New Inspiration: Practice Slowly

Regular readers of this blog know that I’m also a drummer in addition to my various business interests. Having played the instrument for nearly 25 years, I’m always on the lookout for sources of new inspiration. I was just reading an interview in Modern Drummer with Jeff Ballard. He’s the “new” guy (he’s over 50) playing with Chick Corea and Pat Metheny. This one comment blew my mind and though he’s talking specifically about the drums, it of course applies to everything:

“When you practice, at all times try to pull the best sound you can out of the drum or cymbal. And playing very slowly will give you the time to digest all kinds of information. Again, be sure to practice slowly. it really helps.”

New inspiration, indeed!

4 Responses to “New Inspiration: Practice Slowly”

  1. Matt Peschel Says:

    So….it’s like drumming in 24 bit rather than 16 bit eh? It’s funny, in the old days, faster tape speed caught more information. Are we drifting into quantum mechanics versus the laws of physics? How far do you think bit depth resolution will go? Also now we’re up to 196K sample rate. Personally, I can’t afford more than 24bit/48K.

    Now get to work on those polyrythyms…..

  2. Matt Peschel Says:

    So….it’s like drumming in 24 bit rather than 16 bit eh? It’s funny, in the old days, faster tape speed caught more information. Are we drifting into quantum mechanics versus the laws of physics? How far do you think bit depth resolution will go? Also now we’re up to 196K sample rate. Personally, I can’t afford more than 24bit/48K.
    Now get to work on those polyrythyms…..

  3. Victor Cajiao Says:

    Wow Dave great find. Metheny is my idol. It’s amazing how he keeps getting drummers like Paul Wertico, Sanchez and now Ballard who go way beyond having chops. As a sax player I must have had a pretty wise teacher in College. I had to practice all my recital pieces at 1/2 tempo and then do a performance of them to him before I could perform them full tempo. It was a pain , but I did get better as a result. Too bad I don’t practice that method as much in business. Seems like in the web if your are not in “cut” time you just lose.

  4. Victor Cajiao Says:

    Wow Dave great find. Metheny is my idol. It’s amazing how he keeps getting drummers like Paul Wertico, Sanchez and now Ballard who go way beyond having chops. As a sax player I must have had a pretty wise teacher in College. I had to practice all my recital pieces at 1/2 tempo and then do a performance of them to him before I could perform them full tempo. It was a pain , but I did get better as a result. Too bad I don’t practice that method as much in business. Seems like in the web if your are not in “cut” time you just lose.

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