Noise Organizer

GROOVE OF THE MONTH

May 7th, 2012

In this CM blog we are going to check out the groove David Garibaldi created and recorded for the song “Oakland Stroke” by Tower of Power.

I would like to say this one is simple & sweet but it’s not both. It’s definitely sweet.

He actually created the groove for this tune rehearsing with the band on a practice pad kit. Check out these video links of him laying it down.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyTV4tzRKpM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAfi3MilfUg

Have fun with this one and take your time. Patience, great technique and plenty of practicing will guide you on the right path to execute this groove.

Have fun and we’ll see you soon.
Jeff Salem A.K.A. Noise Organizer

ENVIRO DRUM (Earth Day)

April 13th, 2012

Earth Day falls on April 22nd and is in its 42nd year.

It’s a day in a year on which events are held worldwide to increase awareness and appreciation of the Earth’s natural environment. Earth Day is now celebrated in more than 175 countries every year. In my contribution to Earth Day, the formation of my group Enviro Drum spreads awareness of preserving our environment including the importance of recycling. We achieve this in a percussive musical concert performance to student of all ages in schools. Our percussion instruments are made out of recyclable products. During our shows we highlight the 3 big R’s “REDUCE, RECYCLE & REUSE”.

We are based out of the Toronto area and have been together for over 3 years. We have performed at approx. 100 schools in Toronto and in the GTA as well as private shows for companies such as Winner’s, Loblaw’s, The City of Brampton and more.

Band Members:

Jeff Salem- Percussion/vocals
Matt McFarland- Percussion/vocals
Miles Gibbons- Percussion/vocals
Casey MQ – Keys/Lead vocals
Nina Cutrone – Bass/vocals

We feel it’s very important for the young generation to know the value of recycling and preserving our environment. What better way than an interactive concert performance. We discuss as well musical topics such as styles of music, rhythms, beats, pitch, etc… and relate it to the school arts curriculum.

Throughout the show we also share important environmental statistics such as:

“If every ton of plastic is recycled we save the equivalent of 2 peoples energy use for 1 year”.

“1 Billion Trees worth of paper are thrown away every year in North America”

Check out the following links to see some of our performances.

http://www.bramptonguardian.com/community/article/808489–brampton-band-trash-talks-to-kids (Brampton Guardian interview and video)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kf2EwENGmnU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3owKNsyzZWI&feature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HpxvjhN2FIE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE701qvhnVM

Great Pumpkin Party, Brampton 2011

Become a fan of ours on facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Enviro-Drum/176505789034034

Live, breathe, enjoy and practice every day as Earth Day.

Jeff Salem (A.K.A.) Noise Organizer

“FEELS SO GOOD” TD-30 V-DRUMS

March 27th, 2012

Now I am not referring to the Chuck Mangione tune, which does make you feel good listening to it.
However, I am talking about the Roland TD 30 V-Drum kit “The Super Natural”.

Natural is the key word here.

For many years a challenge drummers have faced when playing on an electronic kit is the ability to perform, execute and deliver their ideas dynamically in the same manner that would happen naturally on an acoustic kit.
I have heard many drummers say: “An electronic serves its purpose for a certain genera of music say, pop, hip-hop, rap,etc… However, I would not want to use these on a jazz. Latin or funk gig”.

The question is why?

Many have felt it was difficult for the snare, hihats and ride cymbal to respond naturally to ones playing.
We’ll that has all changed now.

I had a chance last month to get a demo on the TD-30 and I was blown away by how it responded to my dynamic “natural” playing.

I have about 5 funky grooves that were always a challenge for me to get the little nuances in the grooves out from an electronic kit. They have quick open and closed 16th hihat patterns and intricate grace notes on the snare.
When I played them on the TD-30, I closed my eyes and thought I was playing an acoustic kit. I was able to execute these grooves.

WOW!!!

Not only does this kit offer natural response to ones playing, it also features many incredible sounds as well as other state of the art technology ideas that today’s modern drumming can use.

I encourage everyone to take it for a test ride. I think you will be amazed at the results.
Don’t be surprised to find me using this on a jazz bop gig sometime in the near future.

Stay tune for some of my up and coming video drum lessons which will feature this kit.

