I have prepared a small infusion of energy to help you get through your day. Please turn on your speakers, or put on some headphones, then click on the 1’45″ video below. I hope you enjoy it.
The African Master Drummer Killer Glare
African music has always fascinated me, and I will never forget the first time I played with an African drumming ensemble. I was a grad student at what was a new university for me, and African drumming was one of the many world music courses I could choose from.
The African drumming rehearsal was taking place in a wonderful room, hidden deep in the sub-basement of the Royal Conservatory of Music, which back then was part of U of T. It was an enormous space filled with xylophones, marimbas, vibraphones, kettle drums, drum sets, and countless small and unusual percussion instruments. It is where I spent countless hours practicing, and it was my favourite room in the world at that time.
As I walked down the long hallway that led to the room, I was both excited and scared. I could hear the joyful, intricate rhythms pulsating through the walls. I slowly pushed open the heavy metal door and entered the room. About 20 feet away were 8 university students and probably the most solid brick wall of a man I had ever seen. Seemingly between cultures, he wore dress pants and dress shoes, topped by a colourful, traditional West African shirt. His square jaw and muscularity were obvious, his powerful arms rippling as his hands and sticks made his elongated barrel drum sing. The sound was confident and overwhelming. It was not so much loud, but powerful.
I was in awe and stood by the door frozen for a few moments. Some of the players were new friends I had made earlier in the week, and they waved for me to come over and sit in. I thought to myself, “well that is why I am here, so let’s go”. I walked over, nervous as hell. I sat down and someone gave me a drum and a pair of sticks. There was not much said, almost immediately someone started to play and the piece started again, at full speed. “What, no warm up for the new guy?” I thought. Nope, none of that at this rehearsal. The Master Drummer came to me and showed me my pattern. I got it after a few passes, but he left me while I was still searching to figure out how it fit in with the other parts. What a feeling! I guess it would be bad to stop the rehearsal just for me. Technically my part was not difficult, what was difficult was knowing where to put the notes. I hung in for a while, and then my timing started to drift. That was the moment when I learned about the African Master Drummer Killer Glare. His eyes focused on me, and his intense look told me all I needed to know. I was messing up and I had better get it together. I played quieter to lessen my impact on the others and I began to listen harder to see if I could find my way back in. It was at that point when one of the other students told me to listen to the pattern being played by the double bell player. My first job was to understand how my pattern related to that. Eventually I heard how they fit together but not before receiving a couple of more killer glares.
As time went on, I realized that the power of this music lay in the perfect synchronization of the individual parts. As weeks went by, I learned all the other parts of the other instruments and knew exactly how they should fit together. There were other factors like endurance, since the pieces were very physical and very long. I later learned that the more locked in the parts were, the more able the Master Drummer was able to go into a trance state. Something I did not actually believe until I saw it happen in a live on stage performance. I assure you, it does happen, and when it does it is a magical moment for the players and the audience.
So despite receiving my share of glares that year, I fell in love with African music and went on to study it for many years. Looking back “the glare” was my teacher’s way to get me to pay attention. After all I was playing his music, something he had played almost since birth. This centuries old music has taught me a great deal about listening, working with others and achieving more than you think is possible; all valuable lessons I use today. However, I never use the glare technique when I am the teacher, it’s just not my style.
If you’d like to hear a modern representation of the piece I was learning please click here. Sorry, no youtube video of me playing it from way back when I was learning it.
What part of you is original?
Many people play drums. You’d be surprised how many. As a matter of fact the most common phrase I hear from people after I tell them I’m a drummer is “ya, I play drums too!” Now really, I don’t mind. I think it is great. The more drummers there are in the world, the better. I personally try to convert at least 50 people a year myself.
In my role as percussion instructor at the Royal Conservatory of Music, I would get calls from all kinds of prospective students. Upon meeting a student for the first time, I would always have them play a little for me so I could get a sense of what they know. I loved that moment (as painfully loud as it was sometimes). It was always interesting to see how some else played, their sensibility, their technique. Being a classically trained percussionist who also plays drum set, my sensibility was more on the subtler side of the instrument you might say. I could never have been a heavy metal drummer, just too loud for me. Needless to say, I would have to send some students packing because I was simply not who they needed to study with. One time however, I met a wonderful fellow named Jeff. My first impression was that he and I were not going to be a match. He was a big guy who came into my studio wearing a sleeveless t-shirt, had a couple tattoos, ear rings and really long dyed blond hair. He told me he was playing in a local rock band who I hadn’t heard of. (No surprise there since I was playing mostly with the National Ballet at the time!). It sounded like they were busy as he had some tour dates and even a cd or two under his belt. I asked him to play for me and I took my usual position for this moment about 15 feet away on the other side of the room. He played for me, and as loud as it was he was petty good and even pretty sensitive. Nice solid grooves that you would expect to hear from an accomplished player. I could see he had really thought about what he was doing. To be honest, his technique was a little lacking and I could tell he was doing some stuff the hard way, but he was doing it. After a few minutes I stopped him and we had a chat. I said, “Jeff, I think you sound great and I am not sure why you are here. Tell me about who you studied with?” He said he was self taught. He could not read a note of music but since his band was getting busier he was thinking it was time to learn.
