Major rehash alert: an uptempo jazz drill I was playing yesterday, using what John Riley once called “my C major scale”: an SSBB pattern in 8th notes, with notes omitted. The page below is very similar to what I wrote about that, but in a better sequence for fast tempos.
I practice it reading out of Syncopation, using my subtractive method*— voicing the book rhythm according to that SSBB pattern. Anything sounding on a 1&/3& is played on the snare, anything sounding on a 2&/4& is played on the bass drum.
* – Rated by the same Mr. Riley as “convoluted, but sometimes that’s necessary.”
Here are some key starter patterns:
Do this with Syncopation pp. 9-10, 30-31, and 34-45.
Tempo goals are half note = 120, 130, 143, 150, and beyond. Play straight 8ths at all tempos, even tempos you would normally swing when performing. I usually practice these playing double time along with a straight 8th jazz/fusion/modern music loop.
I’ve written a number of these drills over the years, and there’s another good one in Riley’s book Beyond Bop Drumming. The best drill is the one you do— whatever works for you.