"Hi Pete, I don't know if you can help me. I need a drummer for a show next month who can play eighth note triplets in his or her left hand at 160 bpm. It needs to be traditional grip though. Are you available?"
Said no one. Ever.
OK; it's a lot of fun to work on some of the more intricate aspects of drum technique. I should know, I've spent a great deal of time pursuing these goals over the years, but I learned a long time ago that practice is an investment of time, and like any investment I want the maximum return for the minimum possible outlay.
The traditional left hand reference at the top of the post makes me think of Buddy Rich, whose centenary has just passed this very weekend. Buddy and Joe Morello were the two undisputed masters of this particular type of technical facility and it would take a steward's enquiry to get between them. Joe was arguably a shade faster but Buddy was ahead on control and endurance. As these two legends were my first and most enduring major influences it's not surprising that this is an area of playing I find fascinating.
That said I have no time for YouTube uploads with titles like 'Buddy Rich's Left Hand Technique Explained' as he is the only person who could possibly explain it, were he still here, and the chances are he would avoid the issue, as anyone who ever heard Jim Chapin's "I willed it to happen" anecdote will concur.
What is interesting about the proliferation of tuition videos of varying merits is that their abundance has made this kind of technique, once seen in only a very few players, now by comparison commonplace. Either that or drummers have been doing it for years but now we have smartphone cameras and the internet it's much easier to bring our efforts to wider attention.
'Look at me' drumming, in other words.
I'm all for a bit of 'look at me' playing in the right context, although a six snare tribute at a well-known drummer's funeral was once compromised by one of the players deciding that he was going to play as many notes as possible in spite of the sombre mood of the piece, then went on to drop a stick, and ended up looking a little bit silly.
The key to having strong technical facility is knowing when not to use it. There is nothing whatsoever 'wrong', with having technique to spare if it is used sparingly, thus leaving the listener wanting more. Buddy Rich reference once again; so many times I saw his band play live where the total time on stage would be a little under two hours, of which rarely more than ten minutes (work out the percentage for yourself) would be of the maestro going it alone.
I still smile at the memory of the moral superiority of a gas fitter and part time drum tutor from Bolton who once lectured me about the benefits of 'playing for the song', the inference being that for me to have the temerity to get my chops out in public was somehow 'inappropriate'. There's probably an aggrieved minority who consider drum solos to be 'micro aggressions'.
Anyway, back to the plot. Let's all continue to be inspired by the greats of yesterday, today and for that matter, tomorrow. Dismantle the ideas of the players you admire, and recast them in your own image. I was recently flattered when I watched another drummer play and he included an attempted replication of a key idea of mine, which I had arrived at by mixing a selection of other players' ideas. Whilst the acknowledgment of my influence was undoubtedly a compliment I'd prefer him to put his own slant on it, but he's got years ahead of him so hopefully he will. Similarly I teach in such a way that every player comes back with their own personal interpretation of the study material rather than the "three beats to learn for next week" approach which leaves little scope for finding your own voice.
So, back to the practice pad and that cool left hand stuff. Going 'diddleiddleiddleiddle' on the pad is a far cry from making this kind of stuff work in a musical context, as those we admire the most undoubtedly could.
If you have to stop, change the shape of your grip and then go for it, you're probably just as well off balancing a beach ball on the end of your nose.
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