Here are some practice phrases using Gary Chaffee’s linear patterns, from vol. III of his Patterns series of books. I’ve put his jazz linear phrases into 5/4, with a mixed 8th note/triplet rhythm— there are twelve […]
Category: solo materials
Survival chops: triplets in 5/4
Part of the idea of this “survival” series is to be very right hand (or leading hand, if you play lefty) oriented; we want to start every measure with the right hand— it just suits […]
Locking with clave — 01
This is derived from an idea discussed by David Peñalosa in his book Rumba Quinto. In rumba, an Afro-Cuban genre, the quinto is the highest-pitched conga drum; the quinto player is the lead player, improvising […]
Exercises for developing a common Reed interpretation
Following up on the Key to right hand accented triplets post, here is a set of exercises for getting my recommended stickings together: Get the pdf
Key to right hand accented triplets using Syncopation
There’s a very common interpretation used with Ted Reed’s Syncopation: the right hand plays the melody line, swinging the 8th notes, and the left hand fills out the triplets— hopefully everyone has heard of that […]
Breaking down the Chaffee phrases
Since I have a little breather between finishing my taxes, stopping procrastinating about finishing my charts for Friday, practicing, teaching, and writing up a new Drum! contribution that might actually earn me some money (friendly […]
Phrases for Chaffee linear patterns: triplets in 3/4
Here is one set of practice phrases for the Gary Chaffee linear patterns, in one or two measures of 3/4, with a triplet rhythm. For the sake of brevity, I’ve given only the two measure […]
RLB sticking applied
This is that previous right/left/bass sticking applied to Exercise 9 from Ted Reeds’s Syncopation (p. 45 in the old edition). The entire piece follows that sticking, except for a couple of spots. I’ve written in […]
Basic solo vocabulary with Syncopation
Hey, it’s been awhile since I’ve posted anything downloadable of my own, and you don’t want to hear me prattle on about cymbals and crap, so here’s a basic solo vocabulary builder I’ve been working […]
Todd’s methods: Son of Daku-daku-paradiddle
Right, I’m starting to regret the name I made up for this thing– until I think of the alternative, long-winded description for this very common pattern. Now if I can just bring myself to call […]
Sixtuplet plus release
This is something that came up in my practicing yesterday, and I went ahead and scribbled out a page of it for you. These sound good fast, but it’s also a good idea to ask […]