commentary

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RIP Alan White (1949-2022)

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This past week, one of the giants of rock drumming, Alan White, passed away. He was one of my favorites, and had an extraordinary career. We talked about his work in this month’s Virtual Drum Hang.

While his story has been capably told elsewhere, a few highlights should be noted. Mr. White was one of the few musicians (possibly the only drummer) to have recorded with two Beatles in their solo careers, having appeared on John Lennon’s Imagine and George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass.

At age 20, Mr. White was famously recruited over the phone by John Lennon to play in a concert in Toronto with the Plastic Ono Band. They rehearsed on the plane from London to Toronto for the gig. The guitar player in that band? Some guy named Eric Clapton. The result was an album entitled Live Peace in Toronto 1969. You can read more here. You can hear Mr. White’s trademark huge flams on the live version of Give Peace a Chance from that recording.

However, what Mr. White was famous for was his 50 years of dynamic, powerful and imaginative playing behind the drumset with English progressive rock giants Yes. Below is a playlist of what I consider to be his top 5 recorded studio performances.

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Creativity, Rhythm & Words

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One of the most important concepts for all our students here is creativity. How can you apply what you have learned in new and unexpected ways?

Spoken word and poetry is a prime example of another mode of performance (with words, rather than instruments) that has rhythmic complexity that might not seem immediately apparent. This is readily evident in metered poetry forms (i.e. a haiku is three lines comprised of 5 syllables, then 7 syllables, then 5 syllables. 5-7-5.)

It is my belief that each person has a natural cadence to their speech, regardless of how quickly or slowly they are talking. Cadence is defined as:

the rhythmic flow of a sequence of sounds or words. See Dictionary.com

In developing a few performance pieces in this style I have become more attuned to the cadence of people’s speaking. Last week, I was invited to the Kennett Library to demonstrate this at their monthly poetry reading. It was a fun experience applying percussion and creativity to a completely different mode of performance.

Rhythm truly is all around us, you just have to listen closely.

Next Level Finger Control from NBA Great Kyrie Irving

One of the skills that quite a lot of our students work on is finger control - the ability to use individual fingers (or a group of individual fingers) to manipulate the drumstick in a controlled manner. Keep an eye on our YouTube Channel for a tutorial on that topic later this week.

If you want a truly expert display of finger dexterity and strength, check out this video from the NBA world showing Kyrie Irving warming up for a Brooklyn Nets game:

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RIP, Taylor Hawkins (1972 - 2022)

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Earlier this week Taylor Hawkins passed away unexpectedly only hours before the Foo Fighters’ scheduled appearance in Bogota, Colombia. Tributes came pouring in from all over the music world, and every major news outlet has reported on his passing. He was at the top of his game, playing arena concerts in one of the biggest rock bands on earth.

This is yet another reminder for us to pursue our goals and dreams and not procrastinate or waste time on things that distract us from our calling. Life is incredibly short. Artists are remembered not only for how they interacted with people, but by the body of work they left behind.

Great songs and great art live forever.

-BT

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The Benefits of Daily Practice

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One concept that is consistent across all the members of the studio, regardless of experience level is this concept: daily practicing yields significant improvement over time. The longer the period of time, the larger the increase in improvement. This is an observation from decades of my own musical journey as well as the instruction of others.

Different students of course have different goals. Perhaps the student is just getting started, or perhaps they are playing at a proficient level and are preparing for an audition for a high school or university level ensemble. Both of the situation require different levels of input. But the concept remains the same.

For the beginner student, perhaps five to ten minutes a day is advisable in order for the student to feel comfortable with the drumsticks in his or her hands to gain basic functionality in terms of approaching the instrument.

For the advanced student, preparing for a university school of music audition, perhaps a practice plan that occupies three or four hours a day is advisable. Again, each situation is unique and that is one of the benefits of studying percussion here at groove - custom tailored advice on practice habits.

Suggested reading on this point is here from the Association of Psychological Science: Deliberate Practice and Performance in Music, Games, Sports, Education, and Professions: A Meta-Analysis

On Creativity and the Brain

If you haven’t seen it, there is a terrific article and podcast from KQED about creativity, music and brain function. While the article talks about melodic instruments like piano, the general concepts are applicable to drums and percussion as well.

In short, creativity is a skill that can be cultivated. This is why in part the students at groove get a more student driven experience than you might find in other studios. This is also why for the more advanced students here, free form improvisation is emphasized.

You can read the article here.