The Police drummer Stewart Copeland answers the internet's burning questions about playing the drums. What is the most difficult song to drum? What's the best way for a beginner to learn how to drum fill? Who's the best drummer he's ever seen live? Stewart answers all these questions and much, much more!Available in three distinct, deluxe editions, Stewart Copelands Police Diaries is now available. https://policediariesbook.com/Director: Justin WolfsonDirector of Photography: Francis BernalEditor: Richard TrammellTalent: Stewart CopelandLine Producer: Joseph BuscemiAssociate Producer: Brandon WhiteProduction Manager: D. Eric MartinezProduction Coordinator: Fernando DavilaTalent Booker: Paige Garbarini, Meredith JudkinsCamera Operator: CloudGaffer: Rebecca Van Der MeulenSound Mixer: Sean PaulsenProduction Assistant: Noah BierbrierPost Production Supervisor: Alexa DeutschPost Production Coordinator: Ian BryantSupervising Editor: Doug LarsenAdditional Editor: Paul TaelAssistant Editor: Billy Ward
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00:00 Sting, I told you don't call me at work, man.
00:03 Later, all right, dude?
00:04 Jesus Christ.
00:05 Hello, my name is Stuart Copeland.
00:08 I'm here to answer your questions from the internet.
00:10 This is Drummer Support.
00:12 (upbeat music)
00:14 @DownloadMusicz,
00:19 does it matter how you hold your drumsticks?
00:22 We all have our preferences.
00:23 I favor orthodox technique like this, voila.
00:27 Most drummers today play matched grip, voila.
00:30 The reason I play like that is because I'm old school.
00:33 The snare drum derives from marching bands.
00:36 And when the soldier is marching
00:38 with a snare drum between his legs, it clonks his knee.
00:41 So he turns it on an angle.
00:42 So to try and play like that is a problem.
00:45 So they play like that,
00:47 which is a much more natural position.
00:49 @SydneyOligood, what is the hardest song to drum?
00:54 I would say sister Sadie by Buddy Rich,
00:58 some challenging stuff on there.
01:00 My music, my oeuvre, "spirits in the material world",
01:03 it is my personal Best Noir,
01:06 and it's because there's no one, it's all upbeat.
01:09 One two, three, four, one two, three, four,
01:21 two three four, up two.
01:23 It's all upbeats.
01:25 At Val Ambrose, "Hello, I'm a beginner at drumming.
01:28 "Do you have any tips that could help me out?"
01:30 That is what we're here for today.
01:31 Learn to fill in with the rhythm.
01:34 You don't need a drum set,
01:35 just listen to records and tap on your knees.
01:37 That's step one, and everything else derives from that.
01:41 Posted by udrummerwayne101,
01:43 "Why are the police hard to play because of Stuart?"
01:47 You just answered the question right there.
01:50 You smart.
01:53 @lilibit/jojo.
01:56 Musicians, "What does playing in the pocket mean to you?
01:59 "How do you achieve that?"
02:01 The pocket is when musicians are locked
02:03 to each other's pulse.
02:04 It just feels good, like in the Rolling Stones,
02:06 a great example of just, it's all messed up,
02:08 it's loose, it's ramshackle, it's casual, whoa, whoa,
02:12 but they've got that pocket.
02:14 They're in sync with each other
02:15 in an elemental, organic way.
02:18 That is the pocket, and a pocket is the holy grail
02:21 of all ensemble playing.
02:23 @moddrummer, "What is the best way for a new drummer
02:26 "to get better at playing drum fills?"
02:28 A drum fill is when you're playing along.
02:31 (drumming)
02:34 Here's a drum fill.
02:35 (drumming)
02:38 Practice slow to achieve speed.
02:43 If you're just going as fast as you can,
02:45 (drumming)
02:47 you know, you're not gonna play perfectly,
02:48 but if you concentrate by playing slow,
02:50 (drumming)
02:52 you're focusing on getting both hands even,
02:58 and you're doing it absolutely at a comfortable speed
03:00 so that you can execute perfectly.
03:01 So when you're practicing, always be perfect.
