Uploaded September 2008 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
This is one of those Police songs that you think you can drum to, and then when you actually sit behind a kit and try and play it, it sounds awful!!
Without a doubt, there is only one way to play this - full-on, with heaps of energy and a healthy dose of face pulling(!) I can only play this 'aggressively': 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover this is not!
I make no apology for the facial expressions in this video: it's the only way I can get my limbs to even remotely re-create the awesome playing by Mr. Copeland.
The groove on this song is wonderful: powerful, energetic, flowing. I love the bass drum pattern in the verses, especially the thing where he moves the eighth notes to the '4 and'. Bass drum notes on 4, under a snare, are rare in a groove like this, and in this song they make the song all the more powerful. I used to play it without the 4 (just hit the 'and') and that is lazy and it is not so good! So make yourself do it!
The cymbal chokes - well, up until a week ago, I had always played those signature 'tshhhh...tshhhs' by opening my hi-hat. And then I thought, hang on, Stewart is choking a cymbal: wonder if I can do it? So I tried, and it worked, and I thought how clever I was. But then I realised I was not playing one of the snare notes during the cymbal grabbing phase!! Arrgghhhh.
I then spent quite a while trying to get that snare hit in whilst also doing the cymbal chokes. This turns out to be horrifically hard even at dead slow speed - there is just too much to think about! In the end, I was forced to use match grip (not easy for me), and a lowering and re-positioning of that splash cymbal. Eventually it worked! And if I say so myself, I am very pleased with it! I have some nice bruises on my left finger though from where I missed the splash in practice, and smashed into the edge - owww!
BTW, I assume Stewart dubbed the cymbal chokes on top?
There is a lot of overdubbing going on in the original, especially with deep toms, which is impossible for me to emulate in one live take. At one point I think he is using a floor tom or a timpani or an upside-down child's paddling pool with a diameter of approximately 100" : I don't have one of those!
The ride cymbal work of Copeland is as beautiful as ever, and of course is fiendishly hard to copy!
Hope you all enjoy this one!
The big problem now is - how the hell do I do Synchronicity I? That is faster!!!!!!!
PS - the weird line on my thigh is a weird line on my thigh.
(I'm a bit of cyclist in my other life)
This is one of those Police songs that you think you can drum to, and then when you actually sit behind a kit and try and play it, it sounds awful!!
Without a doubt, there is only one way to play this - full-on, with heaps of energy and a healthy dose of face pulling(!) I can only play this 'aggressively': 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover this is not!
I make no apology for the facial expressions in this video: it's the only way I can get my limbs to even remotely re-create the awesome playing by Mr. Copeland.
The groove on this song is wonderful: powerful, energetic, flowing. I love the bass drum pattern in the verses, especially the thing where he moves the eighth notes to the '4 and'. Bass drum notes on 4, under a snare, are rare in a groove like this, and in this song they make the song all the more powerful. I used to play it without the 4 (just hit the 'and') and that is lazy and it is not so good! So make yourself do it!
The cymbal chokes - well, up until a week ago, I had always played those signature 'tshhhh...tshhhs' by opening my hi-hat. And then I thought, hang on, Stewart is choking a cymbal: wonder if I can do it? So I tried, and it worked, and I thought how clever I was. But then I realised I was not playing one of the snare notes during the cymbal grabbing phase!! Arrgghhhh.
I then spent quite a while trying to get that snare hit in whilst also doing the cymbal chokes. This turns out to be horrifically hard even at dead slow speed - there is just too much to think about! In the end, I was forced to use match grip (not easy for me), and a lowering and re-positioning of that splash cymbal. Eventually it worked! And if I say so myself, I am very pleased with it! I have some nice bruises on my left finger though from where I missed the splash in practice, and smashed into the edge - owww!
BTW, I assume Stewart dubbed the cymbal chokes on top?
There is a lot of overdubbing going on in the original, especially with deep toms, which is impossible for me to emulate in one live take. At one point I think he is using a floor tom or a timpani or an upside-down child's paddling pool with a diameter of approximately 100" : I don't have one of those!
The ride cymbal work of Copeland is as beautiful as ever, and of course is fiendishly hard to copy!
Hope you all enjoy this one!
The big problem now is - how the hell do I do Synchronicity I? That is faster!!!!!!!
PS - the weird line on my thigh is a weird line on my thigh.
(I'm a bit of cyclist in my other life)
