DRUMS
FEEL , FEEL , FEEL ! | Carl Albrecht
I ’ m sitting here watching the 2022 Grammy Awards . Some of it … I honestly just have to fast forward to the next thing sometimes . But that ’ s another discussion . ( Yes , I recorded it . I do that with a lot of shows . I like to get to the good stuff .) So … Whether it ’ s the Grammys , the Dove Awards … or any musical performance , what moves me each time is the “ feel ” of the music . Drummers ! It ’ s all about feel . Feel … FEEL ! No matter the style or type groove you play it all comes down to the feel . That “ pocket .” That … THING ! And that ’ s what I heard in almost every performance during the Grammys . So how do we get it ?
I do believe it ’ s a God given skill … a gift . Of course I also believe that has to be combined with discipline and hard work . That ’ s where some would say it ’ s about the 10,000 hours of playing or practice that makes you an “ expert .” Which is still a matter of debate . ( Check that out online .) I do believe it ’ s a combination of all of it . Even Steve Gadd ( one of the greatest drummers of all time ) said the same thing about his skill … that it wasn ’ t just one thing … it was all of the elements that made him the drummer that he is today . So let ’ s talk about several things to do as a drummer to get that “ feel ” thing to become part of your drumming .
1 . LISTEN , LISTEN , AND LISTEN SOME MORE . AND … KEEP ON LISTENING . Never stop listening to lots of music . Even listen to some things you may not like in order to expand your musical vocabulary . Just in the world of worship music there is such a huge variety of styles to inspire your playing . Take some time every day to listen to something you ’ ve never heard before . Don ’ t get stuck on your favorites . And , if you feel free to do so , expand your musical listening time to other genres of music besides gospel and worship music .
2 . COPY , COPY … COPY ! I mean work out songs on the drums “ exactly like you hear it on the recording .” If you ’ ve been reading my articles for a while or have been to one of my drum clinics you ’ ve heard me say this . But I just have to keep preaching this “ drum gospel .” You learn it best by doing it like the great recordings you hear . This is true for every type of music .
3 . CONSIDER THE NUANCES . OK … So some of you are thinking yeah , yeah , yeah … I ’ ve heard that so much , but how do I really get that “ feel ” thing down ? Well … that ’ s the challenging part . It ’ s a bit of a mystery how to get all the nuances of a drum groove to work just right . It can sometimes be just changing my grip that will help me find the feel for a song . Or it might be changing sticks to get just the right tone out of the kit that gets the feel perfect . It could even be changing to a different snare or a whole other drum set . When listening carefully to a song you ’ re trying to copy are you tuning your kit for the vibe you are trying to emulate ? That ’ s super important . Don ’ t get stuck in just one sound . It ’ s also vital to balance the way you hit different parts of the kit to create the feel you need for a particular song .
4 . LEARN TO RELAX . A huge part of finding the “ feel ” is learning to totally relax when you play . I almost always can
feel the stiffness in the groove if I ’ m not relaxing . Sure , there are times you ’ re really working hard to execute a drum part , but it ’ s vital to keep everything flowing freely when you play . Be sure to breathe freely , keep your body loose , and let the music flow as you ’ re trying to get a particular groove to feel great .
5 . RECORD YOUR PERFORMANCES TO EVALUATE YOUR WORK . “ The tape does NOT lie .” This allows you to change anything about your playing or the kit itself to get the right results . Remember it ’ s not even about perfection as much as how the drum part sounds with all the other parts of the song . How your playing feels in context is the most important thing . Sometimes getting a great feel for a song happens when you as the drummer become more aware of the sound of the whole band .
So keep working on that “ feel ” thing . And let everything else you do serve that goal . “ It don ’ t mean a thing if it ain ’ t got that “ feel ” thing .” Have fun as you play and pour your heart and soul into the music . That will help bring all of the elements together and will be the key to getting just the right feel for any music .
Peace all . Carl
Carl Albrecht Professional drummer for 30 + years , playing with Paul Baloche , Don Moen , Ron Kenoly , Abe Laboriel , LeAnn Rimes and others . He ’ s also a clinician , author & pastor . Contact Carl for coaching , online lessons , producing , or sessions . I ’ m still growing too .. www . CarlAlbrecht . com LMAlbrecht @ aol . com