F A M O U S D R U M M E R S Q U I Z

WIN A FREE ONE YEAR'S SUBSCRIPTION!

Name this famous drummer who played with the Count Basie Orchestra of 1940.

One year's free subscription to Modern Drummer magazine to the first 10 winning entries postmarkedbefore February 1, 1977.

Send your answer with return address to:

MODERN DRUMMER MAGAZINEC/O FAMOUS DRUMMERS QUIZ

47 HARRISON STREETNUTLEY, NEW JERSEY 07110

MD JANUARY 1977

Editor'sOverview

If you're a drum student, an aspiringpro, a teacher, professional player, orjust a plain old drum enthusiast fromeight to eighty, Modern Drummer ismeant for you. Welcome to our inaug-ural issue.

Drummers have long needed a voicein the form of an intelligent publica-tion encompassing all phases of the art,and we hope to establish ourselves inthis and future issues, as a significantforce in the field of drum education,and as a platform for the exchange ofideas.

We're basically for the drummerwho's interested in growing as a music-ian and in search of a source from whichhe might draw some intelligent conclu-sions. We hope to be that source bystaying abreast of the latest in styles,artists, and equipment; by keeping thepages of Modern Drummer as relevantto the needs of todays drummer aspossible; and by keeping our fingersfirmly placed on the pulse of our fastgrowing, ever changing industry. Ourpublication will be free in spirit andcontent, and since we have no stake inany particular line or its endorsers, wecan afford to be completely represen-tative and unbiased in our presentationof artists and equipment.

The diversity of our column titles areindicative of the scope of our magazine:Jazz Drummers Workshop, Rock Per-spectives, Driver's Seat, The CompletePercussionist, Rudimental Symposium,Show & Studio, etc. It is our hope andbelief that all drummers will find some-thing of interest, and perhaps inspirationthrough the pages of any one issue. Wewill continue to publish the educationalthoughts of some of the most respectedand esteemed authorities of our era,along with in-depth, enlightening inter-views with some of the most influentialplayers, teachers, and experts in thefield.

We hope to represent all drum relat-ed organizations in our advertisingpages, press releases, and special featuresections. We openly invite correspond-ence from all. We'd also like to hearfrom you, the reader. Please, let's haveyour comments and suggestions. Wethink this issue contains some verymeaty reading for drummers, and wehope you'll find it entertaining and in-formative.

One final note. The path MD has fol-lowed from original concept throughthe research, planning, and preparationstages, has involved a great deal of timeand effort on the part of many individ-

(continued page 21)

I N T H I S I S S U E

FEATURES:View From The Top:Exclusive Buddy Rich Interview

MD Shoppers Guide looks atLudwig, Sonor and Pearl

One-Thousand Year Old Duffy Jackson

Billy Cobham: Equipment Close-Up

Understanding Rhythm

It's QuestionableRock PerspectivesJazz Drummers WorkshopRudimental SymposiumStrictly TechniqueDrivers SeatComplete Percussionist,On The JobShow and StudioShop Talk.Printed PageFrom The PastIndustry HappeningsDrum SoloistJust Drums

4

6

9

10

11

31213141516171819202122232425

COLUMNS:

EDITOR: Ronald SpagnardiASSOCIATE EDITOR: Paul UldrichMANAGING EDITOR: Michael CramerART DIRECTOR: Robert AlgieriPRODUCTION MANAGER: Roger EllistonADVERTISING DIRECTOR: William F. SeligCIRCULATION M A N A G E R : Nancy Schuller

READERS PLATFORM

The letters reprinted here are typicalof the hundreds we have received overthe past several months. We thank you,one and all. Please continue to writeand tell us what you want to see inMODERN DRUMMER. Tell us whatyou like or don't like about the maga-zine. We'll go to great lengths to giveyou what you want and need. We can'tplease everyone, but we'll try.

Here's my check for four dollars. It'sabout time we had our own magazine.

BUD H A L L B E R GRENOVO, PA.

Enclosed is my subscription for oneyear. Ever since I first saw Guitar Playerand Contemporary Keyboard, I havebeen waiting for a publication such asyours. Being a progressive rock drum-mer in my early 20's, I am looking for-ward to your magazine to keep me in-formed on what is going on in modernpercussion.

HAROLD KITZMANWEST PITTSTON, PA.

I've been waiting a long time for thiskind of publication to come into exist-ence. I've been involved with drumsand percussion for the last 19 years asboth student and player. To my knowl-edge, your magazine is unique amongmusic publications for its concentrationon the fine art of drumming. Bass play-ers have their own rag; guitarists have achoice from among several pieces ofpop-literature. It's about time we hadsomething for drummers, who, contraryto popular belief, are not illiterate! Iwish you much success on your venture.This is the best thing that's happened toliterature concerning the art of percus-sion in a long time.

JACK WATERSCINCINNATI, OHIO

Please enter our subscription to yourquarterly magazine. It's great someoneis taking the initiative on educationalpercussion. Let us know if we might beable to help in any way.

DROSTE'S DRUM DENBILLINGS, MONTANA

I am glad someone has started to putout a magazine just for drummers.Thanks a lot.

MARK HILLKIRKCARLTON.PA.

I'm very interested in your magazine.Many of my friends and I have antici-pated such vital reading for some timenow. If it is not too much trouble,could you forward any back issues youmight have. I'm very interested.

EZRA ROCKHEMPSTEAD, N. Y.

Thanks Ezra. Would if we could, butVol. 1, No. 1 = Back Issue 1.

I have been wondering when someonewould come out with a magazine ex-clusively for drummers. A magazine ofthis nature is long overdue. I have beenplaying drums for fifteen years, andhave found that to get relevant inform-ation on my subject area, I had to digand scrape through endless piles ofmusic publications. I am hoping thatwith the advent of this publication,those days will be over. I am waitingwith rapt anticipation for my firstissue. Good luck with your magazine.

MICHAEL POWERSOAKLAND, CALIF.

Modern Drummer sounds like an excel-lent idea, one which I have been longawaiting. I congratulate and thank you,and wish you the best of luck. Our shophas an interest in antique drums andwe'd love to see a series of articles ap-proaching this subject. Best of luckagain.

TREVOR DA VIS, JR.CHARLIE DONNELLY'S

DRUM CENTRENEWINGTON, CONN.

We hear you Trev. We've received sev-eral requests for this kind of thing andwe're working on it. Look for it in thenear future.

IT'S QUESTIONABLEby CHARLES McKAY

Q. I am beginning the study of timpani. What type of mal-lets would you recommend starting out with?

B. T.MANSFIELD, MASS.

A. Purchase an assortment of three or four varied pairs ofhard and soft felts and experiment with each. You'll get abetter idea of which types and styles best suit your playing,and at the same time you'll be exposed to the many typesavailable for the varied musical requirements that you're al-most certain to run up against.

Q. I've been looking for a hi-hat stand which has a toe-activated device for keeping the cymbals in a closed position.Where can I find it?

K. F.SANTA FE, N. M.

A. The item you are talking about is called the "Rock-Lok" and is available from Pearl, c/o Norlin Co., 7373 CiceroAve., Lincolnwood, Illinois.

Q. I plan to play professionally and would like to use doublebass drums. What is your opinion of double bass drum set-ups?

T. C.SUN VALLEY, IDAHO

A. Inventive double bass drum playing can be very effective.Double bass set-ups are excellent for solo work and for intri-cate rhythmic patterns, which cannot be executed on onebass. To be truly effective with two bass drums, the playershould acquire speed, dexterity, and control with both feet.Two fine studies are Louie Bellson's "Progressive Studies forDouble Bass Drums"published by Try Publishing, Hollywood,California, and Joel Rothmans, "Double Bass", JR Publica-tions, New York.

Q. I have just purchased a new 22" ride cymbal and the over-tones are very heavy. What can I do?

S. V.MELVERN, ARK.

A. Try masking tape on the underside of the cymbal in stra-tegic spots. Use as much as necessary to cut down on the ex-cess ring. Predominant overtones are common in new cymbalsand will subside as the cymbal breaks in.

Q. I am an instrumental music teacher and would like to ob-tain a good, simplified source book on percussion instruments.Can you recommend something?

A. H.NEW YORK, N. Y.

A. We highly recommend "The Music Educators Guide toPercussion" by Al Payson and Jack McKenzie, published byBelwin-Mills. Melville, N. Y.

Q. Should I practice more on the drums or on the pad?L. W.

ODESSA, TEXASA. This question has been, and probably will continue to be acontroversial matter amongst teachers and players alike. Ouropinion? An equal amount on each. Pad practice is fine for aclose-up of balance, preciseness and control, however, practiceon the drum is very essential, since it is here where one doeshis actual playing. A great middle of the road answer, is thePractice Pad Drum Set manufactured by Remo, Inc., of Holly-wood, California, which gives you the best of both worlds.

Q. I am contemplating purchase of a 5 piece plastic shell set.Your opinion please of the plastic equipment.

J. R.PITTSBURGH, PA.

A. Plastic shells are attractive and offer a unique tonal qual-ity. It is basically a hard, well defined sound, with sharp andpowerful response, somewhat different from wood shells.Plastic shells are good for all types of situations, but espe-cially well-suited for rock work. Choices in equipment shouldalways be made on the basis of individual needs.

Q. I am a semi-professional player and have difficulty main-taining a consistent level of playing through an evening. Bythe final hour I'm really beat. Everything seems to come outsloppy and uneven. What to do?

R. A.LEXINGTON, KY.

A. This is not an uncommon problem. Visit a competentteacher who should set you up in an endurance developmentprogram which will strengthen the muscles to a point wherethey will not tire out early. As endurance increases, so doesconsistency in performance. It is up to you once this higherstamina level has been reached, to stay in shape through dailypractice sessions. Any lengthy layoff will have a noticeableeffect. If you decide to go it alone, check out George L.Stones, "Stick Control", and follow the directions to theletter.

