Video: Benny Greb on the Art and Science of Groove

Groove is an all-important topic for drummers. I spend a lot of time researching and practicing to strengthen my concept of groove, and to help my students boost their skills. It can be a challenge to precisely define this word because it is a very personal thing. If someone asks you to "make the music groove more," what do you change? Two different drummers might adjust different elements of the beat and still be able to improve the groove. Because this concept can't be notated on sheet music, it's necessary to learn from live concerts, audio recordings, videos, and teachers. The first step starts with acknowledging the utmost importance of good timekeeping, feel, and groove.

I am a fan of Benny Greb because of his musicality as well as his humorous and effective teaching approach in his instructional videos. His newest video is called The Art and Science of Groove, which is available online as a physical copy or digital download. Greb appeared on Drumeo's YouTube channel and summarized his new instructional video, answering questions and demonstrating his approach. Below is a list of the five main topics covered. I would highly recommend that you watch the YouTube lesson and order the actual video. He presents the concept of groove in a very clear method that is easy to understand and provides many useful ideas and exercises.

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"My basic point is that time and groove is not a super advanced subject; it should actually be the first thing and the most important thing." - Benny Greb

Greb: these myths about groove are untrue - you have to be born with it, it takes forever to develop, and you can't change your feel.

1. TIME – "feel the quarter note pulse in parallel to what you are playing." The example Greb uses is to clap the "football clave" while vocalizing the pulse using a "chid" sound. He also recommends practicing with a "gap click" where the metronome is audible on the first bar and silent on the second bar.

2. FEEL – "everything that is lifelike has a certain pattern of breathing out, breathing in, like this exchange of downbeat, upbeat, in and out." He suggests thinking of a pendulum swinging side to side for regulating your breathing. "When something really grooves, it's an outgrowth of empathy."

3. SOUND – "just by the sounds and sound levels that you use, you can completely create new grooves." Greb demonstrates by playing a swung funk beat and gradually changing the balance of the bass drum and snare drum as well as switching from hi-hat to ride cymbal. This is a good example as the beat clearly shifts from a rock-type feel to something much more jazz oriented without changing the actual rhythm.

4. BODY – "if you have a weird posture or do something with your body, it can be that things you can do, suddenly you can't do them." In his example, Greb taps his foot at a normal 90° angle position, and then pulls his foot in under the throne to show that the foot tapping becomes impossible with the smaller angle. He also points out a common mistake where drummers breathe normally during timekeeping but hold their breath during fills. "Play a groove and pick a breathing tempo that's a fraction slower than you normally would breathe… You get into a very nice relaxed state by doing that."

5. MIND – this is the "most underestimated" part. "Your mind is the architect that makes musical decisions that guides what you actually do." Greb suggests changing your mindset by putting a question mark on any statement. "A fill has to incorporate tom-toms?" He says a player can come up with something fresh and exciting without spending hours practicing it. "A fill has to be something else than a groove?"

Q & A
How do you translate practice sessions to a live performance setting?

Get a free 30-day trial to Drumeo: http://drumeo.com/trial Buy Benny's new lessons: http://bennygreb.com Video Index: 0:13 - Song "Next Question" 6:35 - Jared intros Benny Greb 11:30 - "Time" Drum Lesson 27:19 - "Feel" Drum Lesson 32:44 - "Sound" Drum Lesson 38:36 - Track Benny Wrote 43:10 - "Body" Drum Lesson 50:07 - "Mind" Drum Lesson 55:30 - Open Drum Solo 1:04:03 - Q/A 1:20:16 - Song "Grebfruit" It just keeps getting better and better at Drumeo.

"First of all, make sure you record your practicing to see if it's really there and not an illusion. Make it's measurable. Do you have a recording? Did it sound bad or just feel bad?" If there is a definite difference between the practice room (great) and live performance (bad), "it is probably because you don't have enough headroom practiced." In a live situation, "you have less bandwidth available to execute things that you practiced."

How my online lessons work

I have been teaching online lessons by Skype for several years now. While most of us are accustomed to learning from our teacher in the same physical space, current technology is good enough that real-time instruction through a screen is still very effective. I feel that the person we study with is more important than the format of the lesson. There may be teachers available locally but if they don't offer what you need, online lessons can be a great alternative. They also have their own advantages beyond the fact that the two sides can be anywhere in the world (with internet).

