnail I click.
But today you have thrown me a curveball
Every now and then gotta learn a new pitch 🕺🏻
Excellent video!! Yours content makes perfect sense and I believe many of US drummers need to be reminded of this quite frequent.
Unless you’re Gavin Harrison and your brain is hardwired into your kit and has been for the last 35 years. That guy is ridiculous on record and even more so live and spontaneous.
As a drummer and an attorney, I can definitely attest to the message in this video. I know only one area of the law by design. Excellent message!
Yep. I had to learn to say, I'm not that kind of drummer. Maybe you should find someone better suited for the gig. Actually just saying that takes a lot of pressure off. I've had to learn a lot of music for one gig, that I really wasn't comfortable playing and I certainly didn't enjoy it. I pass on those kinds of gigs now .
You forgot to mention (as you always do) the importance of stick trixx & speeding up on live performances.
Oh, I don’t mention it because I assume it’s common knowledge. Just check out Instagram. Everyone seems to know this one intuitively now.....
Very true... especially if you want to play along to Indian rhythms..need a spare 20 years for them...lol👍👍 great video
Enjoyed that. Do you find older players still keeping up their skills despite less gigs for them?
Ok..back in the day when club date and wedding drummer s performed...you had to know the 12 different rhythms...shuffle. cha cha.mombo..somba... swing..etc etc....and often you show up at a gig and not know any of the musicians...but the standard music is the same....problem is that it's like factory work..and your creativity goes downhill...so if you dont need the money get into a original band the suits your best style and work it to the bone....
There is truth to this
Thanks, man! I feel the same way. I am finally starting my pro career and focusing on the main points for making the groove bounce. Really dissecting it. It is paying off. One year of this and it is a visible evolution. 😎🥁
I bet putting the gaffa tape over the beard seemed like a good idea at the time... Ha!
There are some dangers to this job that I never speak about.....
Great explanation. Need to share this with a couple of bandleaders.
Five or six players in the swing band I play with weekly also play with a rock cover band. They asked me to step in on two gigs when their drummer went on vacation. They thought drummers could instantly switch modes. When I asked for the set list and version they used, I told them drummers need repetitive practice on whatever new mode a band wants or even if it's just refreshing an anciently learned pattern.
Buddy Rich wasn't too keen on playing Bebop drums, he played what he thought was his idea of Bebop!
Agree. Buddy played Buddy
100% correct
Just listen to the Buddy Rich and Allah Rakha album they did together. I can't get through it. It feels as though Buddy's having a hard day.
The content here was fantastic! Keep up the great work Stephen..
I want my 8:28 back.👎👎
Does that count for Vinnie
@Jasonsenipor Ahahahaha
Love that you are dropping frequent chestnuts of wisdom.
What makes a pro drummer isn't some magical talent, it's work. Like any pro. Simple.
Extremely good lesson. Really :-)
My biggest weakness is trying to play double bass. I can get it going but can’t keep it up. I’ll try and do a mediocre speed and then it’s like my reflexes or something kicks in and I start to speed up inadvertently. I can’t seem to keep the same pace because my legs start to spaz out.
This is simply the truth. I wish I had known it when I was a beginner.
Just saw Vinny Appice- amazing! Thanks for this video!
Vinny is the master monster, ploughing through the rocky fields heavy rock!
This clip couldn't have come at a better time. Having this issue with a session and a suggestion was asked of me that's a bit out of my wheelhouse. So instead of beating myself up thinking I should already be a beast in this certain style, I can be honest with myself and woodshed it and nail it when I'm ready. Thanks for this.
S
Thank you!!! It can be very frustrating to try and be great All the time! It's just not realistic.
This comes up alot in the cabinet shop as well. There are so many tools and techniques to study and practice. You don't see the 2 hours of test cuts during setup or the 6 hours of sanding all the pieces in those 1 minute instagram videos furniture builders post. You have to constantly practice and continue to learn👍👍
I have paiste PST5 cymbals, just steal em!
I've really got to hide my Istanbul Agop cymba...what?!
This video is gold!! Thank you Stephen!!! 🙏🏽🙏🏽
So true...so true Mr. Steve. Had my own experience with this last century playing the Ocean live which had never laid sticks on before. Taking quick direction from the guitar player we were off in a place I didn't want to be musically, let a lone live; just say it was a flipping train wreck at best. Learned my limits on being so accommodating to everything right quick, not to mention taking on the fly direction can be extremely subjective in a live sit in/sub setting.
man ,what do you used like effect on your drum when you have record the small groove that you have put in this vidéo?? its sound just so huge ,destroy and incrodible...WHAT IS THE ÉQUIPEMENT OR THE EFFECT DO YOU USED TO HAVE THIS INCREDIBLE SOUND ?
