Drum Teacher Unlocks Vinnie Colaiuta's Secrets

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

This video is simply meant to START A CONVERSATION about Vinnie's playing. I by no means hit everything in this song that Vinnie does...to break out EVERYTHING Vinnie plays in this song, the video would have been hours haha. What do you hear? What do you think? Put it in the comments and add to the discussion so we can all learn!

[@phillipfornett1802]

Man! This was great & thank you for doing this video! I love your analysis of his playing. 👍🏽

[@mannys1930]

What do I hear ? What do I think ? Well.... i give you a lot of credit for tackling this. To do the first 8 or 16 bars we'd be here for months, figuring out the phrasing and the accents. What I think is you're giving people the things that they can mostly/hopefully hear, the strongest and most obvious ideas. And that's cool. But man, the intro, where he's constantly shifting the accents and then playing the downbeat on a crash or floor tom without the bass drum and phrasing over the bar line while the band holds 7 ? I mean, what can you even say about that ? How do you teach that. except tell someone to listen to it for a year, non stop, to transcribe it, and try to learn it exactly. I've know about this video for years, it's probably ( to me) Vinnie's best playing and I go back to Nightwalker by Gino Vanelli and Joe's Garage. Props to you for the analysis and continued success...

[@remander3873]

Vinnie is the definition of feel. My guy just walks up and plays in to the rest of the band, then totally kills it without overpowering them. True legend.

[@richardpowellTV]

No words for Vinnie but one......... Respect. Actually two more....... Undeniably awesome.

[@JohnGatesIII]

No computer.....no IEMs.....no click.........Just musicians working together to make music. Vinnie is probably the most underrated Drummer of our time. I still remember watching Vinnie, Steve Gadd and Dave Weckl at the Buddy Rich concert, with my dad. Dad had played with Steve Gadd in the Army (US Army Studio Band), so he knew Steve intimately. Who dad focused on, in THAT concert, was Vinnie. Vinnie is so Tight and CLEAN, while being Incredibly FAST around his kit. The other thing Vinnie is perfect at, is knowing where the ONE is at, at ALL times....and letting the band know where it's at. You did a great job breaking down, not only Vinnie's playing in general, but how it was fitting in with the 7/8 time signature and even riding over the top.

[@BeatKasterG]

Vinnie under-rated? A multiple-time Modern Drummer, etc award winner? Hardly.

[@King-Gilamashur2758]

I think he means that Vinnie goes unnoticed for a lot of people who are superficially into drumming and music. Many people probably have Vinnie in their favorite records and have no idea.

[@MikeJamesMedia]

Thanks for posting all these observations and lessons, Stephen! Just for reference, I'm 70, and started drumming in 1964. I followed all the usual people, (especially Buddy) and tried to learn from every drummer, along the way. As soon as I became aware of Vinnie, with Zappa, it became clear just how sick (in the most positive way!) he is. I don't remember the name of the first song that my drummer friends, but Vinnie played a fill that was one bar of some pretty fast 16th-note triplets. But, he kept his left hand on the snare, and moved his right hand around the toms. Simple, when you describe it like that, but to play it with the intensity that he did was quite the challenge. ...and that was in the 1970s. 🙃 It's a pleasure to see him still at it, and kicking ass!

[@TheItalianDrummer]

Bro! Great breakdown of my favorite video of Vinnie on KZbin, amazing content 🥂

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

Thank you my friend

[@FrankPCarpi]

​​​@@StephenTaylorDrums I have a question. Did the bass player ever play in time with Vinnie? Maybe my ear is off, but it sounded like the bass player was lagging at least a 32nd note behind him. I hear the piano player in time, but the bassist seems to be playing in a world of his own.

[@MrPantyline]

6:36 !!!!? I love it, because the blast will be just around the corner.. always! But as not mentioned often He is always giving those "poor bad boys" other musicians some confidence to keep on the groove even if He is totally keep us loosing it

[@TedGraf]

I haven't smiled for 12min straight in a long time! That. Was. INCREDIBLE!

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

It really is. Such a great performance

[@r.jameslefevre5179]

This piece reminds me of some of the works of Hermeto Pascoal and Airto Moreira , especially the piano part and the use of odd meter. Many of the great American Jazz and Fusion artists draw from their influence . Definitely takes someone like Colaiuta to pull that sort of thing off.

