Gavin Harrison here!

Hi Gavin,
First of all, thank you for an amazing clinic in Ottawa last night, and thank you for signing my sticks! (You said you've had lots of practice. I hope that I never have to practice signing an autograph on drumsticks. There's drumming to be done!)
I recognized that you made a big band version of Futile, but I stopped trying to identify the second PT song for big band halfway through and focused on your inspiring drumming. What was the second big band song you played? I guess I'm just not that good at translating swing to straight to identify a tune.
 
Hi Gavin,

I apologize in advance if you've already answered this question 40,000 times. What are the differences between your "Futile" double bass pattern (you know, the one that leaves the audiences jaw on the floor) and Meshuggah's "Bleed"? They both sound like they have a 8th or 16th note rest before repeating again. Sorry if the question sounds confusing, I really don't read transcriptions well enough to look at it myself and say "Ahhh, that's it!".

Thanks

Eric
 
Hi Gavin,

I apologize in advance if you've already answered this question 40,000 times. What are the differences between your "Futile" double bass pattern (you know, the one that leaves the audiences jaw on the floor) and Meshuggah's "Bleed"? They both sound like they have a 8th or 16th note rest before repeating again. Sorry if the question sounds confusing, I really don't read transcriptions well enough to look at it myself and say "Ahhh, that's it!".

Thanks

Eric

The pattern during that section of Futile is four 32nd notes leading up to a down beat in a 6/8 feel (until there is another snare/hi hat beat claiming a different time signature), whereas Bleed is (primarily) continuously two 32nds followed by two 16ths in a 4/4 feel.
 
The pattern during that section of Futile is four 32nd notes leading up to a down beat in a 6/8 feel (until there is another snare/hi hat beat claiming a different time signature), whereas Bleed is (primarily) continuously two 32nds followed by two 16ths in a 4/4 feel.

Excellent, thank you so much for clearing that up.
 
Hi Gavin!
Just curious to ask - the cymbals (asking for hats and ride) in your last posted video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCzpafGE7Qk
are 13" k hats and 20" ride? Asking because I'm looking forward to buy some and maybe need some advices... That should by my first hi end cymbal set so I'm looking for as much versatile cymbals as possible. For instance I stuck over Zildjian 22" K light ride and was absolutely blown away by it, but it was little bit washy. Do you think you can use that kind of washy cymbals not only in quiet setups but also in rock (and harder) stuff? Thanks for any suggestion! Hope I don't bother you with that kind of questions...
P.S. Do you have some plans for playing somewhere in Germany/Austria/Czech republic/Poland? Wanna see you again:)
Thanks!
Adam
 
Hi Gavin!

I was wondering if I can get my hands on a full tanscription of The Sound Of Muzak. I've been searching for a while and have had no luck.

Thanks, Bob Zegers


I've seen some transcriptions, but they really just show you the basic groove with no variation. The best lesson on that song is just to watch the Modern Drummer vid of Gavin performing that song.
 
Originally Posted by Zegers
Hi Gavin!

I was wondering if I can get my hands on a full tanscription of The Sound Of Muzak. I've been searching for a while and have had no luck.

Thanks, Bob Zegers


I've seen some transcriptions, but they really just show you the basic groove with no variation. The best lesson on that song is just to watch the Modern Drummer vid of Gavin performing that song.

Get the Modern Drummer October 2007 issue. There's a whole three-page note-for-note transcription. Do a search on ebay.
 
Hi Gavin

I was wondering if you could tell us a little about how you tune your drums. The rest of the band changes key fairly often so how do you manage to make the drums sound so good all the time? Do you tune to any specific notes or rather where you feel each drum sounds best (individually and in relation to the other drums).

Also in the pics posted above I see you're using the Tama Speed Cobras. Have you switched to them from Axis or was it just for that masterclass? If yes, why?

Thanks for your time,
Alex
 
Hi Gavin,

I was wondering how you prepare for performance. I am referring to mental preparation before the show..... like Yoga, Meditation or so.

Thanks.
 
Hi CameronADD

Thanks for getting back to me on the Monkey Puzzle Studio thing. Bonnie the Cat was named after Rupert Matthews' cat, right? :)


Correct!

Also, just a quick question, do you ever clean your cymbals? If so, how often, and how do you do it?

I never clean my cymbals.

