Some of my practice loops are as much for inspiration as they are about learning a style or practicing drum ideas, or whatever— for example, the Sivad loop or the Attica Blues loop. Here’s another one […]
Category: practice loops
Practice loop in 6: Tekufah
A fun practice loop in 6/4 with a strong suggestion of 12/8. It’s really a compound pulse where it’s both things at the same time. Hit the time signature labels at the bottom of the […]
Practice loop: Tunji
Here’s a practice loop made from a long sample from Tunji, by John Coltrane. It’s from the album Coltrane, which is one of my favorite records in the world— everyone should own it. Also see […]
Practice loop: slow blues
Here’s a loop you’re going to need this week, as I finish writing the 6/8 prep for my patented(?) Harmonic Coordination Improved™ method. Sampled from Melvin Sparks’s Blues for JB, the tempo is a stately […]
Practice loop: Attica Blues
This will put some intensity in your playing: a practice loop sampled from Attica Blues by Archie Shepp. For that I also recommend my loops of Sivad, The Free Design, and Magdalena. By the way: […]
Practice loop: Fela Kuti – This Is Sad
This is a really cool practice loop, sampled from This Is Sad by Fela Kuti, with Tony Allen on drums. You could try to cop the actual groove, or just play anything over it and […]
Rub-a-dub lesson: Fables of Faubus
Another example of rub-a-dub applied, using a passage from the Charles Mingus tune Fables of Faubus. In previous lessons we’ve just used this idea on the head of some tunes as an exercise. Here we’re […]
Practice loop: Black Sabbath / Breakout
Practice loop sampled from Breakout, an instrumental jazz odyssey-type number from Black Sabbath’s 1978 album Never Say Die. Tempo is quarter note = 57 bpm. Nice and slow, good for getting into my very challenging […]
Practice loop: Resolução
Practice loop sampled from the intro of Resolução by Edu Lobo, the great Brazilian songwriter. Style is bossa nova, tempo is quarter note = 167— standard bright bossa tempo. The sample is an arranged lick, […]
Practice loop in 6/4: Magdalena
Practice loop in 6/4 sampled from Magdalena, from John Zorn’s album O’o. Tempo is quarter note = 204, and there is an extra bar of 3/4 on the big figure at the end of the […]
Rub-a-dub lesson: Doxy
Another rub-a-dub lesson— getting as much of this in as I can before the end of the year, so there’s a robust section on it in the upcoming 2018 Book of the Blog. This page […]
Practice loop: Lopsy Lu – complete form
This replaces my earlier practice loop sampled from Stanley Clarke’s Lopsy Lu— this one has the whole form of the tune. Nice to actually know how to play it, just in case you ever play […]