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Thread: Jeff Campitelli Drumming Clinic: A Review

  1. #1

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    Default Jeff Campitelli Drumming Clinic: A Review

    Took Jam'n Jimmy to a drumming clinic at the Red House in Walnut Creek on Saturday. The guest instructor was Jeff Campitelli of the Joe Satrianni Band. Here's my take:

    There was supposed to be two sessions, morning and afternoon, but lack of interest cut it down to one session in the afternoon. Wha? No-one in the Bay Area needs tutoring from a multi-million album selling artist? There were five drummers present, and Jeff was good enough to let me and my son's teacher sit in to listen. Jeff is a very nice guy.

    This session was geared more for intermediate to advanced students. The first half of the four hour class centered around kit set-up, ergonomics, avoiding injury, and drum tuning. Most pro's or highly advanced and seasoned players should be well beyond this stuff, but Jeff had a few examples from the pro ranks, past & present, who had some questionable set-ups. I found it very useful and was able to get Jimmy's kit dialed in perfectly with Jeff's help. The tuning instruction was particularly useful. Jeff admitted that he himself did'nt really have a good handle on getting his drums right for recording until he had spent considerable time in the studio working with engineers. I had Jimmy's kit all screwed up, tuning wise. It sounds awesome now.

    After a short break at the midway point (during which time Jimmy stayed inside and drummed. Man, am I proud of this kid!), it was time for some drumming instruction. Jeff is big on fundamentals. No, I mean really big on fundamentals. Picture the drumming version of Mr. Miagi's "wax on, wax off". He's from the drill 'till your head caves in school of drumming excellence. Everyone got on drum pads and got to work for the next hour and a half. Then Jeff showed how a mastery of rudiments could be used to breakdown and learn any drum passage. Using a Dave Giribaldi groove as an example, Jeff showed how a very difficult line can be broken down when you realize it's nothing more than a fancy rudiment. He also advised that it's better to learn the ridiment behind the line, than to try to copy everything note for note. "You can play it 90% correct, 100 times better if you understand the rudiment" he said.

    During the last thirty minutes Jeff let the class call the shots. Everybody got a shot at whatever they wanted from Jeff. It was a nice way to finish out, since the prior drills had been pretty intense.

    For $149 bucks five guys got the chance to learn and play with one of rock's most successful drummers. It was informal, freindly, and intense all at once. Definately worth the time & money for intermediate to advance drummers who need some professional insite to help take them to the next level.

    Incidentally, Jeff is planning on starting monthly lessons at Red House in November. He said it's going to run about $80 p/hr., in case anyone in the area is interested.
    Last edited by Roaddebris; 10-09-2006 at 10:49 AM.

  2. #2

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    wish i lived there, sounds like fun xcept xpensiv

  3. #3

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    Very cool, Roaddebris! Sounds like Jimmy had a blast. Any chance you could share what Jeff does to tune his kit? I know the way it's supposed to be done, but tips and tricks are always useful!

    Thanks!
    Da' Bum
    Rockin' the beat for fadedblue
    Keepin' time for Andy Harrison & the AOP
    http://www.facebook.com/fadedbluemusic
    DW Performance 5 pc. in White Marine Pearl
    1972 Pearl Deluxe Custom 5 pc. in blue sparkle
    KAT KT-3
    Paiste cymbals
    Gibraltar hardware
    Axis pedals
    Vic Firth sticks
    Evans heads

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    Sure. Well, first off, I don't think you can really give very good written instructions on how to tune drums. I can't, at least. It's a very touchy-feey kind of thing. Anyway, here's Jeff's regimin:

