Well, if you're a fulltime player with no 'day' job to speak of, then you have the time to master these. I mean guys like Vinnie have.
In your opinion whats more imoportant;
1. Technique
2. Reading skills
3. Groove
Because honestly a lifetime is not enough to master all this, and if it so, you have to be alone in this planet with no distractions.
Anyone with opinion and/or a method please share...
Well, if you're a fulltime player with no 'day' job to speak of, then you have the time to master these. I mean guys like Vinnie have.
To quote Peter Erskine:
"Everything is Timekeeping"
Timekeeping is the most important thing.
Time, groove, technique, and coordination are equally important and completely interrelated.
Poor technique and underdeveloped coordination can interfere with timekeeping(your body will get in your way, so to speak).
Groove is entirely dependent on time- good technique and coordination will help in the execution.
I would place reading last, but it's not unimportant. Being able to read and write music will help you improve in all the above areas. It will help you to communicate with other musicians and also give you access to learning materials.
Then there's musicality and taste...this is how you put everything into musical context(for better or for worse).
Re this:
?In your opinion what?s more important;
1. Technique
2. Reading skills
3. Groove ?
I?d say none of the above. I?d say musicality.
All of the above are a subset of tools one uses to serve the music, based on the situation at the time. They are important, and great to have, but if not employed musically, things get ugly quickly.
?Because honestly a lifetime is not enough to master all this, and if it so, you have to be alone in this planet with no distractions.?
Then how does one explain the numerous people who use these skills daily on gigs, CDs, soundtracks, tours, etc. all over ht world? As far as I know, they aren?t dead yet ? yet they appear to have a pretty good grasp of these skills.
Good answeres already. It's a no brainer, really.
Musicality in groove / time / pocket.
As was said, all are inter- & co-related.
But great pocket WITH musicality of accompaniment is prority # 1...which makes the music feel good to the listener AWA the bandmates.
To play the Right Thing At The Right TIME with good-feeling TIME is more important than chops. Billy Ward's credo/mantle says it well. Technq can be debated & has been many times in here in the past - technq required to pull off what is needed.
Guys like VC, DW, Hass, Gratton, Husband, & Chambers [etc] have an incredible arsenal of chops / "technq", yet they had / have the mastery of the time first &/or at the same time. Whether you like their feel or not is a matter of personal opin; there's no denying these cats are masters of the time. I personally happen to like all their "feel," as each is different yet still on the same plane & page, level-wise [except for maybe VC! ;cP].
Erskine, Gadd, Jeff, Carlos, Kennedy, Hakim, [et al] all have / had considerable "chops" arsenals AW, yet these guys are also masters of time / groove / pocket / feel / musicality first. They would all tell you, groove / pocket first. Musicality within it is just a natural extension of this ideal, also. When these guys "think" aka "feel" groove, they are thinking music[-ality] & time, anyway, regardless.
Personally, I prefer the feel of these guys more than say the newer "automaton" or "cyborg" drummers, who can waste you w their unbelievable metric modulation, independence, & chops skills w machine like timing, altho I DO laud their accomplishments AWA enjoy listening to their complete & respectable command & expertise [years of practice & hard-work]. No denying that, for sure. They, too, are masters of the time in their own post-click-track era! [Virg may be an exception, as he seems to have more feel than some of the others in this category, at least to me & mine, anyway...Not meaning to start another cr*p-throw-contest!] ;cP
A guy like Abe Jr may not have the necessity to floor you w a bunch of chops on a regular basis, but his feel is tremendous, which is most important. And he has big ears [Not like Dumbo tho...Sorry Abe [img]tongue.gif[/img] ]
I would never detract from the ability to read, as this can indeed help you immensely with work - perhaps with less effort & more quickly...altho some guys who are indeed great players cannot read that well, they just have HUGE ears & TONS of feel & time, & the experience to prove it...so then it just goes back to what's more important, what was said in the first place. [img]wink.gif[/img]
Your "handle" [name] here practically shows that you already know the answer to your own question... [img]wink.gif[/img]
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ March 02, 2005 03:55 PM: Message edited by: fuseU1 ]</font>
to me music is a language. it's communication. with other musicians and the listener. groove is an extension of a personal style. and different people relate to different style choices.
for me groove is subjective. technically speaking everything anyone plays is a groove. it's just that most of us have a specific idea of what a good groove is. but what ever you play "is a groove" of sorts.
it's shaped by technique and vocabulary.
that's where technique and reading come in. if you can read, you can expand your vocabulary. if you have proficient technique you can add to the new vocabulary faster and easier.
the more knowledge you have the easier it is to communicate musically in any situation.
it also depends on what you want to do. if you are in a punk band,blues band,rock band ect playing covers and or originals. reading isn't important. groove is.
technique is a prerequiset for anything. you can't play anything without some form of technique.
i suppose technique comes down to the style of music you are playing. if you are playing something precise, or complicated or if speed is involved you need technique. especially to make the "groove" feel right.
if you want to play in a wedding band, do sessions, t.v., or movie work reading is very important. you can't play anything if you can't read and you don't get the tunes ahead of time.
i also thing it's like life in general.
what's more important, knowing how to speak a language with conviction and communicate your thoughts well however simple they might be.
or, having great diction and articulation when speaking.
or, being able to read and write everything you say.
chris perra
I'm leaning towards technique being the most important and here's why:
guys like VC and DW and seemed more "technical" in the past and now they have a smoother, more groove oriented thing happening. So the question is "does being technical facilitate groove?" I'd say to a large degree, yes. But then I think of guys like bernard purdie and think no. But what I think is important is that VC and DW have the technical means to play a monster groove. While guys like Purdie have monster grooves, I lean towards technique being a precursor to that groove more often than not. But also remember the grooves may not exist w/o the music. I once read a description of a Berklee class "why drums groove" or something like that. I've often wondered if drums by themselves groove or if its the music that makes it groove.
Good posts.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">True, that.technique is a prerequiset for anything. you can't play anything without some form of technique
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