[ File this under rants. Get my new book if you enjoy this type of thing. ] Hey, everybody stop talking about “what the music wants”, “what the music requires” like it’s something outside yourself. […]
4:3lets in 4/4 – 01
Page of basic 4:3 tuplet rhythms in 4/4 time— four quarter notes in the space of 3— with rests: I don’t know what we’re calling the rhythm when written this way, but what it is […]
Daily best music in the world: Port of Entry
Weather Report absolutely crushing Port of Entry live in London, 1980: Originally recorded on Night Passage, one of my favorite albums ever. I made a loop from that that is really fun to play with. […]
Survival in the age of the pig
In other news, the flossy haired criminal swine has been inaugurated. I switched to situation-normal-all-effed-up mode a few days after the election, and haven’t been worrying too much. Not because he’s not going to do […]
Transcription: Roy Haynes – Well, You Needn’t
Roy Haynes trading fours with Kenny Burrell on Well, You Needn’t, from Burrell’s 1959 album A Night At The Vanguard. They’re playing trio, with Richard Davis on bass. The whole record is really cool— nobody’s […]
Bossa warmups
Five pretty-easy Syncopation systems for getting warmed up with some bossa materials. And for getting it together in the first place, if you’re just learning the style. Use with pp. 38-45 in Syncopation. Play all […]
The future’n you
A quick one: We’re in one of those phases of doomerism about the future— not of liberal democracy in the face of an ascendant techno-fascist kleptocracy, or of the planet as a livable place for […]
Very occasional quote of the day: improving time
“I think the best way to improve your time, is to play with musicians that have good time. Getting the feeling for how its supposed to be and working on it will improve time. But […]
Transcription: Art Blakey – Safari
A little drum break and Latin groove from Art Blakey, on Safari, by Horace Silver, originally on Horace Silver Trio, vol. 1, on Blue Note. Originally a 78 release, actually— the recording is less than […]
Matt’s double bass drill – 01
One of my students is a Metal drummer, which is kind of unusual for me. Part of our lesson time is workshopping methods for improving his double bass drum technique. I’ve had him do a […]
Groove o’ the day: Jack Dejohnette – 47th Groove
This is from kind of a dark horse album, Irresistible Forces, by Jack Dejohnette’s Special Edition— under which name he released several records between 1980-94, with different lineups. I listened to the next record a […]
NEW BOOK: Rants – vol. 1
All right, here we go, my new book is DONE: Rants – vol. 1. Drummers, drum media, and the internetby Todd Bishop. 290 pages. Get it: on CYMBALISTIC | on LULU All right, here we […]