What is the origin of the term...

[fretai03]

Loose Phrasing.

Yes, I'm referring to the Demiyon Hall video on gospelchops.

I have been spending alot of time recently in the sticky thread & I was going through some of the articles regarding musical "phrasing" & got curious as to the origins of the term Demiyon used on the video... "Loose Phrasing".

Musical Phrasing & Loose Phrasing obviously don't match so I just wanted to know the origins of Loose Phrasing.

Google didn't help alot. So any help here would be much appreciated.

[JFunky]

...well I'm not going to give you the "SabianKnight" or "j_kay" definition because obviously....I don't know it exactly but by listening to Terry Baker it basically means to play as clean as possible so that things don't sound cluttery in the recordig or through the mix.  Terry's drum parts are very clean and spaced.  He'll go from hihat to toms and or whatever and leave some space in between.  In other words, he let's everything breath instead of having one long run on sentence.  That's my take on it.  Maybe juSe or someone else can give you a better understanding.

[j_kay]

It's funny that you mentioned 'proper', because that's not a true musical term.  That's why you won't find anything on it.  You may find someone's interpretation of loose phrasing, but they are not breaking the words down to its simplest element to make sense of it. 

Let's look at the word phrasing.  In a musical setting, phrasing is defined as a "short musical thought typically two to four measures long closing with a cadence (source: m-w.com)"   

Melodies are often described as being made up of phrases. A musical phrase is actually a lot like a grammatical phrase. A phrase in a sentence (for example, "into the deep, dark forest" or "under that heavy book") is a group of words that make sense together and express a definite idea, but the phrase is not a complete sentence by itself. A melodic phrase is a group of notes that make sense together and express a definite melodic "idea", but it takes more than one phrase to make a complete melody.

So, if it's a loose phrase, the next logical step would be to negate the term phrase or phrasing (in musical terms) - one would have to place a group of notes that does not make sense together to express a definite melodic idea. 

In the example on gospelchops.com, the terminology does not match the demonstrated style of play, hence making loose phrasing a slang term (I won't use Ebonics, because I hate that term; every race uses sland, but they don't say 'Wonics', but I digress).  There was another person prior to your inquiry on another forum with the majority of the members being my brothers from a another mother (cited example: http://www.pearldrummersforum.com/showthread.php?t=130331&highlight=gospelchops), and hardly anyone had a concise definition of the term.   I think that username Coach McGuirk said it best in terms of what he feels that loose phrasing means.   

[fretai03]

So basically the term originated from slang?

I liked Coach McGuirk's explanation as well. It does seem more appropriate to call it "Distinct Phrasing", "Specific Phrasing" or even "Disconnected Phrasing"...

Thanks for the info guys.

[Eccentric-Rhythm]

...unless you're sloppy. then it should be called Loose Phrasing. 

[hornets222003]

There's alreday a lot of good info here.  My instructor always says that music is never stagnant.  It is always moving toward something or moving away from it.  This happens in the form of phrases.  A lot of drummers struggle with their phrasing, and putting together "musical sentences" and such.  Some drummers have a lot of chops, and they want to show them off.  This is good if your shedding, but if you ever want to record or get some good gigs, you have to realize that its more important for you to hold down the rhythm than it is for you to throw out 32nds and 64ths rolls.  There will be space for your chops, but most of the time, you need to keep it "loose."  Wait for that one moment when the song climaxes to show off that killer speed or the fact that you have 6 crash cymbals.  One good way to work on your phrasing would be to practice with a chart in front of you.  If you can't read the music just get a chart with the words.  On charts with the words written, the phrases usually take up a line.  Your phrasing on the drums should align with the phrasing on the paper.  Of course you won't have as many pauses as the words do, but they are a good indication of where you should start and stop an idea.  You should also consider studying a percussion instrument that incorporates a lot of phrasing.  One that I've been studying lately is the Marimba.  (For those of you who don't know what a marimba is, it is a keyboard instrument that is played with mallets.  Here is a pic - http://classical.marimba.googlepages.com/1.JPG).  The Marimba allows you to hear the phrasing a bit more than playing the trap set.  An electric keyboard works well too, but you don't get the feel of having sticks in your hand as you do on the Marimba.  If you don't have access to a Marimba or an electric keyboard, singing works really well.  Sing your parts to yourself before you play them.  Try to find places places where your patterns repeat, or where they changes.  These will be your phrases.  The next step after finding your phrases is to put some dynamic in them.  Nobody likes a monotone teacher, and the same goes for a monotone drummer.  Sometimes these little differences in your playing are what gets you discovered.  There are a lot of good drummers in this world - and many on this site.  You have to set yourself apart.  Your phrasing will do that.  As always listen and pay attention to the greats.  Sorry to spill so much, but I think this is very important.  Happy Reading!

[fretai03]

There's alreday a lot of good info here.  My instructor always says that music is never stagnant.  It is always moving toward something or moving away from it.  This happens in the form of phrases.  A lot of drummers struggle with their phrasing, and putting together "musical sentences" and such.  Some drummers have a lot of chops, and they want to show them off.  This is good if your shedding, but if you ever want to record or get some good gigs, you have to realize that its more important for you to hold down the rhythm than it is for you to throw out 32nds and 64ths rolls.  There will be space for your chops, but most of the time, you need to keep it "loose."  Wait for that one moment when the song climaxes to show off that killer speed or the fact that you have 6 crash cymbals.  One good way to work on your phrasing would be to practice with a chart in front of you.  If you can't read the music just get a chart with the words.  On charts with the words written, the phrases usually take up a line.  Your phrasing on the drums should align with the phrasing on the paper.  Of course you won't have as many pauses as the words do, but they are a good indication of where you should start and stop an idea.  You should also consider studying a percussion instrument that incorporates a lot of phrasing.  One that I've been studying lately is the Marimba.  (For those of you who don't know what a marimba is, it is a keyboard instrument that is played with mallets.  Here is a pic - http://classical.marimba.googlepages.com/1.JPG).  The Marimba allows you to hear the phrasing a bit more than playing the trap set.  An electric keyboard works well too, but you don't get the feel of having sticks in your hand as you do on the Marimba.  If you don't have access to a Marimba or an electric keyboard, singing works really well.  Sing your parts to yourself before you play them.  Try to find places places where your patterns repeat, or where they changes.  These will be your phrases.  The next step after finding your phrases is to put some dynamic in them.  Nobody likes a monotone teacher, and the same goes for a monotone drummer.  Sometimes these little differences in your playing are what gets you discovered.  There are a lot of good drummers in this world - and many on this site.  You have to set yourself apart.  Your phrasing will do that.  As always listen and pay attention to the greats.  Sorry to spill so much, but I think this is very important.  Happy Reading!

Thanks for the insight man. No disresepect, I totally feel you & understand where your coming from & it's actually what I have been researching & have started applying to my playing (well, trying to anyway lol).

Thing is... This understanding doesn't match what was described as "loose phrasing" on the particular video that I mentioned. I was just trying understand "that" term of phrasing.

The info that you have given is much appreciated though & I have added it to my archives & knowledge base, ready & waiting to be applied.

Thank you.