Thanks, Soix! Nice point perfectly illustrated by the video. I'm not a drummer but I appreciate this.
50 ways to leave your lover
So, decades ago a bunch of drummer friends and me — well before the interweb — struggled to figure out this classic drum riff and none of us got close. Years later I saw a local band play it and I knew right away the drummer had no idea what he was doing and was just mailing it in and it pissed me off because it’s such an integral part of the song. Right after the “performance” I went home determined to learn how to do it right. After consulting the Google machine I learned how to do it — it’s not all that hard but it ain’t easy, and the amazing thing is that Gadd even came up with this and how it ultimately ended up defining the song. The drummers out there will especially appreciate this I think, and I challenge you to learn it because it’s pretty rewarding to be able to play.
https://youtu.be/Ou70vvjE8k4?si=2yfPiHB4Oems22-C
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First, you’re playing it open with the left hand on the high hat, which is uncommon from the get go. But then there’s the interplay between the left foot, left hand, and the snare and right foot on the bass drum that makes it quite a challenge to learn and it all needs to be precisely in time. But once you do it just flows like Gadd. Absolute genius IMHO. Hard to learn but insane to have ever even been created. Gadd is, and will always be, a drummer’s drummer. |
This is how I eventually learned how to play the beat. I felt like a total idiot because he made it sound so simple. It’s not. He’s just an effing genius and I had to eventually shovel it through my thick head. |
@krelldog Thank you so much for sharing that video! It’s awesome and I’d never seen it. The thing that really hit me is how old and frail Steve looks now, but thankfully he can still play. |
@ibmjunkman They’re amazing and thank you for sharing! She nailed it! Just wanna say — GIRL POWER!!! Might be the ugliest drum set I’ve ever seen though. Just sayin’. |
@ibmjunkman My guess is it’s Fool in the Rain… https://youtu.be/gTsZtNVINYY?si=bmXlQXs5M1kJA75A That’s another drum part I really enjoyed learning and different from the famous Perdie shuffle from Steely Dan. |
"Back in the day" everybody I knew could bang out the complete Ina Gadda De Vida drum solo from memory on ANY object with some percussive attributes: trunk lid, table top and, yes, coolers. I’m not a very good event organizer, but I fantasize about having an event called Ina Cooler De Vida, hire an Iron Butterfly tribute band, invite 10,000 people to bring coolers and participate in a massive drum solo from start to finish. It may sound like someone threw a firecracker in a chicken coup. But they wouldn’t be thirsty. Any takers? |
Gadd is and always has been my favorite drummer. He is from Rochester NY which is a few miles from my home town. I had the opportunity to briefly talk with him once which made my hi-lite real. Among other things we discussed him touring with Clapton. Apparently Clapton is a stickler for detail. Still didn’t top breakfast with Robert Plant and his band though. It isn’t often the little people get to meet their idols. |
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Re the Sina video; equally amazing, talk about exceptional young talent. Thanks for sharing ibmjunkman. Could this women be the best living drummer in the world? Check this out:
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Growing up with so much great music, it’s easy for me to realize how difficult it would be to play anything! I’m the guy who’s left hand doesn’t talk to the right hand and who’s feet dance to a different drummer! Having said that, I would have never known that 50 Ways was so hard to play, especially for someone with ccoordination.😁 All the best. |
@soix what a cool thread! I learned some really interesting things. This is one of a handful of go to! albums for me, personally, that I find myself listening to cover to cover prob on average once a month. I love it for a number of reasons, one of them being, during my early teenage years my Mom used to listen to it frequently on the cool console stereo my folks had in our living room, which was sitting on the most beautiful blue shag carpet you’ve ever seen, ha ha ha. But actually I’m not kidding about any of that. I remember so distinctly how she would crank it up so loud and it’s no wonder it became one of my favorite songs to jam out to. That drum riff is beautiful. And the way all of those musicians vibe off of each other creates such a wow factor. Very soulful music. @ellajeanelle I’m not sure how familiar you are with the rest of that album, but something tells me you can also appreciate how cool the song Silent Eyes sounds on a nice system. Especially one that has rock solid and grounded bass. The lower registers of the solo piano sounds so amazing. Such an awesome presentation. It’s right up there with Christine McVie’s Songbird. |
