Chords for Russ Miller Online Classroom: Moeller Technique
Tempo:
109.45 bpm
Chords used:
B
G
Em
C#m
Bm
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[G]
[Em]
[C#m]
[B]
[Bm] Using note, note, note, note, note, it's fine if all you've got to play is one note every
once in a while, but you can never get your arms to go fast.
Now we're going to talk about some arm strokes, but to get your arms to play all the notes
that we need to play is really not possible.
That's why a lot of guys get hung up on the speed at which they can play around the instrument.
The Moller technique solves this because what we're going to do is go to the instrument
one time and then multiple notes are going to happen inside this one stroke.
Now we spoke about when we're keeping time in our timekeeping lesson modules about uniform
circular motion in our notes and our figures and note phrases all become a part of a circle.
Well this all stems from the Moller technique.
So the first thing we're going to do, we're going to put the tips of the sticks at the
drum in the center of the drum as if you just played a note.
So we're going to start as if we just played a note.
Now there's a couple little things to watch for.
First off, in your right hand, and we're talking about playing traditional grip here.
Now if you're playing match grip, both hands would be the same as what I talk about for
the right hand, my right hand.
Palm towards the ground.
See this?
Palm towards the ground.
It's not like this.
This is a French timpani grip used for finger control.
We're going to talk about that in a minute.
So this is palm towards the ground like this.
And with your traditional hand, if you're playing match, it would be palm towards the
ground over here.
But if you're playing traditional, it's thumb towards the sky.
Straight up towards the sky like that.
Not over here like that.
Not inside like that.
That's a brush technique.
We're going to talk about that.
It's thumb towards the sky.
So palm towards the ground, thumbs towards the sky.
The first movement we're going to make is always elbow first.
So my elbow is going to go out first.
Say right hand first.
Elbow out first and I go up as if I'm stuck on the drum.
So the center, this tip of the thing, I haven't left the drum yet.
And my elbow is up like that.
So I'm straight up off the drum.
I come down, I do that, and put it straight up off the drum.
Now that elbow movement, that's the elbow movement to practice.
Right like that.
It's this arcing movement.
What happens is when I bring the stick up, this is obviously hyper exaggerated.
When I bring the stick up to play a note, my elbow is going to come down and be right
back in the same position from where we started again.
So elbow out, stick straight up like it's coming up like this.
Up and note on the drum.
Up and note.
Now notice, I let that rebound.
So the distance here, I let that rebound and don't stop the motion of that stick.
We're going to utilize that motion here in a second.
But for now, we're going to go straight up, elbow around, and note.
Let it bounce.
Our pivot point is here on the stick.
It's about, this is my signature stick.
So I always remember it's on the little Vic Firth flag on my signature sticks.
But this is the pivot point.
It's about, let's say, a third of the way up the stick.
That's where I'm gripping it.
And I hold it right here between my thumb and my first finger.
And that's my squeeze point.
This gap right here is crucial.
This is another thing I see a lot.
Guys who play like that.
If you watch my arm, when I play, you can see right in here, when I squeeze this gap
together in my hand.
So I have this gap.
If I squeeze it together, up here on my forearm, you can see all these muscles tighten up.
And it's the same over here.
If I squeeze the gap here in this hand, all these muscles tighten up on my forearm.
You can see them tighten them.
They're all tightening right up here.
And so when you grab the stick like that and you squeeze that gap together, you are inhibiting
the movement of the stick, thus inhibiting how much you can play.
And I see guys do this all the time.
It's all arm and they're squeezed like this.
And that's the way they're playing the drums.
First off, it doesn't sound good.
Second, you're never going to be able to play fast enough when you're doing that.
And third, you're going to hurt yourself.
And I know a lot of pro drummers who have had wrist surgeries, carpal tunnel type surgeries
in the wrist and stuff because they don't release the shock in their grip.
Their grip is like this when they play.
It's got to be released like this.
See that gap?
It always has to be maintained.
Gap, pinch here, gap in the hand, down at the drum, elbow first, up straight off the
drum like this, down and release the stroke.
Don't stop it.
And you can see I still have the gap there in my hand when I do that.
So it's very light grip.
Stroke one.
Traditional grip.
Thumb towards the sky.
Elbow moves first.
The arm is going to then turn in and it's going to do the same thing.
When this is up towards the sky, the stick, my elbow is out and down.
Elbow, down, elbow, stick, center, straight up and down.
[B] I end up with my thumb towards the sky again.
That is our primary stroke, our big stroke.
