Howdy,
Today I'd like to discuss taking 2 or more different ideas and combining them in the practice room. For sure, it's essential not to work on too many things at once, especially when first learning a beat/idea/concept. Shortly after one starts to get it together, however, can be a great time to try and join seemingly disparate ideas together. This helps with thematic thinking as well as making each separate concept a bigger and more accessible part of one's musical vocabulary.
Let's try it shall we?
Say I've decided to memorize the standard tune "Alone Together" . Here's a nice example of the tune I haven't heard before.
It's not a super complicated tune, but the form is a little unusual AABA, but the first 2 As are 14 bars each. DO NOT TRY TO READ THIS OR COUNT BARS! Learn to sing the melody by heart ( find a vocal version with the lyrics too, if possible, and learn them as well ) and it will make perfect sense. If you don't, it will NEVER make any sense at all.
Okay, once we have the tune memorized, what's next? Well, how about taking a great, simple idea I just recently saw in the "Four on The Floor" blog, Triplets & Bass Drum in the Middle Because this example is short and uncomplicated ( at least in theory, execution is another matter ) it works well to be combined with something, because it can be easily memorized. Again, please work with each idea to get it under your hands and ears before you do anything else. Once you do, try singing "Alone Together" to yourself while you play this exercise. What do you notice? Did you not remember or not represent the tune accurately in any way? Then you need to go back and learn the tune more completely. Did you mess up the triplet/bass drum lick? Then maybe you need to spend more time working slowly on that alone and getting more comfortable with it.
Okay, we've got those two things together, what now? Well, we could really relate it to anything, but here's 2 things I've been adding to whatever I'm working on lately.
1) Dynamics. One bar pp, one bar FF. Again this is a simple idea, but to do it without changing the lick at all or losing where you are in the tune may be challenging.
2) Making the hand strokes in the bass drum/triplet idea into buzzes.
Obviously, you can combine any number of initially separate ideas in any way you can imagine. My hope is this helps you see the similarities between all the things we practice rather than the differences, so we can use them musically in a variety of situations.
Best of luck and have fun! :)
Sunday, February 2, 2020
Thursday, January 30, 2020
The four Types of Musical get togethers
Warning: I'm not including either the Hootenanny or the ever popular Shindig!
Anyway, I was thinking about the different ways musicians gather, and what those gatherings are for. I came up with four basic types.
1. Rehearsal
In the settings I'm usually in, these are the parameters….
It's usually to run the heads (melodies of tunes) and the blowing chord changes if they're hard or unusual. For example, if I've written a rather complex melody with weird changes but the blowing is a straight blues in Bb, I would not have people solo extensively on it. That's just wasting other musicians valuable time. I also would NOT run something in a rehearsal that I'm not comfortable with, but that rest of the band can play easily. It's my responsibility to take care of my part of the music. Nothing is more irritating than going to a rehearsal and realizing you are just there to make the leader comfortable, That's not a valid reason to rehearse. ( Note: I'm not talking about Broadway shows or big Rock productions that have lighting cues, dancers, etc. That is a different story. I'm also basing this off of the fact that I rarely get paid to rehearse. If you aren't going to pay the rest of the musicians, the rehearsal has to be efficient and essential. )
2. Session
This is similar to a rehearsal, but it's not usually for an upcoming gig, but to workshop things people want to work on. It could involve original music, or standards or jazz tunes people want to practice soloing on. Like rehearsing, there is rarely an audience in attendance, and also like rehearsing, each individual is expected to work on the material on their own so something can get accomplished when the session takes place. For instance, I play piano/bass duos with a friend in Guelph regularly, and we just play (non-original) tunes but I always work on the tunes we're going to play beforehand because I don't feel I could bring much to the situation if I was reading a tune I'm unfamiliar with ( on drums this wouldn't be a problem.)
3, Jam
This is the first situation that frequently can have an audience. In fact, I have sat in with a couple of "Jam bands" and really enjoyed the experience. In a jam there often isn't a particular tune being played ( although there can be ). Rather it's usually more of an "open form" or "free" situation although there often is a tempo, groove, key centre, and tonality people tend to agree on. What makes this situation work is how much listening is going on. If people are really tuned in to what everyone is doing, a composition can be built in the moment by committee, and it's pretty cool to be involved in!
