I think this is my third or fourth take on this particular subject since I started blogging, but it can take awhile to find the best format for teaching basic things. These days I like […]
Year: 2017
Open hihat funk application using Dahlgren & Fine
Wow, suddenly it’s the end of the year. In coming days I’ll be throwing up as much stuff as I can to fill out any remaining content gaps in the upcoming 2017 Book of the […]
Building the Tequila beat
A student has a gig coming up where she has to play the song Tequila, but didn’t know a beat to play on it. This is what we worked out in her lesson. She was […]
Countermanding the tsunami
Thanks to everyone who has purchased the new e-book, 13 Essential Stickings, and I hope you’re pleased with it. As you can see, there’s nothing in there you haven’t heard of— it’s really a case […]
Linear funk with a broken cymbal rhythm, using Syncopation
I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’ve developed quite a robust collection of funk methods here, using Ted Reed’s Syncopation. If you learned them all you should have some real creativity going by now. So here’s […]
NEW E-BOOK: 13 Essential Stickings
Here’s part of what I’ve been up to other than writing new blog posts— I’m releasing a new e-book today: 13 Essential Stickings for the Modern Drummer. If you ever get overwhelmed by the amount […]
History of American Percussion Music
This is just a quick link share: you should read the online article The Beaten Path: A History Of American Percussion Music. It’s an excellent thumbnail history of percussion in American conservatory music in the […]
Practice loop: The Sermonette
Here’s a jazz practice loop in 4/4, a sort of gospel 2 feel, sampled from The Sermonette, by Cannonball Adderly. It has a nice deep pocket and is good for all your jazz practicing needs. […]
Page o’ skiplets – 01
This is not a great method to self-teach, but for the few intrepid individuals this will help, or for the teachers out there whose students struggle to pick up jazz independence, this approach may help […]
Ben Riley comping
We lost a very great drummer this week, and one of a dwindling number of his generation: Ben Riley. He was best known for his playing with Thelonious Monk in the mid-60s, and with the […]