FACULTY ESSAY
by Paul Wertico
Assistant Professor and Head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies
To some people, a drummer spends his or her life just hitting things and making a lot of noise. To others,
the drummer invokes images of physical coordination, grace, energy
and rhythm. Others look at a drummer and fantasize about what
extra-musical opportunities and escapades he or she must have experienced.
To the more enlightened, the drummer represents the heart
and soul of any band, its driving force and thus its musical conductor
in many ways. Actually, all of the above scenarios are valid in some
respects, depending on the music and the circumstances.
During my professional career, I’ve been both a performer and an
instructor. I’ve played the drums around the world as a member of the
Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001 and have been fortunate to
receive seven Grammy Awards and several gold records. Currently,
I’m head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies in Roosevelt’s
Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) and actively perform
and record with many different artists around the globe. With over
40 years of private teaching experience, I’ve taught a wide variety
of students, ranging from high school and college level players, to
highly successful professionals (Glenn Kotche from the band Wilco,
Jeff Quay from Blue Man Group and even players from the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra). In addition, some of my students have been
surgeons, anesthesiologists, psychiatrists, lawyers and even a champion
race car driver.
During all those years, I’ve always made it my policy to never
tell students that they “don’t have it” or that they’ll “never amount
to anything” because if they want to play drums, then they should
play drums. A beautiful thing about music is that it’s very accepting
of different concepts and abilities. Just because you can’t play jazz
doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t play rock or blues.
It’s my job to find “the key that opens the door” for each individual
based on his or her talent, practice habits and musical interests.
Rather than just going through a preset routine or following
some rigid curriculum procedures, I always try to
evaluate and “diagnose” students on an individual
basis and then “prescribe” what I think they need
on a lesson-by-lesson basis.
For instance, my CCPA students consistently
practice for many hours every day and as a result
they improve by leaps and bounds. They come
back for their next lesson prepared and hungry for
more. As a teacher, it’s gratifying and inspiring to
see such huge improvements on a consistent basis.
Other students (those who are professionals in
other areas) sometimes don’t have time to practice,
so it’s my job to give them what they need during
each lesson, while realizing that the next time I see
them, a few of them may have improved only by
what they learned at their last lesson. One student,
a surgeon who possesses a good amount of natural
musical talent, but has absolutely no time to practice,
refers to his weekly lessons as the “pearl of
the day.” He dreams of retirement when he’ll be
able to spend all the time he wants with the hobby
he loves so much.
A drummer’s primary responsibility is to “keep
time” and to give “life” to a tempo. Each type of
beat gives a song a certain style and identity and
makes people want to move and dance. Next time
you’re at a wedding and want to dance a cha-cha,
if the drummer plays the cha-cha beat correctly,
you’ll have fun dancing, but if the drummer doesn’t
know how to play a cha-cha beat and plays an
overly complicated swing groove instead, then
good luck trying to dance a cha-cha to that!
In fact, one of the things that makes a chacha,
a cha-cha… a rock beat, a rock beat… and a
songo, a songo… is what the drummer plays. Each
of these rhythms has a certain feel and requires the
drummer to have coordination and independence of
his or her limbs in order to play the beat correctly.
Of all the musical instruments,
drums are probably the most
misunderstood.
Paul Wertico performs
at an outdoor concert in
Chicago in 1982.
35
To some people,
a drummer spends
his or her life just
hitting things and
making a lot of
noise. To others,
the drummer invokes images of physical coordination, grace, energy
and rhythm. Others look at a drummer and fantasize about what
extra-musical opportunities and escapades he or she must have experienced.
To the more enlightened, the drummer represents the heart
and soul of any band, its driving force and thus its musical conductor
in many ways. Actually, all of the above scenarios are valid in some
respects, depending on the music and the circumstances.
During my professional career, I’ve been both a performer and an
instructor. I’ve played the drums around the world as a member of the
Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001 and have been fortunate to
receive seven Grammy Awards and several gold records. Currently,
I’m head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies in Roosevelt’s
Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) and actively perform
and record with many different artists around the globe. With over
40 years of private teaching experience, I’ve taught a wide variety
of students, ranging from high school and college level players, to
highly successful professionals (Glenn Kotche from the band Wilco,
Jeff Quay from Blue Man Group and even players from the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra). In addition, some of my students have been
surgeons, anesthesiologists, psychiatrists, lawyers and even a champion
race car driver.
