Studio Drummer – Playing Technique, What Are The Microphones Hearing?

PLAYING TECHNIQUE – WHAT ARE THE MICROPHONES HEARING?

There are a number of key elements regarding technique, not just hand technique but playing technique in general that are important to the sound that you produce.

At this point I want to introduce a term that I will refer to throughout this chapter called ‘internal dynamics’. 

A drummer should look at his kit not only as a whole but also as 6 or 7 different instruments that require their own specific approach.  If you study the sound that you’re creating not only holistically but also as distinct instruments and how to improve upon those created sounds, you’ll be much further ahead.

We want to create the desired sound and consistency by maintaining the best habits we can surrounding the kit.  There are many techniques involving the hands and I don’t want to spend too much time on which particular technique you adhere to.  I am a matched grip player who occasionally uses traditional grip and perhaps you’re the same or the reverse of that. 

What I would like to address are the key elements of importance in producing the sound we want to produce.  Whether you’re traditional or matched grip you want to have a strong fulcrum in both hands. If you’re unfamiliar with that term what this means is that by grasping the stick with your thumb and the meat of your fore finger you want a strong bond to the stick at that point.

Just as a teeter-totter has a center fulcrum which is the pivot point allowing it to go up and down so you also want this in your grip. It allows you greater control and the ability to do double strokes for example.  Yet you also want the rest of the fingers on the hand to be relaxed and free to manipulate and contact the stick.

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Studio Drummer – No Fakes

DON’T BE PHONY EITHER* 

People can spot a phony from a mile away.  Don’t be gushing and overly complimentary for example.  Yet don’t be a doormat either.  There do arise moments, and for very good reason, when you have to be assertive. 

Here’s a good example of that from my experience;

I was working on a very good session for ‘the greatest outdoor show on earth’, the Calgary Stampede when I noticed there was a playback issue that was critical.  The session up to this point had been upbeat and very positive with great results.

The issue was that the playback of the tracks that we were recording was slightly delayed against the click track.  What that did was make everything that we were playing on the floor sound slightly out of time with the pre-existing recorded tracks that we were playing to.

In a very assertive way I had to enter the control room and insist that there was a software issue.  I could hear it.  But at the time the producer and

engineer were thinking, ‘it’s 10am in the morning and you guys all have to wake up and start playing in time’!  At least that was the general vibe coming from them.  Plus we happened to be recording at The Armory Studios which is a multi-million dollar world renowned studio.

Since what we were recording was pretty complex and busy I had the idea to ask the engineer to do a test with me.  I asked him to feed me a click track and I’d go in and play something dead simple, he’d record it and then we could compare the playback to the click track to see where the timing fell.

Sure enough they all could then hear that there certainly was a software issue and all systems were re-booted and the session was back on track again.  Also and equally important, I was not made to look bad as a player due to something that was not my fault!

There are definitive times when you have to stand up for something but as in this case it was something that was essential to the overall progress  that could have completely derailed the session as well as our reputations as players.

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Studio Drummer – Diffuse Negative Energy

*THE BEST STUDIO MUSICIANS DIFFUSE NEGATIVE ENERGY* 

If something negative occurs or is introduced they will dissipate it through their communication skills.  This results in a ‘righting of the ship’ so to speak.

This is not some airy fairy psycho babble.  This key element is often overlooked by very great players who suddenly find that they’re no longer being called for sessions.  It happens all the time that musicians who may have great ability have completely overlooked the importance of human relations within the profession.  I know of great players directly in my circle where this has been the outcome for them and the situation was entirely created by them.

One situation that often arises and tests a player’s patience, humility and communication skills is one where the client doesn’t like what you’re doing and says so in front of  the players and staff, in a sense putting you on the hot seat.  Their intention may not be to do that at all!  It can be very testing as to how to respond in a way that is disarms the situation yet still retains the confidence in the eventual outcome and continues the forward motion and good vibes of a session.

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Studio Drummer – Rule of Rules!

THE GOLDEN RULE

Here is the golden rule of being a successful studio musician.  You can choose to heed it or you can choose to ignore it.  I’ll tell you this though, if you choose to ignore this rule it won’t really matter how great you are.

*YOU MUST BE A PERSON THAT GETS ALONG WELL WITH OTHERS AND BRINGS POSITIVE ENERGY TO A SESSION AND THE PEOPLE INVOLVED IN A SESSION. YOU MUST BE AN ENABLER!*

I kid you not that all else is secondary.  You can have all the chops and talent in the world but if you’re disruptive, egotistical, arrogant, reactionary and if you generally diminish the flow and the energy in the room then you should start looking for another career!

The best session musicians are a hybrid of talent, tools and great people skills.  A studio setting is most often a tense environment to start with.  You have players who are on edge usually working with new material and unknown elements.  The same is often the case for the artist, producer and engineer.  There’s often a lot of money at stake and time is always of the essence.  The best session players are aware of the dynamic in the room at all times and are consistently working together with the artist, players and production staff to bring the most positive energy to the creative process.  Not only the above but this is also key. 

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