4. Wank
For those of you not familiar with the term, wanking is British slang for, ahem, "self-pleasuring". This term is applied to music when you have individuals playing that aren't really listening to anyone but themselves, and haven't really put in the time on an instrument to play it effectively in a group setting. In fact, most of the time people in this situation aren't listening because they are too busy grappling with an instrument they don't know the basics of. ( I.E. The fretboard on a guitar, sticking and time playing at different tempos on drums, fingerings on the saxophone etc. ) Wanking usually happens most with less experienced players, although I would put "noodling' as a sub-category to this, and that's often done by intermediate to pro players. Noodling is exactly what it sounds like, playing in between tunes which is usually practicing they should have done on their own before the band got together. I'm making it sound like there is no purpose to the wank, but it can be good for getting beginner players to experience some sort of group dynamic, or to blow off steam. For anyone with any amount of experience though, wanking is VERBOTEN!!!!
So. in conclusion, be an efficient rehearser, a prepared sessioner, a tasteful and listening jammer, and not a wanker! You don't want Spinal Tap to say this about you!
See ya soon……..
Anyway, I was thinking about the different ways musicians gather, and what those gatherings are for. I came up with four basic types.
1. Rehearsal
In the settings I'm usually in, these are the parameters….
It's usually to run the heads (melodies of tunes) and the blowing chord changes if they're hard or unusual. For example, if I've written a rather complex melody with weird changes but the blowing is a straight blues in Bb, I would not have people solo extensively on it. That's just wasting other musicians valuable time. I also would NOT run something in a rehearsal that I'm not comfortable with, but that rest of the band can play easily. It's my responsibility to take care of my part of the music. Nothing is more irritating than going to a rehearsal and realizing you are just there to make the leader comfortable, That's not a valid reason to rehearse. ( Note: I'm not talking about Broadway shows or big Rock productions that have lighting cues, dancers, etc. That is a different story. I'm also basing this off of the fact that I rarely get paid to rehearse. If you aren't going to pay the rest of the musicians, the rehearsal has to be efficient and essential. )
2. Session
This is similar to a rehearsal, but it's not usually for an upcoming gig, but to workshop things people want to work on. It could involve original music, or standards or jazz tunes people want to practice soloing on. Like rehearsing, there is rarely an audience in attendance, and also like rehearsing, each individual is expected to work on the material on their own so something can get accomplished when the session takes place. For instance, I play piano/bass duos with a friend in Guelph regularly, and we just play (non-original) tunes but I always work on the tunes we're going to play beforehand because I don't feel I could bring much to the situation if I was reading a tune I'm unfamiliar with ( on drums this wouldn't be a problem.)
3, Jam
This is the first situation that frequently can have an audience. In fact, I have sat in with a couple of "Jam bands" and really enjoyed the experience. In a jam there often isn't a particular tune being played ( although there can be ). Rather it's usually more of an "open form" or "free" situation although there often is a tempo, groove, key centre, and tonality people tend to agree on. What makes this situation work is how much listening is going on. If people are really tuned in to what everyone is doing, a composition can be built in the moment by committee, and it's pretty cool to be involved in!
4. Wank
For those of you not familiar with the term, wanking is British slang for, ahem, "self-pleasuring". This term is applied to music when you have individuals playing that aren't really listening to anyone but themselves, and haven't really put in the time on an instrument to play it effectively in a group setting. In fact, most of the time people in this situation aren't listening because they are too busy grappling with an instrument they don't know the basics of. ( I.E. The fretboard on a guitar, sticking and time playing at different tempos on drums, fingerings on the saxophone etc. ) Wanking usually happens most with less experienced players, although I would put "noodling' as a sub-category to this, and that's often done by intermediate to pro players. Noodling is exactly what it sounds like, playing in between tunes which is usually practicing they should have done on their own before the band got together. I'm making it sound like there is no purpose to the wank, but it can be good for getting beginner players to experience some sort of group dynamic, or to blow off steam. For anyone with any amount of experience though, wanking is VERBOTEN!!!!
So. in conclusion, be an efficient rehearser, a prepared sessioner, a tasteful and listening jammer, and not a wanker! You don't want Spinal Tap to say this about you!
See ya soon……..
