How Good Are You? (Subscribers Only)

The story of how the Dunning Kreuger effect appeared on my radar is a circuitous one…

Before I even published the talent lesson, I had written “How to tell how good you are at drums” in an Evernote, along with all the other lessons I want to make this summer.

Sure - I thought maybe it would get clicks.

More importantly, I was fired up enough to have “interesting” things to say about it.

Even then, I’d started getting extremely strong opinions in my comments threads…

…and they almost always lead to YouTube channels with between zero and 2 videos.

Not judging at all. It’s great that these people put themselves-out-there, and I appreciate all constructive critiques.

Still, it was hard to ignore that all of the strongest opinions seemed to come from people with the least direct experience with the subject matter.

Two events brought it all home.

First, the Talent episode went live. And there were literally dozens of extremely strong opinion on the nature/nurture debate…

Second, I was discussing it with a friend with his own YouTube channel, asking if he’d received similar comments, and he said, “oh, definitely. Have you heard of the Dunning Kreuger Effect?”

I had. In passing. Probably on The Fighter and The Kid. But I hadn’t given it much thought.

Turns out, that strong opinion/little experience thing isn’t a coincidence. It’s a proven cognitive bias.

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” I thought.

I remembered my own history with the drums, and how I was probably most arrogant earlier in my drum “career”…

…and how time, and regular opportunities to get “schooled” had bloodied and beaten my ego into somewhat submission.

“I wonder if this is a thing with other drummers?” I thought.

Only one way to find out.

In today’s lesson, I speak about my past failures, Dunning Kreuger, and some practical ways to put ourselves more deeply in touch with how we really sound.

Hope you enjoy:)

Q&A 4 - Cheese Rudiments, What Are a Drumming, and More

This week's lesson is a long-overdue Q&A.

I've been subjecting everybody to my ideas week-after-week...

...but, every-so-often, I like to ask you what you'd like me to talk about.

I'll be honest - some of these questions were great jumping-off-points...

...and some were...a little bit silly. (Some were downright weird.)

Among other questions, in this lesson I answer:

-Best ways to set goals when practicing

-How to stop treating drums like a contest

-Do cheese rudiments work on the kit?

-What's the difference between Mohler and Push-Pull?

...and many more.

How to Get Jazz Drum Gigs in 2019 - Subscribers Only

If last week's lesson was controversial when I thought it wouldn't be...

...this week's lesson is garnering widespread agreement when I assumed there'd be controversy.

So what's everybody agreeing with? What did I think would be so "controversial"?

As the subject of this email suggests, this week I delve autobiographically into the challenges of Getting Jazz Gigs.

My own story, when it comes to getting gigs, is one of failure with the conventional means breeding success with the unconventional one.

As such, I can look back on my early years with humor and fondness, when, at the time, they were a daily stressor.

Many folks who've followed the channel can probably infer a lot about that story arc...

I'm obviously a jazz drummer.

I'm obviously not as skilled as Eric, Marcus, or Ari...

...and here I am, playing on the internet. Not too many dots to connect 😛

But in the lesson, I try to use my journey as the anchor point to examine some larger phenomena that were happening to the scene as I came up.

I mean - we lived through the death of the music industry as-we-knew-it, and the birth of the internet.

Who's really surprised it was f$%#d up? 

Anyway, I give you This Week's Lesson.

"Avoid The Vibe" Lesson - Subscribers Only

Looks like today's lesson already touched a nerve, to judge by the YouTube comments...

This week, I wanted to reflect on one a few particularly painful experiences of my "youth", but with a drum spin, instead of a "what's wrong with society today" one.

Anybody who's been to "jazz school" knows what The Vibe is...

Unlike The Jazz Movie, in which reprimand was swift, explicit, and...over-the-top, negative feedback in real life jazz education is usually delivered on ice.

A subtle head-shake here...

...an obvious glance to the other musicians that's about you, rather including you, there.

And, the most obvious: adversarial playing.

Wrenching the steering wheel of the tune away, while you lock eyes with the recipient of the "vibe".

As I say in the lesson, however, today I'm not tilting at the attitudes behind "the vibe".

Just like the brigade system in French restaurants, you can have a conversation about whether it's the best way to teach chefs to work in a kitchen...

...but there's an easy way to alleviate it: have your shit together.

It's in that spirit that I tackle a Drum Conundrum: how to be creative in the specific setting of a jam session, without risking The Vibe.

Because we can avoid scorn by playing conservatively...

...but what if we want to be...slightly creative.

To see more, check out the lesson!

And grab your transcription here:

Jazz Jam Sesh