Spot on Stephen, thanks!
I've expressed that belief to my students more than once.
'cause I grew up thinking that musicians were like magicians...
Talent is way overrated.
Cheers
1:12
Marky got with Sharon, Sharon got Cherise
As she was sharin' Sharon's outlook on the topic of disease
Mikey had a facial scar and Bobby was a racist
They were all in love with dying, they were doing it in Texas
Tommy played piano like a kid out in the rain
And then he lost his leg in Dallas, he was dancing with a train
They were all in love with dying
They were drinking from a fountain
That was pouring like an avalanche
Coming down the mountain
I dont mind the sun sometimes
Travis Barker called to play in a straight ahead low volume jazz trio........Know the forms of the tunes. Trade 4's. Solo over a chorus. Play with brushes. Play a bossa and then latin jazz tune (mambo.) Yeah, I'd like to see that (at low volumes.)
So ~ WTF IS The Secret Pro Drummers Don't Want You To Know? ...You said Nothing!... Pro's are Pro's because they get paid for their craft... That's the definition of a professional... That's it! Go get a paid job - your a pro... this is Ridiculous...
It takes WAY more practice than the average person thinks. If you dont have the time due to your job, responsibilities, time limits, etc., you will not reach their level.
Great video, Stephen. Definitely needed to hear this today. Lately I've been playing a lot of country/pop gigs (which are new to me) and felt like my playing has declined in other areas, so it feels like there's never enough practice time to keep everything in top shape while also learning new things. Time to re-focus.
I'm afraid of jamsessions. I like to prepare but explore and freestyle on my own or with friends
I played for 17 years Christian Music, from 3 pc. combos to 20 pc. jazz bands. The director and trumpet player with the jazz band liked my drumming and every year he took a group to Germany to play Polka. This one year his regular drummer could not go, so he called me. I told him I would have to think about it and immediately went to TH-cam to listen to Polka.
So glad I did. The drummer obviously had years of playing Umpa and the accents of the music was definitely something off the charts. I called my friend and declined. Wiser than I look.
The old joke is that an education is the thing that's left behind once you've forgotten everything you learned at university.
People , This is soooo true...
Don't try to run out in front of yourself... do it wright,, everyone needs practice.. even the best !!!
Example;;
After playing a half year or more ( about every day,,, 2 shows a day for musicals) you'l need time to get back to basics..
really.... it;s a routine....and it needs time to get back...and then..come back for the next..
Have a nice day....
Useful and most comforting information. Thank you sir.. appreciated!
I recently played with a band last minute (night of) having never heard their songs or covers. My nightmare... but it went fine... these scenarios just make you like preparation even more. But also be able to go with the flow. After all the show must go on!
I am teaching how to cover up. Most people panic when confronted with situations, and I suggest to dig into it. There are (drummer) ways to play without playing. It's a sort of not doing stuff, not disturbing the other players. Then you feel into, and play along, and if you feel comfortable, your fellow musicians will, too.
When I was learning to play, I had to fit into a professional band. As a total noob, I hacked myself into the band, and fun fact, it worked! And this is, what I am teaching. Being confident to be useful, and nice, if not great.
Of course, there are professionals who would not tolerate hacking, but then, how professional are they?
Study deep and narrow, right. Better to be the go to guy for one particular style than mediocre at 10 styles. There are drummers that spend their whole lives learning jungle/drum and bass drumming. I feel I want to play breakbeats and a little jazz for the next 20 years. Good vid, Stephen.
There is no secret but only hard work. Thousands of hours practising.
Different thing is that not many of us got time.
I will never be good like them... I have kid, job and other activities.
But I love to play and they are just humans so nothing is impossible.
So very true. That's why arguments about who is the "best" drummer are ridiculous. Horses for courses. I can do odd timings in my sleep, but have all sort of trouble with something like a "Lenny Kravitz beat" ... or even that "simple" demonstration beat around 3:10.
I would like to see Neil Peart play with morbid angel..
Bet Mr Peart would have a good go at it though
This highlights the different perspectives to what is being done. Whereas Becker and Fagan would famously bring people in to "do their thing" specialties, the victims, err I mean guests are expected to bring their strengths and do the thing they are known for doing, you're talking about what the rest of the world has to bring the solutions. Good stuf.
