Sequence

Hey Bob,

Thanks for the input.  I'm afriad my approach is more about just creating lessons about things that I think are cool and useful.  I nearly always include tips about technique that would be useful to all levels of drummer, but I'm unlikely to create a 'from the ground up' course as they've been done to death by many other people.

You talk about jumping into a Steve Gadd solo while you've still to master a paradiddle. That's how it is for all of us.  You'll probably never master the paradiddle :)
The fact that you're aware of that is a good thing.  Something I try and stress in all of the lessons is that it's important that you always break things down and find the simplest element that you can't do, then work on that.

I believe that having something like a Gadd solo as a goal is a much better way of working than just sitting and working on paradiddles without really knowing how and where you'd apply them.

I agree that it would be useful to categorize things, but again, I have a tendency to jump around and cover everything in everything.  (I've also completely forgotten what's actually covered in most of the MasterClasses.)  I do believe, however, that there'll be at least one thing in every lesson that you will find useful.

With regards to reading I do think that it's a very useful tool, and I haven't really covered it at all.  There are many many resources for that kind of thing that are probably much better thought out than my approach would be.  

If there are some things that you'd like to learn with me that you believe I haven't covered then maybe consider taking a skype lesson with me and we can work on whatever you like.  Perhaps we could turn it into a MasterClass lesson that other people can use to learn the basics too.

Thanks,
Joe

Thanks again. Come to think of it, you are correct. When I started taking lessons it was very routine and mundane and I quickly got bored (I was 8 and the attention span of a flee). All I wanted to do was groove. Learning fundamentals through grooves etc. would have captured my interest as it does now.
Bob

Hi Joe,

Regarding your remark on picking up things while you try to learn a solo, I think this is very true. At least in my case, because same as Bob I get easily bored when I have to train on e.g. only hand technique for the sake of it.

So.... I finally started to try to learn the Gary Novak solo on which you spend a few lessons. It may sound silly, but I felt very nervous and intimidated about it because of the high level of playing.

Today I started listening to the first lesson and found that your explanation on getting used to playing separate parts makes it easier indeed. Also, when hearing your repetitive playing of the smaller bits, they kind of start to sound familiar in my head. When I then follow everything on the charts and transcriptions and count them out, it starts to make sence (and also of course because you begin at a slow tempo).

I sincerely want to thank you for these lessons because I realize how much work it took you to transcribe. This must have been an enormous work. Also, showing your own difficulties while struggling to master the solo helps me a lot to overcome my initial "fears" with it.

I'll let you know if and when I make real progress with it :-)

Kind regards,
Patrick

Hey Patrick,

That's great news.  The whole concept behind that lesson series was to "show my working"

When you see the final result of something like that it's easy to dismiss it as something you could never achieve yourself, but when you realise just how much it had to be broken down and how much time was spent on each section then you realise that almost anything is possible if you just take it slow enough.

I always surprise myself with those things.  When I began recording the lessons I had no idea whether or not I'd actually be able to play it.  In fact, even after completing part 1 I was slightly anxious about whether I'd be able to do the other bits.

I'm glad you're getting something out of it :)

Cheers,
Joe

Hi joe,

As promised an update on my progress, so that other people can maybe benefit from it.

As you promised in the video lesson, things start to happen by themselves once you repeat them enough in a correct way. Hearing and seeing you play the parts is a must for me since I have poor chart reading abilities. Once you explain them and I hear the music of your toms and the rythm behind it, I can nail it down and can understand the charts. I managed to play the whole "A" section on a tempo of 90 bpm though it doesn't sound selfassured enough yet.

I'm feeling very strange about it because as you said, after a while movements happen by themselves. Never thought I would be able to play such a difficult part. The only thing I still struggle with are the fast left hand double taps. I can control them with my fingers but I can feel that the bounce isn't "free" enough and that I need more practice and correction. Also the "ready" position (up) is difficult to achieve after a series of doubles at high tempo.

But man, I feel fantastic now I know I will be able to perform this solo somewhere in the future. It maybe will take me a year, but I'll go for it.

Kind regards,
Patrick

Hey Patrick,

Thanks for the update.  That's brilliant :)

I also struggle with the double taps with my left hand.  It's one of the things I'm constantly working on.  Be sure to check out the hand technique videos I'm posting on the blog - it's little things like those that I find move me forward these days.

Keep it up.  I'm looking forward to future updates.

All the best,
Joe