03:04 When you're on stage, you don't have to give a fuck,
03:08 because you're just making the shit up.
03:10 If you're thinking about being perfect,
03:12 you're just gonna be lame.
03:13 @jockzus, "QOTD, while in the Beatles,
03:19 "was Ringo Starr a good drummer
03:21 "or merely a competent drummer?"
03:23 He was a very good drummer.
03:24 He had an excellent groove.
03:26 A groove is when the music hangs together in such a way
03:29 that it's not just correct, but it makes your hips move.
03:33 And he was very imaginative
03:35 in the way he used drums in a pop song.
03:38 You can find online three versions
03:40 of the Beatles' first song, "Love Me Do."
03:43 And there is a version with their original drummer,
03:46 Pete Best, "It Ain't the Beatles."
03:49 It's just like kinda lame.
03:51 It doesn't hang together.
03:52 Then there's a version with Ringo Starr.
03:53 (drumming)
03:56 Okay, we're now with the Beatles.
04:02 But then for some unknown reason,
04:04 they hired a session drummer,
04:06 and Ringo's now on tambourine.
04:08 (tambourine clicking)
04:11 And as you listen, you realize the charisma and the rhythm
04:15 isn't on the drum set anymore.
04:16 That's just some session guy.
04:17 The charisma is just, the tambourine part has got a vibe.
04:22 And that's Ringo.
04:23 It's vibe, it's X-factor, it's undefinable.
04:26 In fact, music is the only art form
04:29 that will usurp motor control of your body.
04:32 On the dance floor, people are in public
04:35 thrusting their pudenda at each other
04:38 in an overt sexual display.
04:41 Try that without music, you get arrested.
04:43 @mikerizinko, "Favorite reggae song, zuh."
04:46 Reggae song with the most creative drum
04:49 and/or most impressive drumming.
04:51 "Lively Up Yourself" by Bob Marley and the Wailers.
04:53 But another one, a seminal piece,
04:55 was "The Israelites" by Desmond Decker.
04:58 And that's the first time I ever heard
04:59 the Bass Ackwards reggae drum figure.
05:02 Cool thing about reggae drumming
05:04 is it's a drum solo all the way through.
05:06 They never stop, they're just playing.
05:07 (imitating drumming)
05:10 They're always playing something.
05:16 In contravention of the pop rules
05:18 of respect for the vocals.
05:19 Fuck the vocals.
05:21 @marklenyon, "Do drum kits need tuning?"
05:26 Yes, you can change the sound of your drums.
05:28 I tend to go by tuning them up.
05:30 And a little word of advice for bands
05:32 is when you're doing your sound check
05:34 and you go, (imitating drumming)
05:36 okay, second rack, tom-tom.
05:38 (imitating drumming)
05:39 And they sound huge by themselves.
05:42 (imitating drumming)
05:44 But as soon as the band kicks in, they disappear.
05:46 By tuning them higher, they may sound a little rinky dinky
05:51 without the rest of the band,
05:52 but as soon as the other music fills in,
05:54 they cut through.
05:55 @burnthestown, "No, seriously,
05:57 "how do you learn songs on drums?
05:59 "By ear?"
06:00 You don't, you just bang shit.
06:02 Yes, by ear, by instinct.
06:04 And if you are musical, you will know when 16 bars are up,
06:08 when eight bars are up, or whatever.
06:09 And musical memory is a very, very strange thing.
06:12 It's much better than any other form of memory.
06:15 You can forget people's names,
06:16 you can forget what you learned in geography class,
06:18 but for some reason, you learn how to play a tune,
06:21 and it lasts forever.
06:22 When the police did a reunion tour,
06:25 I mean, listened to those songs for 30 years,
06:27 and I get my practice real,
06:29 okay, let's see if I can remember how to do this.
06:31 I knew everything note perfect.
06:33 30 years later.
06:34 @tonesofmusic, "Who's the best drummer you've seen live?"
06:38 Well, Buddy Rich, Mitch Mitchell.
06:41 There's a lot of drummers that I really like
06:42 that aren't famous names, they just have a great lope.
06:45 They just have a great feel to them.
06:46 Taylor Hawkins just had a great feel to him.
