“Where did the ride cymbal pattern come from? Why does ding-dinga-ding exist? Where did that come from? Why is the hi-hat played on two and four, and not on one and three? Why was the […]
Category: very occasional quote of the day
Very occasional quote of the day: resistance
There’s a secret that real writers know that wannabe writers don’t, and the secret is this: It’s not the writing part that’s hard. What’s hard is sitting down to write. — Steve Pressfield, The War […]
Very occasional quote of the day: making In A Silent Way
Guitarist John McLoughlin on recording In A Silent Way with Miles Davis. Classic art can be very instantaneous: […] I had gone to New York to play with Tony [Williams] and Larry [Young], and I […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Herzog’s 24 maxims
From a Salon.com, here are 24 pieces of life/work/career advice from the filmmaker Werner Herzog: 1. Always take the initiative. 2. There is nothing wrong with spending a night in jail if it means getting […]
Very occasional quote of the day: inspiration
“Inspiration is for amateurs— the rest of us just show up and get to work.” —painter Chuck Close (h/t to Michael Shrieve)
Very occasional quote of the day: figuring things out
Elvin Jones on Haskell Harr and learning the rudiments: “I did go through [Harr’s snare drum book] as a matter of fact. I went to public school in Pontiac, Michigan, so I didn’t do anything extra. […] I didn’t have […]
VOQOTD: rudiments just made up by a couple of guys
Well, not exactly: many or most of them have been in use for a couple of hundred years at least, but the 26 Standard Drum Rudiments as a thing… read this letter to Percussive Notes by William […]
VOQOTD: Dejohnette on chops
The first of many valuable things I’m sure we’ll be mining from the Percussive Notes archives. Here Jack Dejohnette, interviewed by Charlie Perry, says something we hopefully already knew, but which bears repeating: P: You […]
Very occasional quote of the day: put in the time
Good career and work advice from comedy writer and actress Amy Poehler: I’m paraphrasing that great quote from (This American Life host) Ira Glass — basically the sentiment of, “Keep doing it, even though all […]
Very occasional quote of the day: perfection
I used to think about this quote a lot: “I never was interested in how to make a good painting. For many years I was not interested in making a good painting— as one might […]
VOQOTD: rhythm machine
“Your part isn’t the only thing that’s happening in the music; you’re part of a rhythm machine in which there are gears interconnecting with each other. Learn how to be supportive and when to stay […]
VOQOTD: Harrison Ford
A couple of more travel days before I can get back to regular posting, but here’s something shared by Alex Emanuel, a New York actor currently performing in Stew Stewart’s play Family Album, along with […]