Some Gary Chaffee-style linear phrases in 4/4, in 8th notes and triplets. If I did things in a logical order, I would have written this five years ago, when I was writing those pages in […]
EZ ECM: entry to 7/4
Hey, a few broad, non-technical creative possibilities for playing a straight-8th, ECM-type texture in 7/4, which also apply to using Ted Reed’s Syncopation on the drum set broadly. First, we need some rhythms to work […]
Dodge Drum Chart
An interesting item: the Dodge Drum Chart, by Frank Dodge, edited and published by George Lawrence Stone. It was advertised on the back cover of my first copy of Stick Control, so it’s one of […]
Uptempo rock practice phrase
Here’s a quick one— a practice phrase combining two practice systems from the rock drill I posted recently, that’s good for fast tempos. It flows really nicely. I give you so many open-ended practice systems, […]
Max on the bass drum
An exchange on the evolution of the bass drum in jazz, from Max Roach, circa 1981, from his Modern Drummer interview with Scott K. Fish. SF: Back in the ’50s and ’60s jazz drummers were […]
Reed interpretation: Matt’s double bass method – 03
More of an expansive double bass method using the book Syncopation, that I’ve been developing with a student. Here we’ll get into 16th triplets on the bass drums. The method is a little obscure to […]
Stewart Copeland: complete clown
Stewart Copeland’s statements about jazz came up on line recently, and I was curious about that, so I dug around and found some things. He dubiously claims to have a jazz background, but as we’ll […]
Syncopation rhythms – quarter note triplets
The need for this arose when I was practicing yesterday, so here we go— two pages of syncopation rhythms including quarter note triplets and inverted quarter note triplets. You know what to do. Get the […]
Page o’ coordination: quasi-samba – bass drum variations
More student stuff! Someone needed a Latin rhythm for a tune he’s playing in a rehearsal combo, and this repeating quasi-samba pattern is what he came up with. So in the lesson we worked through […]
Converting 3/8 hemiola patterns to 2/4
That’s it, CRUISE SHIP DRUMMER! is now an all what-I’m-teaching-in-lessons web site. I’m preoccupied with other stuff right now, travel plans and whatnot. I started doing this around 2013, and quite a bit lately— changing […]