Sabian - Because Sound Matters

MATT MURPHY AT UNIVERSITY OF NEVADA

Jan 13, 2009

After completion of his book, "A Drummer?s Guide to Afro Caribbean Grooves", drummer Matt Murphy was approached by Dr. Tim Jones (who is also a SABIAN Cymbal Endorser and Lecturer in Percussion Studies) from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas to present a clinic on his book.

The clinic took place in the "percussion annex" in the Fine Arts Building on the campus of UNLV on Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 3:00pm in the afternoon.  Matt took this opportunity to cover many styles of Caribbean Music to approximately 20 Percussion Majors, as well as Dr. Dean Gronemeier, who is the Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Dr. Tim Jones.  Dean has been the Director of Percussion Studies at UNLV for the past 20 years and is responsible for building the Percussion Department at UNLV into the world-class percussion studio that it is today.  Dr. Gronemeier is also a long-time SABIAN Endorser and Clinician.

After a brief background on himself, Matt covered the importance of drumset in an Afro Caribbean setting.  Styles discussed at this clinic were: Calypso, Soca, Songo, Latin Jazz and Reggae. Backgrounds on all of the musical styles were covered and musical examples were provided.    Matt also created an in-depth PowerPoint presentation, which covered every topic in a very organized manner.  This helped all attendees follow along as Matt was speaking on the various subjects.  All of the students were afforded the opportunity to ask questions and become involved in this clinic through discussions on the various topics covered. 

Following the clinic, Matt was said to be an "authority" on this subject by Dr. Gronemeier.  This was displayed through his knowledge of the subject matter and his ability to traverse throughout all of the musical styles covered in this clinic.  His book, "The Drummer's Guide to Afro Caribbean Grooves: Contemporary Drumset Rhythms from the Caribbean" will be published sometime this year.  It covers 21 different Caribbean styles of music and provides over 120 groove variations for the styles covered in the book.

Matt uses SABIAN cymbals exclusively.  His current set up is (from left to right) 14" Legacy Hi Hats, 16" Evolution Crash, 21" Legacy Ride (with a Pro-Mark Rattler), 18" Evolution Crash.  Depending on the gig, Matt also uses: 20" Carl Allen Ride with 2 rivets, 20" Evolution Ride, 18" Ed Thigpen Ride with a rivet, 13" Evolution Hi Hats, 7" & 12" Evolution Splashes, 17" Evolution Effeks Crash with 3 rivets and an 18" Ozone Crash.