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level that the drummer and the soloist appear to be playing the solo together. ... important to pull your mind out of the sheet music and pay full attention to the.
Interaction and Internalization A Drum-Set Clinic by Paul Deatherage. With help from: Raleigh Dailey, Piano & Danny Cecil, Bass. Kentucky PAS Chapter, State Day of Percussion, March 5, 2011. A working drummer spends most of his time accompanying the other musicians of an ensemble, no matter the musical genre. As an accompanist, his job is to make the other musicians feel comfortable so that they can play their best. It is your job to make them sound good. This is one of the biggest keys to getting hired. Interaction: Interaction is an essential ingredient to performance in improvised music, no matter if you are in a big band, a rock band or a jazz combo. These are some examples of drumset interaction with a soloist, band and/or rhythm section: •

Dynamic o Play under the volume of the dominant musical statement, in order to direct the listener’s attention. This applies accompanying soloists and ensemble figures. o Begin solos quietly, to give them room to build. o Use dynamics to build the intensity of the solo and give it direction. o Dynamics can also help form the contour of an entire piece of music, and to bring it to a satisfactory conclusion.



Rhythmic o The drummer’s rhythm coincides with the soloist or band. o The drummer echoes the rhythm of the soloist or band exactly. o The drummer answers the rhythm of the soloist or band with a different rhythm (drum fill). o The drummer’s rhythm is independent of the rhythm of the soloist or band.



Timbral o Use different cymbals for different soloists. o Switch to hi hat to avoid clutter during the bass solo. o Switch to brushes to stay under softer soloists. o Switch to a more defined cymbal sound for full ensemble passages. The level of interaction used depends on the musicians involved and the direction of the group. A ragtime band modeled after those of the 1920’s, for example, would have less pervasive rhythmic interaction. The drummer would choose simpler, more repetitive rhythms in order to fit the style of the genre and keep the group together during complicated passages. However, dynamic sensitivity and timbral interaction are still completely necessary for the balance and clarity of the band (press rolls or cymbal chokes for full-ensemble, rims of drums or woodblocks for piano or banjo solos). In contrast, a modern jazz group can display a high level of pervasive rhythmic, dynamic and timbral interaction. Rhythmic interaction might be of such a high level that the drummer and the soloist appear to be playing the solo together.

Time could be implied rather than clearly stated and metric modulations could occur with no prior planning. Interaction is also very important in a big band setting. Most big band arrangements contain solo sections for individuals in the band to shine. During these parts, the band can suddenly shrink to the size of a quartet. It is VERY important to pull your mind out of the sheet music and pay full attention to the soloist in order to give them the chance to make a meaningful musical statement, and for you to respond. One key to determining the level of interaction is to model your approach after recordings you agree upon with your group. In general, it is important to listen to as many different recordings as possible so that you can use your ears and your judgment on the fly. Ask yourself, “Does this pianist want us to sound like the Oscar Peterson Trio (with Ed Thigpen) or the Robert Glasper trio (with Chris “Daddy” Dave)?” Or, ask “Does this director want us to sound like the Count Basie Big Band (with Harold Jones) or the Dave Holland Big Band (with Billy Kilson)?” Or, in the words of Joe Lovano, “You have to adjust your sensibilities to fit with the sensibilities of the group.” Internalization: In order to improvise within the confines of a specific style or form (as an accompanist or as a soloist), one must internalize elements of the music. Internalization allows for split-second “gut-reaction” decision making. The deeper a piece or style of music is internalized, the further the boundaries of rhythm, meter, form and tonality can be pushed on the fly. Here are some important musical elements and some ways to internalize and strengthen them: • Tempo Tempo and feel come from within. In order to function as a timekeeper, you must develop and strengthen your internal clock. If your playing situations only involve listening and responding, your pulse is dependent on those around you. Therefore, you may not build the strength for others to be able to depend on you. Your sense of pulse must be strengthened to the point of automatic subconscious function. Only then can you keep your mind on what is happening around you in real time. o Dance to recordings. As a drummer, you have the unique ability to convey a message to your audience on a visceral, animal level. You have the ability to make the audience dance. By dancing to a recording, you can begin to understand and perhaps learn to capture the original message, allowing you to convey it to an audience later. Remember: If the music doesn’t feel right, the audience will be physically uncomfortable and may stop listening. o Practice to recordings. o Practice a wide variety of tempos: At least three different tempos daily. Remember, it’s your job to keep the tempo that was counted off at the beginning of the song. By internalizing many tempos, you stand a better chance of keeping the same tempo the director counts off. (It is also very helpful to practice at least three different dynamic levels daily!)

o Practice a wide range of tempos. If you strengthen your slow time, your time at every tempo will be more solid. When you play slowly, subdivide physically as well as mentally. Give the upstroke as much importance as the downstroke, whether it’s with your right hand or your left foot. For quarter notes in slow swing (50-80 BPM), try subdividing triplets: With a relaxed hand, strike the cymbal on the first partial of the triplet. Allow the stick to “flop” on the second partial then lift the stick back up on the third partial of the triplet. When you add the “skip notes” on the “&’s” of the beats, add them as relaxed upstrokes. When you have internalized this motion, subdivision can happen on an unconscious level. Your mind is then free to concentrate on the music. For slow tempos, a front grip-point fulcrum is not necessary. I suggest trying different grips, like a middle-finger grip point or even holding the stick in the back of the hand and allowing it to flop in the front. For more information, check out the Musical Time book and DVD, by Ed Soph. o Practice with a metronome:  Set to the quarter note.  Set to the half note.  Set to the whole note.  Set to the breve (double whole note).  Program the metronome to mute and un-mute intermittently. By practicing to larger subdivisions, like the whole note, you’re forced to use and strengthen your internal sense of pulse. o Using a steady recording, practice different orientations to the beat:  Play “on top” of the beat.  Play “on the back-side” of the beat.  Play “right in the pocket”. Wind players must hear the friction of sharpness or flatness in order to play in tune. A skilled blues singer or guitarist can bend the pitch, to create the same friction, to great affect. This exercise can help increase your sensitivity to the friction in time between the drummer and the bassist, which constitutes “the pocket,” helping you to link up with a bassist, no matter his usual orientation to the beat. It also works like an isometric exercise for strengthening your time. In physical fitness, isometric exercises involve pushing or pulling against immobile objects to build strength. This exercise is like Yoga, for your TIME! Having strong time comes in handy if you happen to be playing with a bassist or band with such poor time you have to ignore them just to keep the tempo.