During all those years, I’ve always made it my policy to never
tell students that they “don’t have it” or that they’ll “never amount
to anything” because if they want to play drums, then they should
play drums. A beautiful thing about music is that it’s very accepting
of different concepts and abilities. Just because you can’t play jazz
doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t play rock or blues.
It’s my job to find “the key that opens the door” for each individual
based on his or her talent, practice habits and musical interests.
Rather than just going through a preset routine or following
some rigid curriculum procedures, I always try to
evaluate and “diagnose” students on an individual
basis and then “prescribe” what I think they need
on a lesson-by-lesson basis.
For instance, my CCPA students consistently
practice for many hours every day and as a result
they improve by leaps and bounds. They come
back for their next lesson prepared and hungry for
more. As a teacher, it’s gratifying and inspiring to
see such huge improvements on a consistent basis.
Other students (those who are professionals in
other areas) sometimes don’t have time to practice,
so it’s my job to give them what they need during
each lesson, while realizing that the next time I see
them, a few of them may have improved only by
what they learned at their last lesson. One student,
a surgeon who possesses a good amount of natural
musical talent, but has absolutely no time to practice,
refers to his weekly lessons as the “pearl of
the day.” He dreams of retirement when he’ll be
able to spend all the time he wants with the hobby
he loves so much.
A drummer’s primary responsibility is to “keep
time” and to give “life” to a tempo. Each type of
beat gives a song a certain style and identity and
makes people want to move and dance. Next time
you’re at a wedding and want to dance a cha-cha,
if the drummer plays the cha-cha beat correctly,
you’ll have fun dancing, but if the drummer doesn’t
know how to play a cha-cha beat and plays an
overly complicated swing groove instead, then
good luck trying to dance a cha-cha to that!
In fact, one of the things that makes a chacha,
a cha-cha… a rock beat, a rock beat… and a
songo, a songo… is what the drummer plays. Each
of these rhythms has a certain feel and requires the
drummer to have coordination and independence of
his or her limbs in order to play the beat correctly.
Of all the musical instruments,
drums are probably the most
misunderstood.
Paul Wertico performs
at an outdoor concert in
Chicago in 1982.
36 Roosevelt Review fFaAll 200099 As an artist, you have to have
patience and dedication. As a
musician, I look at my personal
journey through my art and use
it as a gauge for my life.
36 Roosevelt Review fall 2009 As an artist, you have to have
patience and dedication. As a
musician, I look at my personal
journey through my art and use
it as a gauge for my life.
3377
To become successful in almost any area of music, the drummer
must first learn how to “feel” and maintain a steady tempo.
This essential skill can be learned through repeated practice with a
metronome or a sequencer or by playing along with various recordings
that have solid time and then “hearing” and memorizing exactly
that tempo. This is accomplished both by mental concentration and
through muscle memory.
Some students are gifted with a better sense of tempo than others,
much like some people have a natural sense of pitch. Possessing
these abilities from birth gives students an advantage, but these
skills can also be taught. One other great way to hone one’s sense
of tempo is by playing with fellow musicians who have a good feel
and sense of time.
Although I am certainly biased, I believe there are many reasons
young people should consider choosing a career as a professional
drummer or, at the very least, take up playing the drums as a hobby.
Here are my top reasons:
A healthy lifestyle U2 band drummer Larry Mullen
is more fit than European soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, according
to an article in the Irish Independent Herald newspaper. Research
has shown that every time the U2 drummer rocks his way through a
90-minute performance on stage, he burns more calories than most
top athletes. Scientists connected musicians, including Blondie’s
drummer Clem Burke, to equipment measuring their heart rate, oxygen
up-take and the levels of lactic acid in their blood as they played
a set. The stress on their bodies as they played was then compared
to that of top athletes. It was found that the drummers’ heart rates
were raised to as high as 190 beats per minute and they could burn
off 600 calories in a performance. Many drummers typically burn
400 to 600 calories per hour. The British government hopes this
research will help develop programs for overweight children who
are not interested in sports.
Playing creative music helps develop problemsolving
abilities In life, we’re always going to find
ourselves in new and unfamiliar circumstances. I’ve discovered that
musicians often adapt better to different situations than people who
are used to a certain type of “stability” in their lives. By taking an
improvisational “jazz attitude” to life in general, a person can learn
how to embrace the unknown and make something out of nothing. And
even though change can be frightening to a lot of people, musicians
are able to deal with things as they come.
