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Jon Sheckler - drummer/composer

@jonsheckler

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New Orleans based drummer/composer/songwriter

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43

10

5 months ago

A couple people have been asking me what is going on with the Album. Here is the update:

I finished mixing and mastering although I might still adjust the volume levels on the tracks. Other than that, a EPK is prepared as well as a press release and the covers. Probably in the next month I’m gonna order CDs for sale on the road and for possible radio play.

I have begun putting together a couple weekends together in Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Washington. I’ll have more information on that coming out, but it looks like there will be some weekend tours in the future.

I’m in the hardest part of the journey which is getting reviews. Reviews can bolster and validate the album so I’m hoping to get about five reviews for this record in particular. Cityscapes got seven Highway 27 got three.

As before, if anybody has any advice on this stuff, I would love to hear it please DM me or comment below if you got an idea. Anything other than that please enjoy the record. Get ready for it cause it’s gonna be a good one.

[diy musician, diy artist, independent artist, working musician, new album, live music, organ trio, jazz album, jazz drums, jazz drummer, composer, New Orleans music] by @jonsheckler

14

1

8 days ago

Work lower, not quieter.

[diy musician, independent artist, live music, working musician, live jazz, jazz, jazz drums, drummer, jazz education, music education] by @jonsheckler

27

0

11 days ago

Space is an underutilized element in much of modern jazz. Here’s how to use it to your advantage.

[diy musician, independent artist, live jazz, jazz, drums, drummer, drum solo, jazz education, music education, New Orleans jazz] by @jonsheckler

21

1

16 days ago

Chinas are great. Use wisely.

[diy musician, independent artist, working musician, drummer, jazz, drums, cymbals, jazz drums, New Orleans jazz, jazz education, gear] by @jonsheckler

33

0

19 days ago

If I’ve learned one thing about jazz language, it’s that there is no such thing as a “new lick”. Everything you could possibly think of has probably been played before, in fact, it’s probably been played by a lot of people before. With that mind, how do you become an individual voice?

It’s all about spacing and orchestrating. The great drummers end licks differently. It has to do with the rhythm. It has to do with the style and it has to do with the phrasing Drummer‘s like Bill Stewart Will sometimes not announce the end of a phrase before beginning a new one. Tony Williams and on four and changed the feel of a measure. Also, a lot of modern music is simply taking old things and changing them so that they are new. There’s a lot of people that use paradiddles but maybe they use it in triplets and they phrase it out so that it feels like triplets.

These are all small things that you can practice and out of that practice will give you new language. But make sure you have the depth of knowledge to draw from so that you can really have a unique set of phrases. by @jonsheckler

26

1

24 days ago

There is an art to playing around the groove.

Honestly, I don’t have much of a caption.

[diy musician, independent artist, live music, drum solo, groove solo, drummer, live jazz, jazz drums, jazz drummer, New Orleans music, organ trio] by @jonsheckler

36

1

a month ago

Evolution is something that everyone goes through in music. But, how can we intentionally change how we play?

The main thing is patience. You are trying to make a U-turn in the ocean in a cruise ship. Having worked on one, I can tell you that it takes time. In 2 days, you won’t hear much of a difference. But in 6 months you might be a totally different drummer. In 6 years, you’ll be unrecognizable.

[diy musician, independent artist, practicing drummer, drummer, drums, jazz drums, jazz, drum solo, music education, jazz education, organ trio, live music, New Orleans music] by @jonsheckler

91

0

a month ago

Hey a silly video! I generally don’t use a cowbell all that often, but I absolutely loved it this night. I think I used it on anything that wasn’t a shuffle!

[diy musician, independent artist, jazz humor, drummer, drums, jazz drums, live music, live jazz, organ trio, jazz, New Orleans jazz, working musician] by @jonsheckler

38

0

a month ago

Once you get out of school, you realize that rehearsal is a luxury. It’s hard, not just to get people together, but to find spaces and to make the rehearsal worthwhile, this all runs counter to creating an identity, which takes time to craft. So arranging the band stand is a skill that everyone should start working on.

it really all starts with being imaginative. There are thousands of ways to play tunes, and not all of them sound good. But something simple like creating a vamp or changing the drum field, or adding hits, can completely change the character of a tune.

Also make sure you’re expanding your pallet. If you’re just playing R&B, then it’s hard to imagine shuffle under a Stevie Wonder tune. Also if you’re just playing jazz, it’s hard to imagine a Latin feel over the chicken.

The more options you have in your mind the more you can arrange on the fly.

[diy musician, independent artist, live jazz, jazz drums, Stevie wonder, jazz education, drums, drum solo, chops, New Orleans music, live music, drummer, music education, organ trio] by @jonsheckler

52

4

a month ago

Practicing esoteric concepts is hard initially. Phrasing is one of those things that gets mixed in with transcribing and other things. Here are a couple ideas to help you work on your phrasing.

The big one is to experiment all the time. Set aside 10 to 15 minutes of your practice routine simply to experiment with phrasing, beginning and endings, language, content, or anything else that you can think of. I find that too much practice time is spent on technical aspects and not enough on the musical aspects of playing drums..

[diy musician, independent artist, jazz education, music education, drums, drummer, jazz drums, live jazz, bebop, drum solo, live drummer, working musician] by @jonsheckler

41

0

2 months ago

In the last week, I’ve had a couple students ask me how I know so much. The truth is time and energy.

Properly directed your passion can lead you to an immense wealth of knowledge.

[diy musician, independent artist, music, drums, drum solo, jazz, live jazz, music education, jazz education] by @jonsheckler

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0

2 months ago