Here is a link with the specs. on the TD-30 as well as a video demo by many great international drummers. Listen to what they have to say about this amazing kit.

http://www.roland.com/products/en/TD-30KV/ (specs.)

http://www.roland.com/video/page.cfm?id=104075786002 (video link)

Talk to you soon 
Jeff Salem (A.K.A.) Noise Organizer

KickPort: More Bass Drum Please!

March 5th, 2012

Whether I’d be playing a club date, wedding in a banquet hall or an arena, it was always important for me to have a nice mix in my monitor.
If I didn’t have a separate monitor mix, it was important that I could hear a nice balance between my drum kit and the rest of the band on stage.
If there was ever something buried in the mix on stage, it was usually my kick drum.
It is so important that we hear and feel the punch and depth of our bass drum. Many times I have performed gigs and felt frustrated not hearing my kick drum properly, even using a microphone on it.
Have no fear fellow drummers a solution is here.
Let me introduce you to The KickPort
This insert provides exactly what you want from your kick drum, more punch, more bass and less ring. Based on the design of a subwoofer, the KickPort enhances the low end you feel, even lower than your ears can hear. Limiting the amount of dampening to the head, the KickPort allows the drum to resonate beautifully providing the best possible tone for your kick drum. Get rid of those pillows or blankets that choke the vibrations of the shell and use a KickPort for the best sound around.

The KickPort Drum Insert applies subwoofer technology to your bass drum giving you low end you feel, even lower than your ears can hear. Additionally, it adds ideal dampening to the head which allows you to reclaim all that valuable resonant space inside your beautiful drum. So now you are free to remove that giant sleeping pillow choking the vibrations of the shell and replace it with minimal internal dampening.
You will get a much richer tone by allowing your drum to use more of its own voice, giving it more punch by enhancing the low frequencies, adding warm compression, and increasing resonance inside the drum.

Simply more punch, better batter head response, a much improved kick presence for the audience via your live or studio engineer. More so, you will feel and hear all those beautiful things whether or not you are mic’d up. For more information please visit:
http://www.kickport.com/

Here is what many artists have to say about this amazing product.

http://www.kickport.com/roster.html

The great thing about the KickPort is that it’s portable, affordable and looks cool. Check it out today.

Regards,

Jeff Salem (A.K.A.) Noise Organizer

DRUM SET TUNING TIPS

February 15th, 2012

When I bought my first drum set, the sales person at the store came over to set them up and tune them. I had no idea what he was doing and I thought once he was done tuning, that was it.
I figured I would never have to use a drum key again.

WRONG.
Its not like putting new tires on your car which will hopefully last for years.

Drums need constant attention in order to sound good consistently which requires regular tuning.

Just like a guitar which is taken out of its case to be played, it will have to be tuned almost every time.
This is similar to when I play a gig. Once I set up my kit, I usually am making minor tuning adjustments to make them sound good.

Much more attention in tuning is required when you need to replace your drum heads.
For those of you who are a little scared to pick up a drum key and experiment with your own drums sounds, I hope the information in this blog will make you feel more confident.

Tuning Glossary

Batter head — or the TOP head: this is the head that is struck with the stick.
Resonant head — or the BOTTOM head: the head that controls the drum’s resonance.
Tension Rod — the bolt that goes through holes in the rim, used to pull the head down across the bearing edge, and tighten or loosen for tuning.
Lugs — The metal casings attached to the drum into which the tension rods screw to tune the head. (When discussing tuning, lugs and tuning rods are often interchanged.)
Drum Key — A small T-shaped, wrench used to turn tension rods. Most often keys and rods are square-headed.
Bearing Edge — the edge of the drum shell where the drum head lays. Like the part of a pot where the lid sits.
Rim — metal hoop used to hold the head. Tension rods go through the holes and into the lugs to tension the head.
Hoop — large rim for a bass drum; usually made of wood.
Zero-ring — An O-shaped piece of plastic the diameter of a drum used to slightly muffle it, by laying on top of the head. Can be cut out of old heads or purchased.
Snare Drum
Bottom Head: The bottom head doesn’t have the impact on the top head tone as it does on the toms.The bottom head of a snare drum is there to provide a vibrating surface for the snares. Tuning the bottom head is mostly about snare vibration.