Saturday, January 11, 2020
2020/Goodbye Neil
Hello all,
We start the first blog of the new year with the sad news of Neil Peart's passing. Peart was a massive influence on myself and so many of my colleagues, especially the Canadian ones. For most of us, he was our first drumming influence, and like many early heroes, our relationship ebbs and flows over time. He wasn't the grooviest drummer of all time, all his parts were planned out far in advance, and I feel those Buddy Rich tribute recordings he was in charge of caused even more misunderstanding of Buddy's contribution than there was previously. That said, he advanced drumming, created many classic lyrics, proved one could be an extremely successful musician while having a good relationship with one's family and bandmates, and played the music he thought it should be played. He was a beacon to many young drummers ( especially Canadian ones ) and was an example to all of us of how to conduct oneself with honour and integrity.
I'm not afraid to admit I learned to play Ska from playing along with this recording. As Canadian a cultural experience as hockey, or the maple leaf itself.
I think it's also important to note that whatever your opinion of Rush is ( and I remain a massive fan ) is that Peart and his bandmates made you want to play better, play more interesting, challenging arrangements and not compromise on your vision.
Safe journey Professor and thank you for the music and inspiration.
We start the first blog of the new year with the sad news of Neil Peart's passing. Peart was a massive influence on myself and so many of my colleagues, especially the Canadian ones. For most of us, he was our first drumming influence, and like many early heroes, our relationship ebbs and flows over time. He wasn't the grooviest drummer of all time, all his parts were planned out far in advance, and I feel those Buddy Rich tribute recordings he was in charge of caused even more misunderstanding of Buddy's contribution than there was previously. That said, he advanced drumming, created many classic lyrics, proved one could be an extremely successful musician while having a good relationship with one's family and bandmates, and played the music he thought it should be played. He was a beacon to many young drummers ( especially Canadian ones ) and was an example to all of us of how to conduct oneself with honour and integrity.
I'm not afraid to admit I learned to play Ska from playing along with this recording. As Canadian a cultural experience as hockey, or the maple leaf itself.
I think it's also important to note that whatever your opinion of Rush is ( and I remain a massive fan ) is that Peart and his bandmates made you want to play better, play more interesting, challenging arrangements and not compromise on your vision.
Safe journey Professor and thank you for the music and inspiration.
Tuesday, December 24, 2019
Merry Scrapmas, Scrapakah, or Scrapza!
Yes, it's another hard-to-read set of exercises I made up. It's paradiddles between the bass drum and snare ( it sort of reminds me of Drummer's Cook Book or some of the Carmine Appice literature from the '70s ) but with syncopated open and closed hi-hat so it becomes more of a 4-limb thing.
Here's the scrap….. (P.S. All the examples are in 4/4, but I just wrote out the first 2 beats, because the last 2 beats of each bar are exactly the same.
Fortunately I filmed all the examples as well. Here they are in the order in which they appear….
Here's the scrap….. (P.S. All the examples are in 4/4, but I just wrote out the first 2 beats, because the last 2 beats of each bar are exactly the same.
Fortunately I filmed all the examples as well. Here they are in the order in which they appear….
As it says on the scrap, we can use all the stockings from the first 3 pages of Stick Control as source material for this. I quite liked the doubles, which gave these a sort of Tony Allen Afro-beat vibe.
This is probably my last post before the holidays so Season's Greetings, thanks for the gifts of love, family , and music and we'll see you in the New Year!
UPDATE: I totally forgot to mention I'll be performing the premiere of " The Saskatchewan Suite" in Regina on Dec. 28th. I'm very excited about this, but I'm almost as excited about having some time after the gig to check out Juliana Pizza; apparently where Regina style pizza was born! I think going to Ground Zero/Mecca of regina Pizza is going to be serious mind-blower! Stay tuned for further developments…………..
Friday, December 20, 2019
Chocolate, Cheese and General Inspiration
Hey all,
First the chocolate. Have you ever noticed that people tend to compare things to other things that are incomparable? They'll say something is "better than chocolate" but, if you like it, nothing is better than chocolate! For me, the same is true of cymbals. You'll hear a lot of people say something is "as good as an old K. Zildjian" but when you get a good one ( and they aren't all that way, believe me) there's nothing as good as an old K. Zildjian! I'm in the process of acquiring one more old K., and I believe my jazz set-up will be complete. I am very pleased about this!
Now the cheese! Anyone who has followed this blog knows I'm very interested in hybrid rudiments, and through social media I've been hipped to more of them. See below. As far as I can tell, a rudiment is labeled "cheese" if it has a double added to it somewhere. Is this nickname a punk Swiss rudiments ( Swiss cheese), or a reference to rudimental people in Wisconsin, or something else equally bizarre? No matter, here are the pages….
