Take 5 minutes to watch this. It's incredible.
Martin Molin designed and built the entire machine (14 months work) and composed the music. There are some incredibly talented people out there and Martin is clearly one of them!
Visit www.wintergatan.net to learn more about the project and how the machine was made.
I was recently asked to compile a few videos of me drumming, so I thought I'd share them with you as well. Some of the videos are a few years old so please excuse the ridiculous haircut!
I'll add to this playlist as I come across more videos (I'm sure there are more out there) and when I get round to filming a few more.
Enjoy!
I love instrumental music. I don't know a huge amount of people who share my obsession but in case you're curious, which I hope you are, below is a playlist of my favourite instrumental tracks and albums on Spotify.
The playlist contains quite a variety of music all loosely categorised as instrumental. Including modern classical (a.k.a neo-classical), drone, electronic, minimalist, percussive — all sorts really. I'd suggest putting it on shuffle and skipping past anything that doesn't take your fancy, it's quite likely the next track will be completely different.
Artists featured include Nils Frahm, Olafur Arnalds, A Winged Victory For The Sullen, Stars Of The Lid, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Jon Hopkins, Julia Kent, Max Richter, Peter Broderick and Rival Consoles... To name a few!
Enjoy!
ps. If you have any recommendations please send them my way!
Nils Frahm performing in Norwich — Photo by me
Nils Frahm is one of my favourite musicians. I've seen him live four or five times now and each time he's blown me away.
I read this great interview with him this morning where he talks about creativity, composition and on being original. I highly recommend you give it a quick read. The video is great too.
This passage really stuck out to me:
With composition, I’m doing something I’ve learned from other musicians, I’ve learned from other artists, I’ve learned from life. Most of my musical ideas are coming from other people’s musical ideas. And so we are all connected. It would be silly to say that it’s all mine. Nothing really is mine. There are 12 notes in an octave. Was that my idea to use 12 notes in an octave? No, but I still use it. For me, it’s actually a comforting thought that I’m not doing something totally, totally unique. You only exist through all the beautiful music you’ve heard. All the boring experiences and all the beautiful experiences I’m having… Everything jumps in as a source of inspiration. If it sounds right, then I’m happy, no matter how I got there. I just want to make beautiful music.
Creativity and being original relies on exposing ourselves to as many ideas as possible. We are the summation of those influences. Taking one idea and placing it in the context of another — that's originality.
If you haven't heard any Nils Frahm's music this is a good place to start. Read the full interview with Nils here.
I can't remember where I first stumbled across this song but I love it. I've had it on repeat most of the morning and I'm still just as excited by it every time I hear it! I really like the video too. There aren't enough music videos with old men in suits wandering around in slow motion!
Enjoy!
Ross
From time to time I answer drumming and music related questions on the question & answer website Quora. I'm going to share a few of these answers with you here. If you have a question you'd like me to answer, ask away on Quora, Twitter or via email.
Here are a few things that help me optimise my practice time.
Schedule your practice
Without a scheduled time each day practice can very quickly get relegated among other things. If it's important, add it to your calendar!
Have a specific goal
Vague goals aren't helpful, so be specific. Specific goals are trackable goals. (see point three)
Use a metronome, and track tempos
If you have a specific goal, for example to increase the speed of you single strokes from 150BPM to 200BPM. Write down the goal and your current limit. Each day you practice set your metronome and write down the tempo you practice at. Each day up the tempo slightly (one or two BPM is fine) and keep a record of the new tempo. This is a great way of tracking your progress and keeping yourself motivated. Every day you can see your goal getting closer and closer.
Record your practice
Benny Greb is a huge proponent of this. If it's good enough for Benny, it's good enough for the rest of us! Video or audio is fine, just record your practice session and listen back whilst making notes on anything that you need to work on. You'll be amazed at the little things that go unnoticed whilst you practice!
Don't over do it
I like to practice for 40 mins and then have a break. If I have time in my schedule I'll then do another 40. I've tried longer and shorter periods of time, but I find 40 minutes to be best for me. You might find a longer or shorter time works best for you, it's personal. Just don't wear yourself out mentally. Practicing for too long without a break will lead to diminishing returns.
Good luck and have fun!
