Scene 1) Star drummer enters and plays Jaw dropping solo. Scene 2) Can you please play that fill from your recording? Star turns fill into another Jaw dropping solo? This scenario with some exceptions is played out all over the world and its a DRAG!
The exception is Liberty De Vitto whose cliinics are informative, entertaining and most of all truthful. His clinics are a masterclass which includes inviting drummers from the audience to play.
I have been attending drum clinics for a long time and I have watched them devolve from a master class concept to percussive mastrubation, in fact, I can count on one hand the amount of really informative clinics I've been to.
The art of the drums is still misunderstood and bad clinicians only add to the image of us as grunting primitives who wouldn't know music if it hit us in the face. Liberty changes the focus in his clinics from endless soloing to the drums ensemble role in a band.
Solo drum clinics just don't make it anymore. Drummers can now see performances by past and present masters on you tube. What drummers, particularly younger players, need is practical information from a "working" musician and not from a professional clinician or teacher who hasn't played a gig in twenty years.
I still recall a Liberty De Vitto clinic many years ago that should be the model. He played a little, then began showing the crowd how he created the signature drum part to Billy Joel's huge hit "Just the Way You Are".
What stood out for me was that he selected this tune and not a song that would show off his chops. He talked about reconciling his view of the drum part with Joel's idea's and producer Phil Ramone. It was a real lesson on how to play in the studio with a major artist. The subtext was how you get and keep a major league gig.
Clinics should be about information and getting it straight from a successful musician is about as good as it gets.
The groove continues...
The exception is Liberty De Vitto whose cliinics are informative, entertaining and most of all truthful. His clinics are a masterclass which includes inviting drummers from the audience to play.
I have been attending drum clinics for a long time and I have watched them devolve from a master class concept to percussive mastrubation, in fact, I can count on one hand the amount of really informative clinics I've been to.
The art of the drums is still misunderstood and bad clinicians only add to the image of us as grunting primitives who wouldn't know music if it hit us in the face. Liberty changes the focus in his clinics from endless soloing to the drums ensemble role in a band.
Solo drum clinics just don't make it anymore. Drummers can now see performances by past and present masters on you tube. What drummers, particularly younger players, need is practical information from a "working" musician and not from a professional clinician or teacher who hasn't played a gig in twenty years.
I still recall a Liberty De Vitto clinic many years ago that should be the model. He played a little, then began showing the crowd how he created the signature drum part to Billy Joel's huge hit "Just the Way You Are".
What stood out for me was that he selected this tune and not a song that would show off his chops. He talked about reconciling his view of the drum part with Joel's idea's and producer Phil Ramone. It was a real lesson on how to play in the studio with a major artist. The subtext was how you get and keep a major league gig.
Clinics should be about information and getting it straight from a successful musician is about as good as it gets.
The groove continues...
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