And, as if that wasn't enough material, I discovered a hybrid rudiments section on the Vic Firth site. I am currently working on the "Choo-Choo" ( There is also one called "Horsey". If the American rudimental dudes are really trying to appeal to toddlers, then well done, my friends! )
Finally, here's some inspiration from the great Antonio Sanchez. First here's an interview he did for the "Sessions" series……
He communicates extremely well whether he's playing, talking, or discussing the current political situation on Twitter.
As well, here is talking about storytelling for the PAS society.
The Art of Storytelling
What did John F. Kennedy, Demosthenes, Martin Luther King and Maya Angelou have in common? Why were all the greatest orators throughout history so powerful? What makes a speech engaging?
Storytelling.
All these speakers knew how to tell a story. They understood how to keep an audience engaged. Riveted. At the edge of their seats. Likewise, they all employed two indispensable tools: content and delivery.
You can have something enthralling to say but if you’re a boring public speaker you’ll soon see people yawning in the crowd. All the same, you could be a very charismatic orator but if your content is poor and not properly laid out, your audience will soon be checking their phones to see if anything more exciting is happening elsewhere.
Music is no different.
Performing and improvising are the equivalent of public speaking. Composing is the equivalent of speechwriting.
If we think of improvising as basically composing in realtime, we will come to the conclusion that great composers, improvisers and orators share a lot of the same qualities and employ the same techniques and methods: Establish a theme so that people know what you’re talking about. Develop the theme further. Leave space. Reaffirm the original idea. Use the correct punctuation in the right places and the exclamation and question marks with conviction and subtlety. Introduce and develop more ideas making smooth transitions from the previous ones. Use dynamics and nuance carefully.
Getting into a consistent rhythm where an audience is going to be so enthralled that it will have no other choice but to listen requires intention, pacing, repetition, tension and release, dynamics, surprise, drama.
If we think of any great speech, any great performance, any great composition or any great improvised solo we will soon realize that they all use the above mentioned process to build their masterpieces.
Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald, Cicero, Miles Davis, Churchill, and Stevie Wonder might have more in common than we ever thought.
In my experience, telling a story while improvising in front of an audience requires a combination of right brain and left brain. A sort of Ying and Yang of creativity and instinct as well as technique and discipline.
When I start an improvisation, my first rule is to always try to establish my initial idea in a very assertive and memorable way. One of the reasons I do this is for my own sake - I need to remember what I played so that I can build on it.
If I play an initial phrase and I’m not able to recall it correctly (either because of lack of concentration or because it was too complex to remember it accurately) it would be the equivalent of me starting to say something and immediately losing my train of thought, abruptly changing the subject and start babbling as a result.
That’s why I tend to favor shorter and simpler phrases in the beginning -so that I can establish my idea quickly and convincingly.
After I’ve played my initial idea my second rule is to leave space.
Space...
Space can be such a wonderful, powerful and terrifying thing for most improvising musicians. A second of it can feel like an eternity so we tend to want to fill it at all costs so that we don’t have to bear that uncomfortable void around us. But, when used well, it can be as dramatic and effective a force as you can create.
One of the marvelous qualities of space is that it provides us with time. Time to think.
One might believe that it’s a counterintuitive concept to perform and improvise without thinking but believe me, it’s very possible.
As someone who has played for most of my life, I can play endlessly by reflex. Mainly using the left side of my brain. The side that has practiced countless hours of technique, coordination and metronomic timekeeping. No real intention or expression. Just notes being played articulately and correctly with no emotional spine to back them up.
This would be the equivalent of reciting words that are expertly pronounced but are lacking emotion and meaning.
Now, going back to the space and thinking part...What is it that I need to think about when I improvise? How can I think that fast? How do I organize my thoughts and how is leaving this excruciating space helping me in any way?
For me the answer is simple: the space gives me time to think about what I just played and provides me with a breath so that I can decide what I’m going to play next.
One thing I like to do is repeat the original idea so that I reaffirm it and establish it for myself and for my audience. Leave a brief space again, embellish the idea, expand on it, leave more space, make a smooth transition and introduce another idea...etc.
This applies to performing solo or with a group: The phrases we play inform the other musicians about what we're "talking about" and the space gives them an opportunity to answer and interact. There’s nothing worse than a musician that never leaves space or a person who is constantly talking and not engaging in actual conversation.
This kind of approach requires discipline and lots of patience. Patience to establish the ideas and develop them without rushing ourselves into a bout of mindless musical ranting.
