Education
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Open-Handed Playing Part 3: Triplet Groove Systems
In this article I’d like to take the idea of avoiding crossed hands into the rhythmic field of triplets. Triplet-based grooves have their own special twists and turns. Playing these ideas open-handed can be a serious challenge, one that will…
Inner Drumming Part 1: How to Listen With All Four Limbs
Ever since I privately published my book Inner Drumming in 1983, I’ve received hundreds of letters and emails wanting to know exactly what it is and how to obtain a copy. This is the first of a series of articles…
The CRASH Course to Success Part 1: Commitment
What does it take to succeed as a working drummer? Commitment. Commitment is the word for the first letter in an acronym I created, CRASH, to illustrate concepts people can use to attract success to their lives. TO READ THE…
Focus on the Hi-Hat The Classic Swing Sound
Before small groups reigned supreme and the ride cymbal became king, the beacon in jazz timekeeping was the hi-hat. Jo Jones with Count Basie and Ray McKinley with Glenn Miller were masters of the hi-hat. Both players could swing an…
The Spivack/Wilson Approach to Technique Part 3: Continuity and Chronological Order
In this article we’ll demonstrate how strokes can be learned sequentially, in what Spivack called continuity (a continuous or connected whole) and what Wilson referred to as chronological order (from earliest to latest). TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO…
Chops Builders Part 17: Two-Hand Coordination, Triplet-Based Ride
In Chops Builders 15 and 16, we looked at two-hand coordination exercises involving 8th- and 16thnote ostinatos and various 16th-note-based rhythms. This month we’re going to shift into triplet mode. We’ll combine the two most commonly used triplet-based ostinatos—the jazz…
Brush Workshop Part 3: Linear Motion
Many drummers think that brushes can be used only in jazz, but if you’ve been following this series and practicing the various patterns in each article, you should realize by now that brushes can be used in any musical style.…
The Sounds That Drew Me In And What I Drew Out of Them
Think back to that first moment when you knew drums were it for you. For me, this happened after seeing a traditional Serbian folk group with a drummer who played a set of mounted bongos. TO READ THE FULL STORY:…
Memorizing Tempos
Tips for Finding Your Own Reference Points That seat we sit on is affectionately called a throne. This signifies to me that we are kings—or queens—of our domain. As such, we are in a position of power and honor. This…
A Look at Hybrid Rudiments
The Hairta and Its Application on the Drumset Hybrid rudiments are permutations, mixtures, or combinations of the classic forty rudiments established by the Percussive Arts Society. In this article we’ll take a look at how one of the more widely…
Sticking the Beat
A Four-Step Process to Discovering New Grooves In this article I’ll show you how sticking patterns can be applied to the drumset to create various grooves. Each groove is built from the ground up, progressing through four easy-to-understand steps. The…
The Journey of Self-Discovery
Thoughts on Developing Your Own Musical Voice One of the things I mentioned in last month’s column was how I feel there are way too many drummers who sound alike in the field today. Of course, this is…
Consecutive Flams Part 1: Spaced Out
This month we’re going to kick off a challenging three-part series on flams. All of these exercises will consist of single flams followed by sets of two, three, and four flams. Then we’ll reverse the order to end up back…
All Together Now! Focus on Unison Exercises
Practicing unison exercises is an excellent way to determine the accuracy and precision of your four limbs as they function together. Like links in a steel chain, the sturdiness of your groove depends on the strength of your weakest limb.…
