Brush nuance exercises

Hey all,
Hope you're hanging in and staying safe. I saw a recent post by Dan Weiss on Instagram where he was doing finger control stuff with brushes and it reminded me of the different types of effects we can get with brushes on the snare drum while keeping our brushes on the snare head the whole time. The video below demonstrates 3 different techniques for this and the sounds they create. The first one is using very small fast movements to create accents. The sound is quite thin and staccato, even though we are still getting the sustain from the brushes continuing to sweep the drumhead. The next one is using the amount of brush surface to create the accent. This results in a lush, big sweeping sound, and generally a  legato feeling. The final way I demonstrated is to use the fingers to strike the drumhead with the part where the brush handle meets the wires, all the while continuing to sweep. This is the only stroke mentioned here where we actually get the whole drum to respond, rather than just the head. I demonstrate the 3 techniques with just quarter notes, and then the ride rhythm.




Now, if you'll forgive me, I'm going to go all FOUR ON THE FLOOR  on you and tell you what I've been listening to lately.

Sam Rivers "A New Conception" ( Steve Ellington on drums)
Sonny Stitt "Pow" ( Roy Brooks on Drums )
Mahler 3 ( Many percussionists on drums )
Bobby Timmons "Chun-King" ( Tootie Heath on Drums )
Miles Davis "On The Corner' " and "Big Fun" ( DeJohnette, Billy Hart, Billy Cobham, Al Foster, Don Alias on drums )
Ray Bryant "Sound Ray"  ( Harold White on drums. A new discovery! )

As before, keep practicing and say positive, healthy and safe!