UPDATE: Download link is fixed! Did you ever transcribe 72 bars of Roy Haynes, just to realize that all of the really cool stuff was in the NEXT 36 bars? I wanted to do an […]
Hemiola funk series: S3B
Another variation on the hemiola funk thing, with the main pattern ending with a double on the bass drum— a snare hit + 3 bass hits. I continue to tweak the basic template to cover […]
Four on the floor: Stone meets Ghana
Here’s something very rare, an idea to base your whole life on: Stone-type patterns based on Ghanaian bell patterns. This is from Jon McCaslin over at Four on the Floor, given to him by the […]
Practice loop: Dexterity / Bird’s chorus
UPDATE: If you want the loop archive, you should get it fast— my ISP is complaining about the large files stored on my account, and I’ll probably have to delete it soon. I assume everyone is […]
Double paradiddle inversions for drumset
Following up on my big rudimental tantrum post, here’s a little exploration of double paradiddles— I mentioned that a good friend, and one of the most creative drummers I know, Steve Pancerev, is a fan […]
40 international drum rudiments— a frank appraisal
Here at last is my opinionated commentary on each of the 40 PAS international drum rudiments— the good are praised, the questionable are denigrated and hounded from the public sphere. The abstruse are eschewed. I’ll […]
Daily best music in the world: Pete La Roca with Coltrane
Busy this week finishing an e-book outlining my “harmonic coordination improved” method. I think I’m going to call it Drumset Control. There are at least two other books with that title, by Mitchell Peters and […]
Transcription: Max Roach – Dexterity
Max Roach’s drum breaks on just about the first jazz recording I ever noticed and liked— Dexterity by Charlie Parker. I dug an old LP compilation of Parker 78s out of my dad’s record collection. […]
Hemiola funk series: Funky Primer – p. 22
Here’s an easy little thing, bringing together two funk items: I’ve taken a familiar page from Charles Dowd’s Funky Primer, and re-written it with the patterns used in my hemiola funk series. You know what […]
EZ jazz solo method: alternative triplet stickings
Let’s begin expanding the quick and easy jazz solo lesson from the other day— here are some alternative triplet stickings you can use with it. You’ll recall that it consisted of a “stock” pattern element and a […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Lee Konitz
From my friend and collaborator saxophonist Tim Willcox on his lesson with Lee Konitz, who died yesterday: When it came down to asking Lee my very specific questions about how he practiced and learned to […]
3:2: varying the 3-side
Here we’re essentially doing straight 8th notes against a broken triplet-feel cymbal rhythm, in a triplet-feel context. For me this is mainly for playing straight 8ths in an Afro 6/8— which I already covered back […]