First things first - grab your free transcription here.
A few weeks ago I published a video on my newfound love of playing the ride cymbal with both hands, with specific regard to a pattern Tony Williams made famous. In that video, I mentioned the technique of one Sanford A Moeller.
If that’s not ringing bells, picture Joe Morello in the Take Five solo, or modern players like Vinnie or Matt Garstka. The technique named for Moeller is, among other things, an efficient way to transition between accents and unaccented strokes - i.e. to play things with some topography.
In the video, I mentioned that I like to use Moeller’s technique to help students approach “push pull”, and that Moeller is a rough way to feel the feeling of multiple sounds from a single arm movement, and that push-pull can be seen as a refinement of Moeller. I don’t think it was this comment that caught John Riley’s attention, so much as the way I teach it, ripped off with pleasure from the great hardcore drummer and podcaster Craig Reynolds, who continues to have a standing invitation to join me on the 8020 Podcast.
Craig sees Moeller as a series of transitions between strokes. You have loud-to-loud, otherwise known as a “full stroke” - a stroke that starts high and ends high. You have soft-to-soft, which starts soft and likewise remains soft. But the interesting bits are the stroke combinations that change volume. Loud-soft, which requires attenuating the rebound of the loud stroke before making the soft, and soft-loud, which encourages the serpentine wrist and arm motion we commonly think of when we think of Moeller Technique.
I believe John thought I was missing some nuance, so he texted me that he’d learned Moeller from Joe Morello, and he had a different perspective.
When John texts, I pay attention, and all the more so when the subject is the great Joe Morello. Sensing an opportunity both to expand my own knowledge and to “farm” content, I asked if John would be willing to do a “taped” interview on the subject, and he agreed.
What followed was a fascinating story about a lesson John took with Joe many years ago, a “heuristic” movement of the elbow and arm, and some context about where Moeller is useful and where it isn’t.
I was delighted by the edit my editor put together, and super happy John gave his permission to share this convo with you.
Hope you enjoy!