A chance to continually improve and never be
bored Musicians learn how to truly express themselves by striving
for artistic growth and then by sharing their discoveries with others. Part of the beauty
of doing this is the journey itself. Many people in this
day and age seem to want to arrive “there” immediately,
without fully understanding and appreciating the process of actually getting “there.” A
lot of things nowadays are
about instant gratification
and quick fixes. That is not
what being a creative musician is about. As an artist, you have to
have patience and dedication. As a musician, I look at my personal
journey through my art and use it as a gauge for my life.
Many people can’t even walk and chew gum at
the same time, but drummers can handle multitasking
easily Drummers not only have to use all four
limbs at once, but they also have to keep time, make the composition
and performance flow, create an appropriate and supportive
drum part, remember the song’s form and structure and anticipate
the future. In addition, they must be open to anything unexpected
and be able to back up and inspire soloists. Some even sing while
playing the drums.
Self-expression Playing the drums allows people to
express themselves through sound and motion. It’s an amazing way
to tell the world what you know and feel. When there’s a connection
between the drummer, the other musicians and the audience, it’s a
truly magical feeling that can’t be adequately described in words.
A chance to make people happy By performing at
weddings, bar mitzvahs, private parties and other events, musicians
perform a critical role in people’s most important and memorable
events. That’s a big responsibility and it can be very gratifying to
know that you helped make someone’s special day into a day with
beautiful and lasting memories.
The ability to work with others To be a successful
musician, you must learn how to work with others on stage and
off. One of the best compliments drummers can get is when other
musicians tell them that it was “so easy to play with them” and that
the other musicians felt like “they could play things they’ve never
played before.”
You never know when the “plane will go down”
Since there’s no real security in life and you never know when a
particular day might be your last, why not live your life to its fullest
and follow your life’s passion doing something you truly love to do?
Finally, I’ve found that whether playing a live gig or recording
in the studio, you have no real idea whom you’re affecting, or whom
you’ll affect in the future.
An extraordinary thing happened when I was playing with the Pat
Metheny Group in Italy. At the time, the country was racked by several
kidnappings. A young man came to one of our shows and told us that
for two years he was held for ransom in a cave and didn’t know if he
was going to survive. He said what got him through that unimaginable
ordeal was thinking about our music. It’s amazing to think that the
music we make can have such a powerful effect on people’s lives.
Paul Wertico is assistant professor and head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies at the Chicago College of
Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He gained international reputation as a member of the Pat Metheny Group
where he performed on 10 recordings and four videos and won seven Grammy Awards. In reviews, his playing
has been compared to that of an “impressionist painter,” “an inspired madman,” a “restless innovator,” and “a
true legend of jazz drums.” He also was one of the Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoans of the Year” in 2004. His latest
DVD, Paul Wertico: Drum Philosophy, was released by Alfred Music Publishing and his latest CD, Impressions
of a City, featuring his new band Paul Wertico’s Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance, is on the Chicago Sessions label.
Before becoming a full-time faculty member at Roosevelt in 2008, Wertico served on the faculty of the percussion
and jazz studies programs at Northwestern University for nearly two decades. He has written educational
articles for magazines such as Modern Drummer, DRUM!, Drums & Drumming, Drum Tracks and Downbeat.
You can contact Paul Wertico at pwertico@roosevelt.edu.
37
To become successful in almost any area of music, the drummer
must first learn how to “feel” and maintain a steady tempo.
This essential skill can be learned through repeated practice with a
metronome or a sequencer or by playing along with various recordings
that have solid time and then “hearing” and memorizing exactly
that tempo. This is accomplished both by mental concentration and
through muscle memory.
Some students are gifted with a better sense of tempo than others,
much like some people have a natural sense of pitch. Possessing
these abilities from birth gives students an advantage, but these
skills can also be taught. One other great way to hone one’s sense
of tempo is by playing with fellow musicians who have a good feel
and sense of time.
Although I am certainly biased, I believe there are many reasons
young people should consider choosing a career as a professional
drummer or, at the very least, take up playing the drums as a hobby.
