October 28, 2023 - 31st Sunday Of Ordinary Time

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https://youtu.be/ 3uYRdF6rA98 - Me Playing Drums at STM ... and you can see me!

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Missing out on Playing Good Tunes

I am going out of town on Saturday and will return on Sunday. While I'm gone, at Saint Thomas More, the following tunes will be played and I have to say, the fact that I am not playing these tunes this week is sad for me. Each of the tunes listed below is a hyperlink to a YouTube version, but I'm not embedding the tunes in this post.

November 12-13, 2022 - 33rd SOT

1. O: In The Day Of The Lord - Ridge
2. G: Mass Of St. Ann - Bolduc 
3. RP:  If Today You Hear His Voice - Manibusan
4. GA: Mass Of Renewal - Stephan
5. OF: You Are Welcome Here - Muglia
6. AC: Mass Of Renewal - Stephan
7. C: Many And One - Stephan/Hard/Liles
8. S: Lead Me, Lord - Becker

I absolutely adore playing "In the Day of the Lord" now that I can play the recurring bar of 6/8, as shown in red in the first graphic below, while the 2 measures in the yellow box, as shown in the second graphic below, is probably my favorite part of the entire tune because it's probably one of the trickiest parts of any tune we play during Mass. Also, the final tune, "Lead Me, Lord" is the tune that I typically play an "Enter Sandman"-inspired tom pattern instead of playing straight time with the hi-hat and snare, which acts as a counter-balance to the medley, which is all quarter notes, as shown in the red box and then, also in the third graphic below in the purple box, the refrain has eighth notes, which is when I switch to playing 4 quarter notes on the ride, the bass on 1 and 3, and the snare on 2 and 4. The bottom line, and what I'm trying to convey is that in the verse without syncopation, my drumming is syncopated and in the refrain with syncopation, my drumming is without syncopation. I think I've seen the word "dissonance" used to describe what I am playing, but I may be using the word incorrectly to describe my drumming theory for "Lead Me, Lord" so don't take it as Gospel.

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STM Mass from June 6, 2021 - The Most Holy Body And Blood Of Christ

I thought about back-dating this post to 6-6-2021, but I realized before I clicked Publish that it would throw off (by one) any stats I have accumulated about posts per month and, unfortunately, I would be bothered by the discrepancy. Thus, here's a Saint Thomas Mass video from 6-6-2021. As a reminder, when you hear drums, you hear me!

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https://youtu.be/Hxbujr9sFUs

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Played Drums Last Weekend at STM

Because this STM Mass video is set to be "made for kids," I can't include it in my STM Mass playlist within youtube.com.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bp7eTbmcu28

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Returning to Normal - 1 Mass at a Time - Feels Totally AWESOME!!

I returned to playing drums at Saint Thomas More at 5:15 Mass on 6/5/2021 and it was awesome to be able to receive Eucharist and praise God with my God-given drumming talent! Jim S, a guitarist I have mentioned in the past (I think) played guitar at Mass. There was some sort of technical glitch with the equipment that created the video embedded below such that you can't hear my drums at the beginning of Mass. To hear me, click this link:Communion Tune.

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About my Post-C-19 World Part II

After only exchanging text messages and scattered phone calls for over a year, I finally saw BSS, my friend who I met when we both worked at Quintrex, at the Tin Roost in North Liberty. The Tin Roost was rocking. Not only was "Flash in the Pan" playing on the patio, it seemed like it was a pure party. In addition to BSS, I talked to: 

1. Fred & Julie
2. the Kleinows
   
3. too many acquaintances and friends from church and from Regina to list individually
   
4. Megan

Yes, even Megan, my daughter, was at the Tin Roost.

Music for July 6th at Church

1. Gather Us In
   
   
2. Psalm 66: Let All The Earth
   
   
3. Here I Am, Lord
   
   
4. We Are Many Parts
   
   
5. Give Us Your Peace
   
   
6. How Can I keep From Singing?
   
   

Playing Drums At Church

That's me playing drums and Karen singing (furthest left side in the picture below) at 515 Mass on Saturday, January 26, 2019:

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Setlist for 1/12

Assumption: I will play drums at 5:15 Mass on Saturday, 1/12/19. I assume this because I played drums at Mass on 12/29/18, 1/1/19, and 1/5/19 and, as far as I know, I have no plans that would prevent me from attending 5:15 Mass on 1/12. Thus, that's my assumption. Judy, our Music Director, sends out an email each week to those who typically play music at Mass.

1. River of Glory
2. Psalm 104: Lord, Send Forth Your Spirit
   Mass of St. Ann Alleluia
3. We Belong To You NEW!!!
4. Remain in Me
5. We Are Called

From the IT Tech Forum at the U of I

I worked with Guy Falsetti on a project; I played drums when Maggie Jesse played piano at church.

Serve The M - no, the Other M.

I also saw this video the other day. It says to serve the Music, not Me about how a drummer can serve himself, not the music. I admit this is something I face when I play drums at Saint Thomas More. I tend to embellish the rhythms I play so that I don't get bored playing straight 4/4 time with snare on 2 and 4 or, in 3/4, with snare on 2 and 3, or, in 6/8, with snare on 3 and 6. My interest in balancing 'overplaying' with 'boring drumming' is why I watched this video:

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After I did a little more digging, I found this video by Brandon Khoo.

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I like his style.

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For my own growth as a drummer, I listen to my self playing drums. Nowadays, I use my cell phone to record Mass so I can listen to what I sounded like whenever I want to do so. This is not a new practice / method for me. I've always done this - recording myself playing drums - dating back to before I was even in a band in my parent's basement. When I would practice drums, I'd use a boom box and cassettes, which I still have in the sump pump storage room. I also recorded rehearsals and performances with Assume, various practice sessions in that basement, Old Stew, and Free Beer / Corporate Prisoner on cassettes. Later, when I played in Lou's Classic Ride, I used a micro recorder that I borrowed from a former co-worker. Eventually, I transitioned to using my cell phone instead of cassette tapes to create recordings of Uncle Rico the Band and auditions with other Ideal Bands.

Why? Am I obsessed with my own drumming?

No.

I do this because I do want to be able to serve the Music, not Me, when I play drums.

It doesn't really matter when I've played drums - from playing alone or with other musicians. I want to grow as a drummer. I don't want to play the same beat that every other drummer in the world plays. I felt that way the other night when I was practicing on the Yamaha electronic drums. As I played along with the pre-programmed tunes in the brain of the Yamaha set, I focused on the patterns that repeat - think verse, chorus, verse, chorus - in an endless loop. I intentionally tried to play "insane" patterns - that served Me, not the Music - during some of the cycles. I did that to foster creativity. After a cycle of playing an "insane" pattern, I would revert to playing a beat that served the Music, not Me. I actually found that being able to dial back the "insane" pattern to be a challenge during the "sane" pattern cycles. I plan to explore that challenge in future practice sessions. Of all the videos on the "All Videos of Me Playing Drums" page, I think this one - where I achieve the balance I crave. I play soft during the verse so that the drums are felt, not overbearing. I then have a hint at flashy during the "I've been waiting..." part of the song. During Brian's solo, I'm intentionally playing soft again.

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Damn, I love the way we played that tune. Brian's guitar playing is spot-on, Matthew's bass locks in with my pattern, and Joe? Well, he belts out the lyrics with emotion.

Editor's Note: For videos, see https://prhmusic.blogspot.com/p/videos-of-me-playing-drums.html