You need to just practice doing that like this with the correct motion.
The elbow always moves first.
One, one.
[Em]
[C#m]
[B]
[Bm] Using note, note, note, note, note, it's fine if all you've got to play is one note every
once in a while, but you can never get your arms to go fast.
Now we're going to talk about some arm strokes, but to get your arms to play all the notes
that we need to play is really not possible.
That's why a lot of guys get hung up on the speed at which they can play around the instrument.
The Moller technique solves this because what we're going to do is go to the instrument
one time and then multiple notes are going to happen inside this one stroke.
Now we spoke about when we're keeping time in our timekeeping lesson modules about uniform
circular motion in our notes and our figures and note phrases all become a part of a circle.
Well this all stems from the Moller technique.
So the first thing we're going to do, we're going to put the tips of the sticks at the
drum in the center of the drum as if you just played a note.
So we're going to start as if we just played a note.
Now there's a couple little things to watch for.
First off, in your right hand, and we're talking about playing traditional grip here.
Now if you're playing match grip, both hands would be the same as what I talk about for
the right hand, my right hand.
Palm towards the ground.
See this?
Palm towards the ground.
It's not like this.
This is a French timpani grip used for finger control.
We're going to talk about that in a minute.
So this is palm towards the ground like this.
And with your traditional hand, if you're playing match, it would be palm towards the
ground over here.
But if you're playing traditional, it's thumb towards the sky.
Straight up towards the sky like that.
Not over here like that.
Not inside like that.
That's a brush technique.
We're going to talk about that.
It's thumb towards the sky.
So palm towards the ground, thumbs towards the sky.
The first movement we're going to make is always elbow first.
So my elbow is going to go out first.
Say right hand first.
Elbow out first and I go up as if I'm stuck on the drum.
So the center, this tip of the thing, I haven't left the drum yet.
And my elbow is up like that.
So I'm straight up off the drum.
I come down, I do that, and put it straight up off the drum.
Now that elbow movement, that's the elbow movement to practice.
Right like that.
It's this arcing movement.
What happens is when I bring the stick up, this is obviously hyper exaggerated.
When I bring the stick up to play a note, my elbow is going to come down and be right
back in the same position from where we started again.
So elbow out, stick straight up like it's coming up like this.
Up and note on the drum.
Up and note.
Now notice, I let that rebound.
So the distance here, I let that rebound and don't stop the motion of that stick.
We're going to utilize that motion here in a second.
But for now, we're going to go straight up, elbow around, and note.
Let it bounce.
Our pivot point is here on the stick.
It's about, this is my signature stick.
So I always remember it's on the little Vic Firth flag on my signature sticks.
But this is the pivot point.
It's about, let's say, a third of the way up the stick.
That's where I'm gripping it.
And I hold it right here between my thumb and my first finger.
And that's my squeeze point.
This gap right here is crucial.
This is another thing I see a lot.
Guys who play like that.
If you watch my arm, when I play, you can see right in here, when I squeeze this gap
together in my hand.
So I have this gap.
If I squeeze it together, up here on my forearm, you can see all these muscles tighten up.
And it's the same over here.
If I squeeze the gap here in this hand, all these muscles tighten up on my forearm.
You can see them tighten them.
They're all tightening right up here.
And so when you grab the stick like that and you squeeze that gap together, you are inhibiting
the movement of the stick, thus inhibiting how much you can play.
And I see guys do this all the time.
It's all arm and they're squeezed like this.
And that's the way they're playing the drums.
First off, it doesn't sound good.
Second, you're never going to be able to play fast enough when you're doing that.
And third, you're going to hurt yourself.
And I know a lot of pro drummers who have had wrist surgeries, carpal tunnel type surgeries
in the wrist and stuff because they don't release the shock in their grip.
Their grip is like this when they play.
It's got to be released like this.
See that gap?
It always has to be maintained.
Gap, pinch here, gap in the hand, down at the drum, elbow first, up straight off the
drum like this, down and release the stroke.
Don't stop it.
And you can see I still have the gap there in my hand when I do that.
So it's very light grip.
Stroke one.
Traditional grip.
Thumb towards the sky.
Elbow moves first.
The arm is going to then turn in and it's going to do the same thing.
When this is up towards the sky, the stick, my elbow is out and down.
Elbow, down, elbow, stick, center, straight up and down.
[B] I end up with my thumb towards the sky again.
That is our primary stroke, our big stroke.
You need to just practice doing that like this with the correct motion.
The elbow always moves first.
One, one.
