So in the process of upgrading heads and hardware over the last several weeks I've removed and reinstalled my heads more often than ever before in my short life as a drummer. What used to feel like a scary prospect is now just a pain in the ass. Mundane.
But this post is about snare drums, right? Yes. See what all that head changing has made me painfully aware of is that not every drum is so easy to tune. And I suspect this is due to imperfections in the bearing edges, the roundness of the drums, the hoops...and various other things related to the quality of the drums. This is fine because they are cheap drums and I wouldn't expect them to be perfect. They tune well enough for me for now.
But if I am going to buy a new snare drum...something that will become the centerpiece of my kit and my sound...and if I am going to spend more than $150...probably more than $200...for it...I want it to be decent. Which makes me realize:
#1 I'm not sure if I can tell what is decent and what is not
and
#2 The way that one buys drums is not very conducive to being able to tell.
The first of these can be solved with study. The second, not so much.
The ways one buys drums are generally:
-used in person from an individual
-used online
-used in person at a store
-new in person at a store
-new online
From my limited experience what I take that you need to do in order to properly test a drum is:
-take the heads off and examine the inside of the drum. Check the bearing edges and that the drum isn't warped or out of round and that there's nothing else wrong
-check the hoops and the hardware for problems (stripped screws, bent hoops)
-put on decent heads, tune them, and play the drum, preferrably along with the rest of your current setup
If one was able to DO all of this...it would take an hour or more probably. Trouble is, one isn't often in a great situation to do all of this.
For an online purchase, of course, all bets are off. Pretty much you are gonna get the drum and have to decide if it is bad enough to return (if you can). Returning it might be at your shipping expense too.
In person, things are better, but still not great. For a sale from an individual, you are relying on their patience with you dicking around. At a shop you might be able to at least take the heads off, and perhaps put on ones you brought with you...but you can't drag your whole kit with you...so you are still shooting in the dark a bit until you get it home. And I'm sure that the store attendant is gonna be THRILLED when you ask to take the heads off. I always feel rushed and nervous in stores anyway...and am rarely planning to buy THAT DAY.
Even with a high quality brand and model...each drum is gonna vary in quality and sound...and need to be tested on its own.
I'm not looking forward to the whole thing.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Upgrading Hardware
I own two el cheapo Pulse drum kits. I've generally been pleased with them except that the hardware that attaches the toms to the bass drum is very cheap, prone to loosen, and I feared, apt to fail at a moment's notice. I've experienced enough other kits now to know that I really like Pearl-style hardware, and so I decided to try to up grade my kits to this kind of tom mount.
I purchased the BB-3 and two BT-3's from Musician's Friend. This weekend was the conversion.
I learned that my 1990s era Pulse, though it seems to have the exact same hardware as my 2010 era Pulse...in fact does not. The tubing on the older kit is smaller in diameter, too small, in fact, for the Pearl hardware. The newer kit's tubing fit perfectly though. The BT-3's went on the suspension mounts just fine. Unfortunately, I discovered that the holes drilled in the bass drum only matched up with half of the BB-3. I could screw in two screws and line up the tubing...but couldn't line up the other two screws. I thought this might work, but as soon as I tried it and set things up it became apparent that this would lead to ripping a whole in my bass drum due to the two missing screws. Also, the old holes and the new holes that would need to be drilled would be far too close...so there was no hope for the BB-3. So I am now partially upgraded. I'm happy that the MORE key connection is the one that worked out fine.
I also lubricated the bass spurs on the new kit in hopes that they will become easier to loosen.
I purchased the BB-3 and two BT-3's from Musician's Friend. This weekend was the conversion.
