John Riley on Nature vs Nurture, How Students Have Changed, Making The 1 O'Clock Lab Band, and More

The last lengthy conversation I had with John Riley before this interview was probably when I was still a college student. That’s why it was super rewarding to catch up with one of drum teaching’s deepest thinkers, and pick his brain about a great many things I’ve experienced and thought about in the intervening years.

John and I begin by discussing nature-vs-nurture, when I ask him about a passage in his first book. That kicks off a thread about John’s own musical journey, whether he ever thought twice about drumming, and what really happened during what I’ve come to think of his “magical summer”, between his freshman and sophomore years at UNT, after which he won a seat in the prestigious One O’Clock Lab Band, and a teaching position at the end of the year.

John also holds forth on the importance of curiosity to guide practice, and why at a certain level of experience, it can be good to practice abstractions even if they don’t directly affect your day-to-day playing.

Finally we speak about how students have changed in the 20 years since I was his student (I feel ancient writing that), and how his approach to teaching has changed. (Of course I can’t avoid bringing up Whiplash.)

Like many of my guests, John was extremely generous with his time, and didn’t hold back on his thoughts. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this conversation.

Chapters

1:15 - what does John think about nature vs nurture 6:35 - did John ever think twice about the drums as a career path? 9:39 - what happened during John's "magical summer"? 13:25 - why John doesn't like to use written music if he can avoid it 19:35 - John's lesser-known influences 22:45 - how structured are John's practice sessions these days 26:10 - did John reach a point when he felt mostly confident? 29:53 - how have John's students changed in 20 years 37:48 - what's changed about John's teaching approach