Here are my top reasons:
A healthy lifestyle U2 band drummer Larry Mullen
is more fit than European soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, according
to an article in the Irish Independent Herald newspaper. Research
has shown that every time the U2 drummer rocks his way through a
90-minute performance on stage, he burns more calories than most
top athletes. Scientists connected musicians, including Blondie’s
drummer Clem Burke, to equipment measuring their heart rate, oxygen
up-take and the levels of lactic acid in their blood as they played
a set. The stress on their bodies as they played was then compared
to that of top athletes. It was found that the drummers’ heart rates
were raised to as high as 190 beats per minute and they could burn
off 600 calories in a performance. Many drummers typically burn
400 to 600 calories per hour. The British government hopes this
research will help develop programs for overweight children who
are not interested in sports.
Playing creative music helps develop problemsolving
abilities In life, we’re always going to find
ourselves in new and unfamiliar circumstances. I’ve discovered that
musicians often adapt better to different situations than people who
are used to a certain type of “stability” in their lives. By taking an
improvisational “jazz attitude” to life in general, a person can learn
how to embrace the unknown and make something out of nothing. And
even though change can be frightening to a lot of people, musicians
are able to deal with things as they come.
A chance to continually improve and never be
bored Musicians learn how to truly express themselves by striving
for artistic growth and then
by sharing their discoveries
with others. Part of the beauty
of doing this is the journey
itself. Many people in this
day and age seem to want to
arrive “there” immediately,
without fully understanding
and appreciating the process
of actually getting “there.” A
lot of things nowadays are
about instant gratification
and quick fixes. That is not
what being a creative musician is about. As an artist, you have to
have patience and dedication. As a musician, I look at my personal
journey through my art and use it as a gauge for my life.
Many people can’t even walk and chew gum at
the same time, but drummers can handle multitasking
easily Drummers not only have to use all four
limbs at once, but they also have to keep time, make the composition
and performance flow, create an appropriate and supportive
drum part, remember the song’s form and structure and anticipate
the future. In addition, they must be open to anything unexpected
and be able to back up and inspire soloists. Some even sing while
playing the drums.
Self-expression Playing the drums allows people to
express themselves through sound and motion. It’s an amazing way
to tell the world what you know and feel. When there’s a connection
between the drummer, the other musicians and the audience, it’s a
truly magical feeling that can’t be adequately described in words.
A chance to make people happy By performing at
weddings, bar mitzvahs, private parties and other events, musicians
perform a critical role in people’s most important and memorable
events. That’s a big responsibility and it can be very gratifying to
know that you helped make someone’s special day into a day with
beautiful and lasting memories.
The ability to work with others To be a successful
musician, you must learn how to work with others on stage and
off. One of the best compliments drummers can get is when other
musicians tell them that it was “so easy to play with them” and that
the other musicians felt like “they could play things they’ve never
played before.”
You never know when the “plane will go down”
Since there’s no real security in life and you never know when a
particular day might be your last, why not live your life to its fullest
and follow your life’s passion doing something you truly love to do?
Finally, I’ve found that whether playing a live gig or recording
in the studio, you have no real idea whom you’re affecting, or whom
you’ll affect in the future.
An extraordinary thing happened when I was playing with the Pat
Metheny Group in Italy. At the time, the country was racked by several
kidnappings. A young man came to one of our shows and told us that
for two years he was held for ransom in a cave and didn’t know if he
was going to survive. He said what got him through that unimaginable
ordeal was thinking about our music. It’s amazing to think that the
music we make can have such a powerful effect on people’s lives.
Paul Wertico is assistant professor and head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies at the Chicago College of
Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He gained international reputation as a member of the Pat Metheny Group
where he performed on 10 recordings and four videos and won seven Grammy Awards. In reviews, his playing
has been compared to that of an “impressionist painter,” “an inspired madman,” a “restless innovator,” and “a
true legend of jazz drums.” He also was one of the Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoans of the Year” in 2004. His latest
DVD, Paul Wertico: Drum Philosophy, was released by Alfred Music Publishing and his latest CD, Impressions
of a City, featuring his new band Paul Wertico’s Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance, is on the Chicago Sessions label.
Before becoming a full-time faculty member at Roosevelt in 2008, Wertico served on the faculty of the percussion
and jazz studies programs at Northwestern University for nearly two decades. He has written educational
articles for magazines such as Modern Drummer, DRUM!, Drums & Drumming, Drum Tracks and Downbeat.
