Here I have rewritten a page from the Wilcoxon Drum Method, which I’ve been using a lot lately. I’ve put his “swing or rhumba” studies (p. 31, two-measure syncopation and accent studies in 4/4) into […]
1997 BBC interview: Tony Oxley
I could not locate my Tony Oxley Modern Drummer interview, so instead here is a BBC interview with him, in which he discusses his unique set up. There seem to be quite a few of […]
Tony Oxley
Excerpts from a Modern Drummer interview are coming, but in the mean time I thought I’d share some clips of one of the more unique drummers living, the UK’s Tony Oxley. As you can see, […]
Basic big band set-ups
Another in the recent series of easy stuff, here is a page of basic set-ups for ensemble kicks on the & of 4. You can apply these to my earlier piece, Kicks and Set-ups Using […]
The cheapest 35mm rig.
I want to say cheapest and best 35mm autofocus SLR, but my knowledgeable friends would no doubt descend and tear me apart like a Thanksgiving turkey on prom night. So let’s say best “cheapest : […]
Alan Greenspan won’t let me give make-ups
Via Steve Korn, here is an economics professor’s opinion on make-up music lessons: […] I’d like to explain to other parents why I feel – quite strongly, actually – that it is unreasonable of we […]
Brice Marden talks about painting
Here are some excellent YouTube clips of one of my favorite current painters, Brice Marden. The comments are entertaining- people are affronted when you talk about art as if it matters. To weed out the […]
Todd’s Methods, pt. 3: Rock beats with Syncopation
Most drum books present their stuff fully written out verbatim for the drum set, which is fine for learning patterns, but not for thinking like a musician. This is something I made up to introduce […]
Todd’s Methods, Pt. 2: triplet partials in Syncopation
The second in a series of quick, sketchily-outlined demonstrations of my practice methods. Here I give a couple of my variations on common ways of using Ted Reed’s Syncopation. If you’ve worked with that book […]