Q. How high should crash cymbals be set?G. S.

ORLANDO, FLA.A. A general rule of thumb is eye level, however there aremany variables here. Cymbal height is really a matter of per-sonal taste and should be set accordingly. There is no suchthing as, "the correct height". Set your crash cymbals at aheight which is comfortable for you and which enables youto get from drum to cymbal, or cymbal to cymbal with themost ease and comfort.

Q. How can I get that tight, dry sound on my bass drum thatI hear so much of today? I can't seem to capture that samequality.

P. R.BISHOP, CAL.

A. The idea is to cut out as much head vibration and over-tone as possible. Some of the more common practices we'veheard of are, the use of mufflers on inside and outside bassheads; stuffing the bass with shredded newspaper one half tothree quarters full; filling the bass with flannel blankets orlarge fluffy pillows. Also use a thin felt, or hard wood beater.

Q. I have been playing rock for 5 years. Lately, I have de-veloped a strong interest in jazz style playing but am havingtrouble making the transition musically. What do you sug-gest?

S. I.LANSING, MICH.

A. Find a competent teacher who specializes in this areawhere you'll be exposed to the complexities of coordinatedindependence, phrasing, solo styles, etc... Begin a carefuland conscientious listening program immediately; try toacquaint yourself with the many varied styles and stylistswithin the idiom. Listen analytically. Practice hard. (SeeJazz Drummers Workshop by Lenny Rothbart, this issue).

View From The Top

The club was fi l led; f i l led wi th peo-ple of a l l ages, and lots of young wide-eyed drummers, there for a glimpse ofthe l iv ing legend called Buddy Rich .MD met up with Buddy and his youth-ful band at a club in St . Louis. Enter-ing informally through the front door,he watched as the road crew set up; hesigned some autographs and shook somehands.

His performance, as usual was f law-less. Colossal technique combined withtotal control and dynamic propellingdrive. His playing, always alive withimaginat ion and humor, was coloredwith f iery f i l ls and subtle nuances, neverlosing his ins t inct ive sens i t iv i ty , goodtaste, and t o t a l musical i ty . The lefthand, always active, interacting withastonishing bass drum work, always inmotion, swinging and exciting, execut-ing r h y t h m i c figures that leave the lis-tener wondering if his ears and eyesmight be playing tricks on him. That'simpossible; nobody can do t h a t ; nobodycan do what he does, and yet , you knowhe's done i t . To say that Buddy Rich isa phenomenon in the world of drum-ming is an understatement . In terms oftotal technical mastery of the instru-ment, it's probably fair to say that noone has yet come any closer. It isdoubtful that there has ever been asingle musician anywhere who canspark a band the way he does.

When it comes to interviewingBuddy, one must learn to expect the un-expected. You can end up with a firstrate story, or no story at all . He's a veryintense human being, with beliefs asstrong as his hands. He can, at l imes becurt, intimidating, cutting if necessary -

especia l ly i f he senses any kind of ins in-cerity . At other times, something willh i t a soft spot and he is capable of elab-orat ing in t h e most calm and l i t e r a t emanner . He has some very de f in i t eopinions, perhaps controversial . He'soutspoken and filled with self-confi-dence. There is no denying i t ; Buddyspeaks the way he feels, no editing;t o t a l honesty at al l t imes. But beneatht h a t tough exterior, one wil l f ind a manwho's deeply concerned about the stateof music and drumming today . He iswell aware of what's going on and he'snot always thr i l l ed w i t h what he seesand hears. He has l i t t le patience withbad musicians and bad music.

Aloof? Unfr i end ly? Not real ly . Theman made t ime between shows, to sitwith members of a young and re la t ive lyunknown magazine staff to discussmusic, drums, and drumming. Sorryfolks, we don't call that aloof or un-fr iendly .

Relaxed, in his dressing room, MDwas greeted by a most cordial and recep-t ive Buddy Rich . We later found a linefrom a piece on Buddy by big band cri-tic George Simon a few years back. Itseemed to capture the essence of theman we found. "To some, he is cocky,sometimes overbearing, at t imes unnec-essarily arrogant. They only have theoutward, extroverted exhuberance to goby. Calm Buddy down, show him thathe doesn't have to spark every gatheringthe way he sparks every bunch of play-ing musicians and you've got one of thewarmest, most sensitive gents you'veever met."

MD - Where are you originally from?BR - Brooklyn.MD - Is it true that your parents were invaudevil le and that you were a prettygood tap dancer when you were young?BR - Yes, that's right, I used to be.MD - What about your formal back-ground. Have you ever taken a lesson orbeen to a music school?

- No, I've never taken a lesson. Asfar as music school goes, I walkedthrough Berkeley one time to visit withsome people I know.MD - Do you remember the first set ofdrums you ever had?BR - Well, I've seen pictures of one ofthe first sets of drums I had. When Ifirst started playing, they weren't mak-ing tunable tom-toms, they weren'tmaking sets like they do now.MD - When you were travell ing withyour parents and they sat you in the or-chestra pit , did you always take an in-terest in drums first?

BR - Yeah.MD - Did you practice much?BR - Well, I never really practiced be-cause I never had the opportunity topractice. I've been working all mylife ... I've been playing drums all mylife, and now, I'm too lazy to botherwith it. I have other things that I haveto do - practice my martial arts ... takecare of my cars. I don't put too muchemphasis on practice anyhow.MD - Would you mind elaborating onthat a bit .BR - I think it's a fallacy that theharder you practice the better you get.You only get better by playing. Youcould sit around in a room, in a base-ment with a set of drums all day longand practice rudiments, and try to de-velop speed, but until you start playingwith a band, you can't learn technique,you can't learn taste, you can't learnhow to play with a band and for a banduntil you actually play. So, practice,particularly after you've attained a job,any kind of job, like playing with a fourpiece band, that's . . . on opportunityto develop. And practice, besides that,is boring. You know, I know teacherswho tell their students to practice fourhours a day, eight hours a day. If youcan't accomplish what you want in anhour, you're not gonna get it in fourdays.MD - You were good friends with thelate Gene Krupa, weren't you?BR - Yes, he was a very good friend ofmine.MD - Do you consider him an influ-ence?BR - I consider every drummer thatever played before me an influence, inevery way. There were so many indi-vidual styles thirty or forty years ago.Every drummer that had a name, had aname because of his individual playing.He didn't sound like anybody else. Soeverybody that I ever listened to, insome form, influenced my taste.MD - Was there any one person whoreally influenced your style? Any cer-tain kind of music?BR - Yeah, I think probably Goodman,and the Casaloma band were my firsttwo influences in jazz. And, well ofcourse. Count Basie, and I think all ofthe black bands of the late thirties andearly forties, bands with real players.They had an influence on everybody,not just drummers. They had an influ-ence on the entire world of jazz. Therewere so many creative artists, so totallydifferent from one another.MD - Did you like the music you wereplaying with the big bands of thirtyyears ago better than you do now?BR - I think I liked everything I everplayed. I mean, I think I liked everyband I ever played in because each band

(continued on following page)

was different, each band had a differ-ent concept, and each band leader wasdifferent...different personalities andmusical tastes. So, if you don't listento all that, well then you become stag-nant and you stay in one thing. ButI've played with so many varied bandswith varied musical tastes, that I feelqualified to have my own musical tastesat this point in my life.MD - Have you ever thought aboutplaying with a symphony orchestra, orplaying other percussion instruments?BR - I've thought about it. It's inter-esting, but simple. To have everythingwritten for you ... it's not really creat-ing. That's why I think symphonydrummers are so limited. They're lim-ited to exactly what was played a hun-dred years before them by a thousandother drummers. And, you know, Ithink the original recording of Ravel'sBolero, probably whoever played per-cussion on that, will never have it play-ed better than that. So, what do theydo? They're simply following what waslaid down in front and they play thesame thing. So, there's no great chal-lenge in being a classical drummer.MD - I believe there's a music school inthe East where the professors preferthat their students do not know how toread music. Their belief is that studentscan learn more by playing by ear. Whatdo you think about that?BR - That's right. But, I think it's veryimportant that you read. I think youshould read in order to know what thechart is all about. But, I don't thinkany arranger should ever write a drumpart for a drummer because if a drum-mer can't create his own interpretationof the chart and he plays everythingthat's written, he becomes mechanical;he has no freedom.MD - A symphony musician once saidthat all musicians copy, that there areno original musicians because everythingthat will ever be played has been playedbefore. What do you think about thatstatement?BR - I don't think so. I don't thinkanybody ever played like CharlieParker. I don't think anybody everplayed like Lester Young. I don't thinkanybody ever played like ColemanHawkins or Dizzy Gillespie or MilesDavis ... or Art Tat urn ... or CharlieChristian. I could go back and name athousand musicians who were the totalcreators, and what we're hearing todayis an upshoot of what they originated.So, the symphony musician who saidthat has no idea of what he's talkingabout. If he's a true symphony artist,he knows better than that because heknows that the only truly creativemusician is the jazz musician. Becauseafter he gets done with all the classicalstuff he learns in school, he then has todevelop into a jazz player and that takesoriginality, and creativity. So, any sym-phony musician who would make astatement like that, is in sad neglect of amusical education.

MD - Does your band have a heavy roadand club date it inerary these days?BR - We don't play too many clubs. Weplay mostly schools. In the summer-time, the schools are closed, so we domore club dates.MD - Do you pick the personnel in yourband?BR - Yep, everything up there, I pick.MD - Are you doing any recordings inthe near future?BR - We have a brand new album outnow, and we'll start getting ready to doour next album sometime around thefirst of the year.MD - Do you like recording?BR - No, I don't like recording. It's abore.MD - Does it take long for you to re-cord an album?BR - Not really. It takes us about fouror five days to get an album out.