You can contact Paul Wertico at pwertico@roosevelt.edu.
by Paul Wertico
Assistant Professor and Head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies
To some people, a drummer spends his or her life just hitting things and making a lot of noise. To others,
the drummer invokes images of physical coordination, grace, energy
and rhythm. Others look at a drummer and fantasize about what
extra-musical opportunities and escapades he or she must have experienced.
To the more enlightened, the drummer represents the heart
and soul of any band, its driving force and thus its musical conductor
in many ways. Actually, all of the above scenarios are valid in some
respects, depending on the music and the circumstances.
During my professional career, I’ve been both a performer and an
instructor. I’ve played the drums around the world as a member of the
Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001 and have been fortunate to
receive seven Grammy Awards and several gold records. Currently,
I’m head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies in Roosevelt’s
Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) and actively perform
and record with many different artists around the globe. With over
40 years of private teaching experience, I’ve taught a wide variety
of students, ranging from high school and college level players, to
highly successful professionals (Glenn Kotche from the band Wilco,
Jeff Quay from Blue Man Group and even players from the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra). In addition, some of my students have been
surgeons, anesthesiologists, psychiatrists, lawyers and even a champion
race car driver.
During all those years, I’ve always made it my policy to never
tell students that they “don’t have it” or that they’ll “never amount
to anything” because if they want to play drums, then they should
play drums. A beautiful thing about music is that it’s very accepting
of different concepts and abilities. Just because you can’t play jazz
doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t play rock or blues.
It’s my job to find “the key that opens the door” for each individual
based on his or her talent, practice habits and musical interests.
Rather than just going through a preset routine or following
some rigid curriculum procedures, I always try to
evaluate and “diagnose” students on an individual
basis and then “prescribe” what I think they need
on a lesson-by-lesson basis.
For instance, my CCPA students consistently
practice for many hours every day and as a result
they improve by leaps and bounds. They come
back for their next lesson prepared and hungry for
more. As a teacher, it’s gratifying and inspiring to
see such huge improvements on a consistent basis.
Other students (those who are professionals in
other areas) sometimes don’t have time to practice,
so it’s my job to give them what they need during
each lesson, while realizing that the next time I see
them, a few of them may have improved only by
what they learned at their last lesson. One student,
a surgeon who possesses a good amount of natural
musical talent, but has absolutely no time to practice,
refers to his weekly lessons as the “pearl of
the day.” He dreams of retirement when he’ll be
able to spend all the time he wants with the hobby
he loves so much.
A drummer’s primary responsibility is to “keep
time” and to give “life” to a tempo. Each type of
beat gives a song a certain style and identity and
makes people want to move and dance. Next time
you’re at a wedding and want to dance a cha-cha,
if the drummer plays the cha-cha beat correctly,
you’ll have fun dancing, but if the drummer doesn’t
know how to play a cha-cha beat and plays an
overly complicated swing groove instead, then
good luck trying to dance a cha-cha to that!
In fact, one of the things that makes a chacha,
a cha-cha… a rock beat, a rock beat… and a
songo, a songo… is what the drummer plays. Each
of these rhythms has a certain feel and requires the
drummer to have coordination and independence of
his or her limbs in order to play the beat correctly.
Of all the musical instruments,
drums are probably the most
misunderstood.
Paul Wertico performs
at an outdoor concert in
Chicago in 1982.
35
To some people,
a drummer spends
his or her life just
hitting things and
making a lot of
noise. To others,
the drummer invokes images of physical coordination, grace, energy
and rhythm. Others look at a drummer and fantasize about what
extra-musical opportunities and escapades he or she must have experienced.
To the more enlightened, the drummer represents the heart
and soul of any band, its driving force and thus its musical conductor
in many ways. Actually, all of the above scenarios are valid in some
respects, depending on the music and the circumstances.
During my professional career, I’ve been both a performer and an
instructor. I’ve played the drums around the world as a member of the
Pat Metheny Group from 1983 until 2001 and have been fortunate to
receive seven Grammy Awards and several gold records. Currently,
I’m head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies in Roosevelt’s
Chicago College of Performing Arts (CCPA) and actively perform
and record with many different artists around the globe. With over
40 years of private teaching experience, I’ve taught a wide variety
of students, ranging from high school and college level players, to
highly successful professionals (Glenn Kotche from the band Wilco,
Jeff Quay from Blue Man Group and even players from the Chicago
Symphony Orchestra). In addition, some of my students have been
surgeons, anesthesiologists, psychiatrists, lawyers and even a champion
race car driver.
