つっちーの「太鼓奇談」第三回｜チューニングセミナー

Hello everyone reading the JPC newsletter. I'm Tsucchi, a drum tech.
It's already early this year, and it's already April.
On a personal note, I recently celebrated my 45th birthday on the 6th.
I'm so happy about my birthday now, and I don't feel like having a party with my friends.
No.
The previous day, the 5th, I had a live performance in my hometown, but I didn't really do anything there because it was my birthday.
I wonder if a dull middle-aged man over 40 can get excited about his birthday...lol

So, this time I would like to write about the ``Tsutchi's Tuning Club offline meeting'' that was held quietly in the basement studio of Asakusa JPC in January.
Masu.
On the day of the event, more than 30 people came despite the cold weather, and the enthusiasm in the venue was overwhelming.
Last time, I felt this enthusiasm at the seminar at Shirai Music in Toyohashi, and everyone was very serious about tuning and how to interact with an instrument called drums.I felt like it was someone else's problem, and I thought that I would like to try again to enjoy how to interact with a simple but deeply profound instrument called drums.

Mr. Nishio sent everyone's questions by email in advance, and based on those questions, in the first half, we explained the basics, some applications, tricks, and tricks, and in the second half, we had a question-and-answer time with everyone to try to communicate. Oh, that's right, when I was giving this seminar, I was going to take a brand new snare and build it into my own sound from scratch. It was 6.5 of Radic's reprint Acrolite. This snare is so good that it's now the main thing I play in my band.

At the seminar, he said, ``There is no magically perfect tuning method.
All I have to do is approach the instrument and music with care and sincerity. Our main premise was that we were able to do it quickly thanks to technology based on many years of experience. In the process, I would like to introduce to you from my experience how to bring out the sound within you, and what kind of work is effective for that purpose.

Musical instruments are truly mysterious things, and even if the same instrument is placed in the same room every day, the sound can sound slightly different depending on the surrounding environment, weather, the condition of the player's ears, mood, etc.
Even if you do a scientific analysis and say, ``This snare is tuned exactly the same as yesterday,'' that's not true.
When I say, ``It sounds just as good as yesterday,'' or ``This instrument always sounds good,'' I think they mean, ``Of course it's not exactly the same as yesterday, but yesterday's sound and this sound both have the same character and the same atmosphere, and the parts that are important to me are alive and well.''

When I'm writing about something like that, people tend to say, ``No, that's why I always ask how you create that character or atmosphere.'' No, of course.
This is simple in a nutshell. After all, all you have to do is have your own sound.
Nowadays, there are so many different sounds out there that it's easy to hear all of them and end up with one thing or another.
Everyone is greedy lol
That's not a bad thing at all; in fact, it's important to listen to a variety of music, experience a variety of sounds, and cultivate your own sensibilities when playing any instrument.

When I play my instrument, I always keep in mind the tuning, and I thought it wasn't a big deal, it was just a personal preference, but one day I mentioned it to a fellow drummer, and he pointed out to me, ``That's really important.''
It's called "All Tuning" and it's called something like a special menu at a ramen shop lol.
Ah, those who understand are grinning lol
People who don't know what I'm talking about will be disappointed lol
The more things that catch your eye in life, the more fun it will be.
So, when I say that all of the songs are included, I'm saying that all of the music that I've listened to is included. I'll explain it in detail.

When I go to a professional setting, especially when recording, it's common for several characters to bring different snares, select one that fits the music, adjust it, and use it. Of course, that's a good method, and if you think it's different, it's the easiest and most effective way to just change the instrument itself. However, when I play by myself, I want to use only one snare as much as possible, and I think it would be fun to express various expressions with one instrument. Of course, when I was young, I couldn't buy many musical instruments, and it was difficult to carry them around, so I wanted to reduce my luggage.
But what struck me most was the idea of ​​``one snare with a variety of sounds,'' and I thought it would be fun to condense all the snares I've listened to into one.
R&R, Bossa Nova, Techno, R&B, SOUL, FUNK, Reggae, Jazz...
Of course popular songs and enka are fine, oh, and country too lol
Of course, you can try using a ring mute, covering it with a handkerchief, or putting duct tape on it. However, I only use one snare as a base, and I keep some mute accessories in my stick bag. Then, when I was doing a session live somewhere, I was suddenly handed the sheet music and thought, ``This is a song I didn't know was going to be played.'' At that time, instead of thinking, ``Oh, this snare doesn't work for this song,'' I want to think, ``Oh, I can use a ring mute for this.'' It's a completely personal hobby lol
It's like a guitarist trying to add color to his music by producing a variety of sounds using only a Fender Strat and the bare minimum of pedals, or a keyboard player creating an infinite number of tones from a single synthesizer.
Of course, the guitarist and keyboardist also have various other instruments. I also have a lot of snares.
I don't know how to describe it, but it's a tuning that's like the greatest common denominator of the snare sounds I've heard.
With no mute, the overtones come out properly, with a ring mute, a low sound comes out, and with a small gel mute, it sounds dry. With one machine. It's convenient and fun. If you casually look around you, you'll see that there are quite a lot of people like that. Of course, the touch of the shot can also make a huge difference. I feel that the key point when choosing a snare in such situations is "softness." Moist, fluffy, and slightly sweet.
It's like Satomi Ishihara, like freshly baked hotel bread lol
In that respect, the acrolite that I touched for the first time at the seminar was good. When you need more attack or firmness, you can often solve the problem by changing the shot or changing the stick.

During the seminar, everyone brought their favorite instrument, and after the seminar, I got to touch almost everyone's snare, which was very interesting. Every person is so different, isn't it?
Choosing an instrument is also important, and on the day of the seminar, a young man told me that his snare wouldn't play and he had brought his own instrument, so I said, ``Okay, let me see it,'' and I was able to see his instrument.
DW's Solid Copper is basically a metal-heavy instrument made of machined copper, and when I actually tried producing the sound, it was perfect.
"What's wrong?"
I asked the young man, but he said, "No, I can't make it sound good..."
Then, a man who was in the front row and seemed to be quite capable came into view.
"Isn't that the way you hit?" Yes, that's right lol
Even when I hit it, the sound was perfect, and everyone in the audience nodded in agreement. I decided to have him come in front of me and hit me.
When you look at that shot, you can see that it hits the edge of the ball very lightly on the rim. "Do you always hit me like that?"
“I’m having trouble not saying hi, bam!”
There was an exchange where people said, ``No, I don't think I'd say that,'' and what I was trying to say was the importance of choosing an instrument that suits your physique, and the importance of the shot that produces the sound.
It is difficult for someone who is obviously weak and has a weak shot to make a really heavy metal shell snare sound. There are some people who use heavy snares that may seem weak, but this is the result of practice.
That person's touch has been perfected to an extraordinary level. If you just worry about it without practicing or researching, you won't make any progress. Also, there is a risk in choosing a snare simply because your favorite drummer uses it. It's said that the appearance of an instrument is important, but if you don't first determine whether it suits your power and physique, your chances of getting a good result will drop significantly, even if you spend a lot of money. I told him clearly.
``The chemistry between you and the instrument is the exact opposite.'' ``It takes a lot of skill to make a heavy instrument sound with a light touch.A shallow shot with a rim like ``Kang!'' is easier because it produces a more audible sound, but when you listen to it from the outside, it often ends up being a ``painful sound.'' It's good if the mids and lows are not ringing! will not appear. ”
If you don't learn how to make a snap stroke with a single snare hit, and also study tuning, you won't be able to do anything like this.
After that, I don't know how that young man changed after getting help from this off-line meeting, but I would be happy if we could meet again somewhere, change for the better, and enjoy playing the drums.

Also, there was a young man who brought his own snare and played jazz, but he wasn't sure if his snare was really good, and the other members didn't say anything about it. He had a pretty good shot, and his tuning was perfect.
I said, ``I think you need to be more confident in yourself.'' He looked a little happy and said, ``I'll do my best!'' and went home.
If you know of a musician who has good sound, good play, and good music, please honestly tell them what you feel!
Musicians are truly happy.
I think there are a lot of drummers in particular who thrive on praise.
I hope everyone can find their own shots and strokes, tune in, enjoy music, and enjoy life to the fullest.

...Hmm, I wrote this seriously this time lol

Things like this shouldn't happen. I need to get off track more. Devoted, devoted.

So, for this month's "Listen to this! Listen from the best!", we have selected four masterpieces of LIVE albums.
(Actually, four pieces aren't enough.)
Please look for it when you go to the record store.
(I would never call it a CD shop lol)
See you soon!