That presented me with a dilemma. I said ” Jeff, are you sure? You sound really good. The fact that you can’t read music is not really affecting you. As well, once I teach you to read music like everyone else, you will never be the same. You will start to think differently about how you make music and once we do that there is no going back. It will be part of you. I think it will work out fine but you have to know you won’t think about music in the unique and original way you do now.”
He hadn’t realized that as he was just eager to learn. After pausing for a couple of minutes, he said he really wanted to learn to read music, learn about technique and he was ready for the change. Turns out he was a joy to teach. I am not sure I can say his playing improved dramatically but he continued to play well just executing things more efficiently than before. He became a very good reader and he liked that too! I guess I could say, it did give him a sense of confidence that he did not have before. Eventually, we parted ways. I will always remember teaching him though. For me it was the first time I wondered if I shouldn’t have taught a student for fear of compromising his true originality and uniqueness.
Drummers on Wall Street
Like many of you, I have been seeing and hearing the news surrounding Occupy Wall Street, Zuccotti Park, New York. It appears that the drummers involved have caused quite a controversy and while they may have intended to be helping the cause it appears they may actually be hurting it. They have been playing most of the day and well into the night and as well as garnering noise complaints from both the neighbourhood and the protesters. They have caused a divide in the movement itself. Since drumming has been so positive for me, I wanted to dig a little deeper to try to understand what is going on.
Throughout history drumming has always had a purpose. It has always had the incredible power to unify groups of people. Its ancient uses were in ceremonies to celebrate various occasions in a village and also to prepare warring factions for battle. The drum has had a long history in war. The armies of Rome had drummers along side the commanding officers that played rhythmic versions of the commanders’ orders. Drums could be heard over the battlefield and played beats to keep the troops marching.
Nowadays, drumming has many realizations. It is true that it has been a big part of freer gatherings of people expressing their concerns over a cause; to show unity and ”togetherness”. But it is hard for onlookers to have an appreciation for the power of drumming when it is used disrespectfully. I have learned that there are actually two drumming groups involved in this protest in New York. There is a group of drummers that agreed to play during two windows of time during the day. But another group who just wanted to play wherever they want as long as they want.
Drums have the power of sooth as well as annoy. I have always said that playing drums in a group is about two things: Listening and Respect. This respect is also for the listener; if you don’t respect your listener then drumming becomes a selfish act. When you take listening and respect away from drumming it becomes noise, and it makes it hard for those us who care so deeply about the great power of drumming to be taken seriously when we speak about its benefits.
Are you in sync?
Working on a project with a team can be a truly fulfilling experience, but only if you make the most use of it. Great teams are filled with multiple talents, knowledge, experience and best of all, ideas. Once your team has got the direction of execution figured out, how do you make sure you stay in sync? While you all started out on the same page, it is worthwhile to figure out how you sync up with others to make sure the right things are happening at the right time. Even though there is a project leader and a plan, only you really know if things are fitting together in the moment and that may require some finesse. Only by being truly aware of whom you are working “in- concert” with at a certain point will things happen the way they should. As well, don’t forget to shift your focus to different members of the team as tasks and time-lines dictate. The more you know about where you connect other team members throughout the project, the smoother it will go.
Where there is creativity, there is a chance of conflict. The magic is in how you resolve it.
Where there is creativity, there is a chance of conflict. The magic is in how you resolve it.
Every organization wants to be more creative but setting up the right environment for people to be their creative best is paramount and can be difficult. The challenge is making sure that the people involved in the creative process are suited to work together, that they don’t all think the same and that they are not out to sabotage others.
The best way for a person to be truly creative is if they feel are in a situation where they have the respect and trust of those on their team. Creativity demands experimentation, “thinking outside the box”, being a bit wacky sometimes or willing to look at making a dramatic change. It should be exhilarating if a bit scary. Good ideas often take you to the edge of the comfort zone and that is a good thing.