During all those years, I’ve always made it my policy to never
tell students that they “don’t have it” or that they’ll “never amount
to anything” because if they want to play drums, then they should
play drums. A beautiful thing about music is that it’s very accepting
of different concepts and abilities. Just because you can’t play jazz
doesn’t necessarily mean that you can’t play rock or blues.
It’s my job to find “the key that opens the door” for each individual
based on his or her talent, practice habits and musical interests.
Rather than just going through a preset routine or following
some rigid curriculum procedures, I always try to
evaluate and “diagnose” students on an individual
basis and then “prescribe” what I think they need
on a lesson-by-lesson basis.
For instance, my CCPA students consistently
practice for many hours every day and as a result
they improve by leaps and bounds. They come
back for their next lesson prepared and hungry for
more. As a teacher, it’s gratifying and inspiring to
see such huge improvements on a consistent basis.
Other students (those who are professionals in
other areas) sometimes don’t have time to practice,
so it’s my job to give them what they need during
each lesson, while realizing that the next time I see
them, a few of them may have improved only by
what they learned at their last lesson. One student,
a surgeon who possesses a good amount of natural
musical talent, but has absolutely no time to practice,
refers to his weekly lessons as the “pearl of
the day.” He dreams of retirement when he’ll be
able to spend all the time he wants with the hobby
he loves so much.
A drummer’s primary responsibility is to “keep
time” and to give “life” to a tempo. Each type of
beat gives a song a certain style and identity and
makes people want to move and dance. Next time
you’re at a wedding and want to dance a cha-cha,
if the drummer plays the cha-cha beat correctly,
you’ll have fun dancing, but if the drummer doesn’t
know how to play a cha-cha beat and plays an
overly complicated swing groove instead, then
good luck trying to dance a cha-cha to that!
In fact, one of the things that makes a chacha,
a cha-cha… a rock beat, a rock beat… and a
songo, a songo… is what the drummer plays. Each
of these rhythms has a certain feel and requires the
drummer to have coordination and independence of
his or her limbs in order to play the beat correctly.
Of all the musical instruments,
drums are probably the most
misunderstood.
Paul Wertico performs
at an outdoor concert in
Chicago in 1982.
36 Roosevelt Review fFaAll 200099 As an artist, you have to have
patience and dedication. As a
musician, I look at my personal
journey through my art and use
it as a gauge for my life.
36 Roosevelt Review fall 2009 As an artist, you have to have
patience and dedication. As a
musician, I look at my personal
journey through my art and use
it as a gauge for my life.
3377
To become successful in almost any area of music, the drummer
must first learn how to “feel” and maintain a steady tempo.
This essential skill can be learned through repeated practice with a
metronome or a sequencer or by playing along with various recordings
that have solid time and then “hearing” and memorizing exactly
that tempo. This is accomplished both by mental concentration and
through muscle memory.
Some students are gifted with a better sense of tempo than others,
much like some people have a natural sense of pitch. Possessing
these abilities from birth gives students an advantage, but these
skills can also be taught. One other great way to hone one’s sense
of tempo is by playing with fellow musicians who have a good feel
and sense of time.
Although I am certainly biased, I believe there are many reasons
young people should consider choosing a career as a professional
drummer or, at the very least, take up playing the drums as a hobby.
Here are my top reasons:
A healthy lifestyle U2 band drummer Larry Mullen
is more fit than European soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, according
to an article in the Irish Independent Herald newspaper. Research
has shown that every time the U2 drummer rocks his way through a
90-minute performance on stage, he burns more calories than most
top athletes. Scientists connected musicians, including Blondie’s
drummer Clem Burke, to equipment measuring their heart rate, oxygen
up-take and the levels of lactic acid in their blood as they played
a set. The stress on their bodies as they played was then compared
to that of top athletes. It was found that the drummers’ heart rates
were raised to as high as 190 beats per minute and they could burn
off 600 calories in a performance. Many drummers typically burn
400 to 600 calories per hour. The British government hopes this
research will help develop programs for overweight children who
are not interested in sports.
Playing creative music helps develop problemsolving
abilities In life, we’re always going to find
ourselves in new and unfamiliar circumstances. I’ve discovered that
musicians often adapt better to different situations than people who
are used to a certain type of “stability” in their lives. By taking an
improvisational “jazz attitude” to life in general, a person can learn
how to embrace the unknown and make something out of nothing. And
even though change can be frightening to a lot of people, musicians
are able to deal with things as they come.
