Here’s the companion to the Gary Chaffee linear phrases in 3/4, which I posted the other day. This page just has the same phrases displaced by one note; the last note of each phrase, a […]
Year: 2017
Playing free
“No chaos, damn it!” —Jackson Pollock responding to a critic who called his work chaotic. Here at CRUISE SHIP DRUMMER! there are some subjects we don’t talk about much— not because they’re not important, but […]
Very occasional quote of the day: groove interference
“Coordination is a nice thing to have going, don’t get me wrong. But taken to extremes, you set up rhythmic interference instead of maintaining a groove. It’s not that you’re being too busy. It’s just […]
EZ Tony-like method: two variations
We’re calling this “Tony Williams-like” on the thinnest possible pretext, of course— playing it, it reminded me of some things he did on Frelon Brun, is all. These are two even easier things you can […]
Transcription: Dave King – Rational Funk / Trading 8s
Here’s something I don’t normally do: transcribe stuff from solo/demo/“lesson” videos online. But this is a) cool, b) illustrative of something I talk about a lot here, which is UNDERLYING SIMPLICITY. The video is “Memes […]
Very occasional quote of the day: Harvey Mason on listening and insecurity
“[D]o all the listening you can, to everyone who is on record, or live. Try to evaluate what really makes them function in the setting they’re in. Try to add it to your arsenal or […]
Page o’ coordination: Afro-Peruvian – 01
Let’s get it out of the way up front that I know nothing about Afro-Peruvian music— I played a session with John Butler, a Portland guitarist who plays it, and he hipped me to its […]
Buddy meme
This Buddy Rich quote, embedded in a meme, has been kicking around the internet awhile: “You only get better by playing.” Uncontroversial to people who can play, but it has generated a small amount of […]
Linear phrases in 3/4, mixed rhythm – 01
More pages of Gary Chaffee linear patterns, in two measure phrases in 3/4, with 8th notes and triplets. If I was about doing things in a logical order, I would have done these pages a […]
7/8 practice rhythms plus stickings
This was partially covered in ’15 with a similar post, but I wrote this up, so I’ll post it. Small differences in format, or in which rhythms you choose to include, can make a difference […]