Toronto’s timekeepers: a professional drummer’s continuous quest for absolute rhythm

CityNews.ca went behind-the-scenes at three Toronto landmarks where time is of the essence to learn about the timekeepers and their craft.

In the second  part of this three-part series, Toronto Symphony Orchestra principal percussion John Rudolph explains the pressures of keeping the beat for his fellow musicians.

Perfect timing remains an elusive goal for even a seasoned professional drummer.

In a dressing room at Roy Thomson Hall following an afternoon rehearsal, Toronto Symphony Orchestra principal percussionist John Rudolph grabbed his sticks, set the metronome application on his smart phone and began a drill on a practice pad that a teacher once told him would give him “absolute rhythm” if performed regularly.

He still swears by it today.

See Rudolph demonstrate the drill in the embedded video.

Percussionists’ consistency is a key component in keeping fellow musicians on time.

“That sense of rhythm, that sense of time — the orchestra depends on the percussion section for that and that’s something that a young drummer hones from the first time he hits a drum,” Rudolph said.

Rudolph said he still works on his sense of time after 39 years as a pro. He’s been the chief percussionist for the TSO since 1997.

“A violinist has excellent pitch … that the rest of the orchestra can latch on to and so consequently if the percussionist isn’t strong then the orchestra knows that and says well we can’t depend on that and then the timing is shot,” he said.

Toronto Symphony Orchestra rehearsal for “How the Gimquat Found Her Song”. Jan. 31, 2011. CITYNEWS.CA/Shawne McKeown.

Sports imagery may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of classical music, but Rudolph said, like an athlete, he goes into a zone while playing tough pieces, such as Maurice Ravel’s “Bolero” (listen to a version here). The song contains the same beat repeated over 14 minutes and keeping that steady is a challenge, he said.  

“It’s an incredible focus. You almost have to turn off in a way,” he said.

“Even when we’re not playing it, it’s so much of a challenge that it’s something I almost should do daily,” he said. “I see that it isn’t coming up next season but still, it’s something, maybe once a week I’ll put the CD on, it’s on my iPod, and just play along.”

Inspired by Buddy Rich, the jazz icon often referred to as one of the greatest drummers of all time, and Cream’s Ginger Baker, Rudolph said he got into music wanting to play a kit.

“Most of us … start out wanting to play a drum set. I mean, yeah, there are exceptions but I would say that that is the inspiration for getting into music was to play a drum set,” he said.

Maintaining a steady pace for fellow musicians to rely on is a major challenge, but adjusting to the idiosyncrasies of performance spaces and orchestra configurations may be even more so, Rudolph noted.

“Where we sit in the orchestra there’s a time delay so frequently we have to anticipate and I’ve had times where I’m playing before I think I should play,” he said.

“It’s fairly common. It depends on the concert hall. Roy Thomson, actually isn’t that bad. I’ve heard stories … of trying to calculate how much ahead they had to play and it was as much as a 16th note early.”

shawne.mckeown@citynews.rogers.com

Toronto’s timekeepers; a look inside the clock at Old City Hall

Check back Monday for a look at the pressures of keeping the game clock for the Toronto Raptors.