Here is a collection of moderately easy, very functional, right-hand lead licks for the drum set. Normally I would arrive at these by other means— like, by playing Stick Control, Syncopation, or any paradiddle rudiment, […]
Category: rock
Transcription: Alan Myers — Clockout
To celebrate Devo drummer Alan Myers, who just died, here’s a transcription of Clockout, from the band’s Duty Now For The Future album. There are some non-significant variations that happen on each repeat— just play, […]
Transcription: Ralph Humphrey — Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow
Here’s a nice introduction to rock in drumming in 7: Ralph Humphrey’s part from Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow, from Apostrophe by Frank Zappa. I go way back with this song, to 1974 when I […]
Transcription: Roger Hawkins — Chain of Fools
Let’s see if I can crank this out before running out to see Brian Blade play— along with Kermit Driscoll from the Bill Frisell video below. Let it not be said there’s nothing going on […]
Groove o’ the day: Whipping Post
Extraordinarily busy this week, but there’s always time for a groove o’ the day, so here’s Whipping Post, by the Allman Brothers. Butch Trucks and Jaimoe Johnson are on drums, apparently playing basically in unison. […]
Best books: the Dahlgren & Fine rock book
Complete Text for the Rock and Roll Drummer by Marvin Dahlgren and Elliot Fine Really Good Music Publishing 66 pages When Really Good Music Publishing reissued a raft of Marvin Dahlgren titles last year, I […]
More with rock beats using Syncopation
Going a little further with my earlier piece on making rock beats using— say it with me— Ted Reed’s Syncopation. In doing this, there will be many duplicate beats, but that’s not important— our purpose […]
YouTubed: “basic rock beat”
Since I’m often told that the Internet, with its abundance of free materials, is rendering teachers obsolete, I thought I’d put that to the test, searching YouTube for beginning rock drumming “lessons”, and not stopping […]
Problem Child fills
I listened to Problem Child by AC/DC a lot when I was in the 8th grade, and just happened to put it on for the first time in a few years, and realized how much […]
Transcription: Ian Paice — Lay Down, Stay Down
[UPDATE: pdf download link works now!] I don’t get how herds work: suddenly everyone, everywhere is talking about four stroke ruffs. They happen to be all over this piece, played in 16th note triplet form […]