And not a drum was seen!

Slightly odd title I know, but I will explain!

I took a look at my library of music on i-tunes and realised that for the past six months or so, I've been listening to music that has little to no conventional drum tracks. By that I mean that the drums have either been sampled and processed, or have been completley synthesised. Music by artists such as; Thom Yorke, Boards of Canada, Radiohead Chris Clark and Ulrich Schnauss.

This got me thinking about the role of timbre and the acoustic properties of the drums/instruments and propensity to assume (in some people) that because it doesn't sound like a "real" drum played by a "real" drummer, or a "real" guitar played by a "real" guitarist, that it is illegitimate...or somehow not worthy of being called "real" music. The fact is that since the ninteen-fifties, the format of bands and music has nearly always been tied to the same basic format; vocals, guitar, bass and acoustic drumset. It's only in the past two decades that we've seen music being produced that is artificial (and I use that word cautiously), where the old format has been swapped for synthesisers, software and technology.


A lot of the negativity directed towards this format might be found in a perceived purity in producing music with a physical instrument. The value we have to find however is not in purity or having a physical connection with an instrument rather the music it's self! It's the musical ideas we connect to when we listen to a piece, they may be produced by an instrument but looking past the means of communication, it's the message that is key. It might be true to say that music in it's purest form is inside the composers head and then once it leaves the mind and is channeled through and instrument, the qualities, timbre and sound of that instrument forever tarnish the idea. 

I don't know about you but when I start looking at purity within music in that way, the only logical conclusion that can be drawn is that purity cannot be found when communicating music, you're always going to tarnish the "idea", no matter which means you choose.


Hope everyone is well,


Casey

Recording Photos

Thought I'd share with some pictures taken by Nina Chung, whilst recording drums at "Brickbeat Studios" in Lincoln for The Treehouse during November last year (click to see in full size if you wish):

Hope everyone is well!


Casey

"Feeling it"

Imagine a person gives you a hug, in the first instant they can’t really be bothered with it and are simply giving you a hug out of formality. Now take the exact same situation and imagine the person giving you that hug invested some emotion into it...the exact same hug no less! but a difference in intention...of course you’d enjoy the second one more wouldn’t you?

Believe it or not emotion, intent and feeling are all perceived by the people listening to you play, these things are what give music it’s feeling, but it’s something that is often times overlooked or ignored. I’ve heard this for myself at gigs and when overhearing some drummers at rehearsal studios; the drummer is playing the notes of the song or beat...it’s all technically correct but that’s as far as it goes, there’s no feeling to what they’re doing.

“Feel” is one of those transient and somewhat vague terms that is often hard to express in words, but when heard is instantly recognisable. For a lot of drummers it is considered the holy grail, and for them to be told they have feel is second only to being told they’ve won the lottery. It’s something I never appreciated myself until a couple of years ago; I was always concerned with the technical aspects of my drumming and always looking for the next beat or fill I could add to my bag.

Playing music should always be about the emotion of the song, so next time you’re rehearsing or playing a gig, think to yourself “what is this song trying to convey?”. Approaching not only the technical aspects of your parts but also thinking about the way you play the notes and the spaces between the notes and how they affect the song is just as important. When you start to get your head around this you’ll find that your playing/parts will blend with the rest of the band and become part of the song rather than something you play on top of the song.

Remember this; just because people don’t notice you it doesn’t always mean it’s a bad thing. After all the audience have come to hear the music and the songs, not any one member of the band in particular. People listen to music because there is an emotional draw or connection to be gained, if you can play with feel and become part of the song more people will connect with what you and your band are doing and that connection is absolutely priceless!

Hope everyone is well,

Casey x