MD - How long have you been practic-ing martial arts?BR - A bout fifteen years.MD - Are you a black belt?BR - Yes.MD - About the thing on "What's MyLine", you know, the playing upside-down thing?BR - That was something that one oftheir directors thought of doing. I hadnever done anything like that before.Until you've tried it, it's very difficultto explain. You're playing against grav-ity and...it was a real challenge, it wasinteresting. I didn't know what to ex-pect because I had never done that kindof thing before.MD - What do you think of drummerswho use theatrics of that sort regularly?BR - I think they 're full of shit.MD - Hiding their abilities, or their non-abilities so to speak?

. . . "I'VE NEVER KNOWN A PLAYER, WHETHER IT'S IN SPORTS...WHATEVER, IF YOU CAN DO SOMETHING WITHOUT ANY FAN-FARE, YOU CAN DO IT. BUT WHEN YOU HAVE TO RESORT TOTURN-TABLES, TRICK LIGHTS, FLASHING LIGHTS, FIRE AND ALLTHAT, YOU'RE ACTUALLY SAYING, I NEED THIS BECAUSE WHATI DO IS NOT ALL THAT TOGETHER."

MD - It seems as though you have noset format on the bandstand. You seemto select each chart on the spur of themoment.

BR - That's how we do it. The formatis - never come on the job knowingwhat you're gonna do because, thenagain, it becomes mechanical. Youcan't play the same thing tonight as youdid last night. The reason you have sucha large library is so you can changepieces of music. It gives the band achance to be fresh. It gives your eyes achance to read something differentevery night, rather than play the samething night after night. So, to come inwith a set routine ... it's somethingI've never believed in. It should dependon how you feel, because you play whatyou feel.MD - When you play a solo, is it count-ed out?BR - No, I count the band in.MD - Do you do any limbering up be-fore you perform?BR - Yeah, I usually take my handsout of my pockets.MD - Have you ever played with yourbare hands?BR - Yeah, why destroy your handsthough? I can think of a lot betterthings to do with my hands than to cutthem up on the rim of a drum.MD - You're into martial arts. Doesthis help your playing in any way?BR - No. I do it for relaxation, recrea-tion, and for the art.

BR - Well, I think it's a matter of mak-ing a statement that you're saying inessence, "I can't play, so look at all thegimmicks". I've never known a player,whether it's in sports... whatever, if youcan do something without any fanfare,you can do it. But, when you have toresort to turntables, trick lights, flash-ing lights, fire and all that, you're actu-ally saying, I need this because what Ido is not all that together.MD - That l ittle trick of using bothends of one stick to play two differentdrums. Is that something you thoughtup?BR -Almost everything I've done, I'vedone through my own creativity. Idon't think I ever had to listen to any-one else to learn how to play drums. Iwish I could say that for about tenthousand other drummers.MD - Your set-up is simple and basic.Have you ever used more drums?BR - The difference between a lot ofdrums as opposed to a few drums isjust the amount of drums. You couldhave five sets of drums up there, whatdoes that mean? If you have two bassdrums, six tom-toms, twelve cymbals •what does that mean? You only usethe basic four cymbals, a bass drum, asnare drum, a pair of hi-hats, and acouple of tom-toms. Any more thanthat is superfluous. They're not reallybasic drums, but a perfect set of drums.MD - What are your feelings on drumsand amplification and electronic ef-fects?

(continued on page 8)

The choice is yours. Never before inthe history of the instrument have thechoices been so wide and varied, and wemean choices: Wood, fiberglass, wood-covered fiberglass, plastic, chrome, andstainless steel, plus the widest array everof super sturdy hardware and beautifulfinishes. The drummer of today is in aposition to choose and custom designhis equipment for every conceivablemusical need.

With so much to choose from, onemight easily find himself in a virtualmaze of shells, heads and hardware.We hope to clarify things a bit, to aidyou in your decisions, in this our first

DRUM SET SHOPPERS G U I D E :PART ONE

A candid report on the equipmentfeatures of

LUDWIG, SONOR and PEARLPART 2 - next issue, MD looks atGretsch, Slingerland, Fibes and Premier.In PART 3 we'll visit Rogers, Camcoand Tama.

LUDWIG1728 N. Damen Ave.,Chicago, III. 60647

The Ludwig Drum Company, formedin 1909, is one of the best known namesin percussion. Well known for its manyinnovations and unsurpassed advances indesign and engineering, Ludwig alwayshas been, and still is, a true leader in theworld of drum equipment.

Along with an outstanding woodline, the company also produces the"Vista-lite" series (transparent) in clear,t int , and multi-colored, and has recentlyadded stainless steel to its list of good-ies. The Vista-lites are very attract iveand available in a wide range of colorcombinations from tints, to the color-ful stripes of the rainbow. Both theVista-lites and the stainless steels are ex-cellent for sheer volume and projectionand offer the player not only good tone,but durability as well. Melodic tom set-ups ranging from 6" to 14 x 16" areideal for projection and tonal variationfor the modern sounds.

Ludwig's predominance in the designand production of hardware is wellknown. A glance at the rugged "Atlas"line says it all, with tubular legs forstrength and self-leveling floor glides formaximum stabil ity. The precision die-cast "Speed-King" pedal, with compres-sion springs has gone basically un-changed in design over the years andmany a player will attest to its unde-

Drum-Set Shoppers Guideby JOHN McGARRITY and DAN WIEDMAN

niable reliability. "Sturdi-Lok" tomholders are the essence of efficiency,simplicity and sturdiness. Ludwig's newboom cymbal stand is superbly con-structed and the perfect solution tothe problem of getting those cymbals inclose amidst multi-tom set-ups. Despitethe predominant gap between toms inthe design of both the #781 doubletom mount and the #1345 floor stand,Ludwig mounts have still proven them-selves to be extremely reliable under allkinds of playing conditions, and wedon't know of anything that makesplaying height easier to regulate thanthe pneumatic "Airlift Throne".

In snare drums, the seamless "Super-Sensitive" affords super efficiency insnare changing with many additionaltensioning options, and, of course, the"Supra Phonic" has now become anindustry standard in terms of preciseand vivid definit ion.

Don't under estimate Ludwig in thehead department either. They're stillvery much in the running with theirfine "Silver Dot" series designed to cutback on overtones.

Ludwig is, and always has been care-fully attuned to the needs of the drum-mer, from design concept, right ondown to its fine network of dealers.They have kept in touch with todaysdrummer, and are deeply involved inthe overall advancement of percussion.Perhaps this is what has kept them highon the list of the finest drum equipmentmanufacturers in the world today.

PEARLc/o Nortin7373 Cicero AvenueLincolnwood, Illinois 60646

Pearl, perhaps the newest of all thefirms in our report, has enjoyed veryrapid growth, acceptance, and recogni-tion among some of the top players inthe country.

The line is a mixture between woodand fiberglass construction with equip-ment offered in three forms: 1) 9-plywood, 2) 9-ply wood lined with fiber-glass, 3) all fiberglass. The fiberglassline is excellent for volume and undis-torted projection and they're supersensitive. Fiberglass shells are virtuallyundisturbed by changes in temperature.A goodly range of tom sizes are avail-able including the single headed con-cert tom series - available in fiberglassonly - which runs from 5-1/2" x 6" to14" x 16". Heads are by Remo underthe Pearl name.

The transparents are one solid piecewith no seams for extra strength, per-fect roundness and a very neat appear-ance. They're loud, and as crystal clearin tone as they are in looks.

Pearl hardware is something else.Two lines are available and the top ofthe line bass pedal and hi-hat stand,with their well designed and constructedspring assemblies, are as solid as a rock.An ultra heavy duty 65" cymbal standis equally impressive. Spurs fold flushagainst the bass drum for easy storage,and tom mounts are fully adjustable in-corporating a hexagonal rod design thatprevents twisting and fading. Doubletom-toms are supported on the bass bytwo individual mounts; certainly a verycommendable feature for independenttom-tom support and strength. Tommounts also enable the player to con-vert to multiple tom set-ups with justa simple exchange of base plates.

Another nice feature is Pearl's hi-hat "Rock-Lok", a toe activated re-lease and lock mechanism which holdsthe hi-hat pedal down keeping thecymbals in closed position withouthaving to fool with the clutch. Nicefeature for double bass players.

The remainder of the line is durableand solidly constructed, and toppedoff with one of the most complete andeasy to use parts catalogs we've seen.Outstanding hardware, coupled withconstruction choices that enable Pearlplayers to enjoy the best of two worldsall add up to one of the most excitingnew lines to hit the scene in a longwhile. Definitely worth checking out.

SONORSouth West Industrial ParkWestwood, Mass. 02090

Sonor is a company drummers aretalking about quite a bit lately andthere's a reason. The Sonor producthas a lot to offer the drummer with dis-cerning taste.

Shells are made of beechwood, superhard and dense, and Sonor goes to greatlengths in its unique manufacturing pro-cess to produce a shell with superb tonalresponse. The 9-ply shells are construct-ed one ply at a time, from the outer plyinward. Instead of constructing some-thing flat first and them making itround, Sonor believes in the principle ofconstructing it round to begin with, andbuilds its shells accordingly by means ofa special oil-heated process. Shells areperfectly round and seams are staggeredabout 3 inches apart. The Sonor processeliminates the need for inner reinforcinghoops resulting in a drum with a sharp,live and vibrating shell with absolutelyno pressure on the wood to return toa flat state. All shells are then sandedon the inside followed by a light coat ofshellac for the ultimate in tonal re-sponse.

Acrylic's are over 1/4" thick, tightlyseamed, overlapped on the inside andjoined by tongue and-groove. Metalsnare drums are seamless and drawn outof the center of one piece of metal forstrength and an acoustically true sound.