The rule of thumb is this:
 The tighter the bottom head, then more the snares will vibrate.
 The looser the bottom head, the less the snares will vibrate.
Top Head: The tuning of the top head is more of a personal taste thing, again depending on the type of music you’re playing. If you’re playing rock which requires a lower, fatter sound, then tune the top head more loosely. Music that requires a higher, articulated sound would see the top head tuned very high. But, of course, this is all a matter of personal taste.

Bass Drum
Head Tension: You want it pretty loose. Start out with the batter head just tight enough to take any wrinkles out of the head. If you get a decent response from the head with the beater, go with that. It will be thick and phat, with that in-your-chest feeling. If you’re not getting enough rebound from the beater, try tightening two or four tension rods. Sometimes that’s all it takes. Tightening the front (resonant or audience) head can also give the batter head more rebound.
Hole in front head: Cut a hole in the front head. This allows air to escape the drum very quickly and will resonant less. A hole in the head much bigger than six inches will yield the same result as having no front head. The head will barely resonant.

Toms
Relationship between heads on the toms (top and bottom). You have three options when it comes to the tuning of the bottom head:
 The same pitch as the top head
 A higher pitch than the top head
 A lower pitch than the top head
The two heads the same pitch
This will produce a warm, round tone with lots of sustain. “Bong.” The attack can be sharp (depending on the tension of the batter head), and the decay will be long, with no variation in pitch as the sound dies. Overtones are usually not affected.
The bottom head lower than the top head
The decay and sustain are diminished somewhat, the sound is rounder, and the tone deeper – even if the pitch is the same (remember, when you raise or lower the pitch of one head relative to the other, the pitch of the entire drum – when struck while suspended – will either raise or lower. To keep the pitch the same, you will have to change the opposing head in the other direction). The pitch will remain constant through the decay. Overtones are minimized a bit.
The bottom head higher than the top head
Here’s where things get interesting! The effect is similar to bottom head lower in terms of sustain and overall tone, but the pitch of the drum will drop somewhat through the decay! This is how you get that cool “bwow” sound!

Basic Drum Head over view :
 Thick heads will have a lower pitch than thin heads.
 Coated heads will muffle out unwanted overtones better than uncoated heads.
 Dotted heads and reverse dotted will also muffle overtones.
 Double-ply heads will produce a rounder, warmer tone than single-ply heads, and will also muffle overtones better.
 Fluid heads will produce a rounder, warmer tone than standard double-ply heads.
 Heads with “Sound Control Rings” ( Emad and the EC2) will reduce overtones.

Video Links on Tuning

Bass Drum tips with Bob Gatzen : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ga8Q12mKYxI&feature=related

Snare Drum tips with Bob Gatzen : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qxm3QunDjUs

Tom tips with Bob Gatzen : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJ9Unab1OzU&feature=related

Melodic Drumming with Jeff Salem :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxVQWItBeQQ

Have fun tuning.

Jeff Salem A.K.A. Noise Organizer

STUDENT INSPIRES TEACHER

January 30th, 2012

In my 20 plus years teaching, nothing excites me more than the commitment, dedication, passion and love students show for their drumming. Whether it’s a 5 year old playing to a song perfectly in time or an older student getting accepted into a college/university music program, these positive actions and results excite and inspire me.
I have seen many of my students go on to make a professional career out of their drumming.
Some have done it with a band, as a studio player, school teacher, author or an educator.

My newest inspiration is a very young and talented 18 year old musician named Matthew Chalmers.
Notice I said musician not just a drummer. Too many times we as drummers never get recognized as musicians.

As the old joke goes:
Q: What do you call the guy who hangs out with the musicians in the band?
A: The drummer.
We’ll not in the case with Matthew Chalmers.
I first met Matthew 9 years ago at a high school music camp in Huntsville, ON that his parents John and Wendy invited me to teach at.
They are both very experienced high school music teachers that are dedicated to their students. What great role models for Matthew.

I remember asking Matthew when we first met what bands he liked. His answer was: Oscar Peterson, Wynton Marsalis, Phil Collins, Earth Wind & Fire, The Beatles and many other talented artists.

I couldn’t believe a 9 year old was listening to such amazing musicians and groups.
At this camp the students would have the opportunity to go skiing.

Matthew chose to stay behind at the lodge to practice his drums and even spend some time learning the piano as everyone else was on the slopes.

