ABOUT THE ARTIST:
Dave DiCenso has recorded/toured/performed with a diverse array of renowned artists including Josh Groban, Duran Duran, Hiromi, Carole King, Judith Hill, Steve Morse Band, John Petrucci (Dream Theater), Johnny A, and Cro-Mags, among many others.
An equally skilled educator, Dave is the author of the acclaimed method books Rhythm and Drumming Demystified and Universal Rhythms for Drumset, and is a Professor of Percussion at Berklee College of Music, where he has mentored hundreds of drummers – many of whom have achieved world-wide recognition.
Dave currently plays with multi-platinum singer Josh Groban, and co-leads the soul-funk organ duo DiCenso Clark Expedition. He uses Ludwig drums, Zildjian cymbals, Remo heads, Vater sticks, DW pedals and hardware, and Puresound snare wires, exclusively.
ABOUT THE CLINIC: Fluid Fills and Musical Phrasing
The goal of my clinic will be to demonstrate how to generate fluid fill vocabulary, as well as options for phrasing and application. I will achieve this by using what I call “The Last to First Method”. The LTFM allows us to relate a sticking (small, dense rhythm) to a figure (large, spacious rhythm), and use the notes that make up the figure as targets for transitioning from time into a fill. For example, if the figure consists of four notes, the student practices transitioning from the time into the fill at the 4th note of the figure. Once this is achieved, the student continues in this manner until they can transition into the fill at the 3rd, 2nd, and finally, the 1st note of the figure. Hence “last to first”. The second component of the LTFM is to add resolution points which expands phrasing options. The LTFM helps us to expand our fill vocabulary and improve our ability to phrase by forcing us to be able to transition in and out of time from multiple start and resolution points.