The Brains and Brawn of Benny Greb
Benny Greb’s drumming and teaching methodologies have earned him the admiration of the global drum community. Between performing, producing educational materials, hosting clinics and masterclasses, and developing new products with the brands he’s partnered with, Benny is a prolific contributor to the art of drumming.
Born and raised in Germany, he began playing the drums at the age of 6, mostly by attempting to play along with records. He began taking formal drum lessons at the age of 12, where an early love for rock and punk music gave way to a passion for jazz and improvising. Constant participation in school bands led to him pursuing music at the college level, too. Nowadays, Benny’s skills are showcased in rock, funk, jazz, pop, and orchestral music. His drumming is exceptionally dynamic and expressive, going to great lengths to always play with musicality in mind.
The Language of Drumming
A fantastic approach and educational resource, The Language of Drumming (released in 2009) is an instructional set containing videos and a book that helps users learn rhythmic concepts and vocabulary by treating music the same way as language acquisition. Music is often compared to language, and for good reason. Yes, it’s good to start by learning a few simple grooves and fills (the equivalent of basic sentences: “Hello, how are you?”, “I am fine, and you?”), but those basic phrases can only take you so far. If you want to effectively “converse” with other musicians, you need to learn to create in the moment, react and respond to what your bandmates are doing, and be exceptionally aware of what and how you’re playing.
Greb’s approach focuses on the conversational aspect of playing music and categorizes rhythmic fragments (short rhythms that occur within a single beat) into different “letters,” which are then arranged into short “words,” which are then combined to create musically cohesive phrases. The materials cover a wide range of applications that guide drummers through the creation of grooves, embellishments, fills, solos, and improvisation methods. Unique practice tracks accompany the book, enabling users to crash test the ideas presented within. Beginner drummers and advanced drummers alike stand to benefit from these creative and practical approaches. Check out the video below to hear all of these concepts in action!
The Art and Science of Groove
Another set of instructional videos released in 2015, The Art and Science of Groove more deeply explores 5 core concepts involved with drumming: Time, Feel, Sound, Body, and Mind. With the costs of production entirely covered by a successful crowdfunding campaign, Greb’s articulate delivery and sense of humor makes this series as entertaining as it is informative.
He demonstrates exercises focusing on each element that go far beyond simply playing notes on a page. When drummers can think beyond what they’re playing and pay more attention to how they’re playing, they’re much more likely to play with a higher level of confidence and intent, yielding a more solid performance overall. Expanding your understanding and shifting how you conceptualize rhythms and the act of drumming can greatly amplify your abilities on the kit.
Since the materials in these videos rely more heavily on abstract concepts and body mechanics, they’re fantastic for drummers of all skill levels. Beginner drummers can use the lessons to learn healthy motions from the start, while experienced drummers can use them to fine tune technique and push beyond creative and physical obstacles.
Gap Click
A much beefier evolution of your standard metronome, Gap Click was designed in conjunction with Greb to service the needs of practicing drummers at any level. It allows users to easily program syncopated patterns and rhythmic sequences, polyrhythms, and the ability to silence beats and entire measures.
For most drummers, playing with a metronome entails setting the click to a quarter note pulse, essentially relying on the metronome to keep time. Practicing in such a way certainly doesn’t hurt, but it really doesn’t do much to aid the development of internal time. Many of Gap Click’s uses task the user with being responsible for timekeeping responsibilities, where the metronome serves as a checkpoint more than a source of time. Many drummers under utilize a metronome’s capability, but Gap Click makes it much easier to get into more advanced metronome practice.
Meinl Sand Series and Sonor Snares
Beyond his drumming education contributions, Greb has dabbled in product development, too. Designed with German cymbal manufacturer Meinl, Greb’s signature Sand series of cymbals boast an explosive attack with a quick, relatively dry decay. The “Sand” name refers to the sandblasting process each cymbal goes through during manufacturing, which is a key component to their unique sound and vintage look. Great for a wide range of playing styles, these cymbals were created with Greb’s discerning ear and were designed to never overpower a band. Speaking from experience, they sound wonderful on recordings, too!
Greb also endorses Sonor drums, which he teamed up with to design a couple of signature snare drum models. Debuting in 2010, the first generation of his signature snare was built from 9 layers of beech wood with an outer layer of birch. At 13” in diameter and 5.75” deep, it has all the crack you could want from a shallower snare with a roundness to the sound often only found in larger, deeper drums. Its tuning range is impressively wide for a 13” drum! More recently, Greb and Sonor teamed up to design two upgraded versions of the original: one made with a wood shell, and the other made with a brass shell. The wood shell still contains 9 plies of beech with the birch veneer, but now features a stylish bubinga inlay. Each model also contains two built-in dampeners, which allow drummers to finely adjust the drum’s resonance without the use of Moongels or other dampening products.
Moving Parts and other projects
Of course, Greb is also an experienced performer and composer, playing in numerous groups that cover an array of musical styles. In addition to his solo material, he leads the jazz fusion trio Moving Parts (below to the left), and a brass band simply known as the Benny Greb Brass Band. Greb has also performed alongside other notable artists including Wayne Krantz, Bobby McFerrin, a long list of musicians well known in Europe, and even did a concert with the Royal College of Music’s Big Band in London (below to the right). He has released 2 solo albums (Grebfruit and Grebfruit 2), which largely feature many layers of vocals performed by Greb over top of his masterful drumming. His solo compositions draw influence from rock, funk, jazz, and R&B.
Greb’s influence and impact on the drumming community will only continue to spread throughout the coming years as he further cements his status as a world-class drummer and educator. His approachable explanations and humorous personality put a refreshing spin on learning to play the drums. After all, drumming should be fun!