How Loud Should You Play The Drums?

It all began with an innocent-if-somewhat-narrow observation: people I observe through the windows of some of the more "scholastic" practice spaces I frequent generally play more tentatively and with a narrower dynamic range than "pro" drummers I've seen up close.

Then I'd sit down in the adjoining room and notice I was hitting way harder on standard beats. (Then still getting told to hit harder by people like sound engineers.)

Which caused me to reflect on the differences between how hard I'd assumed some of my favorite players were playing when I'd only listened to audio recordings - people like Steve Gadd, Vinnie, Jeff Porcaro, etc - and how hard they were actually hitting if you watched the videos.

But lest you think I'm only advocating a one-way change: I'm not.

I understand as well as anybody the importance of the soft end of the dynamic spectrum, having played in hundreds of restaurants, coffee-shops, and small venues, and having been told to turn down countless times, and realizing it on my own in situations like playing with a singer without mics.

So what I'm railing against isn't necessarily that 100% of players are playing too soft...

...it's more that when you watch the masters of playing soft: people like Brian Blade...

...they're sure not boring. And they're sure not tentative.

(And also I've watched Blade almost break a hole through the kick drum with Wayne Shorter.)

Today on 80/20 - "hitting harder" as a way into playing with more dymamics and intensity, and the epidemic of "tentativeness" amongst today's drummers.

Enjoy this one, and see you soon,

How Much Did My Drumming Improve in 14 Years

It’s getting toward the end of the year so…playing retrospective!

Ever feel like all your drum heroes were “born with it”? Ever feel like you “should” sound better for the length of time you’ve been playing?

From time to time when those thoughts creep in, I find it’s helpful to look back over the years. Progress can be hard to see in real time, but nothing reminds you you really have climbed pretty far like a compressed look back in time.

And I’ve finally been on the internet long enough to put together a retrospective that will show convincing progress over time…without emailing old college friends for lost footage. Nope - I’m doing this entirely from the YouTube and Instagram archives.

The timeline starts in 2008. A few years out of music school. Playing what I call “student jazz”. Something convinced me I needed to be good at backbeat music to be well rounded, and it was maybe the best decision I’ve ever made in my drumming. (Being able to play back beats and big kits has made my jazz better.)

What ensued was a couple of years of just…weak, “jazz drummer” beats, and watered-down solos. I can hear some chops and ideas peaking their way through, but it’s like knowing a few words in a foreign language.

From 2014 on, things started to pick up. In 2017, I played the first “chops” thing that impressed me, and in 2019 I can hear I was starting to dig in and feel comfortable in the center of the beat.

But the crazy thing is by the time I started to sound good, it was already hard to remember what it was like before I knew what I’d learned. And, as I discuss, the more you lose touch with what it feels like not to know something, the harder it is to teach.

Will one of the earlier clips remind you or your playing?

Will this video inspire somebody who thinks they don’t have what it takes to keep going?

Who knows. But I invite your opinions.

Please enjoy this 14-year retrospective of my playing.