DRUMS AROUND THE WORLD
KTRAINDATW
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PETE LOCKETT
Pete Lockett is a versatile and prolific English percussionist and recording artist. Given his extensive knowledge of percussion traditions, from the traditional Carnatic and Hindustani music of North and South India to traditional Japanese taiko (1) drumming, it is no surprise that he is in steady demand to collaborate with other artists. Blues, funk, rock, classical, folk, ethnic, Arabic, Electronic…he does it all. And on a seemingly endless array of instruments: tabla,(2) mridangam,(3) kanjira,(4) ghatam,(5) vocal percussion, dholak,(6) naal,(7) and bhangra(8) dhol (9) from north and south India; darbuka,(10) riq,(11) bendir,(12) and frame-drums from the Middle East; congas, bongos, timbales and berimbau (13) from Latin America; the Irish bodhran;(14) Nigerian udu;(15) West African djembe;(16) Japanese taiko; Western drum set; and an array of self-built instruments and customized percussive effects. He also works extensively with electronics and samplers, (including the aFrame digital frame drum), both live and in studio, to create densely alternative percussion fabrics.
He has recorded and/or performed with many artists including, Björk, Afro Celt Sound System, Peter Gabriel, Robert Plant, The Verve, Amy Winehouse, Pet Shop Boys, Sinéad O'Connor, Nitin Sawhney, Zakir Hussain, Steve Smith, U Shrinivas, Amit Chatterjee, Jeff Beck, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Craig Armstrong, Roxy Music’s Phil Manzarena and A.R. Rahman amongst many others. He has also worked extensively in the film industry, playing on a number of Bond movies including, “Quantum of solace’, ”Die Another Day", "The World is Not Enough", "Tomorrow Never Dies" and "Casino Royale". Other Hollywood films include, Moulin Rouge!, The Insider, City of Angels, The Bone Collector and the Guy Ritchie movie Snatch. He was voted the best percussionist in the world by Rhythm magazine. His first educational book, Indian Rhythms for the Drumset was released on Hudson music.
INTERVIEW INFORMATION
INTERVIEW INFORMATION
PREAMBLE
Pete Lockett is such a versatile guy, there is so much to deal with when it comes to his work. With regards to the “story” of the documentary, his insight may/will probably appear in several sections. I have broken down the interviews, material I want to cover into several sections, so that I can insert it where I need to within the documentary. Pete may not want to/have time to discuss all these things, but I wanted you to prep them just in case. As Pete mentioned, in discussions about any of these topics, many things will come to light that we can explore as well.
Here is my breakdown, feel free to suggest any changes in how I’ve laid it out and certainly ask me any questions you may have.
INTERVIEW BREAKDOWN
INTERVIEW BREAKDOWN
INTRODUCTION
PERSONAL INFO
RHYTHM AS A WHOLE
INDIA
INSTRUMENT BASED
LOOKING AHEAD
PERSONAL INFO
RHYTHM AS A WHOLE
INDIA
INSTRUMENT BASED
LOOKING AHEAD
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
*We may or may not use this, I just want it as a backup in case we go that route, Gillian please translate into your language*
"I'm here with percussionist and recording artist Pete Lockett. Pete is a world-renowned expert on many different styles of world percussion. His unique ability to authentically play these many instruments, but also to adapt their essence and rhythms to western music, has earned him critical acclaim and collaborations with many top artists and film studios around the world."
PERSONAL/GENERAL
PERSONAL/GENERAL
* Please reference this video (it has lots of great personal and professional tidbits that might help form some of the questions*
Questions
- Why drums, what drew you to drums and percussion?
- From you multi-cultural perspective, what do you think has allowed rhythm and percussion to exist in almost every culture across thousands of years and still stay relevant.
- What do you think a drummer/percussionist’s role is? Accompany? Lead? Inspire? Does this vary depending on the culture of the music you are playing?
- What “locks you into” a song? As western drummers, we get so used to hearing repeated phrases in a (mostly) predictable pattern. How do you get outside of that to adapt to different, less familiar (to western ears) patterns?
