Do I inject myself artlessly into the Katy Perry debate?

Believe it or not, I think there's a theme in this week’s lesson that you'll find valuable even if you, like me, have zero interest in Katy Perry.

Among other things, I shoehorned a drum lesson into the center of it. That's how much I care about you guys. My viewer retention will probably tank, because - make no mistake - I brazenly interrupt the main thrust of the lesson to bring you, and you only some nuggets of pure drum joy.

(Drive-by viewers will just have to sit through it. And some won't😉)

But the made-to-order drum-lesson-within-a-lesson is the least compelling reason to give this a watch.

Katy Perry - a little mind-numbing, right? I'll be honest - I liked I Kissed a Girl.

But after that, it was mostly downhill.

The culmination of the badness - the proverbial Tower of Katy Perry Babel - was the coincidentally-ancient-near-east-themed Dark Horse.

So, Darkhorse: even-worse, right?

Ok, but Katy Perry getting sued. More compelling... (I am not, for the record, saying I wish harm or stress on anybody, much-less simply for writing a bad song.)

Darkhorse turns out to...maybe?...be another song. Now I'm listening.

Jury verdict goes against Katy. Getting warmer.

Not to mention the topic's obviously red hot on YouTube this week. And I'm no stranger to "selling out". If I think something will get me eyeballs, and I've got something I think is worthwhile to say, I jump in it.

But, believe-it-or-not, I hate derivative, "me too" YouTube stuff.

It has a certain...odor.

So I wasn't even thinking about making a video about this until I realized: all my favorite musical YouTubers are lining up on the same side of this.

Using the same thought experiments to illustrate the same points about the dangers of overreach when it comes to copyrighted material.

"If we're going to penalize Katy for this, we're gonna have to penalize a lot of other people, because Bach wrote something similar."

"How broadly do we want to restrict use of a minor scale? If Katy's riff is plagiarism...well basically the above: we're gonna have to penalize a lot more people."

Great. Fine. Agreed.

But nobody was making the opposite case. The danger of ring-fencing intellectual property too tightly.

You can't copyright a bassline, so I could rip off Red Clay, or Peter Gunn, or any other memorable bassline, and just write a tune over it. Ok, fine.

You can't copyright a minor scale, but where's the line between the scale and the melodies that are diatonic to that scale? Clearly, Confirmation is a copyrightable melody. And the A-minor scale, ascending and descending, isn't?

But where does it cross over?

And couldn't somebody, by following the letter of the law, copy a bass/melody combination, each element of which was free from copyright protection, to create something that pretty clearly rips off the original idea?

Also, drum lessons.

So I decided to dive in. (I haven't looked at the comments yet, and I'm not planning to.)

Why, besides the drum lessons, is this relevant for a drum channel?

Because clear thinking, and understanding edge cases, is crucial to good teaching.

But, yea, also the drum lessons;)

I've droned on long enough - I invite you to enjoy this lesson.

See you back here soon,

N

What's Up With Drum Corps, Anyway? - Subscriber-Only

This week's lesson is a bit of an experiment.

There's a pervasive belief - most likely started by people who can't do what drum corps do - that drum corps are "rigid", or "unmusical", or "filled with jocks".

I heard a lot of this talk at music school. It's hipster hate, and it's almost completely false.

The idea that the very same people who would try to play in perfect unison in percussion ensemble...

...or with a string section in orchestra...

...or in a ballet...

...or with a jazz band...

...would then turn around and criticize a group who straps on drums instead of leaving them on stands, and does the same thing...is narrow-minded beyond words.

Part of the reason I'm "coming in hot" is to head off any potential critique of drum corps from my subscribers.

It's true:

Drum corps is different from drum kit

You don't have to be good at marching to be good at drum kit

If it's not for you, that's fine

But you know what else?

Glenn Kotche and Keith Carlock marched.

Mark Guiliana is fabled to have marched (though I can't confirm that as of writing this).

Even Thomas Pridgen checked out DCI videos to inspire him.

All of which is to say...you should be open minded to drum corps.

And if you already are open-minded to it, great news!

Hot-off-the-presses for drum corps season, I've got a new lesson.

Kyle Tsuchiya, of Bluecoats and Broken City fame, joined me to answer some of the most burning drum corps questions.

(We also got a ton of killer footage of the best drum corps.)

Back next week, same time, same place:)

Are we Learning Drums the Wrong Way? - Subscriber Only

I knew as soon as I saw Keenan Cornelius' video on the problems with martial arts instruction - and the better way to do it - I wanted to make a lesson about it.

Keenan's thesis: we mostly learn martial arts by...

-Learning an arbitrary technique in class, devoid of any context

-Drilling that move agains an opponent who's "playing along”

-Brawling "live" for 30-45 minutes in situations that may or may not incorporate the "move of the day"

Something immediately struck me: "this is how we teach drums"

Learn arbitrary exercises out of a book.

"Drill them", often because it's easier than practicing improvising.

"Cross our fingers" and hope those exercises improve our live playing.

It I weren't excited enough about it, the negative comments I received after publishing last week's lesson on the Drumeo challenge got me "proper" fired up.

"You shouldn't be teaching - it's irresponsible."

"You look like a T-Rex" (I think maybe that one was a compliment;)

"REAL rudimental drummers like me can see fakers like you coming from light years away."

Light years, bro.

So it was unanimous. Amongst the haters. If my pad chops weren't perfect, I had no right to express an opinion on the pad.

(Or, an opinion "about the pad". I wasn't putting my opinion physically "on" the pad. Anyway..)

So, I'll fully admit my deficiencies. This lesson goes even deeper into the ways my hand technique needs improvement.

And I'll fully admit that pad nazis are right about one thing: practicing on the pad does help.

Just as the traditional way of learning martial arts does ultimately work.

But - and don't hate me - could there be a better way.

That's what I explore in this week's lesson.

The "Other" Way to Play Faster Drum Solos - Subscribers Only

Growing a channel, yet keeping the quality high. And other adventures in drumming.

It's stopped being novel that some lessons - like this week's - have to strike a balance. I need new eyeballs, and many of those folks will watch videos like "Hamster vs Pro Drummer on Kick Drum Speed - The Stopwatch Doesn't Lie"...

...and "Pro Metal Drummer DESTROYS Vintage Camco Kick Pedal"...

...and "the REAL Fastest Double Bass Pedal Exercise for PURE SPEED".

Then, probably, a bunch of Mike Chang's Six Pack Shortcuts.

And, eventually, probably a few lines of coke.

What I'm saying, folks, is this channel needs to appeal to the young, hip, trendsetters...

...and those folks want SPEEEEEED. (On the drums, that is.)

But let's be honest: who hasn't watched Devon Taylor's VF Jam while in mid-comment on the Stop The Chop page, and just lost their enthusiasm for finishing that comment.

"Guys, it's not all about choooooooooooooo [closes laptop]"

Or, Stop The Chop is like that girl whose hand the dude is holding, and Devon's VF Jam is like that other girl.

What's I'm saying is, we've all dreamed of playing faster solos.

And, for those of you who are on the list for my sober meditations on deep subjects, rest easy: you'll get your brussels sprouts, in addition to your candy.

It turns out, there are two ways to increase the speed of your solos, and most people only talk about one.

To see the other, just watch the lesson.