Drums - Los Angeles Music Academy

Drums from Los Angeles Music Academy is a Campus Associate Music degree that prepares you for a Vocational Programs career. INTRODUCTION In Their Own Words: An Interview With Ralph Humphrey And Joe Porcaro What does "get to the music" mean within the Drum Department? Ralph Humphrey: We give students the vocational tools to go out and make a living playing drums. We get right to it. And at the same time, we give them instruction in the important areas of playing techniques and reading, harmony and theory. But really, it's a playing school. A lot of schools tend to be academically oriented, and not a lot of hands-on is accomplished. Our school dedicates itself to playing from day one, in all styles. Joe Porcaro: I teach jazz drums and we get to the core of it, in class and in performance. My class gets right into comping. "Comping" is jazz-slang for accompanying, like when a drummer or piano player is accompanying a singer. We call it "comping at the drums." That's a main thing of mine, I try to teach the drummers how to comp musically. Our focus is on bebop drums, and I teach how to solo, and that starts from day one. In jazz drumming, the most important things are learning song form, comping, and developing a musical way to solo. What are classes like? RH: There are three kinds of classes; lecture, drill, and performance. We'll give lectures covering motion, balance, rudiments, sound, rhythm, reading, listening. Then, the drill classes attend to these areas of study. Ideally, when the student goes to performance class, he/she is better able to apply to the music the things learned, along with practicing one's performance skills with pro players. JP: I teach two different classes, and I conduct the Jazz Workshop, which we call the Ensemble Workshop, where students get to play with a professional, working bass player and guitar player. Where do most students begin? RH: At a variety of levels. A lot come in to learn how to read. Others want to broaden their styles, to expand the range of work they'll be qualified to get. Many are coming because they heard that the school is intense and hands-on with opportunities to play with great musicians and teachers. We don't dumb-down anything. Yet, the students are able to take in and assimilate the materials at their own pace. JP: In my core jazz class, students get lessons comping in 4/4 time and 3/4 time. They also get lessons in brush technique and soloing every week, as well as theoretical permutation techniques. This is explored through weekly assignments, and I choose individuals to perform their assigned work in front of the class. In Jazz Ensemble Workshop, we choose jazz standards and bebop tunes that students perform with a bass player and guitar player. We critique them in all areas of their playing, their cymbal time, comping, left hand comping, dynamics and overall musicality. We really get to the music. Why should students bother learning jazz? JP: Because of the jazz feel, which is a triplet feel used in funk and rock and all kinds of modern playing. It's important to get a good jazz feel to help with the music they want to play. It's going to make it even better. If you're going to make it as a studio drummer, an ideal studio drummer like Ralph Humphrey...these guys have to go out and play all styles of music, every day. They have to play rock, funk, fusion, jazz...you never know when you get hired for a record date what styles you're going to have to play. Is there an advantage to studying in Los Angeles? RH: Los Angeles offers many more opportunities than any other city. There's the TV and movie industry as well as the recording industry. I would call LA the music center of the world. It's everybody's dream. It was my dream to come here. You come here and if you make it, you're playing with the best musicians in the world. I try to instill in my students the idea that you never know what life is going to bring to you in the future. We all have that dream of pursuing a career in music, so you gotta go for it. And you've gotta give it a hundred percent. View more details on Los Angeles Music Academy . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Music courses.