Stop "trying" to groove - do this instead

Time Exercises Transcription

The idea for this week's lesson occurred to me the other day as I watched a Thomas Pridgen video:

Grooving isn't about trying hard.

In the video, Thomas plays opposite a less experienced drummer. The other drummer's trying *super* hard to groove, but it's obvious that Thomas' pocket is better.

But Thomas wasn't "trying" at all.

The whole thing reminded me of all the "jazz face" that happened at my old college after a visit from Marcus Baylor. We all furled our brows and tried to play "serious groove" for months after hearing Marcus.

Did it help? Not at all. Unless our goal was to look, as Ralph Lalama used to say... Never mind. I'm not going to finish that sentence.

It just so happened I was also listening to some Sam Harris podcasts this week on Dzogchen meditation - particular his interview with Mingyur Rinpoche.

Dzogchen teaches that the fact that there isn't a duality between thoughts and the thinker - the "locus behind the eyes" as Sam calls it - is an insight available at a moment's notice to someone ready to receive it.

Sam gives the analogy of realizing one wall of a restaurant is mirrors. Your perception changes, and you can't "not see it" after that.

Mingyur's father, Tulku Urgyen, showed Sam "the pointing out exercise", analogous to telling someone the walls are mirrors.

I love how I don't need to retain people's attention in this written description, so I can make is as long as I want :P

Anyway, what if "trying hard" to groove misses the point?

What if Thomas and Marcus don't have better pocket because they're "trying harder", but because they *see more clearly*?

Well, then we'd probably approach the whole enterprise totally differently.

This lesson suggests one way.

Can anybody call themselves a Jazz Drummer?

Can anybody self-identify as a "jazz drummer"?

In this age when people are including the excellent Travis Barker, and the drumming/songwriting genius Phil Collins in lists of "jazz drummers", I thought it was worth asking:

If we wouldn't be afraid to say Mel Lewis should not replace Matt Halpern in Periphery, why are we so afraid to say there are some excellent drummers, who are not jazz drummers? (Not yet, anyway.)

I posted an open-ended question about it on my Facebook page, and several drummers took me to task, saying it was a waste-of-time to worry about.

They may be right.

But it's still worth arguing, in my humble opinion.

As I wrote there, there are two primary reasons it may be important to exclude some people from the descriptor "jazz drummer".

The first is the Dues Paying argument. The idea that you can't just identify as a military veteran or martial arts black belt because you feel like it. Members of those communities have gone through shared crucibles which impersonators would be "disrespecting".

I'm *certainly* not claiming the "first world crucible" fledgling jazz musicians face on their way to getting forged into...just jazz musicians...are anything on the order of what soldiers/sailors/marines or fighters face. It's a tricky analogy to make without disrespecting those groups, but I think it's still an important one.

When jazz oldsters talk about "dues paying", that's what they're talking about.

(Some take it a little too far, in my opinion. If somebody can play and sound great at 18, why not respect him or her?)

The second is the Thai Food argument. This is the idea that once a word can mean anything, it's no longer useful as language.

Just as "Authentic Thai Food" now gives you zero information about whether a Thai meal in Brooklyn is likely to be "authentic" in the way we *used* to understand that word, so too would "jazz drummer" cease to describe any useful difference if the canon included Travis Barker, Vinnie Paul, and Phil Collins.

See if you agree/disagree, and leave a constructive comment!

See you in the next one!

Why bother learning the drums?

As 2019 draws to a close, we might have divergent goals...

Some of us are hobbyists, just playing for fun.

Others are trying to claw our way off a plateau.

Still others are working pros trying to add to their toolkit.

But, my guess is, most of us want to get better at the drums.

But what if it was all a waste of time?

What if there was no “better”?

What if there were no “abilities”, and it was just down to taste,

Believe it or not, a vocal minority of my commenters seems to believe this.

At one extreme, you’ve got the Talent Fatalists, who say “nobody’s ever going to be as naturally talented as Vinnie or [their words] Buddy Rich, so why even bother.“

I spent a good amount of last spring speaking to these folks:

The What Is Talent video

The Dunning Kruger video

The 80/20 principle video

But today’s video is aimed at those from the opposite side of the spectrum.

Those who say “there’s no better or worse in drumming. It’s all styles and taste.”

It’s a tempting view.

If there’s no “better” or “worse”, it sure frees us from trying to get “better”. Why spend the time?

Those of you who have invested years and felt the difference are probably bristling, but don’t worry.

In today’s video, a layer-by-later examination of the claim.

Hope you enjoy, and see you next week.

Million Dollar Drum Lesson?

I like a challenge.

So I’m going to try to tie this week’s lesson to my new favorite show: million dollar listing.

Before you start: yes. I know it’s silly.

I know it’s staged-as-f@@@.

I know the dudes are annoying.

But, end-of-the-day, they’re playing with real money.

They’ve got “skin in the game”.

These past few weeks, I’ve tried to put skin in the game for You, the readers (and viewers).

I’m trying not to be the guy who “preaches” to you about my opinions.

That’s boring.

Besides, ask Aaron Spears.

I’ve always seen myself as Your avatar. A percussive Johnny Knoxville, putting himself in “harm’s way” so you don’t have to.

(Though hopefully there’s a lot less CTE in drums.)

The video that got me metric tons of hate: trying to play like Eric Moore.

I didn’t just comment, I tried to innovate myself out of the pickle. And you got to watch the results.

(Again, very little actual risk, but grant me the analogy.)

Know how else million dollar listing is like [this week’s lesson?]

Housing is fundamental.

Without a place to live, you can’t think about anything else.

It’s foundational.

Know what’s foundational in drumming?

Practice.

“Show me a practice routine sick enough, and I’ll move the world.”

- Archimedes (paraphrased)

Without it, nothing else happens.

Know those 10,000 hours Anders Ericsson was talking about?

He wasn’t talking about sitting around...sitting around. (I spent ten minute trying to find a better comparison that wasn’t slightly offensive. I failed.)

He was talking about Deliberate Practice.

So...

We all want to be better.

We all understand on some level that practice is the way to get there.

So why are so many of our practice routines real-time dumpster fires?

We feel stuck in a rut, afraid to try anything new.

Paradoxically, when we Do try new things, we usually try Way too much, never focusing on any one thing long enough to get good.

And we practice for long hours, then see hardly any of that come out in our playing.

If that sounds familiar, it’s because I made a course about it.

In this week’s lesson, however, we tackle practice.

To give you the tools to start to see a better way.

Without further ado, I give you..

Le Lesson

Enjoy, and I’ll see you next week,

N