All rims, with the exception of thebass drum, are seamless, and the prismclamping device concept locks legs andspurs into place over a length of abouttwo inches, preventing slippage or walk-ing. Legs on all hardware are convertiblefrom rubber tip to metal spur, and thedouble tom-tom mounts permit inde-pendent adjustment of toms. The op-tional special locking counter nuts in-sure that tension rods won't back off atlow tension tuning, or under hard play-ing conditions.

Bass drum pedal footboards are pro-duced by a pressure casting processwhich eliminates virtually all weakspots. The "Champion" and "Super-Champion" pedals are superb pieces ofdrum machinery, capable of withstand-ing considerable punishment.

Also outstanding in the hardware de-partment are some nice design featuresin triple tom holders, two dimensionalspurs, and a hi-hat stand with an attach-ment that affords adjustment of springtension. Extra wide base cymbal standsand a well-built double "boom-type"cymbal stand, all constructed of highquality steel and topped off with someexceptional chroming, round out a truly"heavy-duty" hardware line.

The Sonor product is certainly de-serving of the attention it has received.Check 'em out. You may be pleasantlysurprised.

9 ply full vibrating sound shells, floatingheads, and special (45°) angled rims, op-timum overall spring-loaded tension brackets.

SONOR Tom Tom Holders are fitted with asteel covered, spring loaded, wedge-type,locking mechanism, housed in a metal casingto ensure complete stability of Tom Tomswhen locked in position.

BUDDY RICH(continued from page 5)

BR - I play a percussion instrument,not a musical saw; it needs no ampli-fication. Where it's needed, they put amicrophone in front of the bass drum.But, I don't think it's necessary to playthat way every night.MD - What do you think of some of thenew, young, up and corning drummers?BR - I think some of them are verygood.MD - Do you have any preferences?BR - I like Bobby Columby, I like thekid with Chicago...Seraphine, DannySeraphine. There's a bunch of goodones. What's that kid's name from NewYork...Steve...Steve Gadd. There areabout eight or ten drummers that Ithink have good taste, good applicationwith their hands. All the other drum-mers try to cop what they do, whichisn't really that hard to cop. But forwhat they play, they play it very well.MD - We noticed you looking at a Roto-Tom before the show. What do youthink of that kind of thing?BR - I imagine that anybody whowants to strive for something different,who's looking to latch on to some"trick " . . . well ... but after they getthrough with the trick, they get back toplaying basic drums. So why go throughall that other bullshit to get to whatyou're gonna do anyhow? Why not getto it?MD - Did you ever try single-headedtom-toms?BR - No, I've never tried that becauseI think that's really nuts. What's thepoint. When you buy a set of drums,you buy them for the sound and theresonance, and you destroy the tone bytaking the bottom heads off. What'sthe purpose in that? And then you stuffa blanket in the bass drum so you can'thear it anyhow.MD - Don't you use any type of inter-nal mufflers on your drums?BR - I use a strip of felt across the bassdrum, about two inches wide. That's it.MD - How about drum heads?BR - I use Weather-King Plastic heads.MD - Do you prefer a certain weightdrum stick?BR - I use a medium weight stick that'scomfortable in my hands.MD - What do you think about thematched grip?BR - I use it sometimes, when I play arock-shot.MD - Do you find it more comfortable?BR - It's of no dimension at all to me.It's just something I do, sometimes.MD - For years, you've set your crashcymbals flat, without any angling. Doyou get a better sound that way?BR - No, that's the way your handmoves. The downward stroke is the nor-mal stroke.MD - What can you tell us about tuningdrums?

(continued on page 15)

The one-thousand year old DUFFY JACKSONby GABE VlLLANl

When Duffy Jackson was 4, he start-ed playing on stage. When he was 6, heappeared on major network T. V. withthe late Gene Krupa. By the age of 9, hehad already played with hundreds offamous musicians that his father, bassplayer. Chubby Jackson had workedwith. By the age of 20, he had appearedwith Lena Home and Sammy Davis, Jr.,and had credits for major T.V. showssuch as "The Mike Douglas Show","The Dinah Shore Show", and "Sammyand Company ".

Great musicians have commented onDuffy's fantastic playing; Stan Kentonsaid, "Duffy will be our next big bandleader"; Duke Ellington said, "Duffyplays great!"; Count Basie said, "Duffyis as heavy as they come".

Duffy Jackson is a fantastic music-ian and a wonderful man, and eventhough he is only 23 years old, he hasexperienced 1,000 musical years al-ready.

GABE: How did you get startedplaying drums?DUFFY: When I was 4, Don Lamondwould come over to our house a lot.He was working with my father at thetime. I would keep time to the records,so Don talked my father into buyingme a set of drums. Don taught mesome basic beats and I've been playingever since.

The first 5 years that I was playing,dad would let me sit in with the bandshe was working with. I must have play-ed with some of the best musiciansthat ever lived. What a fantastic exper-ience! Playing with my father taughtme a lot. Dad is from the "King Kong"school of bass playing. We started abeautiful musical relationship that stillexists today. We love each other dearly.GABE: What kind of formal trainingdid you have?DUFFY : I never had what you wouldcall formal training. I learned from allthe wonderful people that my fatherknew, like Roy Burns and Don Lamond.I even had a lesson on television withGene Krupa when I was 6. I taughtmyself to read music and I learned whatwe call rudiments, by sound. I learnedby listening to sax players, bass players -everyone. Dizzy and Bird are veryrhythmic players; I learned solo playingfrom analyzing their solos. I really neverwanted to learn to play the way every-one else learned. My reading was helpedby having been blessed with a goodmemory - I can remember an arrange-ment pretty fast. I must say that play-ing with a lot of great musicians wereexperiences that inspired me to be dedi-cated.

My dad taught me the most import-ant lesson of playing. He taught me howto be compatible musically with othermusicians. A drummer can develop allthe technique in the world, but if hecan't be compatible musically, he can'tmake it. I'd rather be able to swing aband than to have fast chops.GABE: But you do have fast chops.DUFFY: Not as fast as Louie Bellsonor Buddy Rich. Speaking of Buddy, Isat in with his band the other night.He asked me to play the first tune ofthe second show, "The Rotten Kid".It was an honor to be asked by Buddyand it's a thrill sitting in the driver'sseat of Buddy's band.

You know, Buddy is a ferociousplayer, but he is also one of the mostsensitive brush players that I everheard. He never gets credit for beinga brush player, but he is. Buddy is oneof my favorite brush players.GABE: Speaking of favorites, whoare some of your favorite drummers?DUFFY : My dad is my favorite - youcan say that I learned drums from abass player. Another favorite is tapdancer, Steve Condos. Steve is thegreatest tap dancer in the world. When Iwas 6 years old, he and I would playfours on the stage during Woody Her-man concerts. Steve taught me rhythmsand accents, just by listening to him.

As for drummers, I was influencedby every great drummer that ever re-corded. I consider drummers to be areligion in themselves, that have beenput on this earth to create rhythms andmake people happy. I feel sorry forpeople that can't take out their frustra-tions by playing an instrument. That'swhy I'm dedicated to entertaining

people with music. I put everything inmy soul into playing. I guess I'm tryingto say that I want people to know thatI am a young musician who wants to bea gentleman that can swing. I wantpeople to feel good. I'm trying to emu-late the beautiful disposition of a LouieBellson.G A B E : Is Louie Bellson the drummeryou want to emulate the most?DUFFY: Yes, not only musically, butspiritually. Louie Bellson is loved allover the world. He communicates amessage of love through his music. Idon't think anyone has anything bad tosay about Louie. He takes the time toreally talk to you and he has compas-sion for what you're going through inyour life. Louie also has unlimited ener-gy. He is the only drummer I know whobecomes more relaxed the faster heplays. He's thirty years older than I am,but he has much more endurance andunlimited energy.

I first met Louie when I was eightyears old. We did a drum clinic to-gether, along with Jim Chapin and myfather. I didn't see Louie for 10 yearsafter that. We talked on the phone acouple of times, but it was actually 10years later that I met him at NBC inBurbank. He got me backstage where Iwatched him play the "Johnny CarsonShow".

Louie got me the job with LenaHome when I was 18 - on just his rec-ommendation alone, without LenaHome ever hearing me, and he got methe job with Sammy Davis, Jr. Heeven gave me his personal drum set toplay the show with, because I had abeat up set. Louie got me the job bygetting George Rhodes to come andhear me at the "Baked Potato" inL. A. My audition was at a benefit thatSammy was doing and I had to playfive of his toughest arrangements. Tomake the audition even more interest-ing, Frank Sinatra and Bob Hope werebackstage digging the show. GeorgeRhodes put a $100 bill in my hand andsaid, "Go out there and burn". I was inseventh heaven. George called me acouple of days later and offered me thejob. I spent two years with Sammy andGeorge. I gained an unbelievable a-mount of experience and knowledgewithin those two years.GABE: Are there other drummersthat have had strong influences on you?DUFFY : Alan Dawson really impressedme. He's a very musical drummer.Three years ago, I was invited up toDick Gibson's Jazz Party in Colorado

(continued on page 16)

PowerhouseDrummer

BILLY COBHAMPHOTOGRAPHY BY TONY TODARO, JR.

Billy Cobham is one of the mostunique and progressive drummers incontemporary music.

Ex-percussionist for the MAHA-VISHNU ORCHESTRA and frequentlysharing the stage with George Duke'skeyboards, Cobham has completedseven albums as the leader of his ownband.

Not since Gene Krupa pushed thedrums to the front of the Big Bandsound has a drummer earned such em-inence in percussion.

Unique, too, is Cobham's person-ally styled drum set. There can be noexact duplicate of the array of cymbalsand drums that surround the man onstage. The snare drum is hand craftedby Al Duffy for Cobham. The drumset includes seven toms. The upperfour are two 8 x 12's, a 9 x 13, and a10 x 14. The three lower toms are two16's and an 18 x 18 - all of which heseems to be able to hit at the sametime. The toms are all conventionallybuilt but Billy tunes them accordingto the pitch he is writing in, usuallyF, B flat, D flat and sometimes Bnatural. He also uses two 14 x 24 bassdrums and two North drums. TheNorths look like ship funnels and flareout at the bottom, their open lowerend usually aimed at the audience.