I learned that my 1990s era Pulse, though it seems to have the exact same hardware as my 2010 era Pulse...in fact does not. The tubing on the older kit is smaller in diameter, too small, in fact, for the Pearl hardware. The newer kit's tubing fit perfectly though. The BT-3's went on the suspension mounts just fine. Unfortunately, I discovered that the holes drilled in the bass drum only matched up with half of the BB-3. I could screw in two screws and line up the tubing...but couldn't line up the other two screws. I thought this might work, but as soon as I tried it and set things up it became apparent that this would lead to ripping a whole in my bass drum due to the two missing screws. Also, the old holes and the new holes that would need to be drilled would be far too close...so there was no hope for the BB-3. So I am now partially upgraded. I'm happy that the MORE key connection is the one that worked out fine.
I also lubricated the bass spurs on the new kit in hopes that they will become easier to loosen.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
R & B Drumming
Footnote to the last post, saw presentation at PASIC last year by Zoro and Daniel Glass about their book The Commandments of R&B Drumming: A Comprehensive Guide to Soul, Funk and Hip Hop . Related: The Commandments of Early R&B and The Commandments of R&B Drumming Play Along Book and CD. I think all are worthly purchases, though not ones I'm ready to make yet. I have a poster that summarizes the beats from the book...and right now I just don't have the time to get into these styles much more than that. I have plenty of materials I've purchased and not put time into yet...so these will have to get in line. But for those needing the info now...they look like a great tools.
Language and Nomenclature
A reoccurring theme in my life in bands in recent years is difficulty in communicating musical concepts. Literally, someone asks me to do something and I have no idea what they are talking about.
I've learned that there are two main reasons this happens:
1. I don't know enough about music
2. They don't know enough about music
For a long time I blamed #1 most of the time. And perhaps that was valid. But over the last couple of years I've worked hard on correcting #1. Now I find #2 happening more. And I've begun to wonder if #2 wasn't happening all along and I just didn't know any better.
A few examples of things that were confusing to me that maybe would not have been if I'd been more fully musically educated:
The Bo-Diddley Beat
Loretta was supposed to have a "Bo Diddley Beat" but I gave it something else, which I now call "The Loretta Beat". Looking back, I recall that I was actually copying the beat from a demo that used a drum machine. The demo had the beat I ended up using, which wasn't a Bo Diddley beat. What I don't know is, if he wanted me to change what I was doing to a Bo Diddley beat, or if he was mistaken in what a Bo Diddley beat really was.
Actual Bo Diddley Beat explained here, but think I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow or Faith by George Michael are good examples.
The Motown Beat
This may have been the most frustrating of these kinds of conversations, and perhaps lead to the beginning of the end for me in a certain band. Ultimately, the person who wanted me to play "a motown beat" couldn't explain to me what he meant by that.
My subsequent research:
Motown used a host of drummers who came to be known as "The Funk Brothers," the first of which was William “Benny” Benjamin. Another famous member of the drum crew was Uriel Jones.
My confusion about "the Motown Beat" seems reasonable now. There were several "Motown Beats". Motown took from jazz, soul, funk, latin, and other genres. In retrospect, knowing what I know about his song-writing style, I think that the person who asked me to play "a Motown Beat" really meant that he wanted a funk groove, which is related, but not strictly the same thing, and a little easier to classify.
A Shuffle
This one came up recently. Someone said they "really liked my shuffle" and I thought "I wasn't playing a shuffle." I think of a shuffle simply as being a beat that is swung strongly, either by playing eights notes with a triplet feel or by accenting a beat. I looked it up to verify today, and my read is correct.
The classic version using an accent instead of a triplet would be the "train beat" like on Fulsom Prison Blues or Radar Love. More on shuffles, including the Purdie Shuffle (shuffle with ghost notes, like in Rosanna, or Fool in the Rain) here.
Fool in the Rain
Rosanna
I have no idea what I was doing that this person thought was a shuffle. Maybe I was swinging the beat slightly, but it wasn't a shuffle.
So what's a drummer to do?