How does it work? First, you would send me an email describing what you're interested in covering. Then we set up a meeting time that works for both of us. My policy is that payment is made before the lesson takes place, and the online check out system (Stripe) on my website is secure and works well. There are no refunds but credits are issued for emergency cancellations and rescheduling with a minimum of 48 hour notice. Most of my online lessons have been through Skype so you would need to have an account as well as a screen with a camera (desktop computer, laptop, iPad, iPhone, etc). The slight delay doesn't allow us to play at the same time, but a lot can be accomplished through demonstration and explanation. To take advantage of the format, I send web links, PDFs, and audio files relevant to the topic. Students in the past have also uploaded videos (public, unlisted, or password-protected) of their practicing or performance to get my feedback. And it's possible to record the lesson using software such as Skype Call Recorder. Beginning students, advanced players, and all levels in between are welcomed in my studio.

What do I teach? Past lessons have covered drumset, taiko, percussion, shinobue, and composition. My workshops page shows specific topics I have offered, but I am always open to requests. Perhaps you are learning a new piece and need some guidance on how to work on it. Maybe you want to learn a new instrument such as the atarigane and are looking for basic technique. It could be that you want to write a piece but don't know how to structure your ideas. Or perhaps you want to become a stronger soloist and better improviser. One topic that is requested regularly relates to exercises for improving stick control and rhythmic accuracy. Your musicianship will progress forward if you have goals to work toward, a good practicing strategy, and thoughtful feedback from an outside perspective. If you are interested, I recommend trying one lesson to see if it fits your needs. I have included a short video here so that you can see what the lesson would be like. Please contact me with any questions or to schedule a lesson.

Edo Bayashi & Shishimai expert Kyosuke Suzuki sensei

Suzuki sensei has been one of my most important teachers over the past ten years.  My first opportunity to meet and work with him was during the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble 2005 tour and I remember being immediately struck by his deep commitment to the highest performance standard.  North American audiences may know him best as the brilliant shishimai performer with a lengthy and life-like repertoire of choreographed actions such as playing with a butterfly, licking its leg, eating a mikan (tangerine), searching for food, and interacting with the audience.  Although 'shishimai' is usually translated as 'lion dance,' Suzuki sensei has mentioned in workshops that the shishi (獅) is a mythological creature, not technically a lion.  He also contemplated that the word 'dance' may be closer to odori (踊り) than mai (舞) because of the subtle differences in implication.  This kind of detailed explanation is a great illustration of Suzuki sensei's dedication to the meaning of this traditional art form which helps us understand its context and perform it more appropriately.  Anyone who has studied with him would likely agree that he is a masterly instructor who is kind and patient while never compromising his expectation of the highest artistic integrity.

Edo Kotobuki Jishi at 2011 NATC concert

Suzuki sensei is also an exceptional musician on Japanese flutes (nohkan, shinobue), taiko, atarigane, and piano.  Based in Tokyo, he belongs to the acclaimed Wakayama Shachu, a performance troupe and school in the tradition of Edo Sato Kagura, recognized as an important intangible folk cultural asset by the Japanese government’s Agency for Cultural Affairs.  It would be absolutely fantastic if someone was able to present the kagura performance by Wakayama Shachu in North America one day.  Seeing performances and studying these traditional Japanese music forms have been invaluable to my own musical development, and I'm always encouraging other taiko and fue players to research and engage in the rich history of these instruments.  One of my personal performance highlights was at the 2011 North American Taiko Conference evening concert where I appeared on stage with three of my teachers (Suzuki sensei, Saburo Mochizuki sensei, and Kenny Endo) for Edo Kotobuki Jishi.

Last summer, Yuta Kato (Asano Taiko US & Los Angeles Taiko Institute) and I worked to bring Suzuki sensei for a two-week teaching tour that included San Jose, Los Angeles, Portland, and Seattle.  For much of this trip, I accompanied and translated his workshops and private lessons, covering Edo Bayashi (festival music of old Tokyo) and Edo Kotobuki Jishi (shishimai of Edo).  I've also translated for Suzuki sensei on previous occasions, and the more I see his teaching, the deeper my appreciation for his approach becomes.  His pace of instruction is fast, yet meticulous.  His energy is usually greater than everyone else's combined as any workshop participant can attest to.  And the session is truly free of extraneousness.  His insistence on vocalizing music parts (kuchishoga) and his frequent demonstrations are my favorite parts of the workshop.