We are good at storing info) I have nice drumming library but whenever I look at my books, I'm thinking of how could I prepare myself for all of that stuff) the basic element seems to be playing in time the 2-beat groove, and once I get it I would have an instant access to everything. cause everything is timekeeping))
I have a couple of problems. 1 I get Distracted very easy. 2 I have a very hard time distinguishing what drum is being played and how the drummer is playing it. 3 I try to score the song but run in to the above problems so I improvise. So if I don’t know I make it up.
Doesn’t this kinda miss the point? If a professional drummer who reads proficiently is asked to play in a style that is atypical, wouldn’t their bandleader/employer just provide them with charts to read? It seems to me that sight reading and just learning material quickly is the most important skill to have if you’re trying to be a jack of all trades type player. Also, practicing in general (just keeping your chops up) doesn’t necessarily have anything to do with learning new material, and the two things are separate for a lot of people.
So true. This is why I don't even care about being famous or "successful" anymore. I play the drums cuz they make me happy and that's all the success I need. (:
most pro drummers are masters at jazz, or big band, or swing, or latin, or classical, and some are pros at rock or country....the point ? all understand all type of music but? that does not mean? all are masters at all music..i can do just about any music however jazz is what i love the most and do the best...as for all the rest .i leave that to the drummers that like and do there music, like rock and country, just as my friends joe morello and buddy rich, two different drummers , the fact is, if you could switch them, you will see each could not do what the other can....it will never be the same? we each are specialist in what we do? and because of that we stand out from others......just like doctors they can't do everything in medicine the point is???? if your the best only at what you can do that should be enough.....there is room for everyone in music all kinds of music? phil ambros
'Yeah ok Buddy. That's cool. I won't if you don't pull that 'Left hand under the floor tom' trick on me'. Ed Shaughnessy.
Just found your channel. Great stuff. Thanks very much.
You probably heard the story of how a rock drummer was hired to help Buddy play conventional rock beats with little success, Buddy was very frustrated and eventually, being a martial artist, took is anger out on a wall.
Buddy was a douche
The groove at @4:57... Sounds like some trickery is afoot. I think I am hearing some HH notes that you aren't playing?
The main difference between drummers who gig and drummers that don't is those who gig play the song. Those who don't show off their chops. Some really good drummers do both - but tastefully.
That first groove was like a Steve Jordan thing. Very, very cool. 😊
I see the thin truth here, but, even the greatest musician have specialties, so if you think your favorite metal drummer is gonna kill it on a traditional jazz track, you’re a little nutty. You wouldn’t hire a dermatologist to do brain surgery or vice-versa.
Them falling on their face is my best performance.
It's easy to get caught up in the "gotta know everything" mindset. I want to say, I think you remind us of this about every 3 months. Why is it so hard to stay focused on one thing? Because there are so many options out there and we want to learn it all.
Hola y Dios te bendiga ouups i forgot English. Ok hi and God bless you it is true what you say many times i feel guilty when i stop practicing and it bother me since my house was damaged by Hurricane Maria i can't practice with my set and practice on a pad isn't good enough and i have to move around and work on getting aid to rebuild my house it's been hard to practice and the only time i will play on a set is on church on Sunday i feel that i'am losing my touch or able to play good druming feel 😥 not to practice like i used to
This is why we practice our rudiments religiously. If you are lacking in technique you are going to struggle to make the grade in any pursuit you follow.
past year I attended a jazz gig at Barcelona,s cova del drac and between songs the drummer, made a joke and said: well those are the songs that we know how to play now...and he smiled...we tend to think that our heroes play well all the time all songs but that is not the truth..
The other secret the pro's don't want anyone to know is how much they practice every day. They basically don't leave the drum kit. They don't measure the hours they practice, they measures the hours they don't practice. It's easier that way.
Im a decent drummer. An old musician friend droped by to jam but he was bent on raggae and i was out of the water on that. I felt so silly, not being able to do any of it.
Yo buddy rich, I got a country gig for ya.
Buddy: 😱
Haha yes that would throw him.
Hahah exactly, or Marco Minneman or Virgil Donati or Thomas Lang ;) they do other stuff, very well!!!
Some drummers in the group don’t even play on their records mainly because they cannot keep time or work to a click. Time is money in the studio so step in the session drummer. That’s the best kept secret that’s not really a secret anymore
Thank-you very much for this good advice
Thank you for not saying wearing panties under their pants. I knew that guy was lying, bastard!
Knowing when to have enough humility to say no is a good thing. It also saves a lot of peoples time and is greatly appreciated.