A chance to continually improve and never be
bored Musicians learn how to truly express themselves by striving
for artistic growth and then by sharing their discoveries with others. Part of the beauty
of doing this is the journey itself. Many people in this
day and age seem to want to arrive “there” immediately,
without fully understanding and appreciating the process of actually getting “there.” A
lot of things nowadays are
about instant gratification
and quick fixes. That is not
what being a creative musician is about. As an artist, you have to
have patience and dedication. As a musician, I look at my personal
journey through my art and use it as a gauge for my life.
Many people can’t even walk and chew gum at
the same time, but drummers can handle multitasking
easily Drummers not only have to use all four
limbs at once, but they also have to keep time, make the composition
and performance flow, create an appropriate and supportive
drum part, remember the song’s form and structure and anticipate
the future. In addition, they must be open to anything unexpected
and be able to back up and inspire soloists. Some even sing while
playing the drums.
Self-expression Playing the drums allows people to
express themselves through sound and motion. It’s an amazing way
to tell the world what you know and feel. When there’s a connection
between the drummer, the other musicians and the audience, it’s a
truly magical feeling that can’t be adequately described in words.
A chance to make people happy By performing at
weddings, bar mitzvahs, private parties and other events, musicians
perform a critical role in people’s most important and memorable
events. That’s a big responsibility and it can be very gratifying to
know that you helped make someone’s special day into a day with
beautiful and lasting memories.
The ability to work with others To be a successful
musician, you must learn how to work with others on stage and
off. One of the best compliments drummers can get is when other
musicians tell them that it was “so easy to play with them” and that
the other musicians felt like “they could play things they’ve never
played before.”
You never know when the “plane will go down”
Since there’s no real security in life and you never know when a
particular day might be your last, why not live your life to its fullest
and follow your life’s passion doing something you truly love to do?
Finally, I’ve found that whether playing a live gig or recording
in the studio, you have no real idea whom you’re affecting, or whom
you’ll affect in the future.
An extraordinary thing happened when I was playing with the Pat
Metheny Group in Italy. At the time, the country was racked by several
kidnappings. A young man came to one of our shows and told us that
for two years he was held for ransom in a cave and didn’t know if he
was going to survive. He said what got him through that unimaginable
ordeal was thinking about our music. It’s amazing to think that the
music we make can have such a powerful effect on people’s lives.
Paul Wertico is assistant professor and head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies at the Chicago College of
Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He gained international reputation as a member of the Pat Metheny Group
where he performed on 10 recordings and four videos and won seven Grammy Awards. In reviews, his playing
has been compared to that of an “impressionist painter,” “an inspired madman,” a “restless innovator,” and “a
true legend of jazz drums.” He also was one of the Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoans of the Year” in 2004. His latest
DVD, Paul Wertico: Drum Philosophy, was released by Alfred Music Publishing and his latest CD, Impressions
of a City, featuring his new band Paul Wertico’s Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance, is on the Chicago Sessions label.
Before becoming a full-time faculty member at Roosevelt in 2008, Wertico served on the faculty of the percussion
and jazz studies programs at Northwestern University for nearly two decades. He has written educational
articles for magazines such as Modern Drummer, DRUM!, Drums & Drumming, Drum Tracks and Downbeat.
You can contact Paul Wertico at pwertico@roosevelt.edu.
37
To become successful in almost any area of music, the drummer
must first learn how to “feel” and maintain a steady tempo.
This essential skill can be learned through repeated practice with a
metronome or a sequencer or by playing along with various recordings
that have solid time and then “hearing” and memorizing exactly
that tempo. This is accomplished both by mental concentration and
through muscle memory.
Some students are gifted with a better sense of tempo than others,
much like some people have a natural sense of pitch. Possessing
these abilities from birth gives students an advantage, but these
skills can also be taught. One other great way to hone one’s sense
of tempo is by playing with fellow musicians who have a good feel
and sense of time.
Although I am certainly biased, I believe there are many reasons
young people should consider choosing a career as a professional
drummer or, at the very least, take up playing the drums as a hobby.
