Skip to main content
Music Radar MusicRadar The No.1 website for musicians
  • Guitars
  • Amps
  • Pedals
  • Drums
  • Synths
  • Software
  • Pianos
  • Controllers
  • Recording
  • Buyer’s guides
  • Live
  • DJ
  • Advice
  • Acoustic
  • Bass
  • About Us
  • More
    • Reviews
Magazines
  • Computer Music
  • Electronic Musician
  • Future Music
  • Keyboard Magazine
  • Guitarist
  • Guitar Techniques
  • Total Guitar
  • Bass Player
More
  • Purdie on the Purdie shuffle
  • Type beats
  • 86000+ free music samples
  • How to make an AI cover song
  • Three-chord trick

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

  1. News

12 days of Christmas: Benny Greb's top 5 tips for developing your vocabulary behind the kit

By Rhythm
published 25 December 2013

Like the song says, express yourself

Play in the moment

Play in the moment

To celebrate the festive season and to ensure you get your regular fix of drum goodness Rhythm will be posting a daily dose of all things drums. To kick things off we have a a few choice tips from Benny Greb...

From fusion to swing, funk to rock, Benny Greb approaches the drums with dexterity, articulation and creativity.

For anyone who feels stuck in a musical rut, Benny shares some insights in how to maximise the skills and vocabulary you already possess, the importance of the ‘how’ instead of the ‘what’, and playing what you must, not what you can. First things first...

“The number one tip that has served me really well is to focus on focus. A lot of us spend a lot of time not being in that moment and being able to act in the moment where music happens. We plan ahead or worry about what just happened. I recommend the book The Inner Game Of Tennis - that’s absolutely great. I was never a tennis freak, but it really deals with focusing on what matters in the moment and trusting yourself.”

Page 1 of 6
Page 1 of 6
Vive la difference
(Image credit: Joby Sessions)

Vive la difference

“We want to get a different effect so think ‘I have to play something different'. But huge potential lies in, ‘OK, I play this and get a certain effect. I want a different effect so I’ll play the same thing differently’.

"Play with a different dynamic, a different approach or attitude. Guys like Steve Gadd are masters of that. They don’t have unlimited vocabulary and they don’t need unlimited vocabulary. They have vocabulary in terms of the emotions they can convey.

"The same fill can fit in a high intensity rock-pop song but can also fit in with a piano trio if played differently. Sometimes people are amazed by what you can get away with technique-wise or in terms of repertoire if the feel is right and something is played at the right moment.”

Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
How, not what
(Image credit: Joby Sessions)

How, not what

“One of the most important things for me is to think not so much about ‘what’ I play as ‘how’ I play it. Then I’m in line with what goes on in the music

If you have a drum part that doesn’t work, you think, ‘I should place that snare hit somewhere else’, or ‘I should do more with the bass drum’, or ‘I should have a different pattern on the ride cymbal.’

"That is all the ‘what’. The ‘how’ would be, ‘Maybe it’s too heavy and that’s why it doesn’t work. Maybe I should play it more jazzy?’ I don’t fool around with the placement of the snare; I just pull back dynamic-wise and let the ride cymbal be the main instrument on this groove. Maybe you don’t have to come up with a different vocabulary or study more styles; maybe you just have to do it differently. Tune your snare drum differently. Use mallets instead of sticks. All that is a universe of possibilities that you can use besides the ‘what’.”

Page 3 of 6
Page 3 of 6
Be realistic
(Image credit: Joby Sessions)

Be realistic

“For an extreme example, the punk band I had when I was a teen, we had a couple of presets on an effects board and we practiced a lot and then we got on stage and we couldn’t see the numbers on our effects boards anymore and it all went to hell.

"What we did then was we practiced in the dark, which sounds silly but it makes the point. What can you do while practicing that will be like playing live? Really think about: what is the result you want to get and what are you doing this for? Try to practice under those circumstances.”

Page 4 of 6
Page 4 of 6
Make music
(Image credit: Joby Sessions)

Make music

“Change your paradigm of a solo or a groove drummer. What the heck is a groove drummer? On YouTube people post videos of me where they say, ‘It’s a groove solo’. What is a groove solo? I never heard a trumpet player says he’s a ‘melody player’. If you can’t play melodies on that instrument you’re not really a trumpet player in the first place.

"We should be able to express ourselves on this instrument. If the other guys are not playing you can say something musical that doesn’t require anyone else to play. Maybe you can produce something that can stand on its own. That’s a level you should aspire to - I can make music with my instrument. It’s not about, ‘Oh no! I have to practise double bass and gospel chops!’ Maybe it’s playing grooves really well in a fashion that keeps people hooked until the eight bars are over. That’s also a drum solo.”

Page 5 of 6
Page 5 of 6
Play what you must
(Image credit: Joby Sessions)

Play what you must

“There is a great quote from a conductor I heard once. He conducted the Berlin Philharmonic and he had a very loose style of conducting. Some conductors do very precise motions so you know where the time is, and there are others that just wave their hands around and make big motions and you don’t know what’s going on.

"One of the violinists stood up and said, ‘Excuse me, you’re great but when should I start to play? I don’t know when to start’. And the guy said, ‘When you can’t stand it anymore’. That’s such a good lesson because it deals with thinking about how little you can do and is everything you do of value? Play what you must play, not only want you want to play.”

Page 6 of 6
Page 6 of 6
Rhythm
Social Links Navigation
More about drums
Black Friday headphone deals

Black Friday studio headphone deals 2023: Everything you need to know ahead of this year's Cyber Weekend sales

Cindy Blackman Santana

Cindy Blackman Santana tackles the iconic In The Air Tonight drum fill as she joins Chris Stapleton and Snoop Dogg on a new version of the song for ESPN’s Monday Night Football

Latest
Nirvana In Utero cover

Nirvana session cellist Kera Schaley talks about playing on In Utero: "The funny thing about All Apologies is Steve kept trying to talk Kurt out of putting cello on it"

See more latest ►
Most Popular
“It makes it exciting and dangerous and fun”: Yngwie Malmsteen says he doesn’t need to rehearse anymore and explains why he mostly ignores the setlist

By Jonathan Horsley22 September 2023

9 tips for buying second-hand music gear without getting scammed

By Andy Jones22 September 2023

Pro Tools Sketch: industry-standard DAW gets Ableton Live-style clip launching and a free iPad app, but will it convince you to switch?

By Si Truss22 September 2023

Elon Musk allegedly turned up at the studio with a gun while Grimes was recording dialogue for Cyberpunk 2077: "The studio guys were sweating"

By Matt Mullen22 September 2023

Electro Harmonix unveils the 9 mini Pico effects pedals for its NYC DSP Series – with reworked old favourites and new designs

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

DAW not doing it for you? Cantor is a free “music playground” for looping, sampling and sound design

By Ben Rogerson21 September 2023

Watch bluegrass guitarist Ian Ly become the 2023 US National Flat-picking Champion

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

Audiomovers launches Off The Record interview series with first episode featuring Dire Straits producer Chuck Ainlay

By Matt Mullen21 September 2023

“I thought, ‘have I done something heinous?’”: James Blake reminds Brian Eno that he once accused him of using ‘the arsehole chord’ and demands to know what it actually is

By Ben Rogerson21 September 2023

The Vai, Bonamassa, Di Meola and Abasi-backed guitar virtuoso Matteo Mancuso dazzles again on new song Silk Road

By Rob Laing21 September 2023

DAACI is the AI-powered 'meta-composition' software that writes music like a human: "It's interpreting what comes from a composer’s brain, rather than trying to imitate something that’s already been made"

By Andy Price21 September 2023

  1. Marty Friedman
    1
    Marty Friedman’s guitar teacher told him to take a bong hit every time he played an exercise correctly, but the ex-Megadeth guitarist has better advice for students
  2. 2
    Positive Grid BIAS FX 2 review
  3. 3
    “Sometimes Jimi Hendrix’s girlfriend would go and buy us breakfast because we had no money”: Rod Stewart says early days of the Jeff Beck Group were no picnic
  4. 4
    16 famous musicians who almost joined very famous bands
  5. 5
    “Right now I’d like to do a song, it’s a little thing by Howlin’ Wolf…”: Listen to Jimi Hendrix’s newly unearthed performance of Killing Floor at the Hollywood Bowl, 1967
  1. Cindy Blackman Santana
    1
    Cindy Blackman Santana tackles the iconic In The Air Tonight drum fill as she joins Chris Stapleton and Snoop Dogg on a new version of the song for ESPN’s Monday Night Football
  2. 2
    Watch bluegrass guitarist Ian Ly become the 2023 US National Flat-picking Champion
  3. 3
    “It makes it exciting and dangerous and fun”: Yngwie Malmsteen says he doesn’t need to rehearse anymore and explains why he mostly ignores the setlist
  4. 4
    Elon Musk allegedly turned up at the studio with a gun while Grimes was recording dialogue for Cyberpunk 2077: "The studio guys were sweating"
  5. 5
    “When it came in as a demo, I assumed the rest of the song was going to be built out”: Kylie Minogue didn't realise Padam Padam was finished when she first heard it

MusicRadar is part of Future plc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future Publishing Limited Quay House, The Ambury, Bath BA1 1UA. All rights reserved. England and Wales company registration number 2008885.