That kind of snare sound

[cgarges]

Yeah, if you've got to have a lot of ghost notes or if you're going to hit hard, the paper thing isn't going to work, but in the right circumstances, it's a very cool sound.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[drumsound]

Hey Chris, just curious, but what is it about Matt Chamberlain's snare hand that you can always tell? I'm a big fan of his, but I admit that I probably couldn't tell just by how a drummer hits a snare.
Carol Kaye's right hand, on the other hand - that dampening is like no other.

I have a theory on Matt Chamberlain's left hand sound/technique. He plays traditional grip, fairly close to the end of the stick. He slightly opens his hand as he hits rimshots, leaving the stick on the head just a hair longer than if hit and instantly rebounded.

It's really easy to hear on When the Pawn...

[cgarges]

I have a theory on Matt Chamberlain's left hand sound/technique.

The weird thing is that he's a North Texas guy who clearly studied Moeller technique, which isn't about leaving the stick on the head. He's definitely got his own weird-looking version of it, though. I remember seeing a brief glimpse of him in that Pearl Jam video back in the early 90s (before I knew it was him) and thinking, "Is that Matt Chamberlain?" It was seeing that left hand in action that clued me in.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[Gregg Juke]

Chris, do you play with the Moeller technique? Have you found it helpful?

I took an hour-long lesson with Dom F. once on the subject (for which he was mostly on the phone/out of the room)... Didn't do much for me, but maybe it was all in the presentation...

GJ

[drumsound]

I have a theory on Matt Chamberlain's left hand sound/technique.

The weird thing is that he's a North Texas guy who clearly studied Moeller technique, which isn't about leaving the stick on the head. He's definitely got his own weird-looking version of it, though. I remember seeing a brief glimpse of him in that Pearl Jam video back in the early 90s (before I knew it was him) and thinking, "Is that Matt Chamberlain?" It was seeing that left hand in action that clued me in.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

Ha, the Alive video. Yea, Matt moves in a way that totally affects the sound.

I need to watch the Tori Amos concert video and geek out.

[drumsound]

Chris, do you play with the Moeller technique? Have you found it helpful?

I took an hour-long lesson with Dom F. once on the subject (for which he was mostly on the phone/out of the room)... Didn't do much for me, but maybe it was all in the presentation...

GJ

I use a Moeller-esque technique. It's based on seeing Jim Chapin at PASIC, and reading some things in Modern Drummer. I find it quite useful for fast tunes and fast hat and ride things. I was able to pick it up because I also play a lot congas and it's similar to the heel toe technique.

[Wilson]

Dude, thanks for posting this. Never heard of this artist, but the record is pretty kick ass!!

[Gregg Juke]

Hey Tony,

I play a lot of hand-percussion too; in fact, nowadays, for some reason, it's about all I can play most of the time (carpal tunnel in both wrists, but the congas and djembe don't seem to bother them).

The one thing I picked-up from seeing Jim Chapin was that 8th note hi-hat thing-- where he got the stick in the crook of his index finger and loosely locked with his thumb. It does seem to help as far as stamina on long backbeat tunes with steady 8ths...(The other thing I picked-up from Jim Chapin is _everything_, of course, after going through "Advanced Techniques..." Book I).

GJ

[Peterson Goodwyn]

He slightly opens his hand as he hits rimshots, leaving the stick on the head just a hair longer than if hit and instantly rebounded.

Neil Peart, who I think studied Moeller with Freddie Gruber, does this too. In slow motion it almost looks like the stick is going to fly out of his hand.

And I can ALWAYS tell when it's Peart's snare.

[cgarges]

Chris, do you play with the Moeller technique? Have you found it helpful?

I don't specifically play with correct Moeller technique because I wasn't properly taught Moeller.

I was taught a very specific technique passed down by some of the great classical percussion teachers up-North. I'm pretty sure this technique, which was taught to me by the BRILLIANT timpanist Carol Stumpf, was taught to her by Everett Beale of the Boston Pops. But Carol (who is one of the most phenomenal true musicians I've ever met) studied at Curtis after growing up in Philly and she studied with all the greats up there-- Vic Firth, Michael Bookspan, etc, so I'm not 100% certain where she learned it. It's very different from Moeller in execution, but it's a very efficient way to get a good sound of out of the drums while remaining relaxed.

I do happen to do a lot of the accented quarter during eighth-note hi hat-stuff that makes use of Moeller-esque strokes.

I think Moeller technique is very cool. It's a very efficient way to play while keeping most of your arm relaxed and it's an excellent way to get good speed happening with finger control. I just never spent much time pursuing it A) because none of my teachers ever pushed it and B) because I had this other technique so ingrained in my playing from an early age. I spent an entire year of lessons doing nothing but quarter notes on a practice pad. I was one of the best things that could have possibly happened to me.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[oil_can]

always loved the snare sound Glenn Kotche got on the Jim O'Rourke records he's played on. Had a fiar amount of success recreating it with a tuned down snare with a towel draped completely over it.

[drumsound]

Hey Tony,

I play a lot of hand-percussion too; in fact, nowadays, for some reason, it's about all I can play most of the time (carpal tunnel in both wrists, but the congas and djembe don't seem to bother them).

The one thing I picked-up from seeing Jim Chapin was that 8th note hi-hat thing-- where he got the stick in the crook of his index finger and loosely locked with his thumb. It does seem to help as far as stamina on long backbeat tunes with steady 8ths...(The other thing I picked-up from Jim Chapin is _everything_, of course, after going through "Advanced Techniques..." Book I).

GJ

Chapin was riot at conventions. I just gleened a few things from him and watching others, and applying it to what I do and what I already know. Greuber of someone with true training would probably pick my bastardized Moeller to shreds.

[cgarges]

Chapin was riot at conventions.

Chapin was a riot at all times. He was a totally funny dude to be around in short spurts and it was INCREDIBLY easy to learn a lot from him if you were within earshot and conscious.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

[drumsound]

Chapin was riot at conventions.

Chapin was a riot at all times. He was a totally funny dude to be around in short spurts and it was INCREDIBLY easy to learn a lot from him if you were within earshot and conscious.

Chris Garges
Charlotte, NC

AMEN.

[JohnDavisNYC]

I feel like I'm doing a clinic with all this Moeller talk!

Jim Chapin was awesome.

John