RE: Looping with a drummer

[improv@peak.org (Dave Trenkel)]

>I've had interesting results using my Jamster with a drummer.
>If I try to set a loop to his beat, it seldom works. Neither of us has
>perfect time, though we don't suck.
>If I get a grooving loop going, it's no problem for him to get in the
>pocket with it and stay there.
>I should say that the music we play is completely improvised, so playing
>contrary, unrelated rhythms is ok, but it'd be nice to synch perfectly
>when we wanted to.
>I know, practice, but why work when machines can do it for you?
>He plays electronic drums, so I was thinking we could use a MIDI click out
> from his stuff to drive the Jamster,  or set aside one pad on his kit to
>trigger it, or just put the control pedal ovr in his setup.
>I'd like to maintain as much flexability as possible (no click
>track/drummachine MIDI headset rig) and keep hardware
>costs to a minimum.
>Suggestions? Probably just practice more, eh?

This probably isn't what you want to hear, but, yeah, practice is what it
takes. I play bass, and do a fair amount of looping bass lines with a
drummer. He's a really terrific drummer, BTW, with excellent time, unlike
myself. When I first got the JamMan 3 years ago, it felt impossible to loop
rhythmic lines in time, but we've worked at it, and now it works most of
the time. Not always, but often enough. One thing that helps is to have a
good monitor for the drummer, the better he can hear the loop, the better
he can phrase to it. One band I've seen, Living Daylights, a sax/bass/drums
trio from Seattle, uses extensive looped bass lines, and the drummer has a
headphone mix of just the loops.

I think a lot of drummers are used to being the only time keepers in the
band, and get used to having everyone's time defer to theirs. It may be
difficult for them to give up that role. But if your drummer is willing to
work at it, it can happen.

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Dave Trenkel : improv@peak.org  : www.peak.org/~improv/

"...there will come a day when you won't have to use
gasoline. You'd simply take a cassette and put it in
your car, let it run. You'd have to have the proper
type of music. Like you take two sticks, put 'em
together, make fire. You take some notes and rub 'em
together - dum, dum, dum, dum - fire, cosmic fire."
                                            -Sun Ra
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