John Blackwell Technique, Grooving and Showmanship DVD

Starring:John Blackwell
Studio: Hudson Music
Product Type: DVD

Description

This double disc set features over four hours of incredible material by one of today's most exciting players. John Blackwell, world-class groove master and drummer with Prince, offers his approach to developing the amazing technique he has become know for, including key exercises that he used as a student-and still uses-demonstrations with bassist Baron Browne, performances with his great band, Matrix, and more. Segments include: Heroes and Influences, Practicing, Teachers, Building a Solo, Single-hand Rolls, Single-pedal Technique, Building a Groove, more. Included is footage of John's entire performance at Modern Drummer Festival 2002 with Matrix.

Customer Reviews:

John Blackwell is amazing. .......2007-03-27

John blackwell is one of the best drummers of our era. He is a fantastic drummer and a fantastic teacher. By this fantastic funky DVD.

Pretty Good.......2007-01-04

I get the sense that Drummers tend not to be very good teachers on camera. Blackwell seems to be distracted, constantly searching for words. However, you do get some pretty cool tricks from the video like the one-handed roll and some stick tricks. Have fun with it.

A bit boring..........2005-09-14

John might be a great drummer, but I wouldn't say he's a great teacher. The DVD is a bit boring with John's constant gaps between sentences and words making you feel like he's still think about what exactly he wants to say while you sit and wait...
A lot of the times on the DVD, John will talk about something and the demonstrations are often either too short or just not enough to fully understand what hes doing.
I must admit, I watched this DVD after watching Steven Smith's Drum Technique/History of the US Beat DVD which is possibly why I find this DVD rather disapointing...

great drum technique dvd.......2005-06-09

As I was watching through this dvd the thing that really stood out is blackwell's personality and great technique. He truly put it all out there in his dvd my own drum teacher could not show me the one handed roll as effectively as blackwell did and he covers so much that you can watch this dvd again and again and still learn something new from it. Along with the great special features of different viewing angles it is a great dvd. Buy this dvd and start grooving.

Will definitely improve your drum skills.......2004-12-03

This DVD starts out somewhat slow, but once the teaching starts you'll learn some amazing techniques. I'll preface with the fact that Blackwell's overall style and approach does not match the direction in which I am going, but he is a master drummer who is also deeply intellectual and highly effective when it comes to imparting knowledge.

Among the "secrets" I learned was how to do single-handed drum rolls. I've carefully studied Buddy Rich for years and could never come close to his single-hand roll technique. However, Blackwell shows how to do it is a straightforward manner. In less than two days of practice I have it down. That alone is worth many times the price of this DVD, but there is more. If you've ever heard Blackwell play you'd swear that he is using a double bass pedal. Not so - his amazing bass pedal work is single pedal, and he shows how to achieve the same speed and bass groove in the same straighforward manner as he did with the single-handed rolls. It comes down to doing coordination exercises with your sticks and fitting in the bass patterns. Simple on the surface, but extremely effective.

Throughout this video I learned one technique after another. Blackwell does not jealously guard his secrets - indeed, he is effusive in giving credit to his many influences - and he comes across as sincerely interested in sharing them. He is also a font of knowledge when it comes to the history of great drummers and, in one fascinating discussion connects the dots of influences back to Baby Dodds. Another thing I enjoyed (and learned from) is his ability to recreate the style of drummers who influenced him, then combine those styles into composite solos.

Like those who came before him, Blackwell - thanks to this video - has a profound influence on my own playing. I mentioned earlier that his and my styles diverge, but the techniques he imparted have been incorporated into my own playing, and if anyone asks me who my major influences were Blackwell will be on the short list.

If you want to take your skills to the lext level get this DVD and practice (and practice some more!) I also recommend getting a copy of Tommy Igoe's "Groove Essentials" (ASIN B00064YTKM), which will augment Blackwell's techniques and expand your range and technique even more.

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