Here’s a companion to the other pages of paradiddles I’ve posted, this time using an embellishment used in Wilcoxon occasionally- a 16th note triplet in place of the double. Playing the triplet starting on an […]
Category: downloads
Umdaga, part 1
This is a very simple pattern I use a lot- I’d go so far as to say it’s one of the basic DNA instructions of my playing: right/left/bass. I didn’t exactly make it up, but […]
Basic Mambo
I guess I had to eventually post something directly drumming-related on my drumming blog, so here is an older piece I’ll be sharing with a couple of students today- some variations on a generic, very […]
Simple variations on Syncopation, Lesson 4
That’s pages 10-11 for those of you with the old edition– as you can see I’ve given up completely and started referring to the parts by their new edition names. I’ve been working with this […]
Afro 6/8 – basic coordination
This is something I’ve been working with daily for several weeks now- getting the usual jazz coordination/comping stuff together with the Afro-Cuban/Bembe/Naningo bell pattern. It’s pretty tricky, and it’s a good idea to do it […]
Swiss triplets exercise
Here’s a fairly challenging swiss triplet exercise we used to play in my advanced practice pad group. The trickiest part seems to be the fourth line, with the 5/16 groupings comprised of a swiss triplet […]
Paradiddle shift with bass drum
This is something I’ve been working with, and finally had the time to write up. The paradiddle shift is a pretty common exercise involving the displacement of the paradiddle by one 16th note. Most people […]
Billie’s Bounce deconstructed
That sounds a little sexier than it actually is- I was working on this tune with a student recently, and we ended up breaking it down phrase by phrase. I’ve written the lesson up for […]
Transcription: Tony Williams – Madness – ride cymbal only
Madness is the first track I heard on the first Miles Davis record I actually went and bought- before that I just had the old copy of Kind of Blue from my dad’s record collection. […]
Matt’s paradiddle thing, pt. 2
As I’ve mentioned, I’ve been working a bunch with the paradiddle page I wrote up for my student Matt F, usually combining single repetitions of each exercise, as described in the post. Last night I […]
Stanley’s Page of Bossa Nova
Here is a page of basic Bossa Nova patterns, which I wrote up for a couple of my students. I’ve included the standard pattern that will be familiar to a lot of people, a Partido […]
Transcription: Jim Gordon – Apostrophé
Here’s Jim Gordon’s drum break from the title track of Apostrophé by Frank Zappa. The tune is a jam with Zappa and Cream bassist Jack Bruce. This is actually one of the first things I […]