More About “How” Than “What” There are many different concepts and methods for developing independence. Most of us spend countless hours working on independence the traditional way, by playing a rhythm with one hand (e.g., a jazz swing ride pattern) while playing another rhythm with the other hand (e.g., quarter-note triplets). In addition to figuring out how to get the hands and feet to play different rhythms simultaneously, there’s another kind of coordination that needs to be developed: volume independence. Tower of Power drummer David Garibaldi talks about this concept in his classic book Future Sounds, and many others have stressed the importance of dynamic control. The more I’ve worked on this with students, the more I’ve realized how important volume independence is and how much it’s linked to musicality and feel. Often when we listen to something that sounds great, we focus on what is being played, such as […]

September 2014 Issue