This is an excerpt from a pretty amazing 1981 Modern Drummer article by Barry Altschul, in which he discusses the drummer’s relation to tunes, form, and melody, and playing melodically: It is […] the drummer’s […]
Category: musical interpretation
Species of ride cymbal interpretation in jazz
Following up on George Collligan’s commentary on this subject: The way you play the cymbal pattern is really the center of your artistry as a jazz drummer, so let’s do a little survey of the […]
Interpretation and playing expressively
I hate long instructional videos, except when I don’t. Usually they go long because they underestimate their viewers’ knowledge, and get caught up in explaining WHAT IS A DRUM STICK and a lot of other […]
The Lulu line
Here’s a little four measure phrase by Thelonious Monk, which has been a big influence on my thinking, in playing the drums. It’s a little microcosm of the way you develop a melodic idea in […]
More with rock beats using Syncopation
Going a little further with my earlier piece on making rock beats using— say it with me— Ted Reed’s Syncopation. In doing this, there will be many duplicate beats, but that’s not important— our purpose […]
What it is: swing rhythm
Extremely preoccupied with tour preparations, obviously, but fortunately I have a couple of things on deck: Swing interpretation is something we use a lot here, and I’ve mostly assumed people know what it is— you […]