We do this with speech in a constant basis. When we converse with others we don’t know exactly what we’re going to say or how we're going to say it but somehow, we manage.
We use pauses and breaths to help us put our thoughts together. This happens in a matter of milliseconds and most of the time we don’t realize we’re doing it -and that’s because, throughout our life, we do it so much in so many different contexts that it becomes an automatic and natural action. Ideally, we should get to that point with our instruments as well.
Now, we have to make a distinction between merely putting words together and the art of telling a story. To me, that is the difference between craft and art.
I‘ve encountered so many musicians throughout my life that are extraordinary craftsmen and crafts women but are not artists -and the main distinction is usually storytelling. You can go on most of your musical life improvising without ever saying anything too deep or meaningful and to me, improvisational ranting is musical death -and it should be avoided at all cost.
When I've done masterclasses throughout the world, I've seen musicians discover the beauty and excitement of storytelling through their instruments in realtime. It can seem difficult at first but they soon realize that they had stories to tell all along. They just needed to give their thoughts and ideas a sense or organization.
You can too become one of the great musical orators. You just need to give it a shot and begin telling YOUR story.
Wise words Mr. Sanchez! Thank you.
First the chocolate. Have you ever noticed that people tend to compare things to other things that are incomparable? They'll say something is "better than chocolate" but, if you like it, nothing is better than chocolate! For me, the same is true of cymbals. You'll hear a lot of people say something is "as good as an old K. Zildjian" but when you get a good one ( and they aren't all that way, believe me) there's nothing as good as an old K. Zildjian! I'm in the process of acquiring one more old K., and I believe my jazz set-up will be complete. I am very pleased about this!
Now the cheese! Anyone who has followed this blog knows I'm very interested in hybrid rudiments, and through social media I've been hipped to more of them. See below. As far as I can tell, a rudiment is labeled "cheese" if it has a double added to it somewhere. Is this nickname a punk Swiss rudiments ( Swiss cheese), or a reference to rudimental people in Wisconsin, or something else equally bizarre? No matter, here are the pages….
Finally, here's some inspiration from the great Antonio Sanchez. First here's an interview he did for the "Sessions" series……
He communicates extremely well whether he's playing, talking, or discussing the current political situation on Twitter.
As well, here is talking about storytelling for the PAS society.
The Art of Storytelling
What did John F. Kennedy, Demosthenes, Martin Luther King and Maya Angelou have in common? Why were all the greatest orators throughout history so powerful? What makes a speech engaging?
Storytelling.
All these speakers knew how to tell a story. They understood how to keep an audience engaged. Riveted. At the edge of their seats. Likewise, they all employed two indispensable tools: content and delivery.
You can have something enthralling to say but if you’re a boring public speaker you’ll soon see people yawning in the crowd. All the same, you could be a very charismatic orator but if your content is poor and not properly laid out, your audience will soon be checking their phones to see if anything more exciting is happening elsewhere.
Music is no different.
Performing and improvising are the equivalent of public speaking. Composing is the equivalent of speechwriting.
If we think of improvising as basically composing in realtime, we will come to the conclusion that great composers, improvisers and orators share a lot of the same qualities and employ the same techniques and methods: Establish a theme so that people know what you’re talking about. Develop the theme further. Leave space. Reaffirm the original idea. Use the correct punctuation in the right places and the exclamation and question marks with conviction and subtlety. Introduce and develop more ideas making smooth transitions from the previous ones. Use dynamics and nuance carefully.
Getting into a consistent rhythm where an audience is going to be so enthralled that it will have no other choice but to listen requires intention, pacing, repetition, tension and release, dynamics, surprise, drama.
If we think of any great speech, any great performance, any great composition or any great improvised solo we will soon realize that they all use the above mentioned process to build their masterpieces.
Mozart, Ella Fitzgerald, Cicero, Miles Davis, Churchill, and Stevie Wonder might have more in common than we ever thought.
In my experience, telling a story while improvising in front of an audience requires a combination of right brain and left brain. A sort of Ying and Yang of creativity and instinct as well as technique and discipline.
When I start an improvisation, my first rule is to always try to establish my initial idea in a very assertive and memorable way. One of the reasons I do this is for my own sake - I need to remember what I played so that I can build on it.
If I play an initial phrase and I’m not able to recall it correctly (either because of lack of concentration or because it was too complex to remember it accurately) it would be the equivalent of me starting to say something and immediately losing my train of thought, abruptly changing the subject and start babbling as a result.
