AMOGH RAO
Building Vocabulary
on the Drum Kit
The age old Yin Yang in drums is that of groove
versus chops. Here I’m addressing the latter,
since it’s what most drummers obsess over
when starting out. It’s not about blazing fast
movements, or about making as many cymbal
crashes as possible. In order to develop the tools
for self-expression through improvisation,
here are a couple of methods for beginner
and intermediate drummers to really build
vocabulary, creativity and depth as musicians.
Eliminating parts of the kit –
I remember being obsessed with the idea of
having plenty of toms and cymbals like Terry
Bozio and creating a massive orchestral show
while playing. This perspective got flipped
on its head when I had the opportunity to
play Ranjit Barot’s massive studio drumkit,
since I was so swamped by choices and
possibilities that I had no idea what to hit
and when. I would recommend trying to do
practice routines with just a kick snare hat
setup, and then eliminating or changing
your elements so drastically that you’re
forced to think unconventionally. I know
people who put the snare drum where
the high tom is, use the floor tom as a
stand-in for the hi-hat, and replace all
their cymbals with stacks. In order
to think colourfully, it’s sometimes
necessary to redefine your palette.
Applying Restrictions –
By far the most popular method
of building vocabulary and
improvisation skill, musicians
sometimes really underestimate how
powerful a tool this technique can
be. I like to define this method under
5 broad categories; Subdivision,
Rudiment, Orchestration,
Dynamics and Time Signatures.
As the names suggests, applying
these restrictions during an
improvisation or trade-off
26
The
Score Magazine
highonscore.com
session makes for a very interesting push outside
your comfort zone since you’re handicapped and can’t
use your familiar arsenal of chops and rudiments.
Restricting yourself to soloing only in eight-note
triplets, applying only the six stroke roll and its
inversions in fills, changing the orchestration
of a single rudiment every bar, modulating the
volume of each of your limbs, or playing in different
time signature break-ups, this mindset makes for
some of the best moments of creative epiphanies.
Paraphrasing Gavin Harrison, if you’re asked to
write an essay on any topic in the world, you’re
probably going to be stumped by the possibilities.
Repeating Phrases –
This one’s stolen directly from one of Benny Greb’s
drum camps that my friend had the privilege of
attending. His method states that for 10 minutes,
you improvise and solo using all your known and
comfortable chops and skills. Then you try to do
the same thing, except with the catch that you need
to repeat every phrase you play, twice. This might
not seem like an issue on the surface, but when
you dig into your solo you realise how hard this
can really be. What tends to happen when we get
into a flow, is that our hands and muscle memory
command what we express. We aren’t aware of
what we’re saying through the instrument, but
rather just rambling through our hands and feet.
By forcing yourself to repeat every phrase you play,
you’re cornered into paying extreme attention to
every detailed note, subdivision and breakup that
you would otherwise overlook and blaze through.
You are required to compose music, rather than
play chops. Most importantly, you’re given the
opportunity to pace yourself and actually question the
necessity and motivation behind playing what you’re
playing, drastically evolving your improvisation
into more mature and meaningful expression.