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Studio Drumming by Curt Bisquera
Before I
came to LA and began working in the studios, I was playing in local clubs with
top 40 bands. Even then I knew I would need to expand my abilities and knowledge
if I wanted to remain a working professional. I saw an ad in Modern Drummer
magazine for P.I.T. (Percussion Institute of Technology). That is where I was
able to study with great teachers like Joe Porcaro and Ralph Humphrey and learn
from drumming heroes like Jeff Porcaro, Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta, JR Robinson,
Harvey Mason, and Vinnie Colaiuta. Learning all styles of music is crucial to
the working drummer. I’m a huge fan of music, period. I always try to listen to
what’s happening out there. That’s why, no matter what kind of musician you want
to become, I think education and experience are equally important.
It’s About Time... And Tuning
One of the main ingredients to playing on a number one hit is to be able to play
solid time with a click track or drum loop. When you listen to the playback and
everybody in the room is bouncing or bobbing their head, that’s when you know
you hooked the track up! Contrary to popular belief you can improve your time
keeping if you work on it. Check out the exercises from “It’s About Time” by
Fred Dinkins on the back of this sheet.
It is also super important to have a great sounding drum kit that mic’s up well
no matter what studio you’re recording at. Whether you’re at a home studio or
Capitol Records in Hollywood, your drums have to sound great. It is key to know
how your drums sound and be able to tune them. Know how to tune your drums. I
can’t stress that enough. After each take, I’m on the drums tweaking and making
sure they sound “super-sweet”. If you have good time and a great sounding kit,
you’ve just about covered all the bases.
One of my “tricks” in the studio is to detune one lug on each drum to where the
head is loose. This works on snare drums, tom-toms and bass drums. This’ll give
you a nice, phat “thwack”, especially on the toms. It may take a little tweaking
to get it down, but when you do your drums will sound most righteous. And always
make sure your drums have fresh heads when you’re playing in the studio or live.
Building Up A Snare Drum Arsenal
Another of my favorite studio tricks is to be able to provide any kind of snare
drum sound the artist or producer may want. My main snare is a 5x14 DW “Edge”,
but I have a whole “quiver” of snare drums. You can never have enough! I often
like to put wider snares on my 5 and 5.5x14” snare drums; sometimes I’ll use a
42-strand set. On the deeper drums, I use 16 to 20 strand wires.
Although my snare drum collection runs from 6.5 to 3” deep and 10 to 14” in
diameter, for drummers just starting out I’d suggest owning at least one good
maple and one good metal 5 or 5.5x14” snare drum. Between those two drums you’ll
have a pretty wide range of sounds and you’ll be able to cover most of today’s
musical styles. You can always modify these general purpose drums by changing
the tuning and heads. As you build your collection you’ll want to add some 10’s,
12’s and 13’s in a variety of depths and shell materials.
Learn To Play With Others
When I get called to work with an artist I first listen to their previous
records. Every artist and situation is different. Being a studio musician
requires the ability to blend in and support their vision of what they are
writing and singing about. It may require all of my drumming skills or just the
opposite; where the best way to play for the music is to forget everything I’ve
learned and play like a beginner. The trick is to be sensitive to the music at
hand.
Your relationship with the bass player is critical in any situation, studio or
live. It all boils down to being flexible and open-minded. It’s about having
mutual respect for each other and understanding that you’re both there to make
the music happen. The end result should be that you had fun making music — not
that you feel like you just got done pulling teeth. You know what I’m saying?
Some bass players put it on top, in the middle or way on the backside of the
beat. Hopefully, you’ll find that comfortable spot where the groove just
happens. Then, you and the bass player will become the best of friends.
That’s about it. Oh yeah, one more thing. Whenever young drummers ask me for
advice I always tell them to follow their dreams. That may sound simplistic but
it’s what I’ve done and, boy, is my mom proud of me!
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