That’s why I tend to favor shorter and simpler phrases in the beginning -so that I can establish my idea quickly and convincingly.
After I’ve played my initial idea my second rule is to leave space.
Space...
Space can be such a wonderful, powerful and terrifying thing for most improvising musicians. A second of it can feel like an eternity so we tend to want to fill it at all costs so that we don’t have to bear that uncomfortable void around us. But, when used well, it can be as dramatic and effective a force as you can create.
One of the marvelous qualities of space is that it provides us with time. Time to think.
One might believe that it’s a counterintuitive concept to perform and improvise without thinking but believe me, it’s very possible.
As someone who has played for most of my life, I can play endlessly by reflex. Mainly using the left side of my brain. The side that has practiced countless hours of technique, coordination and metronomic timekeeping. No real intention or expression. Just notes being played articulately and correctly with no emotional spine to back them up.
This would be the equivalent of reciting words that are expertly pronounced but are lacking emotion and meaning.
Now, going back to the space and thinking part...What is it that I need to think about when I improvise? How can I think that fast? How do I organize my thoughts and how is leaving this excruciating space helping me in any way?
For me the answer is simple: the space gives me time to think about what I just played and provides me with a breath so that I can decide what I’m going to play next.
One thing I like to do is repeat the original idea so that I reaffirm it and establish it for myself and for my audience. Leave a brief space again, embellish the idea, expand on it, leave more space, make a smooth transition and introduce another idea...etc.
This applies to performing solo or with a group: The phrases we play inform the other musicians about what we're "talking about" and the space gives them an opportunity to answer and interact. There’s nothing worse than a musician that never leaves space or a person who is constantly talking and not engaging in actual conversation.
This kind of approach requires discipline and lots of patience. Patience to establish the ideas and develop them without rushing ourselves into a bout of mindless musical ranting.
We do this with speech in a constant basis. When we converse with others we don’t know exactly what we’re going to say or how we're going to say it but somehow, we manage.
We use pauses and breaths to help us put our thoughts together. This happens in a matter of milliseconds and most of the time we don’t realize we’re doing it -and that’s because, throughout our life, we do it so much in so many different contexts that it becomes an automatic and natural action. Ideally, we should get to that point with our instruments as well.
Now, we have to make a distinction between merely putting words together and the art of telling a story. To me, that is the difference between craft and art.
I‘ve encountered so many musicians throughout my life that are extraordinary craftsmen and crafts women but are not artists -and the main distinction is usually storytelling. You can go on most of your musical life improvising without ever saying anything too deep or meaningful and to me, improvisational ranting is musical death -and it should be avoided at all cost.
When I've done masterclasses throughout the world, I've seen musicians discover the beauty and excitement of storytelling through their instruments in realtime. It can seem difficult at first but they soon realize that they had stories to tell all along. They just needed to give their thoughts and ideas a sense or organization.
You can too become one of the great musical orators. You just need to give it a shot and begin telling YOUR story.
Wise words Mr. Sanchez! Thank you.
Monday, December 16, 2019
What's wrong with this set-up? Part 1
This is a new feature on the blog. Occasionally I'll be looking at drum sets that have more than one user and commenting on aspects of them that may be set up problematically. Obviously there are many ways to get a drum kit ready for playing, but I will point out things I find that may hinder a player's sound or progress. Here's the first instalment…….
So, please ignore the manic camerawork and delivery. My Zoom was out of juice and I had to do this in a hurry on my phone. Also at the end I meant to talk about the snare strainer being on the left side of the drum but I said right. My apologies. Okay, I hope this is helpful;. I'll revisit it from time to time.
UPDATE: I got a comment from great drummer/percussionist Brian Barlow. He mentioned that in situations where one is following a conductor, it may be best to have the music stand in front of the small tom. He's absolutely right so keep in mind what I'm suggesting here is general information and specific situations may require something different. :)
So, please ignore the manic camerawork and delivery. My Zoom was out of juice and I had to do this in a hurry on my phone. Also at the end I meant to talk about the snare strainer being on the left side of the drum but I said right. My apologies. Okay, I hope this is helpful;. I'll revisit it from time to time.
UPDATE: I got a comment from great drummer/percussionist Brian Barlow. He mentioned that in situations where one is following a conductor, it may be best to have the music stand in front of the small tom. He's absolutely right so keep in mind what I'm suggesting here is general information and specific situations may require something different. :)
Monday, December 9, 2019
Flam Accent Fun
Hi folks,
As promised, here's more content and in direct contrast to the Scraps post, this is relatively readable. I mentioned earlier in the "Hipifying the Rudiments" post, one of the two main problems with unaltered rudimental material is that they are too downbeat oriented, and too symmetrical. Recently, i was working with a favourite rudiment of mine, the Flam Accent. As you can see in Ex. 1, it's just triplets with a flam at the beginning of each set of three. I may have mentioned this before, but I like also putting the flams on the third triplet of each set (Ex. 2) and the second (Ex. 3). I show them in this order because most people find the second triplet the "weirdest" of these three, and thus the hardest to feel.
Okay, so that takes care of the constant downbeats, but what about mucking about with the evenness of each of these patterns? Ex. 4 shows a 13 triplet note pattern, so it is guaranteed not to fit into a bar of 4/4 evenly. Now, it may look complicated but it really is just a case of playing a bar of triplets in 4, and then adding an extra 8th note with the bass drum. The trick is of course that it isn't 13/8, but just a 13 note pattern that moves through the barline. It's recommended that you play through each measure separately, then start putting bars to together until you can hear how the pattern goes over the bar and still keep your place in the four bar phrase. Also, note that I haven't written out the pattern until it "resolves" or starts back again on 1. I think it's more useful to hear the phrase as it moves through the barlines rather than artificially counting to 13. Unless you're playing a thirteen bar tune, I think that would be confusing and extra work.
After we get handle on the phrase with the bass drum playing the "extra" triplet, I wrote it out so the left hand plays the thirteenth note. (Ex. 5). In this case, you could play a light 4 on the bass drum, and in all these examples, hi-hat on 2 & 4.
The last two examples are just like the previous ones except it's a shorter seven triplet pattern.
(Note: When I worked on these odd patterns, I preferred to start with the flam on the upbeats, like example 2. That way the "hand" part with the last flam is immediately followed by the bass drum. You might want to experiment with this.
(Note Note: I couldn't figure out how to write the grace notes in the stickings so whenever the flam says "R" the left hand is playing the "little" note and for all "L"s, this is reversed.
Have fun!
Oh, and as Todd Bishop would write, get the pdf!
As promised, here's more content and in direct contrast to the Scraps post, this is relatively readable. I mentioned earlier in the "Hipifying the Rudiments" post, one of the two main problems with unaltered rudimental material is that they are too downbeat oriented, and too symmetrical. Recently, i was working with a favourite rudiment of mine, the Flam Accent. As you can see in Ex. 1, it's just triplets with a flam at the beginning of each set of three. I may have mentioned this before, but I like also putting the flams on the third triplet of each set (Ex. 2) and the second (Ex. 3). I show them in this order because most people find the second triplet the "weirdest" of these three, and thus the hardest to feel.
Okay, so that takes care of the constant downbeats, but what about mucking about with the evenness of each of these patterns? Ex. 4 shows a 13 triplet note pattern, so it is guaranteed not to fit into a bar of 4/4 evenly. Now, it may look complicated but it really is just a case of playing a bar of triplets in 4, and then adding an extra 8th note with the bass drum. The trick is of course that it isn't 13/8, but just a 13 note pattern that moves through the barline. It's recommended that you play through each measure separately, then start putting bars to together until you can hear how the pattern goes over the bar and still keep your place in the four bar phrase. Also, note that I haven't written out the pattern until it "resolves" or starts back again on 1. I think it's more useful to hear the phrase as it moves through the barlines rather than artificially counting to 13. Unless you're playing a thirteen bar tune, I think that would be confusing and extra work.
After we get handle on the phrase with the bass drum playing the "extra" triplet, I wrote it out so the left hand plays the thirteenth note. (Ex. 5). In this case, you could play a light 4 on the bass drum, and in all these examples, hi-hat on 2 & 4.
The last two examples are just like the previous ones except it's a shorter seven triplet pattern.
(Note: When I worked on these odd patterns, I preferred to start with the flam on the upbeats, like example 2. That way the "hand" part with the last flam is immediately followed by the bass drum. You might want to experiment with this.
(Note Note: I couldn't figure out how to write the grace notes in the stickings so whenever the flam says "R" the left hand is playing the "little" note and for all "L"s, this is reversed.
Have fun!
Oh, and as Todd Bishop would write, get the pdf!
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