August 2014 Issue – Volume 39 • Number 8
Articles in August 2014
Lee Goodness
Photo by Nicole Goodness Curtis Mayfield was unlike any other soul artist, and the job of servicing his timeless grooves was a unique challenge, especially during the dawn of electronic drums. The journeyman player who helped bring Mayfield’s message…
Elaine Bradley
The plan was clear for Neon Trees’ new album: big sounds, big ideas, and big performances. Neon Trees’ Pop Psychology is what happens when a successful pop-rock band pursues a hip-hop recording approach using Peter Gabriel’s So and Kanye West’s…
Groove Freedom Part 2: “Funky Drummer” Permutations
Welcome to the second installment of articles based on my new book, Groove Freedom. I wrote this book for myself as much as I did for my students. There is nothing quite like the feeling of having one hundred percent…
Syncopation Revisited Part 3: 5/4 Applications
We continue this month with more ways to interpret Ted Reed’s classic book Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer. This time we’ll be converting the written manuscript from its original 4/4 form to 5/4 time. The following applications…
Upbeat Triplets Breaking Free From the Downbeat
This month we’re going to look at quarter- and 8th-note-triplet rhythms that are offset to the upbeats. When we talk about upbeats, we’re usually referring to the “&” counts between the quarter notes in a straight 8th or swung context.…