@clydeactor Maybe, but this is played by one drummer coordinating 16th notes between his left foot and left hand while playing other stuff with his right foot and hand. If you don’t understand the genius of that, you just don’t get it at all. I’d suggest you try to play it yourself and then just dismiss it as an “Army funeral drum pattern, only played at a faster tempo.” You’re sorely mistaken, sir. Again, forget the fact that you would’ve never, EVER been able to come up with this iconic riff, you can’t even play it. Leave your uneducated armchair quarterbacking at home please, because it adds nothing here. |
@clydeactor I know, and that’s fine for him to say it but not you. The way you said it here belittled the riff’s significance and innovativeness, and that needed to be called out because you are just an armchair quarterback in the scheme of things. |
tunefuldude: I am a big fan of Paul Simon (also Garfunkel). I have always been an avid concert goer having attended hundreds of concerts and mentioned in one of my posts (maybe on a different site) that if someone could grant me a wish to go back in time and attend a concert of my choice it would be Simon & Garfunkel-The Concert in Central Park! |
@clydeactor Thanks for the clarification regarding Steve Gadd. Especially this holiday season, bless the men and women who serve and served in our arm forces. No idea how anything you mentioned belittled anyone as mentioned above. |
@jetter Mele Kalikimaka |
@ellajeanelle Big +1!!! |
I saw them live at Northwestern in 1968. This was during the Chicago Riots and I was paranoid about driving home. Afraid a cop would pull me over. 😊
ellajeanelleI am a big fan of Paul Simon (also Garfunkel). I have always been an avid concert goer having attended hundreds of concerts and mentioned in one of my posts (maybe on a different site) that if someone could grant me a wish to go back in time and attend a concert of my choice it would be Simon & Garfunkel-The Concert in Central Park! |
What passes for dazzling technique in rock is no big deal for a competent jazz drummer. The way rock drummers hold their sticks limits the precision and speed with which they play. Loud, louder, and loudest. "50 Ways" was not that sort of tune, but required a little more finesse. That's a dirty word in rock music. Here is a clip of Jo Jones, legendary jazz drummer, playing both fast and loud.
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@stager Totally agree dude! When jazz drummers started to migrate into rock in the late 60’s, early 70’s — think Blood Sweat n Tears, Jefferson Airplane, Cream — their jazz influence was all over it. I honestly could never play straight jazz. I’m not good enough and honestly the difficult time signatures I mostly couldn’t wrap my head around. If I had a better brain and more talent I would’ve loved to play jazz cause it’s just a totally beautiful art form. I saw Chick Corea play with his Electrik Band at the Blue Note in Manhattan with Dave Weckl on drums, Victor Wooten on electric bass, John Pattiuch, Gale on lead guitar. I can’t even relate to you that experience. |
A friend of mine worked for Phil Ramone at A&R off and on and was working the day Simon recorded "50 Ways . . . " According to him, Simon had the song but hadn't figured how it would sound best. They tried several different takes but Simon wasn't happy with any of them. He and Ramone decided to break for lunch to see if inspiration struck. When they came back from lunch, Steve Gadd was warming up with a pattern he'd learned in high school, supposedly. Simon and Ramone heard that and immediately knew it was the right sound for the song. Can't verify it; I wasn't there but my friend is pretty reliable. |
50 ways gets all the press among drummers, but Steve was doing this stuff way before. Check out Jim Croce’s “workin at the car wash blues”. Great track by Steve, also with a marching band style. And I just have to add- all these You Tube drum cover stars- I remember when playing along with records was step one in learning drums. Now it’s an end goal. So be it. The world changes, but as all of you drummers know, there is a BIG difference between playing with a record and playing with a band. |
"Among my many Simon & Garfunkel favorites was the ditty "At the Zoo"." @jetter , I can't get past him singing 'oragutang'... |
@chayro Sorry, but no. Just…no. There’s no comparison whatsoever between car wash blues and 50 Ways other than they’re loosely based on a marching theme. Any halfway competent drummer can listen to car wash blues and figure it out fairly quickly — can’t do that with 50 ways cause the sticking, playing open, and the interplay of 16th notes between the stick and closing the hat make it near impossible to figure out by listening and much harder to play. It’s also what makes this iconic. Makes me think you don’t have an understanding of how the underlying groove is actually played. In case you missed my prior link, here’s how it’s played…
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