< PreviousModern Drummer August 2022 68 The beats in this section are written with a quarter note RIDE. Here are some suggestions for other RIDE patterns: As with the sixteenth note beats, most of the bass drum patterns in this section are designed around a 2 and 4 snare pattern. Any triplet hand pattern with a snare accent on the 2 and 4 can be played with these bass drum patterns. For example, the single stroke roll (RLR - LRL - RLR – LRL) with R playing the RIDE and L playing the SNARE.August 2022 Modern Drummer 69 Check out Joe’s Modern Drummer profile page and get your copy of Double Bass Drumming at moderndrummer.comModern Drummer July 2022 70 Realistic 7/8 time This year Modern Drummer has been celebrating the 50th anniversary of Carmine Appice’s groundbreaking book, Ultimate Realistic Rock. In the last few months, we have included Carmine’s beats based around quarter notes, eighth notes, accented bass drum notes, and sixteenth notes. In the next few months we will print some excerpts from the more advanced sections of the book. This month we will include an excerpt from Carmine’s section on playing in the 7/8 time signature. This is one of the sections that was added to the new Ultimate Realistic Rock. As you will see, in the new odd time section of the book, Carmine makes playing in odd times as easy as playing in 4/4. Odd time signatures are no longer a challenge. Realistic Rock 7/8 timing Welcome to the odd time signatures of Realistic Rock. In this section we will learn how to play in the 7/8 time signature. In 4/4 we have eight eighth notes in one bar and in 7/8 we have seven eighth notes in one bar. Counting out loud and repeating each count will only increase your ability to feel natural with these odd time signatures. Once comfortable, each downbeat will be easily anticipated as if you were playing in 4/4. Emphasizing the one of each count with your bass drum will speed up the process! The count is simple: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, sev. Saying SEV instead of seven makes it easier to count, so that all the counts are one syllable. Remember count over and over 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, sev; 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, sev, etc. It is important to note that 7/8 grooves will change the note values in relation to 4/4. Example: Eighth notes = one beat Sixteenth notes = half a beat Eighth notes are now counted 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, sev. Sixteenth notes are now counted 1 &, 2 &, 3 &, 4 &, 5 &, 6 &, 7 &, etc. Sixteenth note triplets are now counted 1 & a, 2 & a, 3 &a , 4 & a, 5 &a, 6 & a, 7 & a, etc In order to make each exercise easier to read, think of them as bars of 4/4 stopping where the & of four should be. We now think of the & of 4 as beat 1. In other words, in 7/8 we cut off the last eighth note of the 4/4 bar. Count 1 &, 2 &, 3 &, 4, 1 &, 2 &, 3 &, 4 etc. There is no space between 4 and 1 when counting. As previously mentioned, emphasize the count of 1 (the downbeat) with your bass drum in order to feel comfortable with 7/8 times signature. Good luck! Now go to Ex. 1 One and have some fun. Realistic 7/8 Time—Eighth Notes 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œ Œ e ‰ ŒŒŒ‰ SD BD HH/Cym 1. 1234567 optional ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œ Œ œ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 SD BD HH 2. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 SD BD HH 3. ‘‘‘ DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CODE INSIDEJuly 2022 Modern Drummer 71 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœ Œ‰ J œ ‰ Œ 5 œ Œ j 5 SD BD HH 4. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 55 Œ j 5 SD BD HH 5. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœ Œ œœ ‰ Œ j 5 ‰Œ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym 6. zzzzzzz œœ Œ‰ J œ ‰ Œ 5 œ Œ j 5 ´ 2 ´ 2 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 5 œ Œ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym 7. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœœœœœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym 8. ‘‘‘ 22 Eight-Bar Exercise 8 7 . . zzzzzzz œœ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym 6. zzzzzzz œ Œ œ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 zzzzzzz œœœœ ‰ Œ 5 œ Œ j 5 zzzzzzz œ ŒŒ‰ ŒŒŒ‰ zzzzzzz œ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5Modern Drummer July 2022 72 22. . zzzzzzz œ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 zzzzzzz œœœœœœœ Œ 5 Œ j 5 zzzzzzz œœœœœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 Realistic 7/8 Time—Sixteenth Notes 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym 1. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz . œœ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 SD BD HH 2. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz . œœ Œ œœœ ‰ Œ 5 ≈ r 5 ‰ j 5 SD BD HH 3. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœœ Œ œœœ ‰ ≈ r 5 ‰ 5 ≈ r 5 ‰ j 5 SD BD HH 4. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœ ‰ Œ 5 œœœœ j 5 SD BD HH 5. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz . œœ ‰ Œ 5 œœœœ j 5 SD BD HH 6. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz ‰ œœœ 5 œœœœ j 5 SD BD HH 7. ‘‘‘July 2022 Modern Drummer 73 8 7 . . zzzzzzz . œœ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym zzzzzzz œœ Œ œœ ‰ Œ 55 Œ j 5 zzzzzzz œœ ‰ œœœ 5 œ Œ j 5 zzzzzzz œœ Œ‰ Œ 5 œœœ j 5 zzzzzzz Œ‰ œœœ 5 œœœ j 5 . . zzzzzzz œœœ Œ œœœ ‰ Œ 5 Œ j 5 zzzzzzz ‰ œœœ 5 œœœœ j 5 zzzzzzz ‰ 5 œœ 5 œœ 5 œœ j 5 7/8 Time—Sixteenth Notes Eight-Bar Exercise 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœ Œ‰ Œ 5 œœœ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym 8. zzzzzzz Œ‰ œœœ 5 œœœ j 5 ´ 2 ´ 2 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz œœœ Œ‰ Œ 5 œœœ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym 9. ‘‘‘ 8 7 . . . . zzzzzzz . œœ ŒŒ‰ Œ 5 ≈ 5 œ j 5 SD BD HH/Cym 10. ‘‘‘ Check out Carmine’s Modern Drummer profile page and his book collection at moderndrummer.com DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CODE INSIDEModern Drummer August 2022 74 Dan Mayo: Breaking the Norm of How Drums Sound By Raghav Mehrotra D an Mayo is the definition of unique, in the best way possible. He started his musical journey at the age of three, and by the time he was six, Dan was exposed to (arguably) the best form of learning, playing with other musicians. He went from genre to genre absorbing all the information he could while performing in his home city of Tel Aviv, Israel. That was where he was exposed to many different musical cultures. Since then, Mayo has been curating a unique sound that is unmistakably him. He combines his drums with guitar effects pedals to present the instrument in a totally new light. This unmistakable sound can be heard on recordings with his band TATRAN and performing with artists such as Ester Rada at major festivals such as the Montreux Jazz Festival, Atlanta Jazz Festival, and the Rotterdam Jazz Festival. In this interview, we dive into how Dan’s musical influences have shaped his approach to understanding music and creating his sound, as well as the intricacies behind his creative process. MD: What drew you to drumming? DM : To be honest, I don’t know! I was surrounded by music from a young age; that’s the best way to say it. My cousins are musicians, so I grew up in rehearsal rooms and constantly saw musicians coming in and out to practice and perform. On a deeper level, I feel as though drums are the easiest method I can employ to express myself. I sometimes have a hard time expressing myself with words, not just in English but in Hebrew (which is another language I speak.) However, when I play, everything clears up—it’s like a native language to me. MD : Are there any specific records that you listened to that helped you discover drums? DM: My father listened to a lot of classic rock bands when I was growing up—stuff like Rush and Led Zeppelin. From there I discovered James Brown and other funk artists. Actually, now that I think about it, before discovering funk, I listened to a lot of prog- metal bands like System of a Down. Then I followed the lineage of funk musicians back to jazz, however I remember hating jazz at first. MD: I’m curious about your opposition to jazz… DM : I think my opposition to jazz stemmed from the aura that my teachers in high school placed around it. They would always tell me how great and revolutionary jazz was and how I “had to love it,” but because of that forced nature, it never really stuck. However, I remember walking to a CD store later to get some prog-metal records and coming across Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers. It was a surreal experience listening to them…I loved it. MD : Did you follow your ears when searching for these influences, or did you have some formal training? DM : Well, I wasn’t exactly the best student. The school that I was enrolled in was arts-centric, they gave us the choice to concentrate in one of three artistic disciplines: dancing, visual art (such as painting), and music. Of course, I chose music. Through that program, I was lucky enough to have a wide array of experiences playing with other musicians. I feel as though my biggest lessons came through those experiences. Those experiences taught me how musicians communicate. When you can communicate through your music, that’s when you know you are getting better. That communication can occur through musical ideas or even something like proper tone. MD: Did you start to gravitate towards different styles of music as you learned to communicate spontaneously through music? DM : You can definitely say that, yes. In addition to an increased appreciation for improv-based styles of music, I was able to dip my feet in MANY different musical cultures. Growing up in Israel also contributed to that appreciation. Israel is composed of many different cultures of music. I was playing everything from Ethiopian music, to Moroccan music, to straight-ahead jazz (Israel has a great jazz scene!) It was life changing! In a sense, going back to your previous question, for me, the best teacher was playing with all of those different musicians. Our Ariel EfronAugust 2022 Modern Drummer 75 common