He started to study privately with me for about 3 years as well with percussionist Steve Mancuso.
By the time he was 13 he was selected as a drummer and vibraphonist for the Yamaha All Star Band and continued this for three years. As he entered high school I missed not seeing him yearly at this camp in Huntsville. He was becoming very busy as a freelance musician.
At this stage Matthew had such a desire to be the best he could and had a hunger to learn from many great musicians and educators including Barry Romberg, Larnell Lewis, Kirk MacDonald, Brian Dickinson, Barry Elmes, Ari Hoenig, Mike Malone, and Raul Rekow.

He has been the recipient of numerous awards including performing and composing scholarships to the Kincardine Summer Music Festival, entrance scholarships to Humber College, full scholarship to “The Ultimate Drum Camp”, being named Zildjian’s Outstanding Young Drummer at the National Finals of Music Fest Canada four times, receiving the Music Industries Association of Canada (MIAC) scholarship for outstanding instrumental performance as well as the Lou Williamson Scholarship for Outstanding Drumset Player. Most recently, The Hnatyshyn Foundation awarded Matthew with the Oscar Peterson $10,000 Grant for Jazz Performance.

He recently led his own sextet, a group that featured his own compositions and arrangements. He was featured on drums and vibes at the Port Hope All Canadian Jazz Festival in both September 2009 and 2010 as part of the TD Canada Trust Young Jazz Showcase. Matthew was part of “Manhattan on the Rideau: A Jazz Videoconference Master Class Series” with vibraphonist Stefon Harris in 2009 and 2010. Matthew also plays drums every Sunday at Heart Lake United Church in Brampton.

Last winter Matthew had the opportunity to come up and perform at the camp in Huntsville. He was 17 and it was incredible to hear him not only on the drums but on the vibes.
We had the chance to play together some of the most amazing compositions he written and arranged.
Check out this clip of Matthew performing as well as Google his name for more great performing clips.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fDaP8y3hVLM&feature=endscreen&NR=1

Currently Matthew is in his first year at Humber College in Toronto and is in the “A” jazz band.
A very difficult seat to fill for someone in their first year at this college.

Thank you for all of your continuous inspiration Matthew.

For teaching and gigging inquiries, Matthew can be reached at:
Email: chalmers.matthew@gmail.com
Cell: 416-561-6158

Warm Regards,
Jeff Salem (A.K.A.) Noise Organizer

CUSTOM BASS DRUM DESIGNS

January 18th, 2012

I remember when I joined my first band with a bunch of high school friends. The most important thing for me was that we sounded and looked cool.
To enhance that appeal I wanted to design our bands logo and have that displayed on the front of my bass drum head.
The band was called “BLACKSMITH”.
I wasn’t much of an artist but I use to doodle different logos that I thought looked unique.
Once I settled on one and the band agreed with the look and font, my goal was to try and reproduce it on the front of my bass drum head.
What a challenge that was. I tried painting it on with many different types of paints and brands. Finally I did it with many coats later, however after a couple of hard hitting rehearsals the letters would slowly chip off of the head from all the vibrations.
At one point the bands named looked like “LACK IT”.
I still didn’t give up to make our logo presentable. I tried using stickers with our name, but it didn’t look slick.
Even many years later with other bands I performed with, it was always a struggle to have our logo look professional.
At one point we had an artist use a special paint and made my bass drum heads look cool but it was a few hundred dollars. Big bucks for the 80’s. (See photo: 21 Gunns) Sorry for the poor quality. This was a polaroid shot scanned

Well fellow drummers, put away your paint brushes and have no fear, Inked by Evans is here.
www.inkedbyevans.com

Evans drum heads has opened up a world for you to be as creative as possible with no limitations in designing your custom bass drum head in sizes from 18”-26”. Inked by Evans is quick, simple, efficient, inexpensive, professional looking and durable.
You can even add the logo of most major drum brands on the head such as Pearl,Tama, etc…
The sky is the limit with color choices, uploads, pre set designs and fonts. Here are a few examples of bass drum heads that friends of mine created. Enjoy!