Hi supermac

As a 'master of beat manipulation', I'd be keen on some advice from you on five-note groupings.The latest Rythmn magazine has a nice linear fill exercise where a group of 32 16th notes is broken up into six groups of five notes and then two notes, equalling, of course, 32 notes. I pretty much lose track of the underlying 4/4 groove totally.
Any tips on 'feeling' the excercise as opposed to counting it?


Try tapping on your legs RLRLL x 6 plus RL whilst tapping your foot in quarter notes. See if that makes 'feeling' 5's any easier.

Hi Nickropolis

The Sonor Prolite sounded great, 10-12-14-16-18-20 14 snare (I think).

thanks for the pictures. The set is actually 8,10,12,14,16, 22 bass drum and a 13" snare - apart from that you were spot on !!

Hi DsDrummer

I chose The Sound of Muzak. I have a question about what you're doing during the guitar solo towards the middle. A few measures before you going onto the ride you do two little fills with open and closed hi-hat and the snare drum. Can you help me with what your really doing. I watched the Modern Drummer DVD several times and it just goes by way too fast for me to understand what's going on.


Really, I think it would be better if you came up with your own fills - it would add more of your character to the performance. The fill you're talking about is basically flams between the tom and snare and then the right hand goes over to the opened hi hat (plus a bass drum I think). I'm using groupings of 3 or 5 sixteenths.

Hi Juan Exposito

What is your thought about using a drum riser in your home studio ?

it's just so I can move the kit around my room for a different sound - and closer or further away from my live room where I have separate mics set up to catch the ambiance.

Hi cramin2

I recognized that you made a big band version of Futile, but I stopped trying to identify the second PT song for big band halfway through and focused on your inspiring drumming. What was the second big band song you played?

Cheating The Polygraph. Glad you enjoyed the clinic!

Hi euphoric_anomaly

What are the differences between your "Futile" double bass pattern (you know, the one that leaves the audiences jaw on the floor) and Meshuggah's "Bleed"?

"cwoodruff" kind of got it right. The pattern during that section of Futile is four 32nd notes in between each hi hat note (which itself is playing dotted 8th notes), whereas Bleed is (primarily) continuously two 32nds followed by two 16ths in a 4/4 feel.

Hi TKIE

Just curious to ask - the cymbals (asking for hats and ride) in your last posted video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCzpafGE7Qk are 13" k hats and 20" ride?


yes that's correct. They're good all round versatile cymbals.

Hi Alex Temperley

I was wondering if you could tell us a little about how you tune your drums. The rest of the band changes key fairly often so how do you manage to make the drums sound so good all the time? Do you tune to any specific notes or rather where you feel each drum sounds best (individually and in relation to the other drums).

I don't tune to specific notes - if you look back through this forum thread you'll find the relative intervals. I don't think my toms have such easily identifiable pitches to them - so it doesn't matter what key the rest of the band are playing in.

Also in the pics posted above I see you're using the Tama Speed Cobras. Have you switched to them from Axis or was it just for that masterclass? If yes, why?

I switched to Tama Speed Cobras almost two years ago. I just felt I could get more power from them with less effort. I can't play any faster though.

Hi dr_flam

I was wondering how you prepare for performance. I am referring to mental preparation before the show..... like Yoga, Meditation or so.


No I just try to be in an atmosphere that is void of distractions. I don't really want folks outside of the band in the dressing room for 30 minutes before the show. That way I can focus on the job at hand and not have to sit there listening to someone telling me about their sister's eye operation or the fact that their uncle has hemorrhoids.

cheers
Gavin
 
Hi Gavin,

Cool to hear you are doing bigband arrangements of PT tunes. I was pleasantly surprised with Futile last year in Meppel. Looking forward to the other tunes!

Two questions; I was listening to the PT Rockpalast show and you played the tune So called friend. I had the idea that there was a backing track running with percussion during the verses where you play mostly toms. Is it indeed a percussion track? It sounds a bit like a tabla or egyptian hand drum to me.

Secondly, how do you feel when other drummers are playing your parts? For example, Marco Minneman playing the Insurgentes material with the SW band or a guy on youtube doing GH/05ric tunes? Does it inspire you to see other people play "your parts"?

[edit]
Looking at the iDrum magazine video. Is that a Beyer M88 on your low floortom?
 
Hey, Gavin.

First of all, I want to tell you I really admire you and I love your work. Keep rocking!

Now, looking at previous posts, I managed to understand what you are doing in the drums during the verses in the song "Cheating the Polygraph". Before seeing the sketch you posted, I couldn't see that you were doing a 7/8 rhythm. However, I've spent quite some time and I still don't quite get what Steven is doing with the voice. I know you say he is singing in 6/8, but I am not sure how to match that rhythm with the verses Steven is singing, nor how to match that 6/8 rhythm with the 7/8 rhythm you are playing.

Does Steven has his own 6/8 rhythm independent from what you are playing, and every certain amount of beats the voice matches up with the drums?

What I wish to be able to do is be able to count the beats of Stevens rhythm, like 1-2-3 1-2-3 or something like that, but I am not able to determine which are the downbeats of Steven's voice rhythm. Is there any way you can explain in more detail how the voice is arranged in this song?

Thank you!
:)
 
That way I can focus on the job at hand and not have to sit there listening to someone telling me about their sister's eye operation or the fact that their uncle has hemorrhoids.

cheers
Gavin[/QUOTE]

HAHAHAHAHHA!!!! Gavin certainly fits his Gemini sun sign.
 
Hi Gavin!

I was wondering if you could give some more insights to the sound aspects and improvements that you had when you started using S-Hoops!

I've been looking to put them in my drumset but first I wanted your opinion on the product!

Best wishes from Rio de Janeiro! Thanks!
 
Hi keep it simple

Still out of the country for the London Drum Show Gavin?

yes I will be far away by then...

Oct 14 Tokyo
Oct 15 Taipei
Oct 16 Hong Kong
Oct 18 Bangkok
Oct 19 Manila
Oct 21Kuala Lumpur
Oct 22 Singapore
Oct 25 Beijing
Oct 26 Chengdu

Hi SantiBanks

Two questions; I was listening to the PT Rockpalast show and you played the tune So called friend. I had the idea that there was a backing track running with percussion during the verses where you play mostly toms. Is it indeed a percussion track? It sounds a bit like a tabla or egyptian hand drum to me.


yes there are some Octobans on a track.

Secondly, how do you feel when other drummers are playing your parts? For example, Marco Minneman playing the Insurgentes material with the SW band or a guy on youtube doing GH/05ric tunes? Does it inspire you to see other people play "your parts"?

I don't really feel anything. There's more personality in 'how' you play something than 'what' you play. Everyone who plays those parts brings their own thing to them.

Looking at the iDrum magazine video. Is that a Beyer M88 on your low floortom?

correct. Yet another one of my Sennheiser 421s had broken.

Hi Tyrael

Now, looking at previous posts, I managed to understand what you are doing in the drums during the verses in the song "Cheating the Polygraph". Before seeing the sketch you posted, I couldn't see that you were doing a 7/8 rhythm. However, I've spent quite some time and I still don't quite get what Steven is doing with the voice. I know you say he is singing in 6/8, but I am not sure how to match that rhythm with the verses Steven is singing, nor how to match that 6/8 rhythm with the 7/8 rhythm you are playing.
Does Steven has his own 6/8 rhythm independent from what you are playing, and every certain amount of beats the voice matches up with the drums?


I would say that Steve is just listening to the bass drum downbeats and snare drum offbeat accents and treating it as 6/8 (ignoring the 7/16s in between). He sings it pretty fluid and loose anyway and it creates a strange rhythmic tension.

Hi Heitor

I was wondering if you could give some more insights to the sound aspects and improvements that you had when you started using S-Hoops!

I really like what they do for the drums. Especially useful on the snare drum. I like to use 'O' rings to dampen my snare drum and they fit right in under the flange. I've never been a fan of Die-Cast hoops (except on tight jazzy drums). If you haven't tried one yet start with getting one for the top of a snare drum and see what you think.

cheers
Gavin
 
Hello Gavin! A long time fan right here.

A guitarist from our school (Pop&Jazz Conservatory Lappia, Tornio, Finland) is doing his
thesis on Porcupine Tree in around three months from now. I got the drummers seat, lucky me right :D Anyhow, I was wondering if you (or anyone else in here) has got the drum
transcriptions for the following songs (album versions);

Blackest Eyes
Open Car
Sound of Muzak
Halo
Normal
Hatesong
Trains

This would ease my workload quite significatly since I'm also working with five bands atm
and planning my own thesis aswell. Thanks in advance!
 
Hi Patonk1,

I posted in this forum some of these transcriptions (Blackest Eyes, Open Car and Halo). There are probably a few mistakes (I did them a few years ago...).
If you can't find them, i can send you the files by mail.

Bye !

Alex P.
 
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