bond wasn’t our culture, it was (instead) our love for the music that we were playing. That enabled us to exchange many different ideas. MD: What musical ideas have you picked up from your experiences that you have found particularly helpful or intriguing? DM : Two main ideas come to mind: The first one comes from Yemini music; it’s called a Daasah. It’s in seven and it’s super groovy, it’s almost like playing funk. Through Daasah I learned the power of inner clave—when you dance to it and feel it in your bones, you can really do whatever you want with it! That taught me how to be free and instilled the ‘physical’ part of music in me, dancing. I found the second idea in Ethiopian music. That music has more of a 6-6-4 kind of rhythm. That taught me to NOT play the kick drum on every quarter note and aided the development of my internal rhythmic pulse. To me, both styles are great principles of how to be more “unique” and “free” in the grooves that I play, while still keeping the inherent “skeleton” of the style. I learned that the placement of any extraneous notes and where they should go, is up to me. MD: How do you decide where those notes should go? DM : It’s definitely a feel thing for me. A lot of the stuff I play is reactive and impulsive. If it doesn’t feel right, what’s its emotional value to the music? MD : Talk to us about your work with guitar pedals and drums. DM: I’ve always liked weird sounds. When I practice my real focus is to make the drums SOUND good. My philosophy is that if I can sound “right,” the technique will ultimately come. This is instead of me having to bend my ideal sound to fit the “correct” technique. During Covid, I was eager to start filming and recording myself; I don’t know why, it just happened. And after a while of recording my drums, I found myself wanting a sound that was just…different. I just decided to plug in a guitar pedal that I had lying around. The pedal was called the Fusionbox by Eric Synths—and I loved the sound. Then I just started adding more pedals. Offir Benjaminov, the bassist from my band TATRAN, gave me a pedal. One of my first distortion pedals was the Tremstrotion by Mattoverse. That is a tremolo and a barbaric distortion in one pedal—it sounds ridiculous on drums, like a punk teenage boy that’s looking for trouble. Each pedal that I added opened new possibilities for what sounds I could get out of the drums and HOW I played them. I have to give a shout out to Anto Nota from Deaftone, he helped me a LOT! He created the wiring on my pedalboard and built three of my most frequently used pedals: Bruut (RAT clone,) The Unknown (crazy synth fuzz,) and a spring box pedal, which essentially, just makes a lot of noise (the way I like it!) Again, I practice drums seeking new sounds. So for me, those pedals were just frankly the next inevitable thing. It’s just so much fun to just discover through that medium! MD : How does your playing differ when you’re playing with a pedalboard versus playing with only acoustic drums? DM : Great question! It’s all about working out a balance with my ears. Usually, I take three factors into account: the gain staging, how hard I’m hitting the drums, and the density of my phrases. For example, if I have a delay pedal on my drums, playing very dense phrases is just going to clutter up what’s coming from the pedal. With high gain staging, I can use the pedal almost as a second instrument. I can actually interact with the effect. I can let my notes breathe and let the settings on the pedal do the work when I’m not playing. In a way, the sounds created by the pedal in the final mix make up for when I’m not playing. I’ve also found that the way I mic the drums is important. With a dynamic microphone, I was getting some sound from the pedal, but the pedal was not able to interact with my drums unless I was bashing. With a ribbon mic, which makes a figure-eight pattern, I am able to capture everything. Everything from the high end of the toys and the cymbals to the low frequencies of the kick drum, it was truly game changing. Mic’ing with a ribbon microphone helped me discover the “ducking” effect that I am able to get when I slam the kick drum and let it breathe. The feedback that I create with the pedals is able to squeeze between the kick drum notes. That creates a certain tension and release that I love. MD : I love your fearlessness and intuitive drive. Given that, how do you further develop your playing with effects pedals? Essentially, how does one know they’re getting “better” when they are playing with such an incredibly subjective medium? A medium that may be Ariel EfronModern Drummer August 2022 76 even more subjective than playing drums? DM : I’m just chasing after what feels right to me. Presently, in my body, it feels right. When I used to practice as a kid, I’d imagine a huge crowd in front of me. When you get the rush of that performance, you learn how to play an interesting story. You learn to say something that is meaningful and feels right. Today, if I’m getting the feeling that I want to just take off my shirt and scream (in a good way,) I know I’m making a positive emotional