In addition, Cobham displays twohalf bass drum shells (bisected bassdrums) which produce a tympani-l ikesound. There is no head on the backand a tympani head covers the beaterside. The insides of these drums arecoated with polyurethane so that thesound bounces around instead of be-ing absorbed by the wood.

The rest of Billy's heads are stan-dard Remo. His sticks are Promarksand he uses Avedis Zildjian cymbals.There are easily a dozen cymbals with-in stick reach. His array includes 14"hi-hats, a 26" swish-knocker whichlooks l ike an ordinary cymbal turnedupside down with its edges slightlyfolded. There is also a 22" ride andseveral crash cymbals, a 20", a 19",a 17" and sometimes a small 7" crash athand. Anvil cases protect Cobham'sdrums which are made of fiberglassand plywood with steel reinforcement.

REPRINTED WITH PERMISSION FROM MUSICIAN'S NEWS

by ALBERT EDMUMD LORD III

UNDERSTANDING RHYTHMby GLEN A. PRIOR

(Par t I in a series of articles)

This series will be a study to familiarize one with rhythm.Along with the foundation, (how to read, wr i t e and under-stand rhythm), the series will cover some modern thinking onthe subject and some original ideas that can be understoodwith the knowledge of standard notation. We should be awarethat our notat ion has l imits and will not say everything thatwe want it to, but at the same time, the more we know aboutit, the better chance we have of putting these ideas on paper.

A good theory book could aid in comprehending some ofthe foundation, or for that matter, the whole series. Let'sbegin.FOUNDATION

First, we have a measure. This helps prevents us from becom-ing lost. A measure is the space between two bar lines. (Barlines merely put an end to the previous measure and set upthe beginning to the following one. The terms Bar and Mea-sure are synonymous).

You will usually see five horizontal lines through these mea-

sures called a staff , and when writing a single

rhythm, the notes are usually placed in the following space

etc. But, we will completely avoidusing a staff throughout this article, as it is unnecessary inwriting rhythm. To the above, we add time signatures (timesignature and meter are used synonymously):

This tells us how to divide our measures. It also shows us thepulse and allows for writing ideas down and reading them easi-ly. In 3 meter, the top number suggests a pulse of three.

4(By this, I mean that a feel of three should be felt. A slightaccent should be thought of on the first note of every threebeats.) The bottom number tells us what kind of note willreceive one beat. So, in 3 meter, we th ink: There are three

4beats in the measure and the quarter note receives one beat.Therefore, we would need three quarter notes (or the equiva-

3lent, as you will see later) to complete one measure of 4. Ifwe come across a 7 meter, we think: There are seven beats in

8the measure and the eighth note receives one beat. Therefore,we would need seven eighth notes (or the equivalent) to com-plete one measure of 7 .

8

Now, the notes along with the rests:

Note Note Name Rest Rest Name

Whole Note Whole Note Rest

Half Note Half Note Rest

Quarter Note Quarter Note Rest

Eighth Note Eighth Note Rest

Sixteenth Note Sixteenth Note Rest

Thirty-Second Note Thirty-Second Note Rest

Sixty-Fourth Note Sixty-Fourth Note Rest

A rest means that you will rest (not play) for the length of thesame name note. Since we can always change meter, (as youwill find later) , anything over a sixty-fourth note is very rareand really not necessary.

The notes in their proportion to each other:

When playing a grouping of 8ths, 16ths or 32nds, the flags onthe notes are raised and connected to the other notes, making

them look a bit different. Hence,

and so on. These are allorplayed exactly the same. Groupings of notes make for easierreading and so are used quite often in that form. What eachnote is worth is dependent on what meter you are in. Forexample, in 4 meter, the whole note equals four beats, but in

44 meter (four beats in the measure and the half note receives2one beat), since the half note now equals only one beat, and ittakes two half notes to equal a whole note, the whole notenow equals two beats. So, to clear things up a bit, let't takethe table of notes and put it in 4 meter.

4

4The following is seven measures of 4.

Measure

ROCK PERSPECTIVESby CARMINE APPICE

Carmine Appice is one of the most exciting young playerson the rock scene today. He has played with Vanilla Fudge.Cactus, and Heck, Bogart and Appice, a dynamic trio with co-members Jeff Beck and Tim Bogart. He is currently workingwith Rod Stewart and has some solo efforts materializing inthe near future. Here, Carmine gives Ml) readers some in-sight into the complexities of modern rock drumming.

Rock is now over twenty years old and so are the tech-niques of rock d r u m m i n g . Years ago, the s impl ic i ty of rockwas looked down upon by the astute music ian. Today, rockhas become extremely complex and progressive. Many jazzdrummers have borrowed from rock as a means of self-ex-pression and the combinat ions of both styles have resulted insome very interes t ing drumming. I hope to famil iarize youwi th some of these styles .

Let's s ta r t w i t h some basics. The rock feel is based primar-i ly on an e ighth note feel in the right hand, played on a ridecymbal or hi-hat.

We can now add the bass drum on one and three, and thesnare drum on two and four.

This is called the "back beat" and it is the basic pattern onwhich all o ther rock beats are built .

The simple "back beat" of course is very elementary sound-ing when compared wi th the complex patterns of today. Let'ssee how four-way coordination between hands and feet canmake simple patterns more complex.

Using the same basic pattern as before, (w i th the right handon the ride cymbal) , you can add the hi-hat on A) Quarternotes, B) Eighth notes, C) on the "an" of every beat.

The progressive rock drummer should also be able to playvarious rhythmic patterns while using quarter notes in theright hand on the cymbal. The three exercises above wouldthen look like this.

A l l of the previous exercises should be practiced slowly atf irst , gradual ly increasing speed.

If you use a double bass drum set-up, another interestingv a r i a t i o n would be to play the previous examples with theh i -hat foot on the left bass drum. The patterns will have more"push" and wil l produce a total change in sound. Tune onebass drum higher than the other for tonal variation. The drumyou decide to tune higher is a matter of your own individualpreference and taste. I tune my left bass drum higher.

Another idea for playing double bass drums is to play themtogether, (unison).

Try going through a rock drum book playing the bass drumpart th is way. You can sti l l utilize the closed hi-hat while oper-at ing both bass drums by simply adjusting the top screw onthe hi-hat stand and locking the cymbals in a closed position.

Mixed sticking is another device which can be used increating interest ing patterns. Paradiddle inversions work verywell for this. In the example below, we have four sets of 16thnotes, (counted 1 e an a). The accent is placed on the two andfour to help the presence of the back beat throughout themeasure. The non-accented notes should be played muchlighter than the accented ones. With your right hand on thecymbal and left hand on the snare, play this pattern as writtenwith proper accents.

Your right bass drum foot should follow your right hand.After you have mastered this pattern you can then begin toadd the hi-hat on A) Quarter notes, . ) eighth notes, C) on the"an" of each beat. Try all of the following combinations thesame way. For more tonal variation, these patterns can also beplayed on the hi-hat . This will produce a natural open andclosed hi-hat sound.

JAZZ DRUMMERS WORKSHOPby LENNY ROTHBART

Many serious drummers have at somepoint in their study, spent a great dealof time on technical exercises of a me-chanical nature (rudiments, stick con-trol exercises, reading texts, etc.) , alldone with only the best intentions andsincere dedication. For a while this maybe necessary to gain familiarity and easewith the instrument and train the mus-cles to respond properly to the demandsmade on them.

In every musician's life comes a timewhen the skills developed in these exer-cises must be shaped into music. If thistransition is difficult, the practice hasnot fully served its purpose. It is hopedthat this article will help less experi-enced drummers to develop musical, aswell as technical skills, and give season-ed players and teachers a new perspec-tive.

Truly beneficial practicing should bea well-rounded program including tech-nique, listening, and practical musicalapplications. Let us discuss each ofthese aspects and see how they inter-relate with each other.

As established before, technique isnecessary. Any good drummer has itto some degree, whether or not he hasspent time specifically for the purposeof developing it. A very good drummermay have limited technique, and a poordrummer may have excellent technique.

Contrary to popular belief thesedays, it is possible to go too far withtechnique. How can this be? Well, firstlet's recall that chops are merely ameans to an end, nothing more. One ofthe other tools needed is a secureknowledge of the style being played andthe medium used (small group, vocal,show, big band, etc.). In other words,Charlie Barker's "Dexterity" and HerbieHancock's "Chameleon" each requiredifferent musical knowledge to beplayed properly, apart from stick con-trol, rudiments, and basic moving-around-the-set. If you're not familiarwith the respective styles of thesetunes, and the tunes themselves, youwon't be able to play them properly,no matter how many exercises you'veworked on.

Having the ability to play anythingyou want implies that you know whatyou want. If your technical faci l i ty ex-ceeds your understanding of how toapply it practical ly in a musical situa-tion, you have too much chops. Thiscan be remedied by restructuring yourpractice t ime, which bring us to thesecond aspect of a musical practiceprogram, listening.

The first change you can make is to

PRACTICING MUSICALLYspend less t ime on pure technique anduse it instead to l isten. This is just asimportant to musical development asplaying the instrument. If done wi ththe right a t t i tude , it can and should beconsidered practice time. One mustpractice with the mind as well as thebody.

The essential thing is to learn to lis-ten analytically. This need not be sep-arate from listening for enjoyment -again, it depends on your att i tude. Ifyou listen to all elements, (includingexpressiveness and interaction betweenplayers), you may find you enjoy lis-tening more than before. Little elsecan be said about it ; it simply must bedone, rather than read about.