06:49 Ringo Starr, Charlie Watts.
06:51 No chops there, but just that groove is way, way cool.
06:55 Now, on the younger end of it,
06:57 I would say Joey Jordison, sadly departed with Slipknot.
07:00 That little bastard had chops.
07:02 You know, kids these days,
07:03 they start out where we left off.
07:07 And it's like the Olympics,
07:08 where every year, they can jump a little higher.
07:11 Run a little faster.
07:12 How's that possible?
07:13 Has the human species evolved in one year?
07:17 I don't know.
07:18 But Joey Jordison doing things with his feet
07:21 that I aspire to with my hands.
07:24 I am the law.
07:25 "How is drum music written?
07:27 "Is it like standard music?"
07:29 Yes, it is exactly the same music, only without pitch.
07:32 Often, percussion scorers and drum scorers will use lines.
07:36 There'll be a line just for the snare drum.
07:37 Rat, tat, tat, tat.
07:38 And it has the same note values,
07:41 16th note, eighth note, and what have you.
07:43 From Coach, "A serious question for drummers.
07:46 "Do y'all feel it when y'all be speeding up or no?"
07:49 Actually, no.
07:50 It may feel like the world is slowing down,
07:52 but of course, one subjective concept of tempo,
07:56 mine being particularly shifty,
07:58 is that you feel like you're just doing what's perfect.
08:02 For instance, with "Police Songs,"
08:03 some of them, we had a click,
08:05 you know, for a handful of the "Police Songs."
08:07 The reason we did that was because I'd speed up
08:09 when it goes into the chorus.
08:10 But with the click, wow, the sensation
08:13 is that the track just slowed down.
08:16 You gotta be kidding.
08:17 That click just slowed down.
08:19 What's the matter with you, click?
08:21 I'm human.
08:22 This is my rhythm.
08:23 Tempo is very subjective.
08:26 MDXV111, "Are there any rules to adding swing to drums?"
08:31 Well, my daddy was a jazz musician.
08:33 He used to complain about the music that I listened to,
08:36 because where's the swing?
08:37 If it don't swing, it don't mean a thing.
08:40 Dad, there's all kinds of music that doesn't swing.
08:42 But really, swing is a specific kind of jazzy sort of feel.
08:46 (drums clacking)
08:48 Like this sort of has a feeling of a shuffle to it.
08:52 It's not.
08:52 (drums clacking)
08:55 It's what you could call a dotted rhythm,
08:59 or a swing rhythm, or a shuffle.
09:01 @metalwalden, "Favorite odd time signature and why?"
09:06 I don't like odd time signatures,
09:07 'cause basically it's like a hiccup.
09:09 You know, the old joke of how do you conduct five four time?
09:12 One, two, three, four.
09:14 One, two, three, four.
09:17 I guess "Take Five" by Joe Morello
09:20 is one of those religious experiences
09:22 that every drummer needs to have.
09:23 It's kind of the most wrongest form of jazz ever.
09:27 (drums clacking)
09:29 (cymbals clanging)
09:32 (drums clacking)
09:35 It's sublime.
09:41 Posted by u/timmyownes,
09:44 "Any tips for playing fast punk rock pop punk?"
09:48 I guess the fundamental thing to keep in mind
09:52 is to play it fast.
09:54 A way to achieve speed is to relax.
09:56 Really, the vibe you want is.
09:58 (drums clacking)
10:00 Metal drummers are even faster at.
10:01 (drums clacking)
10:04 Muscle up, eat your Wheaties, and just play it faster.
10:11 This is from @billhater, "Hey music nerds,
10:14 I'm trying to understand the concept of polyrhythm."
10:17 Polyrhythm is when you play two rhythms at once.
10:20 (drums clacking)
10:23 That's one rhythm.
10:24 (drums clacking)
10:26 (cymbals clacking)
10:29 It just means a lot of rhythms on top of each other
10:35 that kind of contrast with each other.
10:37 Well, students, this is all I have for you today.
10:40 Eat your Wheaties, do your homework, and drum on!
10:44 (electronic music)
10:47 [BLANK_AUDIO]