impact on myself, and thus, to the crowd in front of me. MD: That’s a perfect way to put it. That energy is present in your videos online and it permeates the audience. DM: In a lot of the videos that you see online, I’m either just opening a pedal or just starting to play with it. That magical feeling I get when that burst of creativity washes over me is exactly what you see online. Social media, for me, is just the place to share what I’ve been discovering with the people that are willing to listen. MD : I know the gear you use is a big part of your sound, tell us about all the unique instruments you have! DM: All the gear I use emulates what I want to hear, perfectly. Put bluntly, it’s a bunch of weird stuff that makes all the unique sounds I hear in my head come to life. I got drums from A&F about five years ago. I remember my stomach shaking with the depth of the kick sound…it was incredible. I saw that they had 6” snare drums, so I got one and added it to my already eccentric setup. I started putting drums on top of each other and flipping them over, so many new ideas came to mind. I even brought my 6” snare on a rock tour and used it as a main snare. That drum is so versatile! Rami, from A&F, is searching for new sounds all the time, just like me. He was a touring musician before he started the business of making drums. It is so easy to share the excitement of finding a new sound or discovering a new drum making material with him. Not long ago, Rami sent me a kit with a 26” bass drum. That drum vibrates at 20 Hz. It’s a testament to the depth of sound that drums can create. Sound guides me. I also use Morfbeats stuff a lot. Adam Morford (the founder) creates these metal pieces that have such cool frequencies, pitches, timbres, and levels of sustain… I almost don’t use cymbals anymore! MONO has also been incredibly supportive of the idea of pedalboards for drums. Not only did they send me a pedalboard to start my journey, but they also sent me a few pedals from Teisco to explore—the Teisco delay pedal is my go-to pedal. It has a very clean and warm sound, it’s great for creating space and size. MD : Tell us about your band, TATRAN. How has the band’s sound evolved as you have evolved as a musician? DM : That’s an amazing question because we were just talking about it earlier! Our band is almost 70s driven in a way; not necessarily musically, but in the sense that we play all our music and effects live. On stage, we don’t have any computers, tracks, or synthetics. Everything we play is created LIVE. Each of the band members— Tamuz Dekel on guitar, Offir Benjaminov on bass, and me on drums—now have effects pedals. With the addition of my pedal setup, I’m really looking forward to our upcoming album. When we play, we are all interacting not only within our instruments but with each other. That interaction includes with both our pedals and our regular instruments! However, the addition of pedals on the drums has created some logistics issues. When intentional effects come through the monitors, the sounds go through the speakers and then back into the mics, that creates this infinite loop of madness. To deal with that I have to adjust the EQ and add gating. I have to suppress the pedal system with my playing a bit until I find the perfect solution. Personally, I’ve also learned the value of NOT playing a crash cymbal. I noticed that whenever I hit a crash, it’s because of an insecurity with what I am playing. That insecurity stems from my struggle to find the “right part” for the song. To fix this, on stage I started waiting a couple of seconds between iterations of a drum part. Essentially, instead of jumping to change a part that I thought wasn’t right, I let the part I’m playing marinate with the music before I change it. That process means that when I actually find that right part, it’s really worth it. Also, not adding crashes creates a really cool tension that I can resolve later with some unique combination of sounds that mimic the emotional effect of a crash cymbal. MD : That concept of crashes masking insecurity is quite intriguing! DM : Yeah, totally! I noticed that on a gig. The speed at which I have to develop the right parts to keep the audience engaged is quite fast. It has been fun developing the skill to ensure that the full musical value of my different drum parts are heard. I like to let a part shine before I move on…who knows what ideas might stem from it. Dan Mayo is endorsed by: A&F Drum Company, A&F Hardware, Meinl Cymbals, MONO, Vic Firth, Morfbeats, Mr. Muff, SE electronics, Erica Synths, Jam Pedals, Gamechanger Audio, Deaftone, Teisco, Aston mics, Chase Bliss. Check out Dan’s Modern Drummer profile page at moderndrummer.com Ben MizrahiDIGITAL DOWNLOAD CODE INSIDE Buy from your favorite retailer check out more at moderndrummer.com The Carmine Appice Library Collection Presents: DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CODE INSIDE Everything you ever wanted to know about Hi Hat Rhythms. Infinate patterns to play all styles of music. DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CODE INSIDE DIGITAL DOWNLOAD CODE INSIDENext >