Embrace the Dark Side
By Philip HendricksonHave you ever practiced in the dark? If your drums have been set up the same way for a while, then you know where everything is. Give it a try! Do your warmups and play a little at the kit to reawaken your muscle memory. Then turn off the lights and play. You can just close your eyes, but then it’s an easy temptation to just open them again after a moment. Give this experiment some real time.
Don’t try anything super hard or fast at first. You don’t want to injure a finger on a rim or cymbal if you miss-hit. Play a familiar groove and simple fills. Include tom rolls and cymbal crashes. Trust your muscle memory. If you’ve never played in the dark, you may be surprised how well you can do it.
Let your limbs execute the motions without worrying about hitting everything perfectly. Let the music flow out of you by feel. Allow your ears to fully absorb and enjoy the sounds that are happening. Forget that it is your hands doing the playing; just focus on the sound. Feel your whole body inhabiting the music. No one can see you, so it’s no use doing stick tricks or posing. Just sound, no visuals.
Explore unexpected sounds or rhythmic figures. Turn a mistake into an ostinato. Turn off your snare wires and see how many different sounds you can draw out of a drum. Don’t worry if the strokes look silly; no one is watching. Eyes can deceive us or dominate our senses. Give your ears top priority for a change, by going dark.
Why do this? You might just discover new sound ideas that you’ve never heard before. You will get to know the musical potential of your drums better. And you will gain confidence that your limbs really know what they are doing. Music is sound; the visuals are just a bonus.
Now go watch a video of Stevie Wonder, Ray Charles, or Rahsaan Roland Kirk with your fresh eyes.
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