- Why drums, what drew you to drums and percussion?
- From you multi-cultural perspective, what do you think has allowed rhythm and percussion to exist in almost every culture across thousands of years and still stay relevant.
- What do you think a drummer/percussionist’s role is? Accompany? Lead? Inspire? Does this vary depending on the culture of the music you are playing?
- What “locks you into” a song? As western drummers, we get so used to hearing repeated phrases in a (mostly) predictable pattern. How do you get outside of that to adapt to different, less familiar (to western ears) patterns?
RHYTHM AS A WHOLE
RHYTHM AS A WHOLE
INFORMATION TO BASE QUESTIONS ON
Solo, Unison, Layered (Interlocking). Whatever percussion tradition from whatever part of the world you look at, you can put it into one of these three categories. Indian for example is 99% always either solo or unison. If you hear multiple drum parts on a film score, they will all be in unison, just like the strings. (This is amazing when you hear melody players as they play incredibly detailed stuff, fast and with loads of micro tones but in total unison. U Srinivas and his brother U Rajhesh were total masters of this on the Mandolin, performing entire shows in total unison). Also, if you get Tabla players, such as Zakir Hussain and his late father Allah Rakha. They would play very extended unison passages. If they did play different parts then the supporting player would merely be marking out the time cycle and not playing an interlocking pattern. This stems from
Solo, Unison, Layered (Interlocking). Whatever percussion tradition from whatever part of the world you look at, you can put it into one of these three categories. Indian for example is 99% always either solo or unison. If you hear multiple drum parts on a film score, they will all be in unison, just like the strings. (This is amazing when you hear melody players as they play incredibly detailed stuff, fast and with loads of micro tones but in total unison. U Srinivas and his brother U Rajhesh were total masters of this on the Mandolin, performing entire shows in total unison). Also, if you get Tabla players, such as Zakir Hussain and his late father Allah Rakha. They would play very extended unison passages. If they did play different parts then the supporting player would merely be marking out the time cycle and not playing an interlocking pattern. This stems from
A/ the
formal structure of how classical Indian musicians perform music together, and
B/ With the microtonal stuff there is no room for harmony in their music.
Hence, the unison stuff.
You could even think of the rhythm work as
‘microtonal’ or ‘abstract’ so as to make interlocking parts pointless, or at
the very least, incredibly hard to make work. It is also very much an
intellectual music rather than a music with any ‘social dance’ functions. (The
dance aspect in the classical world is very much intellectualized in the same
way the Tabla repertoire is). Then, the folk traditions are incredibly
diverse, with literally thousands of different styles and instruments.
Again, they all do the unison thing mostly. Not intellectual at all
though.
The opposite approach to this is the multi layered or interlocking concept you find in Africa / Latin America where you get families of drums that all play parts that fit together to make up a basic groove concept. Then there is usually a solo voice or master drummer voice that floats on top in a formally improvised way, sometimes having the role of giving cues for changes in the music. Sometimes these combinations are derived from families of drums with different tones (Particularly in Africa - Bass / Medium / High / Solo) and sometimes derived from different sound sources. (Broken down into four simple components - Wood, Metal, Skin and Seed, so for example, Clave + Cowbell + Drum + Shekere)
The opposite approach to this is the multi layered or interlocking concept you find in Africa / Latin America where you get families of drums that all play parts that fit together to make up a basic groove concept. Then there is usually a solo voice or master drummer voice that floats on top in a formally improvised way, sometimes having the role of giving cues for changes in the music. Sometimes these combinations are derived from families of drums with different tones (Particularly in Africa - Bass / Medium / High / Solo) and sometimes derived from different sound sources. (Broken down into four simple components - Wood, Metal, Skin and Seed, so for example, Clave + Cowbell + Drum + Shekere)
INDIA
INDIA
Indian vocal recitation and clapping of time cycles dating back to 2nd century
BC. Looking at how the use of syllables grew to represent strokes and
tones on drums and how it is used across instruments / dance /
composition. It is a very specific rhythmic system and there is a LOT to talk about here, covering both North Indian
(Hindustani) and South Indian (Carnatic) rhythm.
Questions
- Indian rhythms, they sound so different from the Western rhythms we know. What makes them so different and unique? How did they come about?
- Indian rhythms seem to be directly linked to voice, and the sounds of syllables to represent notes, can you elaborate on this?
- The Indian rhythmic system seems to be quite precise, can you give me some insight on how it works?
- I noticed that contrary to many other percussion musics, Indian drumming has a lot of "unison" playing (drums playing same parts) Can you elaborate?
- This "unison" playing leaves little room for harmony within the music, would you say the music then is dependent on precise, complex unison parts to make it work?
- India being such a vast, highly populated country, do you find the rhythms and musics vary as you cross the country (for instance North to South)?
- What role does percussion play in Indian music? Is it the focus of the music? A means of accompanying other instruments in general?
- With India having a history of a "caste" society structure, would you say that traditionally, are drums the "people's" instrument in India, or are they seen more as a spiritual or sacred instrument?
- There are so many instruments in the Indian percussion arsenal, would you say many of these were created to play the complex rhythms required or vice versa?
- Do you find Indian rhythms translate well to Western music, particularly the drumset?
- Indian rhythms, they sound so different from the Western rhythms we know. What makes them so different and unique? How did they come about?
- Indian rhythms seem to be directly linked to voice, and the sounds of syllables to represent notes, can you elaborate on this?
- The Indian rhythmic system seems to be quite precise, can you give me some insight on how it works?
- I noticed that contrary to many other percussion musics, Indian drumming has a lot of "unison" playing (drums playing same parts) Can you elaborate?
- This "unison" playing leaves little room for harmony within the music, would you say the music then is dependent on precise, complex unison parts to make it work?
- India being such a vast, highly populated country, do you find the rhythms and musics vary as you cross the country (for instance North to South)?
- What role does percussion play in Indian music? Is it the focus of the music? A means of accompanying other instruments in general?
- With India having a history of a "caste" society structure, would you say that traditionally, are drums the "people's" instrument in India, or are they seen more as a spiritual or sacred instrument?
- There are so many instruments in the Indian percussion arsenal, would you say many of these were created to play the complex rhythms required or vice versa?
- Do you find Indian rhythms translate well to Western music, particularly the drumset?
INSTRUMENT BASED
INSTRUMENT BASED
*A lot of the questions here I'm sure will arise organically as you guys look at, and discuss the instruments. Pete wants to keep this a little less "formal".*
KANJIRA
Technique: Indian split hand technique on Kanjira
Questions
- This looks a lot like a smaller tambourine (with a drumhead added) or a Brazilian Pandeiro. Would you say there are any similarities in their role and how they are played?
- Are they always this size?
- What are they traditionally made of?
- What type of music are they typically associated with?
- Can you tune it or alter its pitch?
- What is the role of this instrument with the music?
- Can it be adapted to other, non-Indian styles of music?
Questions
- This looks a lot like a smaller tambourine (with a drumhead added) or a Brazilian Pandeiro. Would you say there are any similarities in their role and how they are played?
- Are they always this size?
- What are they traditionally made of?
- What type of music are they typically associated with?
- Can you tune it or alter its pitch?
- What is the role of this instrument with the music?
- Can it be adapted to other, non-Indian styles of music?
DARABOUKA / DOUMBEK
Technique: Arabic finger techniques on Darabouka / Doumbek
Questions
- This instrument looks a lot like other Goblet drums such as the African Djembe. Is this an instrument that collectively developed across the world or does it have an origin?
- What is it traditionally made of?
- Can you tune it or alter its pitch?
- Is there a standard size? Can they be larger? Smaller?
- What type of music is it traditionally associated with? What is it's role within that music?
- Would you say the playing techniques/rhythms of this drum vs other incarnations of this drum (the Djembe for instance) are very different?
- Does it lend itself to other styles of music outside it's traditional idiom?
- Can you show me some techniques
Questions
- This instrument looks a lot like other Goblet drums such as the African Djembe. Is this an instrument that collectively developed across the world or does it have an origin?
- What is it traditionally made of?
- Can you tune it or alter its pitch?
- Is there a standard size? Can they be larger? Smaller?
- What type of music is it traditionally associated with? What is it's role within that music?
- Would you say the playing techniques/rhythms of this drum vs other incarnations of this drum (the Djembe for instance) are very different?
- Does it lend itself to other styles of music outside it's traditional idiom?
- Can you show me some techniques
FRAME DRUMS
Technique: Finger techniques on frame drums
Questions
- This type of instrument seems to appear all over the place (the Irish Bodhran, Native American Frame drums, etc), would you say it had a collective evolution around the world or does it come from somewhere? Is there a culture it is most associated with? How does this drum differ from, say, a Bodhran?
- What is it traditionally made of?
- What is it's role within the music?
- Is there a "standard" size or is it up to the maker's discretion?
- Can you play it with sticks?
- Does it typically accompany other instruments? Solo?
- Would you say it lends itself to more Western styles of music?
- Can you tune it? Change the pitch?
ARABIC RIQ
Technique: Intricate techniques on Arabic Riq (They have university degrees on this
tambourine in Egypt)
Questions
- How does this instrument differ in structure and use from a Western tambourine as we know it?
- Are there specific rhythms and patterns associated with this instrument?
- What type of music is it typically associated with? What is it's role within the music?
- Is it more of an accompaniment instrument or would you say it can stand on its own?
- What is it traditionally made of?
- Can you tune it? How?
- Is it always this size? Do they come any larger? Smaller?
- Does it lend itself to more Western styles of music?
- Can you show me some basic techniques?
Questions
- How does this instrument differ in structure and use from a Western tambourine as we know it?
- Are there specific rhythms and patterns associated with this instrument?
- What type of music is it typically associated with? What is it's role within the music?
- Is it more of an accompaniment instrument or would you say it can stand on its own?
- What is it traditionally made of?
- Can you tune it? How?
- Is it always this size? Do they come any larger? Smaller?
- Does it lend itself to more Western styles of music?
- Can you show me some basic techniques?
BRAZILIAN PANDEIRO
Technique: Brazilian techniques on Pandeiro
Questions
- How does this instrument differ in structure and use from a Western tambourine as we know it?
- Did it evolve from a previous instrument on the tambourine tree?
- What is it's role within Brazilian music? Is there a specific style that it is associated with?
- Are there specific patterns that are usually played on this instrument or does it vary by song/music style?
- Can you play it with a stick?
- Can you see it fitting into Western Music?
- What is it traditionally made of?
- Can you tune it or alter its pitch?
- Is this instrument a specific size or are there other smaller or larger ones with different sounds?
- Does it lend itself to more Western styles of music?
- Can you show me some basic techniques?
Questions
- How does this instrument differ in structure and use from a Western tambourine as we know it?
- Did it evolve from a previous instrument on the tambourine tree?
- What is it's role within Brazilian music? Is there a specific style that it is associated with?
- Are there specific patterns that are usually played on this instrument or does it vary by song/music style?
- Can you play it with a stick?
- Can you see it fitting into Western Music?
- What is it traditionally made of?
- Can you tune it or alter its pitch?
- Is this instrument a specific size or are there other smaller or larger ones with different sounds?
- Does it lend itself to more Western styles of music?
- Can you show me some basic techniques?
CUBAN BONGOS
Technique: Muted hand techniques on Cuban Bongos
Questions
- Where are its origins? Africa? Has it changed within Cuban context?
- What is a bongo's role? What type of music would you say it is most associated with?
- Are they always in pairs? Why?
- What are they traditionally made of?
- Is there a standard bongo "size"?
- Can you tune them?
- Are they always played with the hands or can they be played with sticks?
- Would you say the bongo is the inspiration for high toms on a drumset?
- Are congas more of a tool to provide accents to a conga or can they be an instrument in their own right?
- Are there specific bongo "rhythms"?
- There are so many moving percussion parts in Cuban music, where do Bongos fit in?
- Do you see a place for them in Western music, do they lend themselves to that?
- Can you show me some basic concepts on the bongo?
CAJON
Technique: Basic techniques on Cajón
Questions
- Culturally speaking, where does it come from? What country really put it on the map?
- What is it typically made of?
- What is the hole for?
- Do you have to sit on it to play it?
- What type of music is it most associated with? What is its role within that music?
- Is the pitch dependent on the size of the Cajon itself or can you alter that?
- Can you show me some basic techniques?
Questions
- Culturally speaking, where does it come from? What country really put it on the map?
- What is it typically made of?
- What is the hole for?
- Do you have to sit on it to play it?
- What type of music is it most associated with? What is its role within that music?
- Is the pitch dependent on the size of the Cajon itself or can you alter that?
- Can you show me some basic techniques?
DRUMSET
*Pete may or may not play drumset. If he does, I want to focus on adaptation of World rhythms to the drumset.*
Questions
- Can you give me an example of Indian rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of Brazilian rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of Arabic rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of Cuban rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of African rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of Indian rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of Brazilian rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of Arabic rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of Cuban rhythms adapted to the drumset?
- Can you give me an example of African rhythms adapted to the drumset?
TABLA
*Pete will not demo Tablas (we will do that in India), but I'd like to ask a few questions.*
Questions
- What is a tabla?
- Are they always in pairs? Why?
- What type of music is it mostly associated with?
- Most laymen with little exposure to Indian music have heard of Tabla. Why do you think it stands out from other Indian percussion instruments?
- What is a tabla?
- Are they always in pairs? Why?
- What type of music is it mostly associated with?
- Most laymen with little exposure to Indian music have heard of Tabla. Why do you think it stands out from other Indian percussion instruments?
BERIMBAU
*Pete will not demo Berimbau (we'll do that in Brazil), but I'd like to ask a few questions.*
The way the berimbau and the m'bulumbumba of southwest
Angola are made and played are very similar, as well as the tuning and
basic patterns performed on these instruments. It is also quite similar to the Zambian Kalumbu.
Questions
- What is a Berimbau?
- What is it's role within Brazilian music, specifically Capoeira music?
- Where does it come from? Does it have African origins?
- As a Berimbau player, do you find it lends itself to syles outside the Brazilian idiom?
- What is a Berimbau?
- What is it's role within Brazilian music, specifically Capoeira music?
- Where does it come from? Does it have African origins?
- As a Berimbau player, do you find it lends itself to syles outside the Brazilian idiom?
TAIKO
*Pete will not demo the Taiko drum (we'll do that in Japan), but I have some questions*
*Please reference albums with Joji Hirota in G-Drive*
*Please reference albums with Joji Hirota in G-Drive*
Questions
- You did some extensive work (and a few albums) with Joji Hirota, combining Japanese and Indian rhythms. How did that come about?
- Do you feel that the two musical styles are compatible?
- Is the Taiko drum a spectacle on its own or does it require other instruments?
- What style of music/occasion in their traditional setting are they associated with?
- Do they have a specific size?
- Can they be tuned?
- As a Taiko drummer yourself, how important a role do you feel rhythm plays in Japanese music? What is the role of rhythm in Japanese music?
- Is it different in any significant way from other styles that you have played/performed?
- You did some extensive work (and a few albums) with Joji Hirota, combining Japanese and Indian rhythms. How did that come about?
- Do you feel that the two musical styles are compatible?
- Is the Taiko drum a spectacle on its own or does it require other instruments?
- What style of music/occasion in their traditional setting are they associated with?
- Do they have a specific size?
- Can they be tuned?
- As a Taiko drummer yourself, how important a role do you feel rhythm plays in Japanese music? What is the role of rhythm in Japanese music?
- Is it different in any significant way from other styles that you have played/performed?
LOOKING AHEAD
LOOKING AHEAD
General Questions
- Drums have been used for so many things, spiritual, healing, military, entertainment, etc, do you see any new and different uses for percussion and drums in the future?
- With the rising popularity of programmed drums and beats, where do you see drumset/percussion & general rhythm playing headed?
- Drums have been used for so many things, spiritual, healing, military, entertainment, etc, do you see any new and different uses for percussion and drums in the future?
- With the rising popularity of programmed drums and beats, where do you see drumset/percussion & general rhythm playing headed?
aFrame Drums
The aFrame Drum is a state-of-the-art, touch-sensitive electronic frame drum.
Questions
- What is an aFrame drum? What does it do?
- Do you find it is as responsive to touch as a real instrument?
- Do you see these eventually replacing their acoustic counterparts or more as a compliment to them?
- Which do you prefer to play?
- To your trained ear, does the sound now (will it ever?) rival an acoustic frame drum?
- Can you demonstrate it for me?
Pete Lockett APP
You can find this on your iPods. I will bring in a larger iPad for the demo
Questions
- What is the DrumJam APP? What does it do?
- How can drummers/percussionists use this APP to create and learn about rhythms?
- Can you demonstrate it?
State of Classical Ethnic Music
The ‘future’ category could also be a good platform to talk of the ever evolving ‘hybrid’ approaches being used across the world as globalization and the internet make the various musics of the world visible to one-another in a two way exchange that is mutually beneficial. Of course, there is also the negative aspect of globalism where popularized western style music is swamping everything else. In India for example, classical music CD sales are at an all time low. These musical traditions are deeply threatened by extinction.
Questions
- Do you feel that increasing globalization has had a positive or a negative effect on traditional music styles? How so?
- Do you feel it is important to maintain some of these percussion styles in their original form or is hybridization part of the ever-evolving cycle of music?
The ‘future’ category could also be a good platform to talk of the ever evolving ‘hybrid’ approaches being used across the world as globalization and the internet make the various musics of the world visible to one-another in a two way exchange that is mutually beneficial. Of course, there is also the negative aspect of globalism where popularized western style music is swamping everything else. In India for example, classical music CD sales are at an all time low. These musical traditions are deeply threatened by extinction.
Questions
- Do you feel that increasing globalization has had a positive or a negative effect on traditional music styles? How so?
- Do you feel it is important to maintain some of these percussion styles in their original form or is hybridization part of the ever-evolving cycle of music?
Interview Segments
Individual Segments from Pete's Interview for Use
Cuban Bongos
Cajon
Drum Set
Tabla
Berimbau
Taiko
Frame Drums
Arabic Riq
Indian Counting
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North vs South Indian Music
PRONUNCIATIONS
#1 - Taiko
Taiko
Japanese (Japanese Pronunciations)
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#2 - Tabla
Tabla
Hindi (Hindi Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#3 - Mridangam
Mridangam
Hindi (Hindi Pronunciations)
0:00/0:01
#4 - Kanjira
Kanjira
Hindi (Hindi Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#5 - Ghatam
Ghatam
Hindi (Hindi Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#6 - Dholak
Dholak
Hindi (Hindi Pronunciations)
0:00/0:01
#7 - Naal
Naal
Hindi (Hindi Pronunciations)
0:00/0:01
#8 - Bhangra
Bhangra
Punjabi (Punjabi Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#9 - Dhol
Dhol
Punjabi (Punjabi Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#10 - Darbuka
Darbuka
Turkish (Turkish Pronunciations)
0:00/0:02
#11 - Riq
Riq
Arabic (Arabic Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#12 - Bendir
Bendir
Arabic (Arabic Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#13 - Berimbau
Berimbau
Portuguese (Portuguese Pronunciations)
0:00/0:01
#14 - Bodhran
Bodhran
Irish (Irish Pronunciations)
0:00/0:01
#15 - Udu Drum
Udu Drum
African (Anglo) (African (Anglo) Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#16 - Djembe
Djembe
African (Anglo) (African (Anglo) Pronunciations)
0:00/0:00
#17 - Pandeiro
Pandeiro
Portuguese (Portuguese Pronunciation)
0:00/0:00
#18 - Cajón
Cajon
Spanish (Spanish Pronunciation)
0:00/0:00