A Progressive Approach to Phrasing Quintuplets on the Drumkit   Sixteenth-note quintuplets are five notes played per quarter note. The simplest way to count them in 4/4 is, “ONE, two, three, four, five; TWO, two, three, four, five; THREE, two, three, four, five; FOUR, two, three, four, five.” As you can see, I’m emphasizing the downbeat of each quintuplet. I recommend doing that as you’re first learning to feel and hear the fives, but you should be able to remove the emphasis once you’re comfortable with the rhythm. In this article we’re going to explore ideas based on a very simple combination for your right hand, left hand, and bass drum. But before we get into that, we’ll practice the basic 16th-note quintuplet on the snare while counting aloud. The pattern in Example 2 is right-left-right-left-foot. Start simply, by using the right hand on the closed hi-hat, the left hand […]

April 2013 Issue