Search - Chris Layton: Double Trouble Drums on DVD

Don't Let the Simplicity Fool You

W. Dent | Baltimore, MD | 02/25/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had my own simple agenda in buying this DVD. I heard Chris playing at a Hendrix Tribute on DVD where several drummers were involved. Every time Chris played, his snare drum tone just jumped out at me and made me want to tune my snare drum just like his. When I saw this DVD and it was advertised that among other things, Chris would discuss tuning the drums, I never hesitated for one moment to order it.

I watched the DVD for the first time last evening just before my Hendrix/Vaughn/Winters styled trio rehearsed. I went to our practice space a little early and proceeded to tune my snare drum following Chris' simple instructions on the DVD and voila, I now have that sweet tone with that fat sound I heard on the Hendrix Tribute DVD. The balance of what is covered on this DVD is as easy to follow and apply as his tuning instructions were. Chris speaks in an easy and non-complicated manner, very clear and easy to understand just like his playing with the various musical units with whom he plays.

The DVD cover describes the DVD as a lesson with Chris and that is exactly what it is. It is a lesson during which Mr. Layton shares many of his trade secrets. Unlike many of the other instructional DVD's I own, I really had no question how to do the things he teaches when it was over. I always feel that if I walk away with one thing at the end of such a DVD, it was worth the investment. With this one, I feel I've walked away with a basket full.

One quick comment about the way Chris Layton comes across on this educational tool: he speaks in a very non-assuming, humble way. At no time is his teaching a "talking down" to the student. Instead, I really get the feeling that he is taking me under his wing so to speak. I feel this is important because all too often, we are faced with a musician who obviously knows his stuff but whose presentation is a turn off because he/she speaks down to the "rest of us" who aren't as gifted or don't know as much as they. I am sorry to say that that kind of attitude is rampant in many of the jazz instructional dvd's. It's not that one cannot learn from even the most pompous of a - holes because you absolutely can. It's just more fun when the teacher is the exact opposite of that kind of personality. Mr. Layton is of this "kinder, gentler" quality.

Lastly, I've heard drummers put down the blues genre for drummers as easy, non-consequential music because of its apparent simplicity. The truth is, if you have the feel, you've got it. If you don't, you ain't ever gonna play the blues rightly. Mr. Layton covers the need to be relaxed when playing. That is a universal piece of advice appropriate for any style of playing. He also covers how to play the Texas shuffle and its many varieties. That instruction is specific to a type of music which can be played the right way and which unfortunately, too often is played incorrectly by drummers who underestimate the importance of the drums in this type of music. Just like Calypso, Bossa Nova, be bop and so many other types of music, there is a way to play the drums in blues music which complements the other musicians and makes the songs sing with the right feel. When they are played well in blues music, the drums can free the rest of the musicians to soar and bring the cows home - they can make an audience understand what the songs are about in a way that communicates straight to the heart. This DVD goes a long way in helping that to happen more often on those nights in those little blues clubs all over the world. Definitely worth the investment if you're a serious drummer who wants to learn a little bit more about his instrument than he may have previously known there was to know!

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