See videos and more info about Suzuki sensei here

I'm excited that Asano Taiko US in Torrence, CA is now selling the recommended fue, bachi, sheet music, and CDs for Edo Bayashi and Edo Kotobuki Jishi.  These materials are used by Wakayama Shachu and recommended by Suzuki sensei.  It's great that now anyone can order them from the Asano US online store. 

See the recommended materials here

Please contact me or Asano Taiko US for questions about the instruments and to receive updates for future opportunities to study with Suzuki sensei.  His workshops and lessons are always followed by enthusiasm and positive feedback, so the more people there are to join me as his fans, the more often we can invite him over to share his expertise with us.

Video: soloing concepts by jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez

Have you seen the movie Birdman?  Jazz drummer Antonio Sanchez wrote the film's score and most of the soundtrack is solo drumset.  He has also been Pat Metheny's drummer for the past 15 years.  I recently watched his instructional feature called Creative Soloing & Freedom presented by Drumeo and was impressed by the clarity with which he explained and demonstrated his concepts.  While I think it's well worth watching the video, I'll list the most important points here.

Try Drumeo Edge For Free, Today: - http://www.drumeo.com/trial/ It was incredible to have four-time Grammy Award winner Antonio Sanchez visit the Drumeo studios, where he shared his creative concepts for building solos over a groove, over a form, as well as completely open solos - in addition to sharing his techniques for sustaining motivic development throughout your solos.

Sanchez says that he tries to tell a story when playing a solo.  This means stopping yourself from operating on autopilot.  Instead of just letting your hands play your usual licks, you start with a motive (idea) and then develop it using techniques such as:

1. Giving yourself space to think.  The space could be silence or going into a holding pattern such as a groove.  "Give space...be patient...be friends of silence."

2. Using repetition to establish the motive in our memory and the audience's memory.  Ending a solo with the same motive from the beginning is a very effective way to structure it.

3. Creating an answer to your motive's call.  As an example, Sanchez sings the opening 2 bars of Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik (Allegro) to see if his interviewer could sing the response (he did easily).  Another example was the melody of 'shave and a haircut - two bits.'

4. Using the full dynamic (volume) range of the instrument.  "I cannot stress enough how important soloing dynamics are."

5. Creating contrast through rhythm, sound, dynamics, etc. to interplay with the motive.

6. Developing your vocabulary by copying others, then making the material your own by exploring new ways to play them.  Emulating great players in the genre you're studying is crucial to learning that specific language.  It's important to understand the historical context of the style.

7. "Practicing with a metronome is extremely important...allows you to get your ideas in to the grid that is time.  You have to be very certain of what subdivisions you're playing all the time."

8. Making sense.  "People start following you if you make sense...saying something meaningful."  An example of NOT making sense would be the statement "I love scrambled eggs, but the movie was terrible."  Those two things are not directly related.

Sanchez says that this kind of approach in which you are truly improvising is more challenging as it has more risk involved.  But "going into the unknown" is the way to explore fresh ideas and play differently each time.  Because the possibilities are endless, it can be intimidating to start with this "blank sheet of paper."  Sanchez says that these ideas can be applied at any level since you don't need a lot of technique to start practicing this way. 

To me, everything presented in the video is spot on.  Soloing and improvisation is a topic I'm often asked to teach in workshops and private lessons, and it was good to hear new ways of thinking about the topic from one of the most in-demand drummers working today.  I would encourage everyone to check out this video and then share your most memorable take-away points.

Juxtaposing genres

説明

説明

In my recent research of traditional flute music in Japanese theater (such as Noh and Kabuki), I came across some interesting material by Yukihiro Isso, an extraordinary nohkan, shinobue, and recorder player.  These days it's becoming more and more common to see phrases like 'cross-cultural collaboration' to describe the juxtaposing of seemingly unrelated genres.  

Over the years I've been involved with many projects described this way.  Sometimes the collaboration is on a shallow level because there's no time to develop something.  Other times, and more rewarding, a deeper connection is made and something truly unique and inspiring emerges.  A lot depends on getting along with each other and having an open-minded approach to trying new things.

I wonder how audiences see a performance like these in the videos.  If they like it, why?  If they don't, why not?  To me, this works.  I like these pieces because the vision is clear and the adjustments made by the individual parts support the overall concept.  For example, careful thought went into how the nohkan would play in the 'correct key' sometimes, and other times would play independently from the other musical parts (as done in a traditional noh play).  It can be useful to break down and analyze the bits and pieces, but I found that these pieces provided an impact that glued me to the screen and then prompted me to find more of it.

If you have any thoughts to share, please comment below.

Eien