This leads us to the third aspect, thatof placing technique within the propercontext, involving among other things,playing with recordings. If you don'thave the facilities for this, do whateveryou must to arrange them. It will beworth it.

At first, copy what the drummer onthe recording does as closely as pos-sible, especially kicks and fills. If thedrummer is comping on the snare drum,just notice the type of things he is (orisn't) doing. It is good to learn specificbeats, but stick to things within yourpresent ability, working up to morecomplicated ones.

Learn tunes and arrangements. Tryto discover cliches in each style. That is,find some simple, standard patterns youcan use exactly as they are when accom-panying certain common rhythmic fig-ures in a band. Don't go for flashinessor technical intr icacy, seek clarity andsimplicity at first. Pay close attent ionto dynamics, tone, and balance. Alsonotice what the other instruments areplaying, as the drummer is creating hispart to accompany them.

Study a variety of styles and artists.Don't be overly concerned with devel-oping a personal style. If you have real-ly solid knowledge of a musical style, apersonal one will come out wi thout be-ing forced. You probably couldn't stopit if you tried.

Of course, the program describedhere is no subst i tute for playing withother musicians. It wil l , however, ex-pand your knowledge of what to do inan actual playing s i tuat ion. If you'renot playing wi th people regularly, itwill enable you to cont inue advancingmusically and increase your chances offinding people to play with. If you feelyour present practice rout ine isn't tak-ing you exactly where you want to go,this approach is definitely worth a t r y .

Following are some listening sugges-tions for the drummer who wishes toexpand knowledge of styles. The list isnot intended to be comprehensive,merely introductory. With one excep-tion, specific recordings are not listedbecause style is more important herethan a particular selection of tunes.

If you use records on this list to prac-tice with, remember - - many noteddrummers (including Buddy Rich, ElvinJones, Tony Williams and Billy Cobham,among others) include unusual personaltouches in their styles. These embellish-ments, while impressive to a listener,make it extremely difficult to distin-guish the cliches from which theygrew, unless one already knows whatthe cliches are. It is important to studyand know the work of these drummers,but keep in mind that they are not"the basics". Copying their styles tooclosely will leave little room for thestudent's personal style to develop.

It is not necessary to take this listin any particular order, but it is best toconcentrate on one or two areas at atime.

SWING: Anything by Duke Ellington,Count Basie, Benny Goodman, DorseyBRos., Glenn Miller; (they used a va-riety of drummers, any of whom aregood for study) - particularly seek outJo Jones and Louis Bellson.

BIG B A N D ; Mel Lewis (early 60's May-nard Ferguson, Thad Jones-Mel LewisJazz Orchestra), Buddy Rich, LouisBellson (50's Duke Ellington and underhis own name), Jo Jones (30's and 40'sCount Basie).

BE-BOP & HARD BOP: Max Roach(Charlie Parker, Clifford Brown, and un-der his own name), Philly Joe Jones(50's Miles Davis), Elvin Jones (JohnColtrane and under his own name),Tony Williams (early 60's Miles Davis).

J A Z Z - R O C K : Tony Williams ( late 60'sMiles Davis, Herbie Hancock, and underhis own name) , Billy Cobham (Dreams,Mahavishnu Orchestra, and under hisown name), Alphonze Mouzon (WeatherReport, Eleventh House, and under hisown name), Lenny White (Return toForever and under his own name), JohnGuerin (Tom Scott and the L. A.Express).

ROCK: Jim Gordon (Er i c Clapton, va-rious sessions - look for name on al-bums), Russ Kunkel (James Taylor, vari-ous sessions), John Guerin (Joni Mit-chell. various sessions).

ALSO GOOD I OR STUDY ----

THE DRUMS, Impulse ASH-9272-3- - - - - - - a 3-record set , very good cross-section o f jazz drummers and styles,early to modern. MD

RUDIMENTAL SYMPOSIUMby DUANE THAMM

Duane Thamm is a composer, author, performer, teacherand clinician with experience in all areas of music. Currentlya percussion instructor at Elmhurst College, Elmhurst, III., heformally was featured with Dick Schory Percussion Pops Orch-estra, Henry Mancini, Barbra Streisand. Tony Bennett, FrankSinatra, Andy Williams, and has performed on recordings andT. V. shows.

Mr. Thamm. a former student of Edward Straight, and oneof the leading authorities and exponents of the system, elabor-ates on the controversial "Straight Method".

Many people are confused about, or are not fami l iar wi th(he "Straight System" of drumming, named after a very im-portant and colorful percussion teacher and performer -Edward B. S t r a i g h t . Some years ago, my mother took me toMr. S t r a i g h t for my weekly drum lesson. Being in grade schoolat t h e t i m e , I did not fu l l y appreciate this wonderful old man'st e c h n i q u e and b e a u t i f u l sound on a snare drum unt i l havingheard him on a recording years later .

Edward St ra ight wrote four lesson books and many snaredrum solos, invent ing a system of his own. It entailed thechanging of tradit ional names of rolls and other rudiments,thus causing much criticism and scorn amongst many staunchrudimenta l exponents. His system contained many fine musi-cal ideas which we s t i l l use today in symphonic and jazzstyl ings.

His renaming of rolls, although technically correct, createdhavoc with the many t r a d i t i o n a l drum books already writ ten.His roll system renamed the t rad i t iona l five stroke roll to athree stroke roll. See Diagram 1, showing the difference be-tween the tradit ional rudimental rolls and the Straight rollsystem.

His contention was, the traditional five stroke roll con-sisted of three strokes, the first two strokes containing twotaps each and ending on a single cut-off beat, thus total ingfive taps. He named this roll a three stroke roll. The tradition-al rudimental nine stroke roll he advocated, consisted of fourdouble taps and a single cut-off beat total ing five strokes. TheStraight method would call this a five stroke roll containingnine taps, etc., the second tap of each stroke being a rebound.

He advocated a crescendo on every roll and ending wi th anaccent, which would not work with today's music unless writ-ten in. His method also stated that all rolls should, "Start andend w i t h the right stick". His prime objective was in keepingthe right hand on the strong beats, and on the beginning ofeach measure. By keeping the right hand on the strong pulsesof the measure, the drummer would thereby keep better timeand the entire orchestra would feel the pulse better. He calledthis the natural way to play. See Diagram I I .

Exploring the Controversial "STRAIGHT SYSTEM"

The use of this alternating sticking alleviated such rudi-ments as the paradiddle, flamadiddlc and other double stickedrudiments.

His conception of a left and right flam was the opposite ofthe rudimental sticking. The grace note before the principalnote determined the name of the flam. If you played thesmall note with the left and the large note with the right, itwas called a le f t flam, and vice-versa. See Diagram I I I .

He advocated "Straight Method" left flams on all sixteenthflams, and alternating all eighth note flams.

In 6/8, the right hand and bass drum played together onthe strong pulse of the measure, (first and fourth beat).Diagram IV.

You might well guess the confusion the Straight Systemwould cause all the drum publishers. All the traditional writ-ings would have to be re-written and re-learned.

Through the years, drummers matured and recognizedsome of the merits of the system. As percussion advanced,each school of drumming began finding its own direction.Symphonic and legitimate theatre players found no need forthe heavy sounds of the rudimental .stylings and began to in-corporate the Straight system to gain a more unified and re-fined sound, while the rudimentalists preferred to use thetraditional stickings to produce the desired sounds for rudi-mental, contest, and drum and bugle corps.

Theoretically, the Straight system of naming rolls and flamswas correct. However, it did not warrant the changing of thenames and was not accepted, although the roll system is rec-ognized on the Illinois Grade School Ajudication sheets.

After studying with many fine teachers and working withmany of the finest percussionists in the country, I have com-piled four basic sticking rules to cover general purpose drum-ming. I find that these rules produce a more professionalsound in a shorter period of time, and band directors are hap-pier since the sound is much more consistent. The stickingsystem affords the student a higher degree of accuracy. Otherinstrumentalists use certain fingerings, bowings, etc. - and so,a drummer should also use a sticking method which enableshim to play more musically and consistently.Four general rules:1. Try to start most measures of music with the right stick.2. Try to play strong pulses of measures with the right stick.3. Try to start groups of two notes and four notes with the

right stick.

(continued on page 28)

STRICTLY TECHNIQUEWarm-UpsbyFred J . Edan

Almost every drummer has his ownspecial collection of favorite warm-upexercises and hand conditioners. I'vefound the following assortment of sim-ple yet very effective exercises usingsixteenth notes, single sticking andaccents to be most helpful.

Be sure to note the double sticking atthe end of each bar to allow for asmooth and un-interrupted playing fromone bar to the next. Each line shouldbe repeated several times for full benefitand best results.

(continued from page 8)BR - I don't tune them, I tension them.There's a great difference. If you tune adrum, that means you're looking for anote. If you try to tune to any givennote, as soon as the audience comes in,or the weather changes, or it gets hotteror colder or damp, the heads go down.They can't be tuned. You can only ten-sion them.MD - Are any of your drums speciallymade?BR - Nope; right off the rack.MD - That's interesting. I thought manyname players used custom-made equip-ment?BR - Yeah, well that's because theycan't play. I mean it's obvious youknow ... you put a race driver in a car,if he knows how to drive, he can driveanything. If he can't drive, he can'tpush a kiddie car.MD - Do you have several sets ofdrums?BR - I can get a set whenever I want. IfI need another set of drums, I call thefactory and they send a set right out.MD - Just how particular are you aboutyour drums?BR - Well, they have to be set up exact-ly the same every night, and I don't letanybody touch my drums. Nobody.And, when I finally do condescend tolet someone use my drums, they havestrict rules and regulations when theyget behind them. Not one thing is to bedisturbed. You can play on them theway I leave them. I don't allow a cym-bal to be turned. Nothing.MD - What advice do you have foryoung drummers?BR - None. I don't give advice to any-body. Everybody has to make their owndecisions and everybody should maketheir own decisions.MD - Do you think it's harder for theyoung drummer today to make it to thetop than it was when you started?BR - Well, I think it's a lot easier. Inthose days you had to be able to play.It's easier now because the kids that areplaying today have no musical back-ground. They luck out with an albumand they become stars. I mean, where istheir staying power? Where is their crea-tivity? Most drummers I hear todayplay what every other drummer hasplayed on record. I don't hear one bitof originality. I hear triplets coming offtom-toms by every kid that's been ableto hold a pair of sticks. That's not myidea of playing drums.MD - What do you see in the future ofdrums?BR - Somebody asked me that Questionabout thirty years ago, and sitting herebeing asked the same question thirtyyears later, I'll have to give you thesame answer. The people who play, willcontinue to play, and the people whosteal and copy will continue to be badimitations and thieves. So, it's up to theyoung people who are totally creative inthe instrument, to ever progress any-place. But, I don't see that happening. MD

DRIVERS SEATby LOUIE BELLSON

Louis Bellson needs no introductionto drummers. Whether he is igniting thegreat musicians of his own fine bigband, propelling the Doc Severinsenband on NBC's Tonight Show, exchang-ing rhythmic and melodic ideas withCount Basie, Oscar Peterson or ErrollGarner at recording sessions or televi-sion tapings, or creating compelling andexotic percussive underscores on motionpicture soundtracks, the unique Bellsonbrilliance is unmistakable and un-equalled.

Along with all of his musical accom-plishments. Louie Bellson is perhapsone of the most highly respected, well-liked gentleman in the music business.Modern Drummer is both honored anddelighted to have Louie aboard.

First of a l l , let me say I couldn't bemore delighted wi th the great advance-ment being made in the percussionfield. M a t e r i a l is great and more of it iscoming. Drummers today are requiredto do it a l l : to play all styles with theproper feel and stay with the changingtimes.

We stress many important exercisesfor the percussionist and with goodcause, but we must be in tune with ourminds and bodies before we start themotion going. A clear head and a posi-tive strong body are the essentials forgood playing. In order to perform cor-rectly, it is important that the player sethimself in a positive and relaxed mood.100% of his strength is to be used, butto be used correctly. When the mindand body funct ion as one, we call thisperfect coordination. It is v i t a l l y im-portant to th ink an idea and play it atthe same moment. Always gain yourcomposure before playing. You must beat complete peace within yourself be-fore you can take on any outside prob-lems. Always think positive, whichconies with a lot of practice and pa-tience.

One of the most interest ing subjectsbrought up at my clinics in the past

year is breathing. In the past, breathingwas always associated with brass andwoodwind players, but it is of the ut-most importance to drummers also.Drummers are athletes in one form;they have to be coordinated and musthave the technique and power to sus-tain. Many students observe the tech-niques of correct breathing during myclinics. The subject has been so wide-spread and popular that it takes up agreat deal of t ime at each clinic. Correctbreathing aids in the re laxat ion of theentire body.

The drummer must also develop anassured personality. He is in the hotseat and is the difference between aband being fair or great. From thedelicate pianissimos to the bombasticfortissimos, the drummer must be incomplete command.

A few years ago, I asked for someadvice from four of the great bandleaders I worked for. I wanted a shortstatement from each leader that wouldbe helpful to the drummer. Their com-ments were as follows:

BENNY GOODMAN - "Find the groovefor each tune. "COUNT BASIE - "Listen."D U K E E L L I N G T O N - "Style is the manhimself. "H A R R Y J A M E S - "Be sympathetic tothe soloist. "These are powerful statements. Let'sanalyze some of them.B E N N Y GOODMAN - "find the groovefor each tune." Benny took a lot oftime to set a tempo because he knew hehad to convey the feel in just a two barcount-off. Benny used to say, "Let's tryto find the groove somewhere in thetune if it doesn't happen at first". Hewould rehearse the reeds and brassalone. He felt each section had to playin time and if they couldn't, the great-est rhythm section in the world would-n't be of any help. Benny taught hisdrummers to swing, not to overplay,and to work as a team member.COUNT B A S I E - "Listen." This seemslike a simple s tatement , but brother, itis powerful. To listen is to be aware ofthe rhythm section. The section mustalways gell perfectly in order to propelthe band and the soloist. You must bebe able to hear all sections of the bandand al l the soloists at all times. WithBasie as a rhythm player, the start ofeach tune was great because the rhythmsection played a chorus or two beforethe band made its entrance. This allow-ed the rhythm section to settle into agroove.

DUKE ELLINGTON - "Style is the manhimself." Every great drummer has de-veloped a style. When you can identifya drummer through his touch, sound,and interpretation, you can bet he is agreat player. It's good to listen andlearn from other players, but nevertry to copy another person completely.There is only one Buddy Rich, one BillyCobham, one Steve Gadd. Each one ofthese players can do it all, and yet it isrelatively easy to identify one from theother.

It is important to understand thatwe never stop learning. Every day is anew learning experience. Playing musicmust be a joy. It is work, but happywork. Never make music hard. Havepatience and learn to be a great player.Use your inner power, and use 100% ofit. MDDUFFY JACKSON (continued from page 9)Dick Gibson's Jazz Party in ColoradoSprings. I roomed with Alan Dawsonfor three days. We had a ball. We did anumber, "Milestones", with two drum-mers and two bass players - it waswild!

Another drummer that was nice tome was Lenny White. I saw him at aconcert and I went backstage. Hetreated me the greatest. That's the in-stantaneous communication that I dig,drummers understanding and knowingwhat we as drummers love. It's afraternity.

There are a lot of drummers thathave influenced me; Roy Haynes, MaxRoach, Buddy; but I can't expressenough how much Louie has inspiredme.G A B E : How did you get the exper-ience to play the T.V. shows the wayyou did? You did a great job.DUFFY: I learned on the job. I respectGeorge Rhodes for allowing me tolearn on the job. There were so manydifferent types of acts. I didn't havetime to make mistakes. When I didmake a mistake, George was kindenough to smile and say, "Well, O. K."GABE: You can't learn to play showsthat polished without having some sortof experience. How did you do it?D U F F Y : Working with my dad hadgiven me the foundation to have theconfidence to walk into any musical sit-uation without worrying if I could takecare of the job or not. I'm only 23, al-most 24, but I have been playing for20 years.

My father and I have a unique situa-tion. We are a father and on rhythm

(continued on page 19)

COMPLETE PERCUSSIONISTby DAVID L. SMITH

Multiple PercussionDavid L. Smith is an Instructor of

Music at Western Connecticut State Col-lege in Danbury, Connecticut where heteaches percussion, music theory, andconducts the percussion ensemble. Heholds degrees from Mansfield State Col-lege and fast Carolina University andhas studied percussion with John Beck,Harold Jones, Brad Spinney, and FredHinger. The Author is an active per-former in addition to his teaching re-sponsibilities. He is timpanist withseveral orchestras in Connecticut and isa percussionist with the New EnglandContemporary Ensemble which is re-corded on Desto Records.

Multiple percussion playing has be-come a very important area of percus-sion performance. The ability to per-form on a multiple percussion set-up isnecessary for playing practically any-thing from solo recitals to a broadwayshow.

Basically multiple percussion meansplaying on a group of percussion instru-ments as one instrument. Timpani andthe keyboard percussion instrumentsmay be included along with varioustypes of drums. This necessitates somefacility on all of the percussion instru-ments.

Multiple percussion performancedates back to the beginning of the 20thcentury. The first major work to usemultiple percussion is L 'Histoire duSoldat which was written by IgorStravinsky in 1918. This work is achamber piece for seven players. Thepercussionist uses a battery of thirteeninstruments. This set-up of instrumentswas meant to imitate the sound of adrum-set, although it does not resemblea drum-set as we know them today.Two other works which use a drum-settype of multiple percussion arrangement are The Creation of the World byMilhaud and Walton's Facade Suite.

One of the earliest, and probablythe best known concerto for multiplepercussion and orchestra is DariusMilhaud's Concerto for Percussion andSmall Orchestra. This utilizes fourtimpani, three drums of various sizes,bass drum with a foot pedal and at-tached cymbal, suspended cymbal,crash cymbals, tam-tam, triangle, woodblock, metal block, castanets, tambour-ine, ratchet , and whip. There are nowmany concertos for percussion andorchestra probably due to Milhaud'spioneering efforts.

Multiple percussion as an unaccom-panied solo instrument was pioneeredby Karlheinz Stockhausen with hisZyklus Nr. 9 for Solo Percussion.This piece requires the percussionist

to stand in the middle of many instru-ments and play around the instrumentsin one complete circle. Instrumentsused for this work include: marimba,vibraphone, snare drum, four tom-toms, four tuned cowbells, large tam-tam, gong, guiro, two tree drums witha total of four pitches, tambourine, twocymbals, hi-hat cymbal, and severaltriangles. This type of unaccompaniedsolo is perhaps the fastest growing areaof solo literature for the percussion in-strumentalist .

Performance of avant garde musicoften requires a thorough knowledgeof multiple percussion playing. Thisauthor recently performed Passio Aviumby Richard Moryl. This is a chambermusic work which required an extensivemultiple percussion set-up. The set-upincluded: marimba, orchestra bells,chimes, a chromatic set of crotales, fourtom-toms, snare drum, three cowbells,maracas, claves, finger cymbals, sus-pended cymbal, tam-tam, and bassdrum. The problems encountered hereand in the other works mentioned (orany multiple percussion piece) will bediscussed below.

The biggest problem in multiplepercussion playing is the set-up. Theplayer must organize the instrumentshe needs around him in a way that hecan perform on all of them in a re-laxed manner. Sometimes, the playermust create his own stands or holdersin order to facilitate a comfortableset-up.

