| Chip Ritter – Stick Tricks Instructional DVD Review |
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15-March-08 - Product Reviews
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By: Jonah Hex
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Chip Ritter's Stick Tricks DVD Review
Tim Robinson - March, 2008
| I generally don’t watch a lot of instructional DVDs. A ton of you eat them up like hotcakes, usually with good reason, as there’s always something to be learned. I have a stack from Namm 2007 that I never did review mostly because time is always against me in terms of Drumrock. Unfortunately, my day job takes priority, along with the myriad of other things that life in general throws at you when you have three teenagers. I have bought a few DVD’s however, and have watched the ones I do have at least once, so any comparison I make to other DVD’s here is valid.
This year I decided to make the time for instructional video reviews one way or another. Ironically, we were only offered one this year at NAMM though I don’t think it’s because we didn’t do ours from last year. We just didn’t run across anyone giving them up for review – with one exception. Chip Ritter. | | | I like Chip – he’s a good guy, with a hell of a lot of talent. I had never heard of him until I first hit NAMM in 2005. I was wandering around looking at the booths and happened across the Trick booth and there was this guy sitting behind a kit doing the coolest tricks I’d seen with a pair of sticks. All while keeping the tempo and timing of the groove he was playing. I was really impressed. So when Chip signed up at Drumrock we started up a dialog that ended up with us having a brief chat at NAMM and him getting me a copy of his DVD, Stick Tricks. This is an instructional video that guides you through basic tricks progressing to more advanced tricks. There’s even a chapter on basic juggling. (More on this shortly.) It is published and distributed by Mel Bay Publications, Inc. (www.melbay.com) So I sat down with my note pad, a pencil, and a pair of sticks ready to go… | | | Chip starts you out with a basic maneuver that he dubs “Raise your Hand on the And”. I won’t go into the details of what this is all about – get the DVD if you’re serious about learning these tricks. I will say that this is an essential trick that the rest of the tricks will require you to master. The point is that Chip starts you at with a very basic trick that is an essential part of learning the rest, which for us amateurs, is a must.
There are a total of 13 tricks, starting with “Raise your hand...”, progressing to the “Fake Spin” (basic “twirling”), the Finger Flip, and my favorite name for a trick, the Garden Weasel. (A combination Fake Spin/Finger Flip maneuver that is, if you’re not as dexterous as most drummers, really hard at first!) | |
One of the tricks that I found with some really good advice that helps when doing the more advanced tricks is the Hit Throw Catch chapter. There is some really useful advice here that can help with timing this (and other) trick into the context of the beat you’re playing. The suggestions Chip has for practicing this (and all tricks on the DVD) are very useful and things that I’ll be incorporating into some of my practice sessions later on.
Past that things start getting a little more complex – a double version of the Hit-Throw-Catch, back flips, and so on. Chip puts in a section on basic juggling, which is essential for the last three chapters of the DVD. The tricks involving juggling are far more advanced than I’d learn in one session, so I’ll be running this DVD a lot to get the basics down before getting to the point where I can attempt the juggling tricks. | | In terms of production quality, the DVD didn’t display well on my big screen – but then most instructional videos do not display well on 61” TV. On my PC monitor and my standard CRT TV’s the display quality is fine. Most of the transitions are good, though there are a few spots where the transition edits are noticeable. Overall the editing is good and the overall quality is on par with most instructional DVD’s out there. There’s a ton of filler material on the disk, but almost all of it is used in context of the trick being discussed in a given chapter with slow motion shots of the trick in order to get a good view of how Chip manages them in a live situation. | | | Overall, I enjoyed this DVD. The instruction was straight, to the point, and not filled with excessive fluff. I found myself able to get the basic concept of each trick immediately even if I wasn’t able to do them immediately (I’m an instant gratification kind of guy, and some of these tricks take patience, so I’ll be learning that as well!) The live segments of Chip performing and showing the tricks he teaches on the disk in action are great and really help put each trick in perspective in relation to the rhythm being played. Chip is a fun guy to talk to and a funny person and it comes through on the DVD. He enjoys performing and that also comes through well. | | "Hmmmmm...this DVD looks good....!" | In relation to cost compared with other instructional DVD’s on the market it’s on par with the normal $19.95 to $24.95 price range, hitting the mark at $24.95. Generally I pay around $19.95 for the ones I have bought, so in terms of value for me, it is on the high side. That being said, I received my copy for free, so I’m not complaining.
Thanks again to Chip and Mel Bay for sending us the DVD. Thanks yet again to Chip for being one of the few artists that have actively participated in Drumrock and the discussion forums and for taking the time out of what I’m sure is a busy time at NAMM to at least sit and chat for a couple minutes. Hopefully we can get a full blown interview with him soon. | |
The ratings below are based on comparisons with other instructional DVD’s I’ve watched in the past, even if not reviewed. Your mileage may vary!
Production Quality: 4/5
Content Quality: 5/5
Value: 5/5 Fun Factor: 7/5 (yes I said 7 out of 5) Overall: 5/5 |
Link: [Chips Website] Source: [T. Robinson]
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