Practicing With The Drumometer Develops Technique

At this time, I would like to give my personal opinions on the Drumometer and WFD competitions and their importance in developing great technique(s) for drummers.

Early in my drumming career, I studied for a while and then had a lull where I developed a bad habit of using my wrists instead of letting the sticks do half the work. So, I went to Carl Wolf who teaches the "Billy Gladstone Technique", which lets the stick do half the work by controlling the rebound. Carl was taught this technique by Joe Morello who was taught by Billy Gladstone.

Carl showed me a way of developing technique by playing different kinds of patterns using the metronome. A favorite of Carl and his students was to play triplets with the left hand on the metronome. Carl put me on the metronome on my first lesson and I was at the 152 mark. The exercise was based on doing 100 bars without stopping. Because I was holding the sticks too tight and only using my wrist, my score was low. That’s when he showed me the rebound technique. I went home and "woodshedded" this all week long. The following lesson Carl was shocked. I went from a 152 to a 168, because I let the stick do half the work for me. In The Stick Control Book it says, "do each exercise 20 times without stopping." Of course, these exercises are not musical, but they are necessary to practice to develop technique

I remember we had a WFD type of thing going in Carl Wolf’s store. Every week I would go into the store and the students or Carl would be talking about who did 176 on the metronome with his left hand for 5 bars or whatever. In those days I guess you could have called it, "Fastest Drummer in Carl's Store", or "FDCS." Guys like Ron Spagnardi (Chief Editor, Modern Drummer Magazine) and myself used to "woodshed" what we learned from Carl and would go to a gig and do more in "musical" ways during each performance because of the practicing we did with the metronome.

I went to a Manhattan jazz club in the late 60's and one of Carl's former students, John Dentz, was on the stand playing with Bill Evans. John and I started talking about the metronome, left hand exercises, technique and Carl's store. He told me how many unmusical repetitions he would do at home. Later when he went back on the stand he "swung his ass off" and played some "musical" technical fills that he wouldn't have been able to do without these exercises. If the people that criticize the WFD had heard John Dentz, a great jazz drummer, talking about speed, would they would have been criticizing him as well? I believe that no matter how good a drummer plays and swings, if his technique gets better as a result then it will reflect in his musical ability as well. I bet if the Drumometer came out in the early 60's Carl Wolf would have been one of the first drummers to purchase one, and would have encouraged his students to do the same. Why? Because one of th best practice methods is the "unmusical" way of repetitious exercises. Isn't repeition the definition of practice?

I would be willing to bet that almost every young drummer in the WFD rankings works out on Jazz and Rock when practicing. I think it is pretty safe to say that the Drumometer (and by extension WFD competitions) have helped them to play those up-tempo Rock pieces a lot better and easier, because their technique has been improved through practice with the Drumometer.

Those who criticize the WFD and speed playing describe the drummers in high rankings for just playing single strokes on a pad and not wanting to do anything else in their practice sessions. That is absolutely ridiculous. That is like a trumpet player practicing with his mouthpiece all day without putting it into the horn.

WFD Ownership

The two owners of the WFD, Boo McAfee and Craig Alan, are great, soulful, studio drummers in Nashville who have recorded behind many great names. The Nashville Percussion Institute, owned by Boo McAfee, had a lot of named drummers teaching there.

Guys like...

...just to name a few, were/are all associated with the Drumometer. It is a shame that Craig and Boo have given us such a great tool and some drummers in the industry have put it down. What is worse is that some of these same drummers have practiced many hours "unmusically" doing single stroke rolls all day long. I know, because, I practiced with some of them. Anyone who says they didn't or dont I would love to have them step up and show me how they practice everyday.

Recently, I was in a club and watched a young drummer make the group better by playing great fills around the drums. The last time I saw him there was something missing. I asked him why he was holding back and he told me it wasn't "musical." He was being brain washed by these message boards, magazine articles, and people in the industry saying, "speed is not good" and you have to be "musical." He changed his style to his own demise. He became very self-conscience about doing what he does best,which is playing from the heart.

Some drummers keep saying, the WFD is hurting young drum students by teaching them speed importance. Ironically, all great drummers have concentrated somewhat on speed techniques. The drummers that disagree don't realize how much damage they are causing to the drumming world. Speed has always been a part of learning any instrument. Art Tatum, a great pianist, is another great example. He had such great technique because he would practice so many boring speed exercises and scales. It's not just drummers that speed techniques are important to. Speed drills are not just important to instrument practicing either. Don't believe me? Take some typing lessons sometime and then come talk to me about speed drills being important to learning.

