Getting back into Gary Chaffee’s linear materials a little bit— originally outlined in the Time Functioning volume of his Patterns series of books. Since first working on this system as a student, it has been a […]
Year: 2024
Reed tweak: RH lead with single cym / flam
Yet another right hand lead Reed tweak— YART, or YARHLRT, for short. It’s a little convoluted, but works out a slightly different thing from the other systems/tweaks we’ve done, and I think it’s worthwhile. The […]
You should get drum lessons from me
Making my periodic public observance that I don’t get enough drum students through this site. I know everybody doesn’t instantly get everything I post on here. And I know people are overloaded with information about […]
Triplet burnout with the jazz waltz telephone page
Here are some things I do over the course of 15-20 minutes playing that jazz waltz telephone page, in addition to just playing repeating measures as written, in 3/4 time: 1. Play each measure in […]
That Steve Gadd lick
More on that Steve Gadd lick from the Full Compass transcription. It’s essentially a familiar kind of four note tom ruff ending on the beat with the bass drum, with an extra snare drum note […]
Transcription: Steve Gadd Afro 12/8
Here’s Steve Gadd playing the whole first part of Full Compass, from George Benson’s record Bad Benson— it’s a fully arranged thing, with some drum breaks. It’s an Afro-feel 12/8, modulating to 4/4 at the […]
On weird gigs
Having just played a weird gig, let’s talk about weird gigs. The kind gig where everything seems basically in place, but for whatever reason, nothing is happening. There’s nothing grossly wrong, but nothing feels right […]
Very occasional quote of the day: movies
“[T]here is so much to love in movies besides great moviemaking.” – Pauline Kael, Movie Love Kael was a movie reviewer for the New Yorker magazine through the 70s and 80s. I think most of […]
Jazz waltz telephone – 01
This is a writing experiment, starting with a jazz waltz cymbal rhythm with triplets filled in, changing one note per measure— or two notes. The cymbal rhythm stays the same, and bass drum is added, […]
Drum lesson with Murray Spivack
Here’s a rare thing, a famous drum teacher, Murray Spivack, giving a drum lesson to Louis Bellson: The portion with Spivack is dedicated to basic stuff: holding the sticks, making basic strokes, and playing rudiments. […]
Transcription: Dannie Richmond – Straight, No Chaser
For my man Michael Griener in Berlin, some more Dannie Richmond, this time with Bennie Wallace, playing Straight No Chaser, by Thelonious Monk of course. From the 1981 album Bennie Wallace Plays Monk, on the […]
Very occasional quote of the day: play what you hear
“Play what you hear, and if you can’t play it, then practice it.” – Barry Altschul, Modern Drummer interview by Rick Mattingly, November, 1982 Periodic reminder that, creatively, the fundamental equation is real simple. Of […]