So-called because it consists of three and a half “paras” (RL RL RL R), plus a diddle (LL), and I… never mind. I was hitting the practice pad along with an Illinois Jacquet/Wild Bill Davis […]
Category: music
Two nice finds
Two nice things from Jazz Schmazz, a blog I’ll be checking in with real often from here on out. First is a transcription of Pete LaRoca’s fours on Homestretch, from Joe Henderson’s Page One… and, […]
DBMITW: Sam Rivers with Barry Artschul
Another track from Sam Rivers’ Sizzle plus some bonus Barry Altschul after the break:
The way drum instructional videos should be
30 seconds long, no explanation, no BS, no nothing except everything you need to know about the subject: More of Ted Warren’s excellent series of brush videos after the break:
Coordination “kernels”
Here’s one for the teachers. This is an approach I’ve found helpful with students having difficulties with coordination on written patterns in jazz and Latin, and a good alternative/supplement to the usual solution of “slowing […]
Todd’s methods: Afro-Cuban in 6/8 and 3/4
Here’s something I wrote strictly for my own use, which I thought I would share for you to make of what you will. The Afro 6/8 has been one of my stronger vehicles for a […]
VOQOTD: Pete La Roca on backbeats
What an insult for Fusion to impose the repetitive BackBeat on Jazz drummers! How ironic, since the BackBeat is merely the handclap used by American slaves when they were forbidden to have drums! How bizarre […]
Two videos
Here are a couple of nice videos from my fellow drumming blogs while I recover from my little Oregon coast mini-vacation: First, a video on practicing by Steve Smith, from the excellent new Melodic Drummer […]
The great Jeff Berlin metronome controversy
This has been floating around for some time. His observations are mostly good, but I don’t happen to agree with his conclusion. Watch the video, and I’ll give a few thoughts about it: His major […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Jeff Watts
Messing up is not really that bad; it’s the recovery that’s important. – Jeff Watts
Something stupid
I hope you’re ready for a descent several circles deeper than usual into pure drumming geekdom today, as I’ve been fooling with devising a sticking system for all limbs, and combinations of limbs. I don’t […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Randy Brecker
It’s a reality these days that it is harder to tell guys apart trumpetistically, because we all study out of the same books, and there’s a certain trumpetistic artistry that’s prevalent these days. So it’s […]