Ed Soph - "I Don't Teach Jazz Drums, I Teach Improvisation"

[@TJZ2345]

This prof is so deep I can barely take it.😢 One of the best interviews I've heard in a minute

[@richardadams8940]

I listen to this while I change the heads on my whole kit and tuned it up and what a pleasure. Thanks for sharing this and I agree with so much that was shared. I am 68 still developing my craft and will never stop as a drummer. I love the part where he talked about play this one thing so many different ways and will actually teach you so much. Kudos to you and all the work and sharing you do.

[@BobbyJamescomposer]

There is no shortcut to greatness. You gotta work and Ed will not sugar coat it

[@JeffRandallDrumming]

As a former student of Ed’s, I really appreciated this interview. Thanks dude!

[@8020drummer]

Hey Jeff! Nice to see you over here. I recently ripped off a bunch of drum lighting stuff from your “soundproof room within a room” video 😜. Double key light ftw.

[@PeterKahlenbornMusik]

Great COne of the best interviews on the internet. So true. Today, I would confirm everything Ed Soph says. In retrospective, I realize how stupid I was as a young student. Today, I spend as many hours as possible with music every day. Andi t's wonderful. It's such a gift. And every interested kid should learn how to get excellent at what they love. And make it a joy for themselves and everybody else. Thank you, Mr. Soph for all these deep insights. It makes me feel like my stupidity has paid off, at least in that I've drawn the right conclusions. Great. Thank you!

[@Zuhdj]

I miss learning from this man. Sadly I was there after he left but, thankfully, Q brought him back for clinics rather frequently :) Genius insight on working with the MUSIC from him and Prof. Helbing

[@ErikGunnarEdlund]

Best interview I've seen in a LONG time. Clearly up there among my all time favorites. Thank you so much!

[@SkylarTheGarvinizer]

My professor studied with Soph at UNT for a semester. It is reassuring to hear Soph talk about familiar concepts but from a different perspective. Thanks for sharing this!

[@bobblues1158]

Good to talk to us old people. We do have some references and lessons from the past that are great for young people now.

[@jamesangel6986]

Always love to hear Ed’s wisdom. Headed to the shed.

[@fabio.n4458]

wow, that hurt and soothed at the same time. Great insight. thx for doing this!

[@tomhoey6442]

Fantastic interview with one of the best teachers/human/musician. Thank you Nate and Ed

[@crockmans1386]

My time in Denton TX, 1988, 1990, was great. The best jazz at UNT during day time and then listening to Rusty Weir in Ft Worth in the evening, or shoot pool at the white elefant Saloon, or listen to the Doobie Friends Band at the pink poodle cocktail lounge .......or check out the Stratoblasters and Jeff Healey at Dallas Alley. It Was so much fun. Best times at UNT. Dan Hearle ... we miss you so much. Jack Petersen, great teacher, great insights. Jim Riggs, thank you for telling every student that music is the ability to concentrate. Masterclass. Denton , TX.

[@bencausey]

Oh my gosh - such a compelling interview. Deep questions, deep answers. Thank you.

[@jasper36]

I really like the dive into curiosity, relevance, reference, the importance of interest etc. Make mistakes and love making the sounds you love... learn how to listen. Yes!

[@tommyron]

One of the things that I really like about your channel is the number of guests that I've heard say some version of "It's all about curiosity", because it is. Those are the people that you really want to listen to. I've been a composer and arranger for 35+ years and one thing I can tell you with complete confidence is that nothing much happens if your engine isn't fueled by some serious form of curiosity. Thanks for another great interview Nate.

[@Robert-pe3zy]

Terrific interview. Thank you, Nate.

[@mwdrum]

Ari Hoenig is such a unique musician, I was surprised that he was a UNT trained drummer. Though hearing Ed speak in this video I understand that he was very modern towards imagination. Hence, Ari was able to have roots and his own character in his playing. Great to hear Mr. Soph.

[@drh105]

Ed Soph totally RULZ!!!! Wow! So inspiring!! Lots of deep wisdom is dropped on us here. What a great interview!

[@SWH2012]

What a great talk. Very inspiring. Thanks Nate and thanks to the legendary Mr. Soph. 79 and sharp as a tack and going strong.

[@edanzueto5717]

Nate! Great great job! Stumbled onto this at 4am and I couldn’t turn it off! Great wisdom from Ed and great questions/comments from you! Thanks for what you do! Big fan!

[@robertreedy414]

This is so revelatory to any apect of life, exploration, and joy of discovery.

[@blaisee1977]

Great podcast as always. mannn watching this has me so excited to attend their program next semester

[@TimVoigt-l8q]

Nate: You are the consummate stealth conversational artiste! Great interview and exploration of a guy who has been there and done/seen it all! Back to work for me!

[@shamusenright5387]

Guys like Ed really cut through the noise. Though tough love teaching has fallen out of favor in many circles you can see its benefits watching this interview if the student is up for the challenge.

[@Stricknyne1]

I could lesson to Ed speak all day. Thank you for this video.

[@leedsdrumacademy]

I really enjoy these. Can I just recommend one thing? Maybe go for a wider shot. It's off putting to go from seeing Ed's whole upper body to just seeing a face really close to my screen 😂

[@JoeIzzo]

Great interview Nate! Keep up the great work!

[@jazzhole8208]

I luv that interview 🙌 amazing insights 👌🥁 thanks so much ❤🙏

[@Alexander_Z.]

Thank You, Nate. This is gold!

[@johannesopsahl]

this podcast is FANTASTIC and i LOVE it! so much deep insight. thanks! favorite quotes: "I sound better than you because i practiced stuff like this, when i sounded like you do [now]" and of course: "You can't Google musicality pal"

[@davidbrown9395]

Thank you, Nate

[@scottyt5918]

Where can I donate to see Soph smack down Greg Abbott in a debate?

