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 ride and the shuffle—with a variety of one- and two-beat triplet-based rhythms. Your hands will be playing with different techniques, yet they will have to remain completely relaxed. The key is to coordinate the hands so that each is seemingly unaware of what the other is doing, yet they’re playing together perfectly without hitting any unwanted flams. Mastering these exercises will greatly increase your vocabulary and will undoubtedly manifest itself in different contexts in your playing. First let’s look at the jazz ride ostinato, which you most often use on the ride cymbal. Every note in this pattern should be played as a loose rebounding free stroke to maximize flow […]