Drum Courses - Drumming Lessons - Drum School - London - UK - Drumtech

Drum Courses - Drumming Lessons - Drum School - London - UK - Drumtech - Clive Jenner
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CLIVE JENNER

I always thought that dance music was just a load of drum machines, synthesizers
and flashing lights…but I was wrong. Recently at Drumtech, current drummer of
Groove Armada, Clive Jenner, gave a master class and he totally changed my view
of the genre. He focused on click tracks and working them into drum track loops and
we were blown away with the results. I still can’t believe that throughout the class he
was playing to a click at the same time as performing. We drummers can tend to
become quite robotic as soon as that piercing tone comes through our headphones
but Clive made it look smooth, professional and exciting at the same time as keeping (perfectly) that little thing called time.

Clive explained how he has his own 4-track mixer next to him so that he can control what he has coming through the headphones. He did not have all of the other instruments
playing on his mix as he found that it was too much to listen to while trying to concentrate. He continued to say how he has the click through one ear and the backing track through the other. I found this fascinating as, in the past, I have experienced various

interesting sounds coming through the monitors while the sound engineer gives excuses as to why he can’t change it. This technique was reflected in Clive’s playing as it was very
minimal with every rim-shot and every crash on his huge china placed perfectly. At no point
did I feel that t here needed to be more.

Another useful tip from Clive was who to make friends with in the business. As we all know, it’s vital to have the right connections as well as being a great player. He explained how getting to know the tour managers is always useful as they can slip your name onto the auditions list. The less obvious people to become acquainted with (who Clive said are the most important of all in the “getting known” business) are the techs. They are usually working with several bands on several tours and will always be able to tell the band members about you after they’ve shared a few drinks.

I thoroughly enjoyed Clive’s music and re-discovered a genre that I had mistakenly believed to be uninteresting. I also found all of his tips informative and useful. I intend to get my own 4-track mixer so that I don’t have to deal with those stubborn engineers anymore. I advise you all to invest in one too! Listen out for Groove Armada and discover the wonders of dance music!