[@davidbrown9395]

Ed, love your down to earth views. BTW I am the same age as you.

[@raitoxote]

Brilliant interview!

[@chingdaiho7708]

great interview!

[@efafe4972]

this guy reminds me of fletcher but with a lvl of love behind it

[@stephenanthonythomas3533]

Phenomenal. 🙏

[@mariolackner6570]

thank you Nate !

[@tacol14]

Amazing... thanks !

[@tonymo2105]

Amazing!

[@mikoaj2178]

Great one

[@johnjohnothan5927]

Ay! My prof studied with him at UNT.

[@ignacioperezdelcastillo3182]

Gracias

[@bencooperdrums]

You’ve covered this before in some ways Nate, so I thought you might appreciate this thought. I’m struck by how much Professor Soph, and probably music educators in general, are still subscribed to the idea of a linear hierarchy which up and coming musicians must summit in order to be considered successful. Even though by his own admission, there aren’t the same amount of ‘road gigs’ or jobbing-type opportunities for musicians to ‘learn their trade’. Mr Soph’s generation of musicians would have been appraised by their ability to attain, hold onto, and in turn progress from these gigs, into name bands or other jobs, like teaching at a university. That infrastructure of professional development and competition simply has not existed in decades, and yet the foremost Jazz degree programme in the world appears to be modeled after it in 2024. Jazz music at its root is the music of outsiders, and it could be reasonably argued that jazz third level education in this respect has almost nothing to do with the spirit of the music itself, despite the fact that many wonderful teachers including Professor Soph have found gainful employment and honed their craft as teachers in this field throughout the years. I too, benefited hugely from Ed’s KZbin series about brush playing, and hold him in the highest professional regard, whatever my opinion’s worth. But the professor’s descriptions of some of the various types of ‘also-ran’ students who would be better off in his opinion getting desk jobs or moving to smaller programmes gave me pause. How many idiosyncratic, creative drummers have been left on the cutting-room floor of this music programme’s orientation around a professional infrastructure that hasn’t existed for decades?And without wanting to make anyone feel guilty, particularly in light of what we as a society are now beginning to learn about the breadth and scope of the Autism Spectrum. So many of the great voices of Jazz music are so highly cherished and valued for the very same aspects of their playing style and creativity that, according to this interview, may have moved Mr Soph to tell them not to waste their time. The reality is that it’s impossible to accurately grade something as subjective and ethereal as a student’s unique voice and creative potential. So selling degree courses in jazz performance would appear to also entail selling this notion of hierarchy, infrastructure, and the inherent, objective value of one musician over another. I’m all for learning the language properly and respecting the tradition when you decide you want to become a jazz drummer. That skill set and authenticity can actually pay the rent for a lot of people. Some fundamentals of learning to deal with any musical instrument should be non-negotiable, and it is truly possible to take it in any direction you want from there (e.g Han Bennink!). But as your KZbin channel and coaching endeavors clearly show Nate, in this day and age there’s actually a lot more growth potential in learning to propagate the most authentic version of oneself, than focusing all one’s energy on being the ‘best’ drummer at the non-existent cattle call. Love your channel. Love Ed Soph. Thanks for reading. B

[@8020drummer]

I actually mostly agree with you 😳

[@franksarabia4630]

Giovanni played the set?

[@Jameson-Scriver]

“If you can really play the instrument you don’t need to use books, you can use music” !!!!

[@kennethtaylor964]

If

[@radiozeitgeist5620]

Anyone know if HENRY OKSTEL is still living..??

[@edsoph7006]

Yes, Henry is alive and well .

[@EverybodyBurts]

FACTS!

[@davidbrown9395]

same age as you AND Gadd

[@davidbrown9395]

Tony born the same year

[@ritabrooks9059]

Darth Vader! I met a guy who started a cymbal shop. He told me he went to North Texas and had to play in front of Soph. Soph told him to play a jazz solo. He was forever damaged.

[@gcharocks]

Giovanni Hidalgo is very clearly left handed but I get what he’s saying

[@badtriad9684]

Lemme know when the FUN and JOY of playin' drums kicks in...

[@8020drummer]

?

[@albako13]

😂 Quit being a student forever. This is challenging the validity of this channel. He is quite right about it.

[@albako13]

Sorry if this sounds like mocking. I enjoy these interviews especially the ironic aspects to them.

[@edsoph7006]

I refer to being an academic student. We should all be life-long students. Those most accomplished in any field are simply advanced beginners.

[@albako13]

@@edsoph7006 Sure, without improving there is stagnation - burn out. But I honestly think that trying to walk on other players path is not much better either. Doesn't even work.Weckl can be played only by Weckl. Its his touch.

[@edsoph7006]

@@albako13 Emulation....Assimilation...Innovation

[@albako13]

@@edsoph7006 sounds familar. There's time to learn and time to use all of it . one thing is for shure though: there's no greater joy than hitting a perfectly tuned snare.except maybe when the snare is in a fine tuned kit,which is in a band with fine musicians 😁

[@josephgiarraffa6379]

Love your drumming back in 1974 with the Woody Herman Band

[@ignacioperezdelcastillo3182]

🎉💪🙏💪

[@ppmatt87]

I'm sitting in old man corner right now.

[@danarzechula3769]

Surprised the Baptists allowed a Dance Band

[@adammtroutman]

lol @ when people act like jazz is really edgy/ballsy/demonic

[@8020drummer]

Even if you’re right why be mean

[@jackfalco5351]

It’s all irrelevant. There’s no decent playing work for drummer these day even the great ones.