There's lots of trickiness to this whole topic. In a very basic way, it makes it hard to know what someone is asking of you. But it's easy to turn that into a defensive tone...or to make the person asking you feel worry that they don't know what they are talking about and that you are trying to call them out on it. My plan for the future is...smile and nod and take as many notes about what the person said as possible and tell them I'll work on it and get back to them. Then look it up. Figure out whether it's them or me that doesn't know what they are talking about. If it's me...try to learn what they want. If it's them...DROP IT.
Being in a band isn't really about music...it's about relationships and fragile egos.
Bottom line...be as well and broadly educated as you can...but don't ever make someone else feel stupid.
I've learned that there are two main reasons this happens:
1. I don't know enough about music
2. They don't know enough about music
For a long time I blamed #1 most of the time. And perhaps that was valid. But over the last couple of years I've worked hard on correcting #1. Now I find #2 happening more. And I've begun to wonder if #2 wasn't happening all along and I just didn't know any better.
A few examples of things that were confusing to me that maybe would not have been if I'd been more fully musically educated:
The Bo-Diddley Beat
Loretta was supposed to have a "Bo Diddley Beat" but I gave it something else, which I now call "The Loretta Beat". Looking back, I recall that I was actually copying the beat from a demo that used a drum machine. The demo had the beat I ended up using, which wasn't a Bo Diddley beat. What I don't know is, if he wanted me to change what I was doing to a Bo Diddley beat, or if he was mistaken in what a Bo Diddley beat really was.
Actual Bo Diddley Beat explained here, but think I Want Candy by Bow Wow Wow or Faith by George Michael are good examples.
The Motown Beat
This may have been the most frustrating of these kinds of conversations, and perhaps lead to the beginning of the end for me in a certain band. Ultimately, the person who wanted me to play "a motown beat" couldn't explain to me what he meant by that.
My subsequent research:
Motown used a host of drummers who came to be known as "The Funk Brothers," the first of which was William “Benny” Benjamin. Another famous member of the drum crew was Uriel Jones.
My confusion about "the Motown Beat" seems reasonable now. There were several "Motown Beats". Motown took from jazz, soul, funk, latin, and other genres. In retrospect, knowing what I know about his song-writing style, I think that the person who asked me to play "a Motown Beat" really meant that he wanted a funk groove, which is related, but not strictly the same thing, and a little easier to classify.
A Shuffle
This one came up recently. Someone said they "really liked my shuffle" and I thought "I wasn't playing a shuffle." I think of a shuffle simply as being a beat that is swung strongly, either by playing eights notes with a triplet feel or by accenting a beat. I looked it up to verify today, and my read is correct.
The classic version using an accent instead of a triplet would be the "train beat" like on Fulsom Prison Blues or Radar Love. More on shuffles, including the Purdie Shuffle (shuffle with ghost notes, like in Rosanna, or Fool in the Rain) here.
Fool in the Rain
Rosanna
I have no idea what I was doing that this person thought was a shuffle. Maybe I was swinging the beat slightly, but it wasn't a shuffle.
So what's a drummer to do?
There's lots of trickiness to this whole topic. In a very basic way, it makes it hard to know what someone is asking of you. But it's easy to turn that into a defensive tone...or to make the person asking you feel worry that they don't know what they are talking about and that you are trying to call them out on it. My plan for the future is...smile and nod and take as many notes about what the person said as possible and tell them I'll work on it and get back to them. Then look it up. Figure out whether it's them or me that doesn't know what they are talking about. If it's me...try to learn what they want. If it's them...DROP IT.
Being in a band isn't really about music...it's about relationships and fragile egos.
Bottom line...be as well and broadly educated as you can...but don't ever make someone else feel stupid.
Monday, October 18, 2010
Goofing Off In A Good Way
When I sit down to play the drums it tends to be in one of two ways...playing along to songs I know or am learning and trying to copy the drum parts...or doing exercises, rudiments, stuff like that.
I don't goof around much. And that's probably not such a good thing.
After enjoying many of their videos, I finally downloaded OK Go's disk, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. Last week I sat down and, with the disk on, goofed around on the drum kit. I wasn't trying to copy the drum parts, I was basically just using it as an interesting metronome. I tried some stuff that I have trouble with, and did random things. I tried playing left hand lead...and switching back and forth between left and right hand lead. And other stuff.
While not something I think I need to do everyday, it was a good thing to do. It got me out of my comfort zone and trying new things and being creative.
I don't goof around much. And that's probably not such a good thing.
After enjoying many of their videos, I finally downloaded OK Go's disk, Of the Blue Colour of the Sky. Last week I sat down and, with the disk on, goofed around on the drum kit. I wasn't trying to copy the drum parts, I was basically just using it as an interesting metronome. I tried some stuff that I have trouble with, and did random things. I tried playing left hand lead...and switching back and forth between left and right hand lead. And other stuff.
While not something I think I need to do everyday, it was a good thing to do. It got me out of my comfort zone and trying new things and being creative.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Clash of the Titans
It was only a matter of time before this happened. Dec 4th. Celebrity death match between Chrissie Hynde's and Kim Deal' s local dopplegangers.
I might not look or sound the part quite as much...but I get bonus points for knowing nothing about the Pixies prior to January 2010 and having the bass parts to half their songs committed to memory by October 1st. I also take great pride in the fact that I had absolutely nothing to do with the booking of this show or the selection of the bands.
Hopefully the blood splatter will only reach to the first row. I better make sure to wear a cup.
I might not look or sound the part quite as much...but I get bonus points for knowing nothing about the Pixies prior to January 2010 and having the bass parts to half their songs committed to memory by October 1st. I also take great pride in the fact that I had absolutely nothing to do with the booking of this show or the selection of the bands.
Hopefully the blood splatter will only reach to the first row. I better make sure to wear a cup.
Friday, October 8, 2010
SSW, Mr. Roberts, 10/7/2010
We opened at 10pm for The Media and The Type.
I brought my two new cymbals, new kit (minus snare). I used my new snare bag and an old bag I already had for hardware (heavy, but nice to make one trip). We used their PA with our mics, stands, and cables. We had two monitors (one for vocals and one for drums...the bass was SOL). They had a drum riser, which I don't believe I've ever played on before. It was nice for claiming space...no one could crowd me. Load in, from a parking lot out back to a door close to the stage, was a breeze with the bags and minus my 12" tom.
I don't like the bass spurs on the new drums, they are hard to unscrew. I think that I like the old kit better for gigging for this reason and the reason that I plan to replace my tom brackets for easier set up/take down...and I can probably only find replacements in chrome, not black. So I should upgrade the old kit (which has chrome hardware) and use it for gigs and use the new kit (which has black hardware) for practice. I like the look of the black kit...but this is all about practical matters. Plus...I've noticed the black shows finger prints and the red doesn't. So maybe it's for the best.
We've only had one rehearsal, the night before the gig, in about 4-6 weeks. Considering that, it went pretty well. My playing was fine, though I longed for my bass drum to be mic'ed. The bass amp head died and The Type loaned us theirs.
I ate a good dinner around 5pm. Had two beers before show, one during, and two after. Couple glasses of water. Stayed up late night before but didn't seem to hurt me.
Band brought in $40 ($10 a person). Must have been a percent of bar cause the show was no cover.
Generally, I liked the venue. It is a cozy stage area. Running your own PA sucks, but the sound seemed pretty good considering. I ended up having to stay the entire night cause the other bands didn't bring mics/stands/cables and had to use mine...but it ended up being ok. It was a strange crowd...a mix of friends of each of the bands and who I suspect are the regulars. The regulars were colorful. It reminded me of why I never went in this place when I lived a block away from it. Though I'm much more world-worn these days and bothered less by "scary dive bars." It didn't feel scary last night at all. Just colorful.
The Type was good...they do the angry/sexy grrl thing. Not my cup of tea, but they do it well and the music is decent. The Media was pleasant enough musically...but pretty derivative of lots of 80s rock. And they had a stage presence that was somewhere between "we think we're cool"/cliche/and "douchey" (general term decided upon last night, though not one I'd normally use. About right though). Sunglasses and stage jumps/slides type of thing. If they were being ironic it might have been funny (hell, it was funny anyway) but I think they were serious. Ah well...who am I to judge?
Setlist:
1. WE ARE THE ONE
2. TEENAGE KICKS
3. YOU STUPID FUCKING LIBERALS
4. EVERYBODY'S HAPPY NOWADAYS
5. HATE & WAR
6. I HATE THE RICH
7. MR. SUIT
8. THIS SIDE OF PARADISE
9. BOSCOBEL BREAKOUT
10. DANCE (4X) TO THE RADIO
11. SUSPECT DEVICE
12. WARSAW
13. NEW ROSE
14. MANIAC
15. TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS PLEASE
16. FUCKED UP AND WASTED
I brought my two new cymbals, new kit (minus snare). I used my new snare bag and an old bag I already had for hardware (heavy, but nice to make one trip). We used their PA with our mics, stands, and cables. We had two monitors (one for vocals and one for drums...the bass was SOL). They had a drum riser, which I don't believe I've ever played on before. It was nice for claiming space...no one could crowd me. Load in, from a parking lot out back to a door close to the stage, was a breeze with the bags and minus my 12" tom.
I don't like the bass spurs on the new drums, they are hard to unscrew. I think that I like the old kit better for gigging for this reason and the reason that I plan to replace my tom brackets for easier set up/take down...and I can probably only find replacements in chrome, not black. So I should upgrade the old kit (which has chrome hardware) and use it for gigs and use the new kit (which has black hardware) for practice. I like the look of the black kit...but this is all about practical matters. Plus...I've noticed the black shows finger prints and the red doesn't. So maybe it's for the best.
We've only had one rehearsal, the night before the gig, in about 4-6 weeks. Considering that, it went pretty well. My playing was fine, though I longed for my bass drum to be mic'ed. The bass amp head died and The Type loaned us theirs.
I ate a good dinner around 5pm. Had two beers before show, one during, and two after. Couple glasses of water. Stayed up late night before but didn't seem to hurt me.
Band brought in $40 ($10 a person). Must have been a percent of bar cause the show was no cover.
Generally, I liked the venue. It is a cozy stage area. Running your own PA sucks, but the sound seemed pretty good considering. I ended up having to stay the entire night cause the other bands didn't bring mics/stands/cables and had to use mine...but it ended up being ok. It was a strange crowd...a mix of friends of each of the bands and who I suspect are the regulars. The regulars were colorful. It reminded me of why I never went in this place when I lived a block away from it. Though I'm much more world-worn these days and bothered less by "scary dive bars." It didn't feel scary last night at all. Just colorful.
The Type was good...they do the angry/sexy grrl thing. Not my cup of tea, but they do it well and the music is decent. The Media was pleasant enough musically...but pretty derivative of lots of 80s rock. And they had a stage presence that was somewhere between "we think we're cool"/cliche/and "douchey" (general term decided upon last night, though not one I'd normally use. About right though). Sunglasses and stage jumps/slides type of thing. If they were being ironic it might have been funny (hell, it was funny anyway) but I think they were serious. Ah well...who am I to judge?
Setlist:
1. WE ARE THE ONE
2. TEENAGE KICKS
3. YOU STUPID FUCKING LIBERALS
4. EVERYBODY'S HAPPY NOWADAYS
5. HATE & WAR
6. I HATE THE RICH
7. MR. SUIT
8. THIS SIDE OF PARADISE
9. BOSCOBEL BREAKOUT
10. DANCE (4X) TO THE RADIO
11. SUSPECT DEVICE
12. WARSAW
13. NEW ROSE
14. MANIAC
15. TWO PINTS OF LAGER AND A PACKET OF CRISPS PLEASE
16. FUCKED UP AND WASTED
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