Keyboard Update/Jojo Mayer/Todd Sucherman/Inspiration

I'll start with the good news. Having left my keyboard to dry out for nearly two full weeks I dared to switch it on yesterday. I held my breath, closed my eyes, gingerly switched it on (at arms length) and... it works! Its as good as new. I'm really pleased about this and intend to get back into the swing of things as soon as possible.

A combination of things have recently given me a much needed shot of inspiration and motivation to get stuck back into some regular drum practice recently. Having been ill for a few months I had lost my way somewhat and had lost interest in hings a little. I lacked motivation and inspiration and this only served to make me more down about things.

At the start of the month I attended an afternoon masterclass and evening drum clinic with the incredible Jojo Mayer. I really enjoyed his playing but I was particularly inspired by his talk of 'non-mechanical' playing and methods to avoid 'licks.' The other thing that really interested me was the fact that Mayer seemed to have had a major re-think of his approach a number of years back and tried to really forge his own path as an individual and as an artist and really try to find his own niche and his own voice. Major kudos to any artist who achieves this.

I also ordered Todd Sucherman's DVD. The whole thing is fantastic. Beautifully shot, well thought out, Incredible playing and insightful comments throughout. The combination of Jojo Mayer and Todd Sucherman has me feeling excited about drumming again and I have that feeling of "I can't wait to get behind a drum set" all over again.

My drum practice has mainly been focused on applying some of Todd Sucherman's ideas. I've been experimenting with some of his preferred stickings and rudiments on the practice pad, working my way up the metronome and then applying these on the kit (something I haven't done in quite a while.)

I think it is really important to practise in a way that will translate into your real-life playing. I have found in the past that I can spend a lot of time practising and then become frustrated because none of the stuff I practised comes out in my playing. When I do try and shoe horn some of the practised material in it can sound too much like an exercise and disrupt the overall flow of the music.

What I try to do these days is find an idea - a lick or a motif or a sticking - and experiment with it. I try different orchestrations, extend it, develop it, find several variations, try it at different note rates and in different contexts... in short I PLAY with it.

I try to set up a stylistic context - Rock, Swing, Latin, Shuffle, Whatever and trade 4 bars time and 4 bars solo with myself. During the solo sections I consciously try and start the idea on different beats or on the 'ands' and I try and really improvise with the idea and think on my feet. The whole idea is to try and create an environment that is as close as possible to an actual playing situation so that when I am on a gig the practised 'licks' come out in an organic (hate that word as applied to music!) musical way. I also try to do this at a wide range of tempos.