• Accompaniment Vocabulary In order to communicate “off the cuff,” you must first know words. o Listen to recordings of the masters for different concepts of accompaniment:  Jimmy Cobb, Billy Higgins, Max Roach, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, Mel Lewis, Tony Williams, Clyde Stubblefield, Paul Motian, John Bonham, David Garabaldi, Chris “Daddy” Dave, Kieth Carlock, Terreon Gully and many, many others… o “Pick up licks,” by ear, from recordings of the masters. o Learn time-keeping transcriptions.  Published transcriptions (May need correction – Use your ears!). • Jim Snidero: Jazz Conception series • “Drum Standards” • Transcriptions found in John Riley’s books • “Master’s of Time” by Steve Davis  Write your own transcriptions. • Transcribe the ride cymbal first. Learn the ride cymbal transcription alone and strive to “capture its essence.” • Fill in the left foot, and then the rest of the voices. Should you choose to learn a transcription, learn it well enough that your body “remembers” the vocabulary, so that you can perform it without thinking. This is a sign you have internalized the vocabulary and it can be used in your own playing situations. o Use exercises from books to hone your technical skill, coordination and flexibility:  Books by John Riley  Ted Reed: Syncopation (Extra applications to Syncopation exercises can be found in John Ramsey: The Drummer’s Complete Vocabulary as taught by Alan Dawson.)  Gary Chester: New Breed  Innumerable others • Formal Aspects Formal aspects are those which are govern the “road map” of the piece of music. Every musician is following the same form and you need to always be aware of where you are! The band depends on YOU to know the form. As an improvising accompanist, however, you need to keep your eyes, ears and mind on what is happening in the moment. This can be difficult if your eyes are glued to the page. Once the form of a piece of music is determined, you can learn to keep track of it without the aid of sheet music. Most jazz tunes follow “standard forms,” such as 12-bar blues, AABA and AB (binary). When you know the tune well, the form can be internalized, and counting will not be necessary to keep track of the form. In most standard forms, the improvised solo section follows the same roadmap as the composed melody. In those cases, if you know the melody of the tune, you also know the form. Here are some methods for internalizing the musical form of a tune:

o Listen to recordings of the tune. o Learn the melody and SING it along with the recording.  Sing the melody in unison with the other instruments.  Sing the melody during the improvised solo sections to see how the form matches up.  Sing the melody through the drum solo. Many drummers, such as Max Roach use the song form to solo over. By singing, you can begin to hear the connections between the solo and the melody. Not all drum solos follow the form, but it is important to sing the melody over the drum solo to see if it does. o Sing along with the solos. When you love a recording enough, it is easy to listen to it until you know all of the improvised solos. When you sing along with the improvised solos, you will begin to hear harmonic aspects which you may not have been aware of before. This type of ear-training can be a great aid to keeping your place in the music. It can also help you to pick up mistakes made by others in your band. For instance, if your bassist jumps to the bridge early, you need to know it before you can exercise any damage control! By singing with the solos, you also begin to pick up the phrasing and ideas used by musicians. This can be a great aid in developing your concept of style. Don’t shy away from singing drum parts, either! o Apply form to your practice time. If you are practicing exercises, such as comping exercises or trading four’s with yourself, sing the melody of a tune in your head. It can help occupy your mind if the exercise is repetitive, and can help you with the process of keeping track of many things simultaneously which is needed on the band stand. o “Sing” the melody in your head and practice soloing over the form.  Begin by playing the melody on snare drum. You may decide to include a foot ostinato, like hi-hat on 2 & 4.  Orchestrate the melody around the drumset.  Elaborate on the melody, filling in the gaps.  Improvise your own solo and use “highlights” of the melody to remind listeners of it.  Practice playing more drastic departures from the melody, while still keeping track of it mentally. If you can hint at the melody while you solo, bringing the band back in can be a cinch, especially if you lost them somewhere in the middle. The melody is also a good source of fodder for your solo and can help you to structure the solo and give it a contour that makes sense to you. o Be a “quick study.” With enough practice, you can figure out the form by ear, on a first listen. Practice this by staying mindful of form while listening to music. This can

be especially helpful if you are asked to perform a tune you don’t know. You can determine the form by listening to the melody and chords as your band plays them the first time, then you will stand a better chance of keeping track of them as you go on through the solos. Summary: With the above methods, you can function in a band with increased awareness, and can gain the tools to make effective musical decisions as an accompanist. You can then contribute to a musical statement which your audience can relate to. Now, you just have to find a gig! Bibliography: Picture 3, transcription. Riley, John. Beyond Bop Drumming. Miami, FL. Warner Brothers. ©1997 Manhattan Music. Drums-Band Interaction & Improvisation. DeJohnette, Jack & Charlie Perry. The Art of Modern Jazz Drumming. Milwaukee, WI. Hal-Leonard. ©1979 D.C. Publications.