Key:
B
G
Em
C#m
Bm
B
G
Em
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C#m] _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Bm] _ Using note, note, note, note, note, it's fine if all you've got to play is one note every
once in a while, but you can never get your arms to go fast.
Now we're going to talk about some arm strokes, but to get your arms to play all the notes
that we need to play is really not possible.
That's why a lot of guys get hung up on the speed at which they can play around the instrument.
_ The Moller technique solves this because what we're going to do is go to the instrument
one time and then multiple notes are going to happen inside this one stroke.
Now we spoke about when we're keeping time in our timekeeping lesson modules about uniform
circular motion in our notes and our figures and note phrases all become a part of a circle.
Well this all stems from the Moller technique.
_ So the first thing we're going to do, we're going to put the tips of the sticks at the
drum in the center of the drum as if you just played a note.
So we're going to start as if we just played a note.
Now there's a couple little things to watch for.
First off, in your right hand, and we're talking about playing traditional grip here.
Now if you're playing match grip, both hands would be the same as what I talk about for
the right hand, my right hand.
Palm towards the ground.
See this?
Palm towards the ground.
It's not like this.
This is a French timpani grip used for finger control.
We're going to talk about that in a minute.
So this is palm towards the ground like this.
And with your traditional hand, if you're playing match, it would be palm towards the
ground over here.
But if you're playing traditional, it's thumb towards the sky. _
Straight up towards the sky like that.
Not over here like that.
Not inside like that.
That's a brush technique.
We're going to talk about that.
It's thumb towards the sky.
So palm towards the ground, thumbs towards the sky.
The first movement we're going to make is always elbow first.
So my elbow is going to go out first.
Say right hand first.
Elbow out first and I go up as if I'm stuck on the drum.
So the center, this tip of the thing, I haven't left the drum yet.
And my elbow is up like that.
So I'm straight up off the drum.
I come down, I do that, and put it straight up off the drum.
Now that elbow movement, that's the elbow movement to practice.
Right like that.
_ It's this arcing movement.
What happens is when I bring the stick up, this is obviously hyper exaggerated.
When I bring the stick up to play a note, my elbow is going to come down and be right
back in the same position from where we started again.
So elbow out, stick straight up like it's coming up like this.
Up and note on the drum.
_ Up and note.
Now notice, I let that rebound.
So the distance here, I let that rebound and don't stop the motion of that stick.
We're going to utilize that motion here in a second.
But for now, we're going to go straight up, elbow around, and note.
Let it bounce.
Our pivot point is here on the stick.
It's about, _ this is my signature stick.
So I always remember it's on the little Vic Firth flag on my signature sticks.
But this is the pivot point.
It's about, let's say, a third of the way up the stick.
That's where I'm gripping it.
And I hold it right here between my thumb and my first finger.
And that's my squeeze point.
This gap right here is crucial.
This is another thing I see a lot.
Guys who play like that.
If you watch my arm, when I play, you can see right in here, when I squeeze this gap
together in my hand.
So I have this gap.
If I squeeze it together, up here on my forearm, you can see all these muscles tighten up.
And it's the same over here.
If I squeeze the gap here in this hand, all these muscles tighten up on my forearm.
You can see them tighten them.
They're all tightening right up here.
And so when you grab the stick like that and you squeeze that gap together, you are inhibiting
the movement of the stick, thus inhibiting how much you can play.
And I see guys do this all the time.
It's all arm and they're squeezed like this.
And that's the way they're playing the drums.
First off, it doesn't sound good.
Second, you're never going to be able to play fast enough when you're doing that.
And third, you're going to hurt yourself.
And I know a lot of pro drummers who have had wrist surgeries, carpal tunnel _ _ type surgeries
in the wrist and stuff because they don't release the shock in their grip.
Their grip is like this when they play.
It's got to be released like this.
See that gap?
It always has to be maintained.
Gap, pinch here, gap in the hand, down at the drum, elbow first, up straight off the
drum like this, down and release the stroke.
Don't stop it.
And you can see I still have the gap there in my hand when I do that.
So it's very light grip. _ _ _
_ Stroke one.
Traditional grip.
Thumb towards the sky.
Elbow moves first.
The arm is going to then turn in and it's going to do the same thing.
When this is up towards the sky, the stick, my elbow is out and _ down.
Elbow, down, elbow, stick, center, straight up and down.
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ I end up with my thumb towards the sky again.
_ _ That is our primary stroke, our big stroke.
You need to just practice doing that like this with the correct motion.
The elbow always moves first.
