The art of getting out of trouble

The Art Of Jazz,
Is to make;
Wrong notes
Right
Straight beats
Crook'd
And still sounding appealing.

So goes the saying:
"One can know their musical part but still not achieve it."

To achieve it,
Is called
Expressive Skill.

Expressive Skill is not
To be confused as the same as
Chops.

The Art of Presentation is
Based on deception.

If dropping sticks, appear is if such is part of
The Show.

If under pressure,
Appear not to be.

Ignore this,
And you are vulnerable to the
Universe's Wheel of Fortune.

Follow this,
And never should you fear the result of
A Hundred Gigs
 
here is an example how how I got out of trouble in my otherwise best studio performance to date.

at 2:07 my stick hits the rim DOH!- anywhere else in the song and it would have been a disaster - but here it kind of worked and I flowed with it for a couple measures.

This performance here is a milestone for me in both my drumming and production.
Working with a click track really takes some getting used to and on this track to really line up with the feel of the rythm gtrs the drums had to have some swing...
Don't mean thing if ain't yeah yeah...

I know most of you here could nail this song first time but I struggled with it for about
7 days and today I got everything ready, tuned up nice mix in the phones and no warm up just took a deep breath - said a lil prayer and hit record.....

Somehow I was able to hit it from a fresh perspective and correct some things I didn't like in my previous attempts - like choking up on the hi hat quicker...hittng the cymbals less and less kick drum hits - and less fills and all added up to what I consider my best effort yet although slight timing issues in the beginning still bother me and that stick miss...oh well

One thing, I was so relaxed while I played and it made a huge difference.

Good for you dude! I have to say that your experience is exactly similar to what I dealt with when I first started recording with a click, its definitely something you have to practice a lot. Its getting a lot easier though, I do it almost every day, haha.

And as far is fixing the rim click, I can totally hear what is going on in your head when that happened ;) You definitely pulled it off though, any non drummer would have NO clue, especially if you were playing live.
 
I saw a Victor Wooten video where he was talking about how on the bass you are always a half step (1 fret) away from being in the right key.

I've related that to drums in the sense that you are always 1 beat away from being in/on time.

Applies best in 4/4 time - if I find myself off, I just add or subtract 1 beat to whatever I'm doing and it should put me back in place.

Good vid!

As a drummer, I feel like you set the time, if you're out, it isn't you that is wrong, it is the rest of the band :D
 
Very cool vid post Polly.
I actually learned some new ways of thinking that I'll probably hold on to.

Cheers Home ... I felt the same way when Wavelength posted it.

It's cool to hear a top player talk about dealing with what we all carefully hide from audiences - the fact that we can't maintain the same levels of balance, concentration and control through every bar of every song.

It makes me feel more positive - less inclined to worry about my little blunders and more focused on the salvage job.
 
Cheers Home ... I felt the same way when Wavelength posted it.

It's cool to hear a top player talk about dealing with what we all carefully hide from audiences - the fact that we can't maintain the same levels of balance, concentration and control through every bar of every song.

It makes me feel more positive - less inclined to worry about my little blunders and more focused on the salvage job.

Agreed.
Its always easier said than done, but if we could just relax and play what were thinking instead of thinking about what were playing, it would all work out so much better and hiding little blunders would come much more natural.
 
Its always easier said than done, but if we could just relax and play what were thinking instead of thinking about what were playing

I like that! Yes, clearing your mind is tricky. When I did meditation classes everyone struggled to stop their noisy thoughts. Silly really, since being totally immersed in the music is the best feeling, probably better than sex ... *puts on flame resistant coveralls*
 
i had a show once and my snare stand failed15 miniues into the set..snare tipped over.so i grabbed my kick and did a backwards summersault with it..the rest of the band started thrashing thier gear..i got up and grabbed the snare and held it so my bassist could do a marching cadence on it while the guitarists were goinn all townsend.while everything was feeding back we went to the bar and got drinks
 
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