[@ironni]

Great musicians! How did other players do their stuff on that polyrhythmic phrases? It’s incredible, too. I think the greatest thing is Vinnie sounds good all the time even though we didn’t understand what he did or don’t play any instruments at all. I’ve seen it like decades ago without knowledge but I can feel it now. Thank you for this video.😊

[@keepthemetalflowing]

There is NO secret to Vinnie's playing. The man dedicated hours and hours of honing not only his chops/technique but his active listening skills to the music he was into and digging back in his early life. He has a mental capacity that is above a lot of people, not in like a snobbish way but he is very intelligent and puts thoughts together in a more cogent manner. He simply has a conversation on drums and knows how to speak the musical language with technique as though he's pouring a cup of coffee or doing laundry. He is very clearly a master musician, not just a drummer. I first heard of who he was back in the very early 90s when a friend of mine had the Modern Drummer issue paying tribute to Jeff Porcaro and his passing. I was fascinated with Jeff and read all the accounts from the musicians MD interviewed. One account was by this guy, Vinnie Colaiuta and I was so drawn by how he spoke of Jeff and the couple stories he related I decided to check him out. Sans internet I started finding recordings he'd done (I bought and still own his first solo album) and was amazed at how anyone could play with such musical fluidity and wicked technical acrobatics. I was (foolishly) disappointed at first in it because I wanted to hear BLAZING, BADASS chops just flailing all the kit! Over the years I've grown to love that album and still to this day listen to tracks off it. So... there is no magic or secret. Vinnie simply has the mindset, the intellect and the musical push (and the maddeningly frustrating ability to play in odd meter as if he were sipping a Coke! haha) to make what he, or the musicians he has played with, hear their music through his interpretation. Like his friend Jeff Porcaro, Vinnie is a musician first. I mean, Frank Zappa. That's all I gotta say there. He simply is one of the best known and recorded drummers to have ever lived. No secret magical thing about it.

[@drummin4jesus175]

Stephen, That was fantastic! I don't think I will be able to sleep tonight. Thanks for walking us through all that Vinnie was doing in that song. Nothing more can be said about his playing that has not already been said.

[@streetsmartdrumming9567]

Vinnie Colaiuta is like traveling in time/tempo, like a human walks on water.

[@totolaw2654]

I thought Im alone watching and observing Vinnie in this video.. it blows my mind eveytime i watch him play. Im glad we are many. 😂

[@sethcashman1011]

This Vinnie/Spud video has mystified me for decades. Really appreciate your taking the time to go through for (and with) us. Love the way Mathieson keeps looking back at him. Hilarious. p.s. those hertas were actually blushdas, I believe. Vinnie is one of the few cats who can still play blushdas without making them sound cliched.

[@eldorado5319]

Every time I see Vinnie Colaiuta play the first thing that comes to mind is Catholic Girls by Frank Zappa

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

Ha! Classic

[@eliwerth4704]

Bro! ive seen stuff from vinnie before but it didnt quite stick with me. this video was the one i needed. now i know why he was such an inspiration to my favorite drummers, this ability to metric modulate here is second to none and mind blowingly inspirational

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

He's a legend for sure

[@MM-iw8qc]

The image for the video made me think it was a new Vinnie video with him looking healthy. It’s a recap of an awesome old performance.

[@christophpeschel3848]

17:54 He does that of and down ridepattern in "brought to my sences " on one of stings albums if I'm not wrong.

[@perro0076]

Aaahhĥ jazz!!! Are they even playing 'on time'?

[@Dumdrum]

Stephen, I swear you are a genius. Hope you post some more of your live playing videos soon

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

Not a genius by a long shot...I just really love great music and musicians haha!

[@RoeShamBoe]

I was there. You can see part of my group in the camera flash. Also played with Abe Sr. like 5 years after this.

[@aaronsmith593]

Awesome playing, good human feel on rhythm. 😮😊

[@FrankPCarpi]

I understand Vinnie's drumming a lot more when he was playing with Tal Wilkenfeld and the infamous Jeff Beck.

[@richscaglione]

Stephen you crack me up with your expressions! miss you man!

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

Miss you as well my friend!

[@sethcashman1011]

p.p.s. Abe Jr. is one HECK of a lead vocalist, as well. Check out the live video of "Les Mots" by Mylene Farmer. He is singing Seal's part and killing it.

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

He absolutely is

[@harrysmart6236]

That emphatic ride pattern, I think I'm hearing that as a 7:4 polyrhythm .. could that be right?

[@danarzechula3769]

😮I actually thought for a second there was a glitch and the video had sped up

[@richardnorman7045]

Effortless communication 🥁

[@APdrums77]

Wow. That was inspiring.

[@tricyclewreck]

I submit that it’s not triplets so much as dotted 1/16s and therefore accents over a 32nd note subdivision which are easier (!!!) to play underneath the basic rhythm but still deceptively heard as 1/4 note triplets.

[@aaronsmith593]

Nice drum fills......😊

[@giggetto71]

great hat! thanks for sharing this! as usual with Vinnie one seriously doubts about his species..is he really human? I doubt...:-)

[@jeffsr8300]

Stephen, kinda sounds to me like he might be what I was told is splitting the time, Joe Morello could play 3 different times at once,,,just my thoughts. Thanks 👍🇺🇸

[@darrybtw]

Human metronome with soul and imagination

[@TedGraf]

Siiiiick!

[@michaelfadian]

There's other vids from this show that are even more insane.

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

Oh yeah, this whole show was nuts

[@demecquenemmarc5353]

my first problem, is to know the time signature...how to count it....

