Adding handheld percussion, like shakers and tambourines, to tracks in the studio is nothing new. Producers have long taken advantage of the opportunity to overdub layers of rhythmic texture without necessarily worrying about how it’s all going to be replicated live. Meanwhile, a number of drummers have taken on the challenge of reproducing multiple drum and percussion tracks on stage. Leading the way are Wilco’s Glenn Kotche, studio aces Billy Ward and Jay Bellerose, and living legend Jim Keltner. In this article you’ll find examples of ways to begin incorporating percussion sounds into your live drumming. These patterns will not only expand your groove vocabulary but will also vastly improve your timekeeping. With practice, you’ll be able to feel the beginning, middle, and end of each pulse, which are more apparent when you’re controlling the sustaining sounds of shakers and tambourines. You’ll also learn to see how fluidly (or not […]

November 2014 Issue