Creativity in the corporate world often involves an accumulation of ideas and perspectives. You need a ton of them to get that “one” that is really a winner. Within creative moments there will be and should be conflict. Conflict is not bad if it is truly conflict over an idea. Often, it is simply a different perspective. Where conflict can be bad is if it is based on personalities, as these can get emotional and thus complicated and time-consuming to resolve.
This all gets back to having the right environment to allow for creativity to thrive. Respectful language and real listening are crucial; a careful discussion of pros and cons. Creating something together is often about the advancement of everyone involved and that goal should be reiterated when things get off track.
Commonalities & Differences
We all love it when we meet people who share our likes and interests. Everything is so easy; conversation, picking restaurants, spending time together. Marketing for countless products targets similarities in groups of people. Companies who help find people a soul mate use commonalities as currency. It’s comfortable to be around people who share your interests and ideals.
As with anything, there can be a downside to this. It can limit experience and growth. Hence the sayings, “opposites attract” and “vive la difference!” Being around people who were different from you can challenge you think about things in new ways.
Being a musician, one of things I love to do when I travel is have a music lesson with a local player. I love how it expands my mind and it never fails to humble. It teaches me that there are so many exciting ways to accomplish my goals. The big lesson is that in order to learn something new you need to leave your familiar ways of thinking at the door. It gets in the way. It blocks you from doing the most important thing when learning something new… listening! It is the approach that is enlightening and the thing I remember the most. It stretches me and makes me think differently, change me, even.
Out of the comfort zone.
Ok, I admit it, I am a fan of the TV show Battle of the Blades. If you have never watched it, it takes professional hockey players and pairs them with professional figure skaters. Each duo has a week to prepare a short skating program that is judged by a panel of 3 experts. TV viewers get to vote for their favourites. It’s fun, and the winning duo gets $100,000.00 donated to their favourite charity. Clearly a win-win, but the part that has fascinated me the most, is the courage that these hockey players are demonstrating by getting outside their comfort zone. This is not easy for these guys. It is not always pretty but they have obviously decided to give it their all, no matter the level of figure skating they can attain. To be fair, sometimes they actually pull off some moves convincingly, but most often you can tell they are working and working hard. These guys are a great example of humility and what it means to be a risk taker. Imagine being seen nationwide doing something you have only done for a very limited time and that you have just a little training for. Wow! No matter what you may think of hockey these days, I certainly give these guys some credit. If you need a little inspiration I would suggest you have a look. Sundays and Mondays at 8 p.m. on CBC.
The right balance.
My reference to the word ‘balance” is the ability for a group of people to come together in a task in such away that all the elements are in just the right proportion. I just had the pleasure of working with a groups from a school board superintendents field office today who seem to come by this naturally. Because they are rooted in the education field, so I am guessing inside them somewhere was a little instilled kindness and an ability to nurture and listen more than some others. Being aggressive was simply not in their nature. This particular session included people who were long time members of this team and a couple of new hires. I was impressed at how the the long time members made the new comers feel welcome. But balance is not a naturally occurring thing; in people anyway. It is created by a sensitivity toward others. It is created by listening and thinking about how to work together, not just by working. After spending a couple of hours with this team and enjoying their “balance” I am sure great things will come from them.
Trust. Do you have it?
The more I work with teams the more I see that a real issue in organizations is simply trust. But it is hardly talked about out loud. We as humans are always looking for trust in all our dealings. Trust provides us with the security of knowing what will happen. It gives us some predictability in an unpredictable world. But it doesn’t take much to destroy trust. If you innocently don’t follow through on things, don’t remember to do something you promised, even the most minute things can get people to trust you a little less. People remember the most remarkable things, especially when it comes to something they trusted you to do. Funny thing is, nobody ever comes up to you and says they don’t trust you anymore when you mess up. They just quietly don’t trust you anymore. But if you notice someone has become a little bit colder to you, you might think about if you violated their trust somehow.
Use these tips to build trust:
1. Be trusting of others. Sure you may get burned once in a while but isn’t this a better way to go through life?
2. Tell the truth. Seems simple but…not everyone does.
3. Take responsibility for your actions. Admit your mistakes and remember they are learning experiences. Everyone messes up sometime!
4. Don’t make promises you can’t keep. People remember!
5. Be predictable and consistent. Be yourself and let people know who that is. Even if they don’t like your messages, they will trust who you are, what you say and respect you for it.
6. Do the right thing. For every situation there is a “right” thing to do. Do the right thing consistently and trust will come.