[@dmdormansr]

That push pull on the ride bell hit me right in the feels!

[@jeroensimons7525]

Someone with a natural talent, curiosity, high iq, sense for music, creative genius, workethic and wide vision and passion for music and an authentic being, no salesman who is mediocre and sells himself as a great ttttt drummer, and Vinnie got lucky in the right period, Frank Zappa...

[@joachimvogel586]

Absolut sicher im Time. Kenn ich so nur noch von Tony...

[@philmaturanodrums]

Hi Stephan. I love me some Vinnie bro. Just a heads up. 17:26 - You sang in 4/4 - also the "dotted quarter note motif" = Its a 3 bar cycle. The notation has nothing to do with the phrase. Peace out.

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

At that mark he uses the typical over the bar accent on the bell of the quarter note, then he starts accepting every other bell on the snare, which implies 4/4, then he moves it to the dotted 8th but continues to imply 4/4 by keeping that Snare accent on every other bell. I'm not sure what you're referencing with the notation not lining up with the phrase. You are however correct, a dotted 8th note bell pattern is a 3 bar cycle or motif for sure if we carry it to its logical end. I don't hear myself count in 4 at the mark you referenced though. If I did I would be counting the time he was implying, but I didn't hear any counting at the 17:26 mark

[@philmaturanodrums]

@@StephenTaylorDrums You aren't counting you are singing a beat. Which is not the one Vinnie is playing anyway but ok. In general you have to be more accurate in your reviews because the way it is now just ads to the mess that drumming information and pedagogy is in. Please don't take it personal. But When you tackle a thing like this its important to be accurate. Peace

[@Samsgarden]

I typically react to the source rather than reaction grift.

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

The point of this is to watch together, then discuss. You'll see most of this video is talking about what was played, explaining what was happening, etc. Would love your thoughts on what he played or any observations you have of the performance!

[@Kostis_playsDrums]

Great video, great breakdown. BUT, I gotta admit, I watched the whole thing and listened to how you broke it all down… but I still can’t make sense of it. 😵😵🥴Seriously, I couldn’t even figure out the time signature even after you explained it. I think it’s time to quit drumming altogether! 😆😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫😵‍💫

[@Bojser]

Vinnie.....

[@lbudt29]

Never play over the other instruments as a drummer.

[@marsailmar2]

People come to see Vinnie so he's allowed to play over whomever he wants.

[@JoEsp]

⁠who’s playing over other instruments?? Vinnie’s just reacting/inter-acting to what the other players are doing. Adding tension & release. If you don’t dig this kind of music then it’s not for you.

[@musopaul5407]

I don't like these reaction videos. Unless you're very careful, it looks like you're just making money off someone else's content. That said, there are a few drummers who react to this footage and this is better than many. (Quincy Davis, I'm talking about you...) However, I think you miss quite a bit. For instance, the segment you comment on at around 25.00, where you talk about him "leaning into the ride", surely the main story here is that he's playing a tumbao in 4/4 over the 7/8, and he keeps it going for 16 bars while the rest of the band stays in 7! (That's why all the drummers in the audience are going nuts). The fact that he's playing a salsa groove makes sense of the next 16 which is where Greg Mathieson (keys) goes into a kind of pseudo-montuno and they start laying back on the triplets in true Latin style. There's so much in this performance, it's a master-masterclass in drumming and improvisation. If Vinnie wasn't rushing so much, it might be the most perfect piece of drumming ever recorded (still incredible for that). And the most amazing thing is that he obviously arrived late after a day the studio and played this! That is genius; there is no-one else who can do this. He is the Buddy Rich of his generation, and I think if you're going to do a video like this, you should go into far more detail, and perhaps demonstrate some of the stuff he's doing.

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

Oh, there is a TON of stuff we didn't get to talk about. But the video was already 36 minutes long. With these types of videos, I have to pick my battles on what to break out. Thas why the comments (and players like you) are so important to me...the conversation continues here where we can all learn. The point is not that I will cover it all, it's that we have a conversation about it and we all give our view points. Great points btw, thank you for taking the time to make them and point out some great stuff

[@musopaul5407]

@@StephenTaylorDrums Yeah, I understand. Still, if it was 90 minutes and you really broke it down, I'd watch it! I guess I'll have to do it!!🙄

[@StephenTaylorDrums]

​@@musopaul5407 Tag me if you do! Would love to hear your thoughts

[@ajb-drums]

The tempo is what Vinnie says it is

[@musopaul5407]

@@ajb-drums Well, Vinnie is Vinnie and he can get away with it, that's true!

[@gorgobertproschallek5891]

Overplayed

[@chezchezchezchez]

Hate the feel of the song. Anyone else ?

[@burning4buddy639]

Nice to see Vinny slimmed down

[@Jasper_Drummer]

Old video from 8 years ago :(

[@retrayal4642]

More like 23 years ago

[@Jasper_Drummer]

@@retrayal4642 shoot, you're right.