Subtle power 2

The dynamics by contrast is based upon the principle of emphasizing the difference between soft and loud.
I’ll give you a for instance.
Hit a snare three time as soft as possible, now hit it one time medium loud. Do you hear the difference? No? Then you did it wrong. Try it again. I’ll wait.
Did you get it correctly this time? You see, you have to barely feather the little stroke, like they almost don’t exist. And the big one? Just drop the stick with the weight of the hand. It’ll be loud enough.
That’s dynamics using contrast.
It is one I use all the time. It is very useful for a Chicago Shuffle or a train beat (You don’t know what those are? No problem, I know an excellent drum teacher that can show you all of that). It is essential for a nice driving funk groove, the kind with a big fat belly of bass drum and a tiny head of acid hi hats.
I will use the dynamics by contrast in order to preserve my drums, to make the skins last longer. But also because drum heads give out different sounds at different volumes. And cymbals are even more sensitive to the touch of a drum stick. These are more colors I can mix into my playing, it extends my range.
So, how do you practically understand how to do contrast? Good question. Thank you for asking.

 

The answer (with examples!) will be in the next blog.