056 – 10 Tips to Improve Your Groove
In this podcast I talk about the ever elusive groove. Groove is something that is hard to measure because it is a feeling, an energy, an intangible object that makes a song great….but what is it? And how can you improve your groove? Let’s start with what it is. The best description that I’ve ever heard about what the groove is was from my long-time drum teacher, Glenn Ferracone:
“Groove is what makes a song feel so good and simplistic that everyone (even non musicians) think that they can play it themselves.”
It took me a long time to really process that information because for a long time I felt that simplicity meant lack of skill. “Why would anyone want to play less if they had the ability to play more?”, I thought. It wasn’t until I started digging into thousands of songs and grooves until I discovered the magic. I discovered that the “simplistic” grooves that I was hearing were quite sophisticated and pretty tough to platy. On the surface these grooves sounded easy to play, but once I started hearing the nuances and all the different sub-pulses WITHIN the grooves, my eyes opened wide. I then began a quest (which I’ll be on for the rest of my life) to develop a great sense of groove with the same masterful magic of the drummers who have come before me, all while adding my own signature sound.
Listen in to these 10 pieces of advice on how you can improve your groove and create your own sound.
“We all have idols. Play like anyone you care about but try to be yourself while you’re doing so.” – B. B. King (Tweet this)
Resources and Links Mentioned:
James Brown – Think! (Zoro, Quasi Shuffle) – VIDEO
Clyde Stubblefield
Jabo Starks
Steve Gadd
Hal Blaine
Steve Jordan