Please email me any cool designs you have created at jsalem@sympatico.ca

Jeff Salem (A.K.A.) Noise Organizer

GROOVE OF THE MONTH

January 4th, 2012

In this week’s blog we are going to check out the groove in the tune “Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground) by The Jacksons which was released at the end in 1978 and peaked in the Spring of 1979.

Many of my students have asked me “what is the drummer doing in this song”?

First of all, the drummer Ed Greene who laid down the groove recorded three separate drum parts.

Part 1: the kick & snare pattern

Part 2: the toms

Part 3: the funky hihat pattern.

I have seen many drummers play this groove various ways either keeping it simple with 4 on the floor and 8th notes on the hihat or them trying to emulate all the parts.

The groove I have written below is the way I approach the tune. I have experimented with some slight variations but have found this to work and sit the best with the band.

To execute this groove properly, one must play it “Open Handed” as we discussed the advantages of playing this way in last week’s blog.

Here is a link to the song. The funky open hihat part doesn’t enter until the first chorus. Take your time, start slow, make it groove and most of all have fun.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkgcZYfREKE

Jeff Salem (A.K.A.) Noise Organizer

http://www.alfred.com/Products/Advanced-Techniques-for-the-Modern-Drummer–00-0681B.aspx

OPEN HANDED PLAYING

December 21st, 2011

Open-handed playing refers to a method of playing the drum set without crossing the hands when playing the hihat or ride cymbal and snare drum simultaneously as opposed to the more traditional way of playing drums which features crossed hands as the basic playing position.

When playing open-handed, left-handed (and right-footed) drummers will play the hi-hat with their left hand (instead of the right hand) and the snare with the right hand.

However, there are right handed drummers who have developed their ambidexterity on the drum set as referenced in Jim Chapin’s book “Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer Vol. 1″

In addition, setting up hi-hats and ride-cymbals on both sides of the drum kit will also help to avoid the crossing of hands which limits the range of musical options. Absolute beginners often choose this open-handed way of playing as their first and natural attempt to drumming.

Pioneers of open-handed playing are drummers like Billy Cobham and Lenny White who started this way of playing in the late 60′s and early 70′s.

Even before Billy and Lenny, drum legend Jim Chapin pushed the idea of playing open-handed in his groundbreaking work on coordinated independence “Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer Vol. 1″.
As well, open-handed exercises could be found in Gary Chester’s book “The New Breed”.

http://www.gary-chester.com/publications/books.html

Many other great drummers to check out who play open handed are Simon Phillips, Carter Beauford, Will Kennedy, Dom Famularo, Claus Hessler and the list goes on with many new up and coming drummers choosing this way to express their playing.

The first drum set method book ever written expressly on the issue of playing open-handed is “Open Handed Playing Volume 1” and most recently “Open Handed Playing: A Step Above Volume 2” by Dom Famularo and Claus Hessler available through Wizdom Media.

http://wizdom-media.com/index.html

(These are great books that are a must for all drummers. I recommend these to all my students.)

Dom and Claus have taken the open handed playing concept to the next level expressing the logic and creative expression one can have playing in this manner.

I had the chance to meet and see Claus perform last month at the PASIC show in Indianapolis. His clinic presentation was incredible, inspiring and motivating.

Check out this performance piece by Claus at PASIC 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GhRcLVvRf6c

http://www.claushessler.com/html/

Just seeing him play with a relax and musical approach inspired me to pursue the open handed concept further.
The best way to start is to take a simple 8th note groove you are comfortable with and play it slowing at first open handed.

Try applying this to a simple 8th note based tune. I do this to “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson on gigs and see if the band members notice any difference in the groove from the traditional way I use to play the song.
Here is a great video of Dom Famularo sharing his views and ways to get started playing open handed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJ5YfRHmT00

http://www.domfamularo.com/

There are many great songs with the grooves played and recorded in the open handed style. Check out the groove for “Don’t Stop Believing’’ by the band Journey.

The drummer Steve Smith created such unique parts for this song. Here is a link to a video with Steve demonstrating his ideas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RyueXH0MNwE

Imagine the challenge one would have to play this in a traditional style crossing the right hand over the left.

Have an open mind and challenge yourself today to work on some ideas in the open handed style. You will be amazed at what creative ideas come out of you.

Be patient, stay relaxed, be musical and most of all, have fun.

Happy Holidays
Jeff Salem (A.K.A.) Noise Organizer