One, _ _ one. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [C#m] _ _ _
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ [Bm] _ Using note, note, note, note, note, it's fine if all you've got to play is one note every
once in a while, but you can never get your arms to go fast.
Now we're going to talk about some arm strokes, but to get your arms to play all the notes
that we need to play is really not possible.
That's why a lot of guys get hung up on the speed at which they can play around the instrument.
_ The Moller technique solves this because what we're going to do is go to the instrument
one time and then multiple notes are going to happen inside this one stroke.
Now we spoke about when we're keeping time in our timekeeping lesson modules about uniform
circular motion in our notes and our figures and note phrases all become a part of a circle.
Well this all stems from the Moller technique.
_ So the first thing we're going to do, we're going to put the tips of the sticks at the
drum in the center of the drum as if you just played a note.
So we're going to start as if we just played a note.
Now there's a couple little things to watch for.
First off, in your right hand, and we're talking about playing traditional grip here.
Now if you're playing match grip, both hands would be the same as what I talk about for
the right hand, my right hand.
Palm towards the ground.
See this?
Palm towards the ground.
It's not like this.
This is a French timpani grip used for finger control.
We're going to talk about that in a minute.
So this is palm towards the ground like this.
And with your traditional hand, if you're playing match, it would be palm towards the
ground over here.
But if you're playing traditional, it's thumb towards the sky. _
Straight up towards the sky like that.
Not over here like that.
Not inside like that.
That's a brush technique.
We're going to talk about that.
It's thumb towards the sky.
So palm towards the ground, thumbs towards the sky.
The first movement we're going to make is always elbow first.
So my elbow is going to go out first.
Say right hand first.
Elbow out first and I go up as if I'm stuck on the drum.
So the center, this tip of the thing, I haven't left the drum yet.
And my elbow is up like that.
So I'm straight up off the drum.
I come down, I do that, and put it straight up off the drum.
Now that elbow movement, that's the elbow movement to practice.
Right like that.
_ It's this arcing movement.
What happens is when I bring the stick up, this is obviously hyper exaggerated.
When I bring the stick up to play a note, my elbow is going to come down and be right
back in the same position from where we started again.
So elbow out, stick straight up like it's coming up like this.
Up and note on the drum.
_ Up and note.
Now notice, I let that rebound.
So the distance here, I let that rebound and don't stop the motion of that stick.
We're going to utilize that motion here in a second.
But for now, we're going to go straight up, elbow around, and note.
Let it bounce.
Our pivot point is here on the stick.
It's about, _ this is my signature stick.
So I always remember it's on the little Vic Firth flag on my signature sticks.
But this is the pivot point.
It's about, let's say, a third of the way up the stick.
That's where I'm gripping it.
And I hold it right here between my thumb and my first finger.
And that's my squeeze point.
This gap right here is crucial.
This is another thing I see a lot.
Guys who play like that.
If you watch my arm, when I play, you can see right in here, when I squeeze this gap
together in my hand.
So I have this gap.
If I squeeze it together, up here on my forearm, you can see all these muscles tighten up.
And it's the same over here.
If I squeeze the gap here in this hand, all these muscles tighten up on my forearm.
You can see them tighten them.
They're all tightening right up here.
And so when you grab the stick like that and you squeeze that gap together, you are inhibiting
the movement of the stick, thus inhibiting how much you can play.
And I see guys do this all the time.
It's all arm and they're squeezed like this.
And that's the way they're playing the drums.
First off, it doesn't sound good.
Second, you're never going to be able to play fast enough when you're doing that.
And third, you're going to hurt yourself.
And I know a lot of pro drummers who have had wrist surgeries, carpal tunnel _ _ type surgeries
in the wrist and stuff because they don't release the shock in their grip.
Their grip is like this when they play.
It's got to be released like this.
See that gap?
It always has to be maintained.
Gap, pinch here, gap in the hand, down at the drum, elbow first, up straight off the
drum like this, down and release the stroke.
Don't stop it.
And you can see I still have the gap there in my hand when I do that.
So it's very light grip. _ _ _
_ Stroke one.
Traditional grip.
Thumb towards the sky.
Elbow moves first.
The arm is going to then turn in and it's going to do the same thing.
When this is up towards the sky, the stick, my elbow is out and _ down.
Elbow, down, elbow, stick, center, straight up and down.
[B] _ _ _ _ _ _ I end up with my thumb towards the sky again.
_ _ That is our primary stroke, our big stroke.
You need to just practice doing that like this with the correct motion.
The elbow always moves first.
One, _ _ one. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _