Well— cut time 16th notes, which are 32nd notes functionally, if “common time” is our reference point. Perhaps a subject for another occasion. This is a very simple drill for playing fast singles in context as […]
Year: 2019
Hemiola funk series – beginner sheet
Continuing to develop a method for this hemiola funk idea. Please forgive the repetition— when this is a finished method, I’ll release it as an e-book. In the mean time, I’ll be posting a lot […]
Very occasional quote of the day: spirit
“Now-a-days the technical information is available. A lot of people have it, which proves all the more that it’s not the key to the music. The key is what’s inside, the life you live, and […]
Transcription: Al Foster – Egg Head
A smoking short drum solo by Al Foster, playing with Cecil Payne and Duke Jordan on their album Brooklyn Brothers. The tune is Egg Head, a little three minute burner. It’s a blues, and Foster […]
Groove o’ the day: Neftali Santiago – Positive Thing
Groove o’ the day by Neftali Santiago of the band Mandrill, one of the people you should be listening to to get a real 70s funk thing happening with your drumming— along with Jerome Brailey, […]
Transcription: Fred Braceful – All That Funk
Here’s an interesting performance by Fred Braceful, a drummer from Detroit who lived in Germany for most of his career, and recorded mainly with German artists. He also recorded a couple of albums with Mal […]
Notes on a Lenny White performance
I got to see Lenny White play last night, with the pianist George Colligan and bassist Buster Williams, at Portland’s 1905 Club. Here are a few impressions. Between watching a performance and writing a blog […]
On having done a LOT of transcriptions
I guess I’ve probably transcribed as much drumming as anyone. There have got to be some other lunatics out there, but not that many, and they’re not publishing their work regularly. In this past 9 […]
Page o’ coordination: basic 6/4
The first of three pages of fundamentals to go with that John Zorn loop from the other day. These POCs are a major part of my output right now, which is a little bit misleading— […]
A quick rant and etymological aside
La mano dall’inferno OK, I want everybody stop saying “dominant” hand, “weaker” hand— anything like that, as if it’s a thing. It’s not a thing. None of your drumming abilities are dictated by the hand you […]
Practice loop in 6: Tekufah
A fun practice loop in 6/4 with a strong suggestion of 12/8. It’s really a compound pulse where it’s both things at the same time. Hit the time signature labels at the bottom of the […]
Transcription: Ivan Conti
Ivan Conti and Azymuth playing A Caça, a lightweight little 70s fusion arrangement, with some fun things happening. It’s from Azymuth’s album Águia Não Come Mosca. It’s such a clean and tight performance and arrangement […]