    1) Remove tom from kit. Don't try to tune them on the rack, stand, whatever
    2) Loosen all lug screws on the top head all the way and then hand tighten them
    3) Smaller toms (like 10's) get tightened in 1/4 turn increments, larger ones can go 1/2 icrements. Use a crossing pattern to tighten, just like you would if putting a tire on your car.
    4) Test tune them as you go by tapping on the outside parimeter. This should be done with the drum bottom resting on the carpet. Tone should be even. No wrinkels. If the heads are new, push down on them to prestretch them a bit as you go.
    5) Ok, here's the tricky part (as the Big Fig Newton said), how do you know when it's pitched right? Basically, you want it as deep as it'll go without the head flopping. When they are tuned too high, as my son's were, they just don't resonate. There's a bit of variation on every drum, but there's a sweet spot you can hear, and even more, feel when it's pitched right.
    6) Check to make sure the bottom head is the same, or nearly the same pitch. Tightening the bottom head will get rid of boomyness or ringing, but it chokes the drum. This is the mistake I had made.
    7) If your floor toms tend to have a lot of ring, as DW's tend to do, use gaffers tape on the bottom head to calm it down ( 4" strip, pinched up twice in the middle and taped near the edge of the head).
    8) Throw away any guages, or other nifty tuning tools, except for your drum key. "They don't work". Jeff's words, not mine. Don't kill the messenger, guys!

    OK, after having gone back and read that I can see that that is probably the crapyest explanation of how to tune a kit I've ever read, and they've all basically $ucked. Here's a better idea. It's a black art, like reading palms, or tuning a carberator. Don't read about it, get with some swami who has a killer sounding set and see how he does it. I'm tell'n ya, it's a feel thing.
    Last edited by Roaddebris; 10-10-2006 at 09:23 AM.

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by Roaddebris
    ... I'm tell'n ya, it's a feel thing.
    See, this is why I called you a wise old man. A great post RD! Especially that last line. For every one of his steps, there is an equal and opposite step (where have I heard that before? ). Therefore; yes, go through all the normal steps that we all know about to tune a drum but ultimately it comes down to how your drums respond, what the acoustics of the room are, what your taste is, and of course the "feel".

    Rock on you drum tuning drumchat dudes you!

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    Very nice! Thanks for responding Roaddebris. Good instructions for some of our newer drummers. ( I was hoping he had a trick where I could just snap my fingers and they would be tuned, but oh well. I'll keep searching! ) Rock on dude!!!
    Da' Bum
    Rockin' the beat for fadedblue
    Keepin' time for Andy Harrison & the AOP
    http://www.facebook.com/fadedbluemusic
    DW Performance 5 pc. in White Marine Pearl
    1972 Pearl Deluxe Custom 5 pc. in blue sparkle
    KAT KT-3
    Paiste cymbals
    Gibraltar hardware
    Axis pedals
    Vic Firth sticks
    Evans heads

  7. #7

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    Quote Originally Posted by 1DrumBum
    Very nice! Thanks for responding Roaddebris. Good instructions for some of our newer drummers. ( I was hoping he had a trick where I could just snap my fingers and they would be tuned, but oh well. I'll keep searching! ) Rock on dude!!!
    Yeah, I guess that's the real trick. There are no tricks.

    I left out a couple of things:

    1) Don't start with your smallest or your largest tom. For instance, on a 7 piece ( 8", 10", 12", 14", 16", 18" kick) start with the 10".

    2) Don't be afraid to say "this sounds terrible" and start all over. It's a lot of trial and error. You may think you have it tuned until you turn it over and tap on the bottom head, realizing it's an octive above the top. When you readjust the bottom head, it's then going to change the pitch of the top. So you may have to keep tweeking until it's right.

    3) Don't start screwing around with your tuning when you get to your gig. You're supposed to be ready when you get there. Jeff stessed over and over the importance of showing up prepared.

    4) Changing Heads: Jeff said that when recording he may change his heads after a song or two. When touring they get changed after every show. I asked him point blank if that was necessarry for your typical 12 year old drummer. He said that for most guys it's fine just to leave them on 'til they fall apart. Some pro's actually prefer old heads to new.
    Last edited by Roaddebris; 10-10-2006 at 01:47 PM.

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