A friend wrote an email to Ron Spagnardi about the WFD and myself, comparing sports to drumming. He wrote, "Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays were great team players but got involved in homerun competitions on the side. They called it The Home Run Derby. Isn’t that the same as the WFD? The WFD competition is nothing more than drummers playing single stroke rolls as fast as they can. Essentially, this is the same thing as practicing this exercise with friendly competition mixed in. The Drumometer is nothing more than a tool designed to help drummers, and could be compared to and used along with the metronome. It measures your speed in order to gauge your progress.

Louie Bellson said in an issue of Modern Drummer, "Joe Morello and Vinnie Colaiuta are the most devoted practicers he has ever seen." I'm sure they both spent many hours playing single stroke rolls to a metronome, and then probably even challenged themselves to play higher numbers. This is the only way to improve your technique. It's a shame to stay on the same number if you can get your hands to play faster. What if a person walked into Joe's room while he was playing these fast single-strokes and told him that what he is doing has nothing to do with music? What would Joe say to the person? I think I know what he would say. He probably would tell him that he's developing his technique to apply it to the drums musically and, playing single strokes is the best way to accomplish this. Practicing single stroke rolls for so many hours is one thing that helped him go on to have such a great career. That is what young drummers are doing with the Drumometer. The WFD made it more fun by creating a little friendly competition. They are actually doing the same exact thing Joe was doing 30 years ago with a metronome.

I think I know what the trouble is. The term "Sport Drumming" is what throws most people off. Young drummers are playing a rudiment that experienced drummers know are necessary. As they compete they develop their technique. I don't care if a kid has speed or not. Either the kid has a "feel" or he doesn't. Have you ever seen a drummer not swing and also have bad technique? Competing in something like this can only make a drummer better. Tony Royster Jr. is a perfect example. I heard that he practices with a Drumometer. I saw him a few times and he has a wonderful feel. The ideas that he has now are very good, and I think that using the Drumometer is going to help him come up with greater and more exciting ideas.

Modern Drummer was on the right track when it published the article And The Winner Is. Every drummer in the WFD rankings is a winner, because they have improved their technique compared to what it was when they first got into the rankings. There are a lot of drummers that haven't improved their hands in years. I went into a club one Friday night and the place was jammed. When I saw the owner I complimented him on what a great night he was having. He told me that no one was drinking and it only appeared to look like he was doing well. He said “the bottom line is, when the cash register isn't going ch-ching, what good are all these people?" It's the same way with the drums. A drummer can have great reading ability, great ideas, and great technique, but if the stick on that ride cymbal is going ding-ding-da-ding-ding-da-ding and it isn't swinging, forget it.

A young drummer taking lessons and listening to modern rock or jazz groups should not be discouraged with negativity for wanting to increase his speed capabilities with the use of a Drumometer. The WFD is about developing the skills to play certain rudiments better. It encourages these kids to develop their "chops" to a further degree and nothing more. Let's get the words "Sports" and "Athletic" and throw it out the window. I'm not siding with anybody as I'm writing this. I just feel that the WFD and the Drumometer are helping young drummers develop to be better drummers. There are so many young great drummers out there such as Mike Portnoy, Travis Barker, and Flo Mournier. These guys are playing very complicated technical patterns with such great technique that the average young drummer couldn't possibly keep up with them. The WFD is helping them to catch up and keep up.

People that say WFD is not musical are correct. There's no band when a drummer is in competition. There's just a pad and a Drumometer. There is no band or music when practicing with a metronome either. That means when practicing these rudiments drummers are not playing "musically" at all. All drummers try to get their single stroke roll down as fast as possible. In Joe Morello's "Master Studies" he states, "If you're doing sixteenth notes on a metronome at 270 and the next day you can't do it slow it down. Isn't this clocking a single stroke roll?" Every drummer including the great ones have been clocking their single strokes most of their drumming lives. The Drumometer gives drummers a better idea of where they are and how much progress they are making. The WFD competition is encouraging drummers to play a better single stroke roll using friendly competition as a motivator. The WFD drummers are doing exactly what every drummer does every time they practice rudiments on a pad.

I wonder about drummers that say they don't want to play fast, only musically. Every increase in technique helps drummers play better musically.

I was watching Mel Lewis do a solo one night at The Village Vanguard in New York City. He wanted to try something but held back. He looked up and smiled as if to say, "I better not." If he had just a little more technique he probably would have made it. I believe that no matter how great a drummer plays he's still limited by his ideas and his technique. The more technique he has the more ideas he can play. That's why Buddy Rich had so many ideas. His technique with his hands and feet were the answer.

Written by Art Verdi