Here are my top reasons:
A healthy lifestyle U2 band drummer Larry Mullen
is more fit than European soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo, according
to an article in the Irish Independent Herald newspaper. Research
has shown that every time the U2 drummer rocks his way through a
90-minute performance on stage, he burns more calories than most
top athletes. Scientists connected musicians, including Blondie’s
drummer Clem Burke, to equipment measuring their heart rate, oxygen
up-take and the levels of lactic acid in their blood as they played
a set. The stress on their bodies as they played was then compared
to that of top athletes. It was found that the drummers’ heart rates
were raised to as high as 190 beats per minute and they could burn
off 600 calories in a performance. Many drummers typically burn
400 to 600 calories per hour. The British government hopes this
research will help develop programs for overweight children who
are not interested in sports.
Playing creative music helps develop problemsolving
abilities In life, we’re always going to find
ourselves in new and unfamiliar circumstances. I’ve discovered that
musicians often adapt better to different situations than people who
are used to a certain type of “stability” in their lives. By taking an
improvisational “jazz attitude” to life in general, a person can learn
how to embrace the unknown and make something out of nothing. And
even though change can be frightening to a lot of people, musicians
are able to deal with things as they come.
A chance to continually improve and never be
bored Musicians learn how to truly express themselves by striving
for artistic growth and then
by sharing their discoveries
with others. Part of the beauty
of doing this is the journey
itself. Many people in this
day and age seem to want to
arrive “there” immediately,
without fully understanding
and appreciating the process
of actually getting “there.” A
lot of things nowadays are
about instant gratification
and quick fixes. That is not
what being a creative musician is about. As an artist, you have to
have patience and dedication. As a musician, I look at my personal
journey through my art and use it as a gauge for my life.
Many people can’t even walk and chew gum at
the same time, but drummers can handle multitasking
easily Drummers not only have to use all four
limbs at once, but they also have to keep time, make the composition
and performance flow, create an appropriate and supportive
drum part, remember the song’s form and structure and anticipate
the future. In addition, they must be open to anything unexpected
and be able to back up and inspire soloists. Some even sing while
playing the drums.
Self-expression Playing the drums allows people to
express themselves through sound and motion. It’s an amazing way
to tell the world what you know and feel. When there’s a connection
between the drummer, the other musicians and the audience, it’s a
truly magical feeling that can’t be adequately described in words.
A chance to make people happy By performing at
weddings, bar mitzvahs, private parties and other events, musicians
perform a critical role in people’s most important and memorable
events. That’s a big responsibility and it can be very gratifying to
know that you helped make someone’s special day into a day with
beautiful and lasting memories.
The ability to work with others To be a successful
musician, you must learn how to work with others on stage and
off. One of the best compliments drummers can get is when other
musicians tell them that it was “so easy to play with them” and that
the other musicians felt like “they could play things they’ve never
played before.”
You never know when the “plane will go down”
Since there’s no real security in life and you never know when a
particular day might be your last, why not live your life to its fullest
and follow your life’s passion doing something you truly love to do?
Finally, I’ve found that whether playing a live gig or recording
in the studio, you have no real idea whom you’re affecting, or whom
you’ll affect in the future.
An extraordinary thing happened when I was playing with the Pat
Metheny Group in Italy. At the time, the country was racked by several
kidnappings. A young man came to one of our shows and told us that
for two years he was held for ransom in a cave and didn’t know if he
was going to survive. He said what got him through that unimaginable
ordeal was thinking about our music. It’s amazing to think that the
music we make can have such a powerful effect on people’s lives.
Paul Wertico is assistant professor and head of Jazz and Contemporary Music Studies at the Chicago College of
Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He gained international reputation as a member of the Pat Metheny Group
where he performed on 10 recordings and four videos and won seven Grammy Awards. In reviews, his playing
has been compared to that of an “impressionist painter,” “an inspired madman,” a “restless innovator,” and “a
true legend of jazz drums.” He also was one of the Chicago Tribune’s “Chicagoans of the Year” in 2004. His latest
DVD, Paul Wertico: Drum Philosophy, was released by Alfred Music Publishing and his latest CD, Impressions
of a City, featuring his new band Paul Wertico’s Mid-East/Mid-West Alliance, is on the Chicago Sessions label.
Before becoming a full-time faculty member at Roosevelt in 2008, Wertico served on the faculty of the percussion
and jazz studies programs at Northwestern University for nearly two decades. He has written educational
articles for magazines such as Modern Drummer, DRUM!, Drums & Drumming, Drum Tracks and Downbeat.
You can contact Paul Wertico at pwertico@roosevelt.edu.
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