When a composer suggests a particu-lar set-up it should be tried by the per-former, but it is not mandatory to staywith that exact arrangement if the play-er is uncomfortable. This author hasseen several successful set-ups for"standard" works such as Milhaud'sConcerto for Percussion. Occasionally,however, the arrangement of the instru-ments become an integral part of thepiece and must be adhered to verystrictly. An example of this is Stock-hausen's Zyklus Nr. 9. The great ma-jority of works allow the performerfreedom in choosing his own set-up.

The choice of sticks and/or malletsis another problem the percussionistmust face before performing a mult i -ple percussion work. It is often neces-sary to use double-headed sticks inorder to make the quick switches whichare so common in this medium. Some-times the percussionist must resort to acompromise mallet that comes theclosest to all the needs for a particularsection of a composition where thereis no time to switch. An example of

this might be playing timpani withxylophone mallets when a few notesare written in the middle of a complexxylophone solo section. Many playersconstruct special mallets to meet theneeds of a particular composition. Thatis probably the best solution to thisproblem.

Several books are available to thepercussion student wishing to preparehimself for this type of performance.An excellent series is the PercussionSolo Series by Sandy Feldstein andRoy Burns. There are three books inthis series: Elementary, Intermediate,and Advanced. They guide the per-cussionist into this area of performancevery gradually, giving the player achance to grow technically and music-ally. A more advanced book is Etudesfor Solo Percussion by Morris Golden-berg. This book has many pieces writtenby Mr. Goldenberg and several othercomposers. Several of the pieces areworthy of recital programming. Com-pletion of these books should preparethe student to attempt some of the solopercussion literature available today.

The demands placed on the percus-sionist today require a familiarity withmultiple percussion techniques. Thestudent who seriously works on thisarea of performance is going to be bet-ter prepared for his future in the worldof percussion. MD

ON THE JOBby BOBBY MILLER

Disco s t y l e d rumming has i ts own unique sound. To au-t h e n t i c a l l y capture t h a t sound and feeling calls for a l i t t l ep r e l i m i n a r y prepara t ion .

The pulse is bas ica l ly a moving eighth note rock feelingcomplete w i t h a 2 and 4 a f t e rbea t . The bass drum is usual lyplayed in a s t ra ight four though t h e var iat ions below areacceptable .

The most d i s t i n c t i v e percussive q u a l i t y in the disco soundlies in the h i -hat "bark". By p lay ing the left foot on the1-2-3-4 of each measure the h i -hat would close on the down-beats and open on the "an". By str iking the hi-hat on the"an" of each beat, the player wi l l f ind the bark is automatic-a l ly predominant .

c - closed h i -hato - open hi-hat

Here are some basic disco patterns:

U N D E R S T A N D I N G R H Y T H M(continued from page 11)

* The line ( / ) means to repeat the grouping just played.

In measure six. , in measure seven.

In the 3rd measure, you begin to see plus signs (supposed torepresent AND, but pronounced as A N ) . This is a means ofsubdividing the measure to feel more of a flow. From hereonin, always subdivide. In measure four, this is the way youwould count 8th notes in 4 meter.

4

In measure five, a few more letters are added to help count

more of the notes. but pronounce it as

for smoother reading and pronunciation.

We can have variations of all these notes in the making ofother measures.

And to all of this we can add rests:

Remember that the beat throughout is even and constant.(You should be able to tap your foot very smoothly on 1,2,3and 4 in the above measures). We'll get into this more in theReading Meters section. Now would be a good time to browsethrough any kind of music and see the way they use the notesand rests thus far mentioned.

In our next article, we'll continue with a look at dotted notesand triplets.

MD

ROCK PERSPECTIVES(continued from page 12)

When playing mixed sticking exercises with the right handon the ride cymbal, be sure to play on the bell portion. Thisgives the cymbal more clarity and carrying power. These pat-terns, if done properly, with conviction and confidence, atfast or medium tempos, illustrate the new jazz-rock conceptof drumming. When listening to this type of playing, try tobreak the patterns down and write them out if possible. Thishelps your playing and your ear as well.

For rock drummers who are truly serious about increasingtheir abi l i ty in this area, I would suggest my own book,"Real ist ic Rock", a thorough study of the field, which startsoff simply and progresses in a clear and easy to understandmanner.

There are many exciting things happening in the worldof modern drumming, and it is my sincere hope that thisarticle has helped you to better understand some of the ele-ments of progressive rock drumming. MD

SHOW &STUDIO

There are some significant factsabout the life of a recording studioplayer that differ widely from the glitterand glamor reputation. Any of today'sstudents who have aspirations to be re-cording studio musicians in the futureshould recognize one tremendously im-portant point. Studio playing differsradically from public performance play-ing!

A primary concern of the studiomusician is playing with the rightsound. It is imperative that you matchsound and volume with your fellowsidemen, yet it is very easy to play tooloud. Complicating this problem is thefact that it is extremely difficult to hearyourself and the other sidemen in thenormal studio situations.

A studio musician must have tre-mendous playing and reading skills.Standards of performance are extreme-ly high, and patience towards mistakesis mighty thin. And on top of that,there are a number of conditions andvariables to which the studio playermust react in every individual recordingsession. Among these are:

1. The skills and idiosyncrasies ofthe other sidemen you are workingwith.

2. The liveness or deadness of thestudio.

3. The size of the studio.4. The setup of the band. This varies

in every studio and in every individualrecording date. It is rare to play in aband with the same setup for two daysin a row.

5. New players in the band. Oftenyou will wind up playing with musi-cians you may never have seen before.At best, it is rare to play studio workwith the same group of musicians twodays in a row.

6. The floor surface of the studio.Some studios have carpeted floors;others have marble, etc. In general, alive hall is easier to hear in. Thus, it iseasier to blend. And, conversely, adead hall is extremely difficult to hearin.

7. The engineers in charge. Perhapsthe engineer has been listening togroups playing triple forte all day long,and consequently, will keep asking youfor more volume, even if you are al-ready playing louder than your judg-ment says you should.

8. Unusual instrumentation.The main point is that each one of theseconditions requires a specific reactionon your part to achieve the right results.When you add this to all the other

musical demands, you can easily beginto see how studio playing can be a realchallenge.

It seems that an ever increasingamount of playing commitments are for"tracking" sessions. This is a totallyunique way of life, even for the record-ing studio. The biggest distinction forthe player in this type of session is thefact that he must always wear earphonesduring the entire recording session.Some players can cope with the canswith little diff iculty; however, thereare others who literally shrink with fearat the mere mention of the word.

What makes the whole scene so dif-ficult is the strange variety of thingsyou hear through your earphones dur-ing these sessions. You may hear theentire orchestra or the vocalist or therhythm section, or some other unit . . .but you rarely if ever hear yourself!Throughout the other sections of thismagazine, it will be repeatedly emphas-ized how important it is for you to lis-ten to others as well as yourself to beable to play well in a band. Think oftrying to meet the tremendous musicaldemands of studio playing - but notbeing able to hear yourself or the otherplayers!

There is one particular type oftracking session which is even morenerve wracking yet - the Click Tracksession. In these you simply hear aclick-click-click pulsing away in thetempo of the music. Click, click . . .that's all. Nothing else! If you have togo through an eight-hour day of clicktracking you'll go home just a littlebatty.

One way that helps you to hear atiny bit is to wear only one earphone, soyou can hear a little of what's going onout of the other ear. But at very best,it's darn little, and you still have to relymainly on instinct and experience toknow that you are playing thingscorrectly.

A clam? That's a mistake, a goof, amusical impropriety. It's anything thatdoesn't sound good, or that sticks out,or that offends the director or theartist, or the producer, or the sectionleader, or even the engineer! Clams arenot unheard of in studios, but they aredefinitely not appreciated. It is typicalin studios to have no more than one ortwo rundowns of the music before yourecord the live take. If some one indi-vidual causes all those people to gothrough another take simply because ofa mistake, that's serious. It is extremelyrare to actually rehearse a number, sothe pressure is really great to be alertand to do everything correctly all thetime. And again, it is not only import-ant to play all the notes, but to playwith the right sound and balance. MD

DUFFY JACKSON(continued from page 16)

section. I left Sammy Davis, Jr. to pur-sue this working relationship with myfather which we still have till this day.GABE: Duffy, since this is a drum-mer's magazine, let's talk about drums.What type of set-up do you use, andhow do you tune your drums?DUFFY: Well, first, let me say that Iuse all the heads on all the drums. Itune both my bass drums to a low C andI tune my 18" floor tom, to a G; then Itune my other floor tom to an E. Mytwo 9 x 13's are tuned to C and B flat;finally, I tune my snare to a G. I usetwo bass drums with a big band and onewith a small band.GABE: How about cymbals?DUFFY: I use 14" hi hats; three 20"cymbals, all mediums - one ride - oneswish - one sizzle. I also use an 18" anda 16" crash.GABE: Do you use floor stands forall the cymbals?DUFFY: Yes, and before you ask, I useJake Hanna model nylon tips.GABE: Aren't you endorsed by TamaDrums?DUFFY: I love Tama Drums! Theylook good, they sound good and theyfeel good. Tama is a small company andI'm truly proud that they picked me torepresent them. I am only the seconddrummer they've endorsed, and I feelvery grateful and honored to have beenselected.GABE: Who else are they endorsing?DUFFY: Several others. Mel Brown isthe most known to other drummers.Mel is a musical Guru who owns a drumshop in Portland. He's an inspiration todrummers wherever he goes. He's beaut-iful! I am hoping that one day TamaDrums puts us out on clinics together.

I'd like to mention here that if anyclub or school would like me to do aclinic, or just wants information onTama Drums, they can write to: TamaDrums, Box 469, Cornwells Heights,Pa. 19020. I would love to do moreclinics.GABE: How about passing on to fel-low drummers some of the tips you'vepicked